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Black 'Romeo & Juliet' star backed by 800+ actors condemning 'racist and misogynistic abuse'

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Black 'Romeo & Juliet' star backed by 800+ actors condemning 'racist and misogynistic abuse'

“We see you.” That’s one message more than 800 Black artists amplified in an open letter supporting “Romeo & Juliet” star Francesca Amewudah-Rivers.

Another message? “The racist and misogynistic abuse directed at such a sweet soul has been too much to bear.”

On Tuesday, British actor Susan Wokoma and writer Somalia Nonyé Seaton published their public response to the online abuse surrounding Amewudah-Rivers and her being cast in an upcoming production of “Romeo & Juliet.” The open letter touts signatures from hundreds of Black actors including Marvel’s Lashana Lynch, “Lovecraft Country” star Wunmi Mosaku and Oscar nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

In late March, Amewudah-Rivers announced on Instagram that she will share the stage opposite “Spider-Man” star Tom Holland in the Jamie Lloyd Company’s production of the William Shakespeare classic. The “Bad Education” actor’s casting was swiftly met with a split reaction in her Instagram comments.

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While some followers voiced excitement for Amewudah-Rivers’ turn as Juliet Capulet (“This is incredible Fran! So so proud of you”), others weren’t as thrilled.

In the comments section, some trolls wrote that Amewudah-Rivers “is the worst casting ever for Juliet,” while another retorted, “but the character is white.” While a couple of critics opted to use vomiting emojis to express their opinions, another used a racial slur in their twist on the play’s title.

More than a week after Amewudah-Rivers’s social media announcement, the Jamie Lloyd Company released a statement condemning the “barrage of deplorable racial abuse online.” The missive did not name Amewudah-Rivers, but confirmed the comments were toward a “member of our company.”

“This must stop,” the missive said.

The company praised its “remarkable” cast, said it would provide support and protection to its company “at all costs,” and wrote that it had no tolerance for abuse. The production of “Romeo & Juliet” will continue to move forward, the statement said.

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Tuesday’s open letter slams the “twisted, ugly abuse,” noting that Black actors — specifically Black women — are often subjected to racial abuse online after securing a “job on their own.” In recent years, Lynch, Halle Bailey and Yara Shahidi are among the Black actors who have been subjected to racist trolls when they were cast in high-profile roles.

Wokoma, Seaton and hundreds of signatories also called on the Jamie Lloyd Company to extend further support for Amewudah-Rivers, adding that “reporting is too often left on the shoulders of the abused who are also then expected to promote said show.”

The open letter ends by directly addressing Amewudah-Rivers and other Black women actors who have experienced the “traumatic hurdle of misogynoir” while pursuing their craft. The letter also encouraged Amewudah-Rivers to take in the “joy” of her “Romeo & Juliet” role.

“Every tongue that rises up against you will fall,” the statement said, before sending a parting note to Amewudah-Rivers’s critics. “And to the keyboard warriors who feel discomfort in Our visibility, cry on the internet all you want, but We are here to stay.”

“Romeo & Juliet,” directed by Lloyd, begins its 12-week run in May at Duke of York’s Theatre in London.

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A representative for Amewudah-Rivers did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Tuesday.

Movie Reviews

Miyamoto says he was surprised Mario Galaxy Movie reviews were even harsher than the first | VGC

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Miyamoto says he was surprised Mario Galaxy Movie reviews were even harsher than the first | VGC

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto says he’s surprised at the negative critical reception to the Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

As reported by Famitsu, Miyamoto conducted a group interview with Japanese media to mark the local release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

During the interview, Miyamoto was asked for his views on the critical reception to the film in the West, where critics’ reviews have been mostly negative.

Miyamoto replied that while he understood some of the negative points aimed at The Super Mario Bros Movie, he thought the reception would be better for the sequel.

“It’s true: the situation is indeed very similar,” he said. “Actually, regarding the previous film, I felt that the critics’ opinions did hold some validity. “However, I thought things would be different this time around—only to find that the criticism is even harsher than it was before.

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“It really is quite baffling: here we are—having crossed over from a different field—working hard with the specific aim of helping to revitalize the film industry, yet the very people who ought to be championing that cause seem to be the ones taking a passive stance.”

As was the case with the first film, opinion is divided between critics and the public on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. On review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a critics’ score of 43% , while its audience score is 89%.

Shigeru Miyamoto says he was surprised by Mario Galaxy Movie reviews.

While this is down from the first film’s scores (which were 59% critics and 95% public) it does still appear to imply that the film’s target audience is generally enjoying it despite critical negativity.

The negative reception is unlikely to bother Universal and Illumination too much, considering the film currently has a global box office of $752 million before even releasing in Japan, meaning a $1 billion global gross is becoming increasingly likely.

Elsewhere in the interview, Miyamoto said he hoped the film would perform well in Japan, especially because it has a unique script rather than a simple localization as in other regions.

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“The Japanese version is a bit unique,” he said. “Normally, we create an English version and then localize it for each country, but for the first film, we developed the English and Japanese scripts simultaneously. For this film, we didn’t simply localize the completed English version – instead, we rewrote it entirely in Japanese to create a special Japanese version.

“So, if this doesn’t become a hit in Japan, I feel a sense of pressure – as the person in charge of the Japanese version – to not let [Illumination CEO and film co-producer] Chris [Meledandri] down.

“However, judging by the reactions of the audience members who’ve seen it, I feel that Mario fans are really embracing it. I also believe we’ve created a film that people can enjoy even if they haven’t seen the previous one, so I’m hopeful about that as well.”