Currently Reading The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini see related

Oops: Hollywood Edition

There's an interesting article on CNN about the film adaptation of The Kite Runner, which I'm nearly done reading.  

I'm of two minds about the article.  First, why the hell wasn't the kid or the kid's family ever given the entire script to read before the filming started?  The whole thing could've been avoided if the kid and his family said, "No, we don't like this scene" and the film crew could've moved on and found a different actor.  It's cool that the director and producers decided to use Afghani actors, but it really comes across like they're treating them like props, not professionals.  I mean, the "controversial" scene is the crux of the novel, or at least the action which causes everything else in the book to happen.  Why would it even be on the table for negotiation?

The more cynical side of my brain interprets the article as this: the actor's family is looking for a chance to immigrate to States and they're using the controversial scene as leverage.  I have no real idea what life is like in Afghanistan -- my only experience is from books I've read (few and outdated) and news reports.  I don't know what kind of harassment the kid would face from his peers in Afghanistan, or how it would compare to the kind of harassment he'd receive States-side for being in such a scene.  Does he need to immigrate for fear of retaliation and protection?  It could very well be the case.  But it sucks that the kid was forced to perform in a scene, a scene about a rape, and he had absolutely no idea it was going to happen until he showed up to shoot.

Still, the bottom-line is that it's ridiculous for the actor to not have access to the script, or a translation of the book, when he was hired on.  If this had happened in the US, there'd be lawsuits.  It sounds very much like Hollywood taking advantage of foreigners.