Cyberstantinople, lol, that'd be great. Having just finished the journey that is the 1966 War & Peace film, a cyber-punk Russia would be amazing too.
Anyway, I think the most annoying part of all this to me are the people on my own side. Being an African-American male I'm completely against white-washing in Hollywood. But, moreso for the reasons Aohige stated. It's not about this particular role, or movie, but about the opportunities for diverse actors in America as a whole. Especially when the reasons tend to often boil down to, "we had to pick a big star to make sure this does well." So, they typically pick a Caucasian star who's been in a bunch of movies, thereby solidifying their brand more, and proving their own thesis. It's a circular argument that can't be fought against if other races are never given roles to become stars in the first place.
The people arguing that GitS has this inherent Japanese-centric story-line, and shouldn't be tainted for that regard, bother me. While I'm admit in the show there's definitely certain tenets specific to Japanese culture, visuals, and I'd even say religious aspects that's completely ignoring the definition of "adaptation". I'm a fan of the show, so I'd like the spirit to generally stay the same, but I was prepared for the westernization it'd need to appeal to larger audiences. Which, being honest, isn't much. They're cyborg police officers. Easy block buster, honestly.
Another reason that the ScarJo casting bothers me, as f'ed up as this is, relates to the prominent fetishisizing going on in America (especially California) about Asian women right now. Pick a cute Asian girl, put her in a leather jacket and leotard, give her guns. That's easy marketing if you ask me.
