Comments on: Kal ‘Kumar’ Penn goes to ’24′

By: Sepia Mutiny

Sepia Mutiny — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 01:54:05 +0000

Lets Have a (Race) War!

Let’s see what’s on TV this fall…Looks like Kal Penn is joining the cast this fall on “24.” Bet he’s going to play the typecast terrorist. Oh, my bad… “Penn will play a man associated with the leader of an Islamic group that may or may not be plott…

By: Minstrel

Minstrel — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:23:57 +0000

Oh… and Call…
Sum of All Fears was bastardized beyond recognition. I’m a huge Clancy fan, and what Hollywood has done to his novels (ok, Red October was decent) is a travesty.
I agree with you. It’s not incorrect to show Arab terrorists when that is what we are dealing with. I just think you miss the point of that statement.
The worst thing is, I don’t even really care. I’m bored.

By: Minstrel

Minstrel — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:17:50 +0000

Call,
I think you’re missing the point. I could be wrong (have been before, will be again) but I don’t think the comment was about who the bad guys on 24 will be this season, but more on Kal’s casting by race, instead of a role that a person of any race could play.
Are you following me?
I think it was a comment on the role, not the character.

By: kinglouieXVIII

kinglouieXVIII — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 21:53:17 +0000

Kal’s marriage to the BIG BAG OF WEED in Harold & Kumar is priceless! I literally rolled over and started laughing when I saw that. It was insane.
Poor Kal, I thought for sure both him and the Harold kid were going to blow up after that movie came out. I was hoping they would replace the Josh Hartnett’s and Paul Walker’s as the new leading men of Hollywood. But alas, no such luck.
I would echo Rosie’s sentiment of “fighting the power”, but that marijuana is not going to pay for itself. A brother’s gotta make a livin’.

By: Call

Call — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:11:08 +0000

Wow. Thanks Minstrel. How very perceptive you are. His ethnicity: Asian. EW seems to be confused when it comes to the fact that the terrorists we are fighting are of Asian and Middle Eastern descent. So how is it typecasting to accurately portray the ethnicity of the enemy we’re fighting? You people live in bizarro world. That’s not typecasting. It’s smart. I know you must think “The Sum of All Fears” really got it right with those darn neo-Nazis instead of killer Arabs.

By: Minstrel

Minstrel — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:04:59 +0000

Call,
Before you get your panties in a twist, I believe that the “typecasting ghetto” was in reference to Kal playing a role based on his ethnicity.
Just sayin’.

By: Call

Call — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 19:34:40 +0000

“typecasting ghetto”. Funny. Where on earth does the racist bastards at “24″ keep coming up with the idea of Asian and Middle Eastern terrorists? Because we all know the true hotbed of terrorist activity in the world is Boise. It’s always fun to see what EW writer can be dumbest from day to day. Congrats, Scott!

By: Tyler D

Tyler D — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 19:22:10 +0000

His scenes chronicling his marriage with a gigantic bag of weed might have been one of the greatest montages in the history of cinema. How is there another Islamic terrorist plot on 24? Based on how last season ended, I thought they were going to tackle the Chinese this time. I hope he was paid well for his Superman Returns role, because there was absolutely no glory there. I guess he just did it to hang out with his buddy(?) Routh.

By: Jasper

Jasper — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 07:10:29 +0000

I Love Kal Penn! I can’t wait for The Namesake this fall. I didn’t even know he was in SR. I don’t watch 24 and it’s too bad he got such a cliched role. I hope he doesn’t have to do his 7-11 accent. Maybe I’ll tune in this season though.

By: Teeps

Teeps — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 05:29:41 +0000

didn’t he die in SR?