Cameron Crowe Apologizes For Casting Emma Stone  As Allison Ng In ‘Aloha’

Cameron Crowe has taken full responsibility for casting Emma Stone in the part of Asian-American Allison Ng in his critically panned new film Aloha.

Cameron Crowe Apologizes For Casting Emma Stone

After being on the receiving end of ample criticism for casting Stone in the role of the daughter of a half-Chinese and half-Hawaiian father, Crowe took to his website, The Uncool, to address the controversy.

“Thank you so much for all the impassioned comments regarding the casting of the wonderful Emma Stone in the part of Allison Ng,” Crowe wrote. “I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice.”

“As far back as 2007, Captain Allison Ng was written to be a super-proud ¼ Hawaiian who was frustrated that, by all outward appearances, she looked nothing like one,” Crowe explained. “A half-Chinese father was meant to show the surprising mix of cultures often prevalent in Hawaii.”

Further justifying his casting of Stone, Crowe said that while an actual Asian-American was not cast in the part of Allison Ng, he did hire a number of Hawaiian locals to take part in production. He also said that he had locals advising him on Aloha‘s script to “help ensure authenticity.”

“We were extremely proud to present the island, the locals and the film community with many jobs for over four months,” Crowe wrote. “Emma Stone was chief among those who did tireless research, and if any part of her fine characterization has caused consternation and controversy, I am the one to blame.”

At the start of Crowe’s letter of apology is perhaps the most telling passage, in which the filmmaker reveals his belief that the film was “misunderstood” from the beginning.

“From the very beginning of its appearance in the Sony Hack, Aloha has felt like a misunderstood movie. One that people felt they knew a lot about, but in fact they knew very little,” he wrote. “It was a small movie, made by passionate actors who wanted to join me in making a film about Hawaii, and the lives of these characters who live and work in and around the island of Oahu.”