If you’re one of those folks upset about a black dude being cast as Louis in the new INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE series then this latest bit of casting news is probably gonna piss you off even more. Bailey Bass (who was on LAW AND ORDER: SVU, one of the sixteen different LAW AND ORDER series currently on network television, and will be appearing in all the AVATAR sequels currently in the works) has been cast as Claudia. And yes, she’s black. Well, mixed. But she isn’t Caucasian. That’s the point, and that’s what will *be* the sticking point for some of you.
Me, I don’t care about her skin pigmentation. That’s not my issue. Claudia is supposed to be a little girl. Bailey Bass doesn’t look like a little girl. I did some googling and I can’t find any confirmation anywhere of how old she is, but she looks older than Claudia is supposed to be. In the novel, Claudia is only five years old. Kirsten Dunst was ten when they filmed the movie. Ms. Bailey looks to be at least in her mid-teens.
Ah, but this isn’t a straight adaptation of the novel, I remind myself. That’s been done already. No reason to do it over. They’re trying for something different. Yeah, okay. A teenage Claudia could bring all sorts of interesting drama of its own. It could work.
