By PTI
LOS ANGELES: Playwright and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda has expressed regrets over lack of dark-skinned Afro-Latino actors in his musical “In the Heights”.
Directed by Jon M Chu of “Crazy Rich Asians” fame, the Warner Bros movie was launched within the US theatres in addition to streamer HBO Max on June 10.
After the debut, the film was criticised for displaying dark-skinned Afro-Latinos in background and in dance scenes however not in major roles.
In response, Miranda posted a press release on Twitter and admitted that the movie’s group “fell short” in assembly the expectations of the followers.
“I’m seeing the discussion around Afro-Latinx representation in our film this weekend and it is clear that many in our dark-skinned Afro-Latinx community don’t feel sufficiently represented within it, particularly among the leading roles,” Miranda, who has produced the film, wrote.
The Tony-winning playwright pledged that he’ll do higher in representing Afro-Latinos in his future initiatives.
“In trying to paint a mosaic of this community, we fell short.I’m truly sorry,” Miranda mentioned.
He additional mentioned notice that he is “learning from the feedback” coming from the audiences.
“I’m studying from the suggestions, I thanks for elevating it, and I’m listening. I’m making an attempt to carry house for each the unimaginable delight within the film we made and be accountable for our shortcomings.
“I promise to do better in my future projects, and I’m dedicated to the learning and evolving we all have to do to make sure we are honoring our diverse and vibrant community,” Miranda mentioned.
The difficulty blew up when Chu was requested in regards to the lack of dark-skinned Afro-Latino actors within the film throughout an interview with The Root.
“I think that was something we talked about and I needed to be educated about, of course. In the end, when we were looking at the cast, we tried to get the people that were best for those roles,” the director had mentioned.
“I hear you on trying to fill those cast members with darker skin. I think that’s a really good conversation to have and something we should all be talking about,” he added.
