# So Michael Jackson, Liz Taylor, and Marlon Brando walk into a bar... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322 "2016-01-27T00:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/1 "2016-01-27T00:26:38Z")
How do you know when you’re being trolled? [Joseph Fiennes to play Michael Jackson in 9/11 road-trip drama](http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/26/joseph-fiennes-michael-jackson-9-11-road-trip-sky-arts) > [@](#): > > After being originally announced in December, Fiennes has now described the script as “a challenge”, adding: “It’s a fun, lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek road trip of what celebrity of that kind is like. But also it’s rather beautiful and poignant about their relationships.” I can’t imagine what the challenge was. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/2 "2016-01-27T00:28:24Z")
The dance moves, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/3 "2016-01-27T00:37:03Z")
Obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/4 "2016-01-27T14:23:49Z")
Merge this thread with the one where people are arguing if Steve Jobs can be played by a black guy, and let the heads explode. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/5 "2016-01-27T14:35:58Z")
Well, if Bob Dylan can be portrayed by a woman… ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/6 "2016-01-27T15:54:53Z")
Well, Michael Jackson \*was \*whiter than most white people… ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/7 "2016-01-27T19:05:37Z")
I was actually about to start a thread about this very article. The premise sounds like something your S.O. might utter in a Nyquil-induced delirium. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/8 "2016-01-27T19:16:02Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Merge this thread with the one where people are arguing if Steve Jobs can be played by a black guy, and let the heads explode. 🙂 Ossie Davis once played JFK, and his portrayal was brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/9 "2016-01-27T20:24:12Z")
> [@piepiepie](#): > > I can’t imagine what the challenge was. Getting the nose right. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/10 "2016-01-27T21:21:13Z")
dl ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/11 "2016-01-27T21:24:12Z")
No! That’s ignorant! > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Ossie Davis once played JFK, and his portrayal was brilliant. If he were still alive, MJ could play Bubba, and just think of the makeup savings! > [@panache45](#): > > Getting the nose right. :eek: Thanks to [Ghostface Killah](http://www.nme.com/news/wu-tang-clan-0/91025), I now know who can pull off the nose: [Martin Shkreli](https://www.google.com/search?q=Martin+Shkreli&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVgMnU9srKAhVEzmMKHe9RC54Q_AUICSgD&biw=1920&bih=943#imgrc=DZeErOM2DQZmCM%3A). ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/12 "2016-01-27T21:31:32Z")
Octavia Spencer will be a fabulous Elizabeth Taylor and Chow Yun Fat is already being touted as the definitive Brando. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/13 "2016-01-27T22:19:52Z")
It is a bizarre casting. It sounds like a fake story that The Onion or something would put up to make fun of whitewashed casting. A good show could be made of that roadtrip, but I don’t know why you would cast Joseph Fiennes. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Well, Michael Jackson \*was \*whiter than most white people… But it’s not like Joseph Fiennes otherwise looks anything like Michael Jackson. Why would color shade be the main criteria for casting? > [@Sampiro](#): > > Octavia Spencer will be a fabulous Elizabeth Taylor and Chow Yun Fat is already being touted as the definitive Brando. I would definitely want to see that. Or I saw Orlando Jones tweet that he’s okay with Fiennes being Jackson if Angela Bassett plays Elizabeth Taylor, which is another perfect casting to me. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/14 "2016-01-27T22:21:09Z")
Fiennes really needs to rethink this one. This could be for him what _Mommie Dearest_ was for Faye Dunaway. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/15 "2016-01-28T00:47:25Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Getting the nose right. :eek: Truth in biography! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/16 "2016-01-28T14:05:38Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > Or I saw Orlando Jones tweet that he’s okay with Fiennes being Jackson if Angela Bassett plays Elizabeth Taylor, which is another perfect casting to me. Seems that “race trading” pretty much nullifies the idea that “No reason why Person X can’t play Race Y”. If you believe that, why would you only be “okay” with it if it’s a 1:1 swap? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/17 "2016-01-28T15:38:49Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Fiennes really needs to rethink this one. This could be for him what _Mommie Dearest_ was for Faye Dunaway. Did Mommie Dearest majorly hurt Dunaway’s career? I wasn’t aware of that, but that was a little before my time. Anyway, this isn’t a movie, it’s apparently a one-off 30 minute British TV show. It’s possible it won’t even be shown in the US, although maybe Netflix or some smaller network might pick it up. If it was a movie, I could see it maybe being a bad thing for Fiennes, and him becoming a major symbol of whitewashed casting, but since it’s just a British TV special, it’s possible it’ll be mostly forgotten soon enough. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Seems that “race trading” pretty much nullifies the idea that “No reason why Person X can’t play Race Y”. If you believe that, why would you only be “okay” with it if it’s a 1:1 swap? It’s not like there should be quotas for each TV show or movie, or even studio wide. There’s nothing specifically wrong with a movie or TV show that is casted with majority or all white actors. But the issue is when it keeps happening again and again. I do want more diversity in TV shows and movies, so if “race trading” like you say would do it, then yes I’d be okay with that. I’d prefer that to just having a lot of white characters in everything, and even the non-white characters played by white actors. I’m not outraged or anything that Fiennes was cast as Michael Jackson, it’s more like an eye roll. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/18 "2016-01-29T02:24:53Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Well, Michael Jackson \*was \*whiter than most white people… True dat. Later day MJ wasn’t something that could really be accurately portrayed by anyone, regardless of race, without some major prosthetics and/or makeup work. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-michael-jackson-liz-taylor-and-marlon-brando-walk-into-a-bar/744322/19 "2016-01-29T04:14:30Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Getting the nose right. :eek: Well, Ralph Fiennes played Voldemort, a man with essentially no nose. Now his younger brother wants to try doing a similar thing.