It seems the ABC has finally picked up the story. Took them long enough though, even the BBC beat them to it.
ABC Article
Radio Australia Interview with Henry Makeham
A television casting decision in Australia has upset a group of Chinese-Australians. Billy Sing was a Chinese-Australian soldier known as the "Gallipoli assassin" in World War One. The son of a Chinese man and an English woman, Billy Sing became a hero of the Australian forces, after killing more than 200 enemy troops. His memory is cherished within the Chinese-Australian community but now a new TV drama based on Billy Sing's life has cast the lead character as a caucasian because film producers say they couldn't find a Chinese actor to play him. The Chinese-Australian community has descibed the casting decision as a betrayal of their heritage.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Henry Makeham, National President of the Australian China Youth Association
* Listen:
* Windows Media
LAM: Henry first of all, tell us why you're disappointed by this casting decision?
MAKEHAM: Well, I guess firstly this is an opportunity to really showcase the role that ethnic Australians, particularly of Chinese origin played in the nationbuilding program in Australia and I think quite often through the historical examination of Australia, it tends to be viewed for very Caucasian men.
LAM: Have you appraoched the tv producers?
MAKEHAM: No, we have not directly, but I guess by virtue of the fact that we've had this media attention and that this story has been brought to the public attention, that in itself has been an approached form.
LAM: Well, the producers say the could not find a 60 year-old Chinese actor to play the role. Do you think they did not look hard enough?
MAKEHAM: I think it is a fairly dubious claim that they were not able to find a 60 year-old Chinese-Australian actor. To answer your question I would say yes, I do not think they did look hard enough. There certainly is enough Chinese-Australian actors out there to fill such an amazing opportunity.
LAM: Has anyone actually stepped up to the plate, as it were, and told the producers, hey look, I'm an actor, I'm Asian, I'm available?
MAKEHAM: Well it's interesting, to my direct knowledge no, but reading a lot of the blog comments and a lot of the feedback from people on the internet after seeing the article, there have been a lot of Chinese-Australian actors that have actually said I would have done this role for free. It's a great opportunity to represent ethnic Chinese-Australia in a fantastic story that should be told to the mainstream public.
LAM: And Henry, do you think the producers might be pandering to popular taste - after all, there aren't that many asians on Australian television?
MAKEHAM: Yeah, and that is one of the problems that has sprung to mind when I first heard this story, that there is potentially a stereo type of the classic ANZAC hero and I think there is a risk here that could be perceived, that this opportunity was lost in that sense that the pandered to the stereo type and that it was somewhat of an easy option out and perhaps there is also the thought that perhaps they thought they would get greater ratings by having a Caucasian actor there.
LAM: And of course the Caucasian ANZAC hero is an Aussie icon. Have you made any representation to the RSL, the Returned Services League that looks after former soldiers interests?
MAKEHAM: No we haven't, but this is something that we look forward to following up.
LAM: And do you think the producers are disrespecting true Chinese-Australian hero by casting a Caucasian in the role?
MAKEHAM: Mmm, yes, I think disrespecting is quite a strong word. I suppose firstly I want to emphasis that I do not think they are being racist or there is any malice involved, but there has been somewhat a lack of consideration with respect to the casting and I think what makes the issue somewhat more dubious, is that the director used his son, Josh, to be the lead character and I think that has tended to stimulate a bit of discussion as to whether there was somewhat nepotism involved, so I think that makes the whole situation a bit muddier.
LAM: And what message do you think this casting decision sends out to young people in multicultural Australia?
MAKEHAM: It's disappointing. I think there is a feeling that here was a great opportunity to highlight the role of ethnic Australians and the Australian nation building process, particularly a moment that is sensitive and is sacred in the Australian psyche as Gallipoli and the ANZAC spirit. So I think it sends a message of disappointment that to an extent there is a neglect of the acknowledgment of the role that we have played in Australia's nation building process.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Wheelchair lawyer Jude Lee sues Jetstar
From News
A WHEELCHAIR-bound Darwin lawyer is suing Jetstar for discriminating against him.
The Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commissioner has determined that Jude Lee has a case against the airline for making him feel like "troublesome baggage" on two separate occasions.
In documents obtained by the Northern Territory News, Mr Lee alleges that Jetstar failed to accommodate his special need and that it treated him in a less favourable manner because of his impairment, The Northern Territory News reports.
Mr Lee is a quadraplegic.
He has alleged he was told he would not be allowed to fly from Darwin to Melbourne in August last year because Jetstar's records did not say he was a "wheelchair passenger".
He said the plane had not been parked at an aerobridge and a female staff member told him the lift was broken.
A male staff member lifted him on to the plane.
Mr Lee also alleged that in January last year when boarding a flight from Singapore to Darwin he was also told he would not be allowed to board the flight - after he had checked in and was waiting at the gate - because staff did not have an aisle wheelchair.
He was again lifted on to the plane instead.
In Jetstar's response to the complaint, the airline said it agreed with Mr Lee's factual allegations, but did not agree it was in breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act.
"Given the nature of its operations, Jetstar does not have the systems, staff or facilities to provide the same level of special assistance to its passengers as provided by full cost carriers," Jetstar's reply said.
Mr Lee said he has to fly regularly for work and personal reasons, and does not have a lot of choice with airlines.
"I find myself embarrassed, harassed and having to constantly plead my case with improperly trained Jetstar staff just for the right to be treated equally and to simply board its planes almost every time I travel with Jetstar," he said in his complaint.
Speaking outside court, Jetstar head of Corporate Relations, Simon Westaway, said the airline regularly reviewed its policies and procedures to ensure that it was complying with discrimination legislation.
He said Jetstar carried more than 500 customers who use a wheelchair each week.
A WHEELCHAIR-bound Darwin lawyer is suing Jetstar for discriminating against him.
The Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commissioner has determined that Jude Lee has a case against the airline for making him feel like "troublesome baggage" on two separate occasions.
In documents obtained by the Northern Territory News, Mr Lee alleges that Jetstar failed to accommodate his special need and that it treated him in a less favourable manner because of his impairment, The Northern Territory News reports.
Mr Lee is a quadraplegic.
He has alleged he was told he would not be allowed to fly from Darwin to Melbourne in August last year because Jetstar's records did not say he was a "wheelchair passenger".
He said the plane had not been parked at an aerobridge and a female staff member told him the lift was broken.
A male staff member lifted him on to the plane.
Mr Lee also alleged that in January last year when boarding a flight from Singapore to Darwin he was also told he would not be allowed to board the flight - after he had checked in and was waiting at the gate - because staff did not have an aisle wheelchair.
He was again lifted on to the plane instead.
In Jetstar's response to the complaint, the airline said it agreed with Mr Lee's factual allegations, but did not agree it was in breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act.
"Given the nature of its operations, Jetstar does not have the systems, staff or facilities to provide the same level of special assistance to its passengers as provided by full cost carriers," Jetstar's reply said.
Mr Lee said he has to fly regularly for work and personal reasons, and does not have a lot of choice with airlines.
"I find myself embarrassed, harassed and having to constantly plead my case with improperly trained Jetstar staff just for the right to be treated equally and to simply board its planes almost every time I travel with Jetstar," he said in his complaint.
Speaking outside court, Jetstar head of Corporate Relations, Simon Westaway, said the airline regularly reviewed its policies and procedures to ensure that it was complying with discrimination legislation.
He said Jetstar carried more than 500 customers who use a wheelchair each week.
Ninja Fail on Australia's Got Talent
"I was a teacher for 11 years and I gave it up, and now I deliver Chinese food" LMAO
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Chinese Australians angry at Gallipoli TV casting
From da BBC
Don't bother reading as it seems to be a repeat of one of the news.com.au articles
There has been an angry reaction in Australia after television producers cast a Caucasian man in the role of a Chinese-Australian war hero.
Billy Sing was a hero of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I, but a TV drama has him cast as a white man.
The producers say they could not find a 60-year-old Chinese actor to play Billy Sing's father, so both parts will be played by white actors.
They have been accused of re-writing Australian history.
Billy Sing was known as the "Gallipoli assassin", the son of a Chinese man and English woman, who became a hero of the Australian forces during World War I by killing more than 200 enemy troops.
The recipient of a Distinguished Conduct medal, his memory is cherished within the Chinese-Australian community.
That's why there's been such an angry reaction to the decision of the producers of the television mini-series, The Legend of Billy Sing, to cast a white man in the lead.
The director, Geoff Davis, actually picked his son, Josh, to play the role, and defended the decision by saying that he could not find a 60-year-old Chinese actor to play Billy Sing's father.
He therefore decided that both men should be Caucasian.
But Chinese-Australians have complained that young people will now grow up thinking that Billy Sing was white, and that is a betrayal of their heritage.
The head of a Chinese-Australian youth association said that "whiting out" Billy Sing was not only a gross historical misrepresentation but treading on the grave of a true Chinese-Australian hero.
Don't bother reading as it seems to be a repeat of one of the news.com.au articles
There has been an angry reaction in Australia after television producers cast a Caucasian man in the role of a Chinese-Australian war hero.
Billy Sing was a hero of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I, but a TV drama has him cast as a white man.
The producers say they could not find a 60-year-old Chinese actor to play Billy Sing's father, so both parts will be played by white actors.
They have been accused of re-writing Australian history.
Billy Sing was known as the "Gallipoli assassin", the son of a Chinese man and English woman, who became a hero of the Australian forces during World War I by killing more than 200 enemy troops.
The recipient of a Distinguished Conduct medal, his memory is cherished within the Chinese-Australian community.
That's why there's been such an angry reaction to the decision of the producers of the television mini-series, The Legend of Billy Sing, to cast a white man in the lead.
The director, Geoff Davis, actually picked his son, Josh, to play the role, and defended the decision by saying that he could not find a 60-year-old Chinese actor to play Billy Sing's father.
He therefore decided that both men should be Caucasian.
But Chinese-Australians have complained that young people will now grow up thinking that Billy Sing was white, and that is a betrayal of their heritage.
The head of a Chinese-Australian youth association said that "whiting out" Billy Sing was not only a gross historical misrepresentation but treading on the grave of a true Chinese-Australian hero.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Australia, Be Warned! - Anti-conscription leaflet
Be careful white girls, if you get jiggy with a "Chinaman" you may produce a ...... BILLY SING!
Join the Asian ANZACs facebook page.
AUSTRALIA, BE WARNED!
CHINESE INVASION
ATTRACTED BY MUNITION AND THE GIRLS
With the growing number of Chinamen who settle in English cities for employment at munition works, and who, in many instances, entice girls to marry them, ther in increasing anxiety amongst social workers.
"In Liverpool there is a floating population of 40,000 or 50,000, and a recognised colony, and it has just been ascertained that hundreds of Orientals have taken up quarters in Manchester and Birmingham.
"What usually happens is that one enterprising Chinaman first takes a large house and makes aliving by letting accomodation to his compatriots.
"Willing to work for comparatively small wages, the Orientals have little difficulty in finding employment, and while their presence is resented by English workers, employers have lodged singularly few complaints against them.
"The danger arising from their marriage to English girls is likely to show itself more and more; but social workers have to recognise that, if the parents of the brides do not interfere, no one else has any right to do so. It is, therefore difficult to find a solution to the problem.
""We might, at any rate," says a prominent member of the London Missionary Society,'save ourselves the trouble of sending missionaries all the way to China when there is need for evangelisation among Chinese in this country."
-Extract from the "Empire News," Manchester, September 23rd, 1917.
[Authorised by Jessie Baines, and Published by the Anti-Conscription Campaign Committee, Trades Hall Melbourne'.]
Join the Asian ANZACs facebook page.
AUSTRALIA, BE WARNED!
CHINESE INVASION
ATTRACTED BY MUNITION AND THE GIRLS
With the growing number of Chinamen who settle in English cities for employment at munition works, and who, in many instances, entice girls to marry them, ther in increasing anxiety amongst social workers.
"In Liverpool there is a floating population of 40,000 or 50,000, and a recognised colony, and it has just been ascertained that hundreds of Orientals have taken up quarters in Manchester and Birmingham.
"What usually happens is that one enterprising Chinaman first takes a large house and makes aliving by letting accomodation to his compatriots.
"Willing to work for comparatively small wages, the Orientals have little difficulty in finding employment, and while their presence is resented by English workers, employers have lodged singularly few complaints against them.
"The danger arising from their marriage to English girls is likely to show itself more and more; but social workers have to recognise that, if the parents of the brides do not interfere, no one else has any right to do so. It is, therefore difficult to find a solution to the problem.
""We might, at any rate," says a prominent member of the London Missionary Society,'save ourselves the trouble of sending missionaries all the way to China when there is need for evangelisation among Chinese in this country."
-Extract from the "Empire News," Manchester, September 23rd, 1917.
Preserve the White Race
Vote NO
[Authorised by Jessie Baines, and Published by the Anti-Conscription Campaign Committee, Trades Hall Melbourne'.]
Thursday, May 6, 2010
My response to The Legend of Billy Sing Casting Controversy
Wow, it seems that many people are sitting up and taking note of the poor casting of this miniseries. Geoff Davis posted a reply to my original post months ago but I hadn't bothered to reply because I didn't want to give the series undue attention. Seeing that an article discussing the series was on the front page of news.com.au, I feel it is time that I took Geoff to task over his comments in defense of the series. Geoff has actually deleted a lot of negative comments about the miniseries on the youtube movie trailer.
Note that Geoff has made his group The Legend of Billy Sing group private now, but I still have a copy of his reply.
Geoff writes:
"In actual fact I wrote this ... and your anger seems directed at a script that you have not read and a movie you haven't seen.
All OK up to here.
When I said you were no Band of Brothers I was alluding to the fact that you disposed of historical accuracy, for what exactly?
For this particular case, you didn't need a professional actor. I believe it would have been a minor role anyway. How many Australian films have we had where the actors weren't professional actors? Take a look at Samson and Delilah, top notch performances by people with no acting experience. The grandma acted quite well too hey? Oh and just like this series, the film had "zero budget".
How thoughful of you. Wait a sec, first you say that you didn't want Tony playing as a Chinese because it was racist and demeaning, but then you mention that it would be too expensive? So you did consider yellowface but decided against it because it was too expensive and not because it was racist and demeaning?
Now we're getting somewhere closer to the truth.
"The fact of that matter is if you want to highlight Australia's century long habit of sending troops to wars that ostensibly (naively) have nothing to do with Australia, then you didn't need to pick Billy Sing's story. You could have picked any of a number of famous rags to warriors tales from our military past. And with so much production downtime, you had plenty of opportunity to rewrite. But then you'd miss the sucker punch of Billy Sing.
The problem is it becomes a blatant attempt to use the inspiring and popular story of an Australian war hero for a cause that although worthy, overlooks events that could have equally as much, if not more impact for the storyline, had it retained more of the true Sing story. "
Join the Asian ANZACs facebook page.
You may also like to read about Caleb Shang.
Note that Geoff has made his group The Legend of Billy Sing group private now, but I still have a copy of his reply.
Geoff writes:
"In actual fact I wrote this ... and your anger seems directed at a script that you have not read and a movie you haven't seen.
Can I at least give you some information to consider.
One purpose of the original script was to attack Australia's century old tendency to go off and fight foreign wars on behalf of foreign leaders who do not have Australia's interest at heart. We have done it in World War 1, we did it in Korea, in Vietnam and again in Iraq.
When Australia returns from these dubious wars the first people we seem to forget are our soldiers. These soldiers have historically been left to deal with their pain and injury with very little assistance or recognition. The typical complaint by returnees is that they have been abandoned.
It was my intention, with the original script, to make a commercial movie that highlighted the sadness I felt for these soldiers. It is not a script that was meant to criticize any other nation, neither Britain, Germany or Turkey and certainly not Asia. It is a script written by me, an Australian, that criticizes Australia's slavish devotion to other countries agendas. It was my opinion wrapped in a hopefully commercial story."
All OK up to here.
In researching the history of Australia in the years leading up to the war I found some very real characters, including Billy, who fit the story I wanted to tell.
The only problem in using parts of Billy's remarkable story was (as one of your posters correctly pointed out) finding a Chinese actor to play Billy's dad, John Sing.
Now it is interesting that you say we are no "Band of Brothers". I couldn't agree more. The budget for that wonderful show was $125 million US dollars ... that is over $US10,000,000 per episode.
When I said you were no Band of Brothers I was alluding to the fact that you disposed of historical accuracy, for what exactly?
We were a zero budget movie with no broadcaster and no government funding. We had a script and a world class cinematographer who had agreed to shoot our movie for us, probably because he wanted to help out a family member who was part of our team, and maybe because he liked the story we were trying to tell. He was available for five weeks in March 2008.
By then, as well as no money we still had no John Sing.
We advertised in all of the online film communities in this country for actors willing to participate for either no payment or at least a deferred payment contract. We received a response from over 250 actors who offered their services under those conditions. We did not receive any response from any Asian actor who would work under any condition.
In March 2008 we decided to defer the home scenes that would involve John Sing's character and went ahead with the war section of the movie. We had hoped that by showing what we could do with the action sequences we might attract some investment and enable us to shoot the home scenes later with some money to work with.
That worked to a small extent. We still have no broadcaster but we did attract some smaller (passionate) investors who contributed around $190,000 to allow us to continue.
In February 2009 our Cinematographer was available, again, for four weeks, we also had our little bit of money.
By February 2009 we had been looking for over 15 months for an Asian actor willing to play John on (at least) a deferred payment contract.
You had that much time and you couldn't find an Asian actor between the ages of 40-70? Where were you looking and advertising? If after a few months your casting agency had put forward zero candidates, did you not think it would be good to think outside of the box and go looking at various Chinese organisations or at the very least other Asian organisations? Put an ad in Chinese newspapers? There are quite a few Old Chinese families (as in 3rd/4th generation Australians) in the area where you were filming, did you ever think to ask them?
For this particular case, you didn't need a professional actor. I believe it would have been a minor role anyway. How many Australian films have we had where the actors weren't professional actors? Take a look at Samson and Delilah, top notch performances by people with no acting experience. The grandma acted quite well too hey? Oh and just like this series, the film had "zero budget".
When Tony Bonner, made himself available for two weeks, we gave up the search. Now asking Tony to play it as Chinese would not only have been racist and demeaning. It was also financially irrelevant, we could not have afforded the make-up.
How thoughful of you. Wait a sec, first you say that you didn't want Tony playing as a Chinese because it was racist and demeaning, but then you mention that it would be too expensive? So you did consider yellowface but decided against it because it was too expensive and not because it was racist and demeaning?
That is the history behind the decision on the role of John Sing. I believe if I had not accepted Tony's very generous offer to participate I would still be waiting for an actor for John. The fact is Tony was brilliant in the story and might help get us a broadcast deal.
Now we're getting somewhere closer to the truth.
Just a few more things I would like to point out
Firstly, with regards to Billy and the other dozen or so very real characters from that period whose stories we have borrowed, we have always tried to make it clear that this story is a combination of fact and fiction and is not a literal telling of Billy's life. This is a convention both legal and acceptable in literature and film. It has been employed by writers and film makers from the birth of Hollywood. How many "Legends of Wyatt Earp" has there been, how many "Legends of Robin Hood"? Not one of the last three Hollywood Robin Hoods was English born.
You sir are a douche. A relic of the White Australia days. Do you remember the White Australia days? How was it for you, good/normal? Now try to imagine, or if you have no imagination do some research on the real life experiences of Asians and half-Asians during those times. The eurasians of those days were treated just as poorly as their Chinese fathers, so what if their mother was white. Do you know that if Billy had tried to enlist in his hometown, where everyone knew of his heritage that he may have not have had the chance to fight in the war at all? You seem to have no problems white-washing an Australian of Asian heritage, which luckily for you means you don't have to look at the implications of the White Australia Policy. Cherrypick from history and make it white.
The example you have given above is crap. All the actors playing Robin Hood are WHITE. Are you saying that because you have a creative license you can take the character of Billy and do whatever you like? You can, at the expense of historical accuracy and credibility. But it means we as a community can criticise and give you shit about it.
Second with regards to the incredible man Billy Sing. I personally see him as first and foremost an Australian. He was no more English (as was his very English mother) than he was Chinese (as was his very Chinese father).
We (Asian Australians) all see ourselves as Australians. When you say "Australian" you really mean "white Australian". Go look up the White Australia Policy to see why we don't use terms like English-Australian, Irish-Australian, Welsh-Australian etc. In fact John Simpson, the guy with the donkey, was born overseas and grew up overseas and had only lived in Australia for 4 years before signing up for the war because he HATED Australia and thought he'd get a free trip back to his beloved England. Even Simpson would have been considered more Australian than Billy.
He was born in Clermont and raised around Proserpine, he played cricket and hunted kangaroo, he spoke only English with a very broad Australian accent. Whatever racism he may have confronted in his life he defeated with the resilience, the toughness and the tolerance he took to Gallipoli.
Conveniently omitted as a non-event from the series.
He was, like many of us whose predecessors arrived here in the last two hundred years, someone who only knew this country as his home. I would disagree with anyone who suggested that he saw himself as anything other than Australian.
Most importantly, I see Billy as a true hero that was abandoned, even betrayed. by his own country. I have done my best to honor him. He deserves it.
Thanks for reading.
Regards
Geoff"
Note also that Geoff Davis gave the role of Billy Sing to.....his own son Josh Davis! Fair enough, his son's an actor but it does lead me to ask was this nepotism? Did Geoff audition any other actors to play Billy? Did Geoff audition any eurasian actors to play Billy? Did Geoff give the role of Billy's father to Tony Bonner because of nepotism?
Below are my replies to various reader comments posted on the news.com.au article.
Weiry of Melbourne Posted at 11:30 AM Today
Have any of the people complaining about this ever seen a picture of Billy Sing? He didn't exactly look like he was of Chinese origin. He looked more caucasian than anything else. Had they cast an asian looking actor it would have been a misrepresentation as well.Comment 5 of 235
I don't have a problem with a white actor playing Billy, though I would prefer an eurasian. Regardless of whether he looked of Chinese origin, he is of Chinese origin. No I don't think he looks caucasian, he looks mixed.
I agree with this comment posted on another forum:
"The fact of that matter is if you want to highlight Australia's century long habit of sending troops to wars that ostensibly (naively) have nothing to do with Australia, then you didn't need to pick Billy Sing's story. You could have picked any of a number of famous rags to warriors tales from our military past. And with so much production downtime, you had plenty of opportunity to rewrite. But then you'd miss the sucker punch of Billy Sing.
The problem is it becomes a blatant attempt to use the inspiring and popular story of an Australian war hero for a cause that although worthy, overlooks events that could have equally as much, if not more impact for the storyline, had it retained more of the true Sing story. "
Join the Asian ANZACs facebook page.
You may also like to read about Caleb Shang.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Director slammed for 'white-out' of legendary Gallipoli sniper Billy Sing
I haven't written a response to Geoff Davis' comments to my original post as the series had not been taken up by any commercial channel. But seeing as this article will give the series more attention I will soon post a reply to his comments. Note below that he states "we could not have afforded the make-up" when referring to the possibility of making Tony Chinese. He considered YELLOWFACE but instead opted for RACEBENDING! Well I would have too, there just aren't any Asian looking people in Australia, y'know?
Read the comments from the news.com.au article.
From The Australian
A FURORE has erupted over a new mini-series about the deadliest sniper at Gallipoli, Chinese-Australian Billy Sing, who is played by a white.
This portrayal in the The Legend of Billy Sing has been attacked by Australians of Chinese ancestry as a betrayal of their heritage, robbing them of a rare historic hero.
Director Geoff Davis has cast his son Josh in the lead role, while Sing's Chinese father is played by the veteran actor Tony Bonner, who came to prominence as a blond-haired helicopter pilot in the Skippy TV series.
Sing, born in 1886 at Clermont, Queensland, to a Shanghainese father and an English mother, moved as a young man to the canefields of Proserpine, where he became a keen cricketer, kangaroo hunter and a crack member of the local rifle club.
He enlisted as a trooper in the 5th Light Horse Regiment, and became celebrated as "the Assassin" at Gallipoli, where he had 201 confirmed kills, winning the Distinguished Conduct Medal, second only to the Victoria Cross. His sniping "spotter", Ion Idriess, later a successful writer, described how the Turks sent their champion sniper "Abdul the Terrible" to hunt him down, but Sing shot Abdul first. Former Nationals senator Bill O'Chee, who became an army reservist when he left parliament in 1999 and was born to a Chinese father and an Irish-Australian mother, was "deeply disappointed" by the production.
"We'll now have people growing up thinking Billy Sing was white. But we are jealous of his memory," he said. Federal Queensland Liberal MP Don Cameron, who found the site of the South Brisbane boarding house where Sing died in 1943 with five shillings on his bedside, said it was "tragically wrong" to have the sniper played by a white.
"It is plain wrong. I congratulate the filmmakers for doing the story, but condemn them for being so careless with the truth."
Davis said the problem in casting Sing as a Chinese-Australian arose when he couldn't find a 60-year-old Chinese actor to play his father.
"Asking Tony to play it as Chinese would not only have been racist and demeaning. It was also financially irrelevant -- we could not have afforded the make-up," he said. "Whatever his genetic background, his culture was Australian. To me, he's very representative of every Australian whose parents were not born here.
"A lot of people are sitting at the back of this bus attacking the driver. A lot of people feel they own the story of Billy Sing. But they've probably got more resources than me -- if they want to tell that story, then tell it."
Davis said his critics misunderstood his intention to "create a fictional story validated by having people perform true deeds, in the tradition of the historical novel".
Damien Beebe, who has worked on films including Moulin Rouge and Mission Impossible, has been enlisted as director of photography, and Andrew Knight, of Sea Change, as a producer.
The cast comprises largely unknown actors, who will be paid only if the films -- a three-part mini-series of 90 minutes each -- make money. He had run out of money to complete the series.
Australia China Youth Association president Henry Makeham said Australian Asians lacked prominent role models.
"To 'white-out' Billy Sing with a caucasian face is not only a gross historical misrepresentation, it is treading on the grave of a true Chinese-Australian hero," he said.
For more news headlines that may not be posted on the Asians Down Under blog, visit the facebook page.
You may also like to read about Caleb Shang.
Read the comments from the news.com.au article.
From The Australian
A FURORE has erupted over a new mini-series about the deadliest sniper at Gallipoli, Chinese-Australian Billy Sing, who is played by a white.
This portrayal in the The Legend of Billy Sing has been attacked by Australians of Chinese ancestry as a betrayal of their heritage, robbing them of a rare historic hero.
Director Geoff Davis has cast his son Josh in the lead role, while Sing's Chinese father is played by the veteran actor Tony Bonner, who came to prominence as a blond-haired helicopter pilot in the Skippy TV series.
Sing, born in 1886 at Clermont, Queensland, to a Shanghainese father and an English mother, moved as a young man to the canefields of Proserpine, where he became a keen cricketer, kangaroo hunter and a crack member of the local rifle club.
He enlisted as a trooper in the 5th Light Horse Regiment, and became celebrated as "the Assassin" at Gallipoli, where he had 201 confirmed kills, winning the Distinguished Conduct Medal, second only to the Victoria Cross. His sniping "spotter", Ion Idriess, later a successful writer, described how the Turks sent their champion sniper "Abdul the Terrible" to hunt him down, but Sing shot Abdul first. Former Nationals senator Bill O'Chee, who became an army reservist when he left parliament in 1999 and was born to a Chinese father and an Irish-Australian mother, was "deeply disappointed" by the production.
"We'll now have people growing up thinking Billy Sing was white. But we are jealous of his memory," he said. Federal Queensland Liberal MP Don Cameron, who found the site of the South Brisbane boarding house where Sing died in 1943 with five shillings on his bedside, said it was "tragically wrong" to have the sniper played by a white.
"It is plain wrong. I congratulate the filmmakers for doing the story, but condemn them for being so careless with the truth."
Davis said the problem in casting Sing as a Chinese-Australian arose when he couldn't find a 60-year-old Chinese actor to play his father.
"Asking Tony to play it as Chinese would not only have been racist and demeaning. It was also financially irrelevant -- we could not have afforded the make-up," he said. "Whatever his genetic background, his culture was Australian. To me, he's very representative of every Australian whose parents were not born here.
"A lot of people are sitting at the back of this bus attacking the driver. A lot of people feel they own the story of Billy Sing. But they've probably got more resources than me -- if they want to tell that story, then tell it."
Davis said his critics misunderstood his intention to "create a fictional story validated by having people perform true deeds, in the tradition of the historical novel".
Damien Beebe, who has worked on films including Moulin Rouge and Mission Impossible, has been enlisted as director of photography, and Andrew Knight, of Sea Change, as a producer.
The cast comprises largely unknown actors, who will be paid only if the films -- a three-part mini-series of 90 minutes each -- make money. He had run out of money to complete the series.
Australia China Youth Association president Henry Makeham said Australian Asians lacked prominent role models.
"To 'white-out' Billy Sing with a caucasian face is not only a gross historical misrepresentation, it is treading on the grave of a true Chinese-Australian hero," he said.
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