Universal Studios is facing criticism abroad for removing two black actors from the overseas version of the poster for Couples Retreat, reports Britain’s Daily Mail. Stars Faizon Love and Kali Hawk—who appear on the U.S. poster alongside Vince Vaughn, Kristin Davis, Jason Bateman and three other white actors—were left out of the international version “‘to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognisable in international markets,” according to a Universal spokesperson. Responding to criticism from journalists and moviegoers, the studio has agreed to discontinue the controversial poster.
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Comments (1-30) of 71 Add your comment
The studio all but deleted them from the TV spots, so this doesn’t surprise me.
maybe too many faces staring back from the poster will scare away those stiff brits…
As opposed to the American poster where they’re alllll the way in the background.
Lol. Aaron I’m glad you mentioned this because it was the first thing I noticed when I saw the US poster!!!
You do realize that was because that couple is the least important of the movie, right? The poster layers the characters based on name popularity and screen time.
What’s more annoying than racism is when people turn anything involving a black man/woman into a racist problem. The couple barely mattered to the movie. The end.
……..you dolt!!
But the point is, it isn’t ALWAYS about race.
To It’s Not Always About Race: it has nothing to do with the couple being the least important. I guarantee that poster imagery wasn’t only used in England, but probably in other parts of Europe, as well.
London is very multi-cultural, and accepting of black people. So is Portugal. The rest of Europe…not so much. So, someone got lazy in the art department, and probably used one poster image for across the region, changed the language of the copy depending on the country, and did not realize that this kind of nonsense wouldn’t fly in the UK. People were bound to notice. Dumb weasels.
DaTruth82: “London is very multi-cultural, and accepting of black people. So is Portugal. The rest of Europe…not so much.”
Oh, really? You’ve been to every country in Europe? Talked to a good number of the about 700 million people that live here? Sure, there’s plenty of racism to go around, even in the more northern and western parts of Europe, but to insinuate that, outside of England and Portugal, Europe is not accepting of minorities (or black people, as you put it) is just downright simplistic reasoning. Just look at the southern parts of the US (or even the hillbilly parts of Ohio for that matter) if you want to meet people that are not so accepting of minorities. You’ll find racism everywhere. Don’t lump all of Europe together as if it’s one big nation, it shows how uninformed you are.
That is right Karl. DaTruth82 shouldn’t lump all of Europe into one category, but you should do it to the South. That isn’t at all hypocritical.
It wasn’t meant to be hypocritical. I said that to point out that racism happens everywhere. Hence my inclusion of the line: “You’ll find racism everywhere.”
And lets not pretend there’s no racism in the south of the US. I could have listed the rest of the world, too, but my comment was running long enough already.
Exactly! I prefer the British poster to the “back of the bus” American poster. I don’t know how many times I had seen that poster in the subway before I realized black people were in it.
Now that is just plain wrong of Universal.
‘watch online music videos, tv and moveis on defSpot com’
Talk about disrespect. They were great in the movie!
They are not really famous/recognizealbe. I was suprised they were on the US poster in the first place. That they were excluded from the international one doesn’t surprise me, they do stuff like that all the time. I don;t think it has anything to do with race.
Even more depressing…if you go to the comments section of the Daily Mail article, any comment that suggests that thinks it is subtle racism is being rated down. The “most helpful” comments are people telling you to get over it. People all out deny everything.
Well if you have any familiarity with the Daily Mail at all (most Americans don’t), you’ll know that it’s tabloid trash and attracts the lowest common denominator.
I think it’s funny that movie studios, Microsoft, etc. always get caught editing minorities out of European promotions. Trust me, Europe is not just blond-haired, blue-eyed people. It has minorities!
I love that site but I agree- trash mag
If they really wanted to simplify the UK poster, Jean Reno’s name could’ve been left off…especially since his image isn’t featured amongst the other 6 actors who are. Kali Hawk is unknown, but Faizon Love is not and has done a number of features.
Being an Indian from London, I really have to raise my eyebrows when accusations of racism are being thrown around. I was also in London a few weeks ago when they were promoting the film and it was completely different because they were targeting to a different audience!
Yea Universal, Faizon Love is completely “unrecognizable” to international markets right? Faizon has a longer IMDB resume than Malin Akerman!!! Who’s Malin Akerman? Exactly my point!
Her nude scene in Watchmen certainly put Malin Akerman on my radar…and the promise of her in a bikini (given the premise of the movie) is a definite selling point.
…and the poster’s job is selling the movie, right?
ok, but how many people saw Watchmen? i did, and it was a waste of time, it was a horrible movie that was way too long, and her nude scene wasn’t great, so i don’t know what you’re talking about.
if it was about international recognizability, why is it that the other white actors who are relatively unknown weren’t also taken off the poster as well???
To Rachel:
First, Watchmen is one of the best movies/novels ever. To say that it was horrible is a disgrace.
Second, her nude scene was not put in there so that there would be a nude scene. It had actual meaning.
Third, I know several people that went to see CR simply because she was in it, myself included.
Fourth, the black couple was the only couple that had no recognizable face in it. You cannot cut out certain actors/actresses simply because they are not famous in this movie, they come as a couple. You cannot put only Vaughn, Bateman, etc. on there, you have to have the other half of the couple. The job of the poster is to sell the movie; who knew who the black couple was? They were unrecognizable and the least significant couple.
i’ll say it again. WATCHMEN WAS NOT A GOOD MOVIE!!!!
i didn’t know who the other white people were, they could have been taken off the poster too since they were also unrecognizale (that was the “excuse” of universal.)
You know the movie is called “Couples Retreat,” right? So they put the couple with the most bankable star (Vince Vaughn) up front. Then the couples with the more recognizable, marketable names/faces closer to the front. Then the least known, in the back (or left out altogether).
Guess what? It’s not called racism. It’s called ADVERTISING. If Faizon Love’s role had been played by Will Smith, he would have been up front.
Did it ever occur to you people that they’re in the background of the U.S. poster because their characters weren’t as prominent in the film? Why do people like picking at every little thing that might help them stir some controversy. Just get over it!
Don, yanno what Universal billed this movie as? “A comedy centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort …”
So 4 couples are integral to the plot in the US, but NOT in international markets? Cmon, I can understand why Universal cropped out the Black couple, but the “international market” excuse makes no sense in this day and age when there are many markets more diverse than the US. The revamped poster was shown in the UK, which is way more diverse and accepting than the US…so why edit out the Black couple in the UK specifically? In addition, Love has higher billing than Akerman in the US, but not in the UK? its BS, imo
Um…did you see the movie? They are just as prominent as the other 3 couples! In fact its the black girl’s character who runs away and brings the whole storyline to a climax!
I know you’re trying to defend her, but it would really give your perspective a lot more credit if you called the woman, Kali Hawk, by her name, rather than referring to her as “the black girl”. Especially since her name is mentioned several times in the comments and also in the article.
LOL, that’s true.
People keep searching for racism where it doesn’t exist. I completely understand why they left the black couple out – not to be racist, but because the actors who portray them for the most part are unknown to the world. I saw couples retreat and enjoyed it, but I recognized all the actors except for the black couple. Faizon Love may have been around for a while, but looking at his IMDB resume, I barely recognized any of the movies he’s appeared in whereas the other actors, even if their resumes was shorter, had appeared in more prominent works. Universal wasn’t been racist, they were just looking to make money by banking on the bigger names.
Yes. This is reasonable and true. I don’t understand how people can be reading so much into something that isn’t there.
Jenna, you probably don’t understand it because you’re not taking the steps to understand the perspective of the people who feel the most pain from this. I CAN understand your point, though I don’t agree with you. I wonder if you could do the same.
L.R.: If you actually feel “pain” because of the Couples Retreat poster, you are beyond help.
I don’t think it’s deliberate racism so much as it is unfamiliarity with demographics and the assumption that Europeans will relate more to white actors. It just shows ignorance of the European population. Microsoft did something similar when they edited a black man out of a print ad in a Scandinavian country. I don’t think it’s an accident that it’s EUROPEAN markets that get this treatment. It’s easy to think of English, French, German, etc. white people and forget that a lot of Europeans have African, South Asian, East Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. ancestry.
There’s a smart comment. You don’t get too many of those on message boards.
Having lived in the UK and watched a lot of British TV, I see more diversity in British shows than in American ones. British TV/movies also has a lot more interracial relationships than American ones.
I’ve also lived in the UK, and I agree. But I’m not talking about demographic perceptions *within* the UK. I’m talking about how *international, outsider* companies view European countries like the UK. Yes, UK television shows a lot of racial diversity, but do you honestly think that Universal knew that when it made the decision to cut the minorities from its poster?
You make an interesting point. What was Universal thinking when they did this? They had to know that removing the black couple would cause controversy. They also had to know that British TV/movies are way more diverse.
WGAS WGAF the movie sucked.
Those who state it’s not racism but a business decision go back to sleep. Keep to your ignorant bliss. Hollywood has been playing this game for decades. The black characters are not only featured in most of the film but the black couple’s relationship is the catalyst in the story that brings all the other couples together. If you watched the movie you would realize that all the couples are an equal important part of the film. Is this move to remove the couple racist? Yes. Is this story newsworthy? Well that depends on the eye of the beholder. If you live in a fairy tale were racism doesn’t exist then yes…this story should not be about racism. But if you live in the real world where it took Hollywood almost 80 years to recognize the 1st black best actress and best actor…then call a duck a duck because there is a lot of quaking going on!
Honestly, I don’t think you can call this particular Hollywood marketing strategy a race thing. How many times have you seen a preview for a film and then gone to see the actual movie and thought “Wow, I didn’t know that actress/actor/etc. was in this,” simply because they weren’t hyped in the trailer? Just because Faizon Love’s and Kali Hawk’s characters were the catalysts in the story, as you say they are, it does not make them the film’s stars, even if the premise is that “four couples go on a retreat.” The structure of most films wouldn’t allow for there to be eight top-billed stars. I think the real issue, if people want to find one with this film (and I’m sure some do), is why the three white couples are more prominent in the film’s script itself than the fourth-billed black couple. The film’s poster can only reflect what’s onscreen.
Well let’s see…in the 60s when a black artist’s album was featured in the South their image was often excluded from the cover in order to make it more “marketable” to the white southern market. I’m sure you’ll say it’s not the same thing and you might even say that those who were offended by the poster’s exclusion of Faizaon Love and Kali Hawk’s character are just super uber sensitive but there is validation to why some people commenting on this board find this issue an issue. No matter how small it is, the issue is an example of why some people believe that racism may never go away. Scary notion huh?
I keep hearing “they aren’t on the poster because they aren’t famous.” How do you get famous if they don’t put you on the poster? Kristen Bell and Kristen Davis aren’t big movie stars either (neither is Jon Favreau, for that matter), but they’re prominently placed.
Jon F. …it helps when you co-wrte the movie….
The producers must be doing cartwheels over this controversy , giving them one more chance to drum up some bizness for a movie that tanked at the box office and got lousy reviews in general; imdb: 5.5 stars out of 10 . EW critics gave it a B- while not enough readers saw it to justify getting an overall grade.
Didn’t tank at all. Made over 100 million.
I was really surprised how bad the movie was – I’m a huge fan of Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman, and was so excited to see it – but it was rotten!
The black couple was probably only put in the movie to give an appearance of inclusion. The bigger embarrassment was Faizon’s use as the comic relief, fat, naked, jive-talking black guy. Compared to that, not being on a poster is hardly worth calling the NAACP. Speaking of Faizon being unrecognizable, I guess the go-to “comic relief blacks” (Tracy Morgan, Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer) were unavailable.
Racism or no racism, I’m just sorry Couples Retreat is being inflicted upon the UK. On behalf of all Americans, I apologize to any Brits out there.
Wow, the race card being played once AGAIN. What a shock!
So what exactly did you think the article would be about. I guess anytime some racial injustice motive comes into play we can count on you to use the “Wow, the race card being played once AGAIN” card. Something more intelligent pullleeeezzze!
Don’t ask someone to be more intelligent if your entire comment is riddled with grammer and spelling mistakes.
Hmmm…I thought intelligence comes from actual thoughts and not grammer and spelling mistakes.
Fiazon Love is one prime hunk of man. As far as I’m concerned leave everyone else off the poster…
The Daily Mail is itself socially retarded tabloid scum (it likes to publish upskirt photos of celebrities), read by xenophobic morons, so don’t believe anything you read in it.
stop trying to defend Universal’s actions. i see that a lot of you are. so stop the BS. we all know it was based on race and nothing else, that means its called racism.
let me teach you something, racism really does exist, and it won’t stop unless people and companies such as Universal are called on what they do.
this is not the situation to argue that it might be something else. this is blatant. and i feel sorry for you if you’re unable to see that. grow up and open your eyes to what’s really going on here.
Your entire tone throughout that post had me imagining you were a 13-year-old girl with an attitude and a high-pitch voice. If you want people to take you seriously, try presenting yourself better. And it probably wouldn’t hurt if you were arguing a valid point.
i think the point is that trying people should stop trying to act like something isn’t happening when it really is. a valid point was made, and unfortunately, you are the one who is missing it.
“imagining someone as a 13 year old.” there we go again with more stereotyping, the same nonesense that Universal is trying to do with this poster. obviously paige doesn’t understand her actions either.
hey paige, if you want to be taken seriously, stop with the stereotyping, that might help too.
Also to Paige (I hate people who try to belittle others). “Grammer” is spelled Grammar!!!!!!!!!not with an e. Before you present yourself as a grammar guru you first need to know how to spell it. Personal attacks on someone because you don’t agree with them is completely ridiculous.
Earlier this year, Microsoft photo-shopped a black man out of a generic “people at a conference table” kind of ad. They replaced him with a white man’s face (but, ooops, the man’s hands were definetly not Crayola peach).
I guess it goes to show that, yep, in the US we’ve gotta long way toward becoming a culture respectful of all races.
But we’re doing better than a lot of Europe.
Everybody needs to chill. If the actors aren’t complaining why should we? Somebody at the studio screwed up, that’s all and they will fix it.
Sally, maybe the actors aren’t complaining because A) they don’t see all the posters that go out internationally B) they’re getting paid good money by the studios.
Really, get with it.
I see nothing wrong with having less popular/recognized characters having a less prominent role in advertizing posters, but when that original poster is doctored to remove certain characters to appeal to a certain audience, then I think we need to pause and ask ourselves WHY? Do we continue catering to our preconceived notions of how we think other countries view race or do we slowly open up people’s minds one advertizing campaign at a time? Love and Hawk were not the main attraction of this movie (although I personally find him funnier than Vince Vaughn) but to remove them, or basically “whitewash” the poster for a European audience just reeks of ugliness. It’s wrong of us to assume they would prefer that, and it’s wrong of them if they truly do.
Amazibng.. just saw movie last night, I think all 4 couples should BE ON ALL POSTERS EVERYWHERE.. they all show differant aspects of relationships. All are integral pieces of storyline- without Faizon and partner, they would have never been such a “happy ending ” – It is just plain wrong to have taken them off, since it was the FOUR couple discount that brought them to island—
I know some people are saying this isn’t about race, I’m sorry but i do not agree. I can understand them not being the main characters but they were already in the back of the U.S. poster, barely recognizable. I am African American myself and I know not every little issue involving black people has to deal with racism, but in this case it seems so. It probably cost money to edit and reprint another stock of posters for the european premiere. And seeing that the more “renowned” stars were up front and would still be recognizable to the audiences regardless of the black couple makes the whole situation even more suspicious. Besides the european audiences would catch on that the couple is also featured in the movie after watching it so why try to downplay the fact by leaving them out of the poster? And how are they supposed to gain a wider fan base and more recognition by not even getting acknowledge on the poster with their co-stars? I’m sorry but it just seems too foul to me.
U kno, this whole BS could have just been avoided if the idiots just kept the original poster. I mean was that so hard? Demographics & so-called marketing strategies my butt.
There were black people in that movie? Hmm learn something new every day.
What would happen if they kept them in the poster? Nothing. Basically the studio is saying that people won’t see the movie because they are not well known, which is very wrong. Also, since they are minorities you can’t help but think maybe they did because they’re black. I don’t think it really would have mattered if they kept them in the poster.
If they are secondary characters then why go through the effort of removing them ??? It’s easy for someone who does this type of work but it is still time-consuming. So it had to be done for a reason. Why is it always the people who benefit from everything that deny racism. It is like big business’ denial that they raked the US economy onto the coals and then tried to blame it on the victims. Denial is not the river in Egypt..