There are many beautiful things about Slumdog Millionaire… such a great movie and in my opinion totally deserving of Best Picture (I mean… since Wall-E wasn’t nominated). But today I came across a story that has me more than a little disgusted.
Instead of trying to paraphrase what I read… I’ll just let you read it. Monika over at Cinematical tells us the following:
When we think of child actors, it’s easy to think of rich, overly indulgent scenarios like the one Don McKellar outlined in Childstar. But that’s not always the case — especially for the tykes of Slumdog Millionaire. It only lost two of its ten Oscar nominations, but for the young Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubiana Ali, post-Slumdog life isn’t coming up roses.
On the heel of news that the kids were getting trust funds and school funding, The Telegraph reports that they are reeling after their whirlwind taste of luxury life at the Oscars. Azhar has been suffering from a 103 temperature and vomiting since returning home, a condition which isn’t helped by the fact that he doesn’t have a physical home to rest in (although neighbors are trying to build a metal structure for the kid to rest in out of the sun). Meanwhile, Rubina still wears the now-stained gown she wore to the Oscars, wishing to live in America and sleep in “a proper bed and live where the air does not smell of poo.”
The piece, which includes a lot of heart-breaking words from the children, points out how challenging it is for these kids to see and experience the absolute opposite of their lives, only to return to it and feel forgotten. So far, there have been no flats for the families to move to, and reports say that Azhar has even been beaten for wanting to sleep rather than talk to a journalist offering his family money.
First of all, many of you know that I often take the studio’s side when it comes to money disputes between actors and studios. Often an actor will agree to do a movie for a certain amount of money, and then if the movie does HUGE business at the boxoffice they want a bigger piece of the pie (funny how they never offer to give some of their money back if the movie bombs and the producers lose money…. but that a debate for another time). My position has always basically been: If you agree to do a movie for a certain amount, then do it for a certain amount since you didn’t risk anything and don’t stand to lose anything if it fails, you don’t deserve to reap the rewards if it succeeds.
Now remember, we’re often talking about MILLIONS of dollars here. The situation usually involves an actor who made, for example, $2 million, and now wants $5 million or something like that. Maybe made $300,000 and now wants a million. That’s a totally different situation than what we’re talking about here.
The producers of the film aren’t suddenly responsible for these kids just because they used them in a movie. But come on… you didn’t just use them in your movie… you plucked them out of their environment, dressed them up in little suits and dresses and paraded them around Hollywood to increase the “cute” image of your film and get more attention for yourselves. For fuck’s sake, no one is suggesting giving them a million dollars… but how about just making sure they’ve got a place to live and consistently something to eat? I know you’re going to have to spend a lot of money to keep those 8 Oscars you won polished up and shinny… but maybe you can dig deep and help out those kids who help you get the Oscars and attention and millions at the box office in the first place.
To me, this whole thing is disgusting.
We haven’t forgotten you, Rubina (youngest Lathika) & Ayush (youngest Jamal)! Just look at the faces of the slumdog millionaire kids at the Oscars, so full of hope. How are they doing now? 2 years later, they are still on my mind.
I’d like to know how the public can help Rubina, Ayush, and the slums of India. If Danny Boyle isn’t going to do his part, then please show us — the American and Canadian public, just HOW we can help the people of India who live in slums. Is there a website we can donate to?
Love & blessings to Rubina, Ayush, and all the kids of Slumdog Millionaire.
How about we worry about the homeless and underprivileged here in our own country?
Considering the hundreds of millions of dollars this movie is going to make in profits, it would be nice to give the kids enough so they’re not living in poverty.
@John
John, I just became a FAN of you after that.
I wanna buy a house for those kids :(
Look,
I love this convo goin on here, I think everyone is right.
GutPunch and BigSam’s are right, if you assholes really want to help, fucking sign up at the UN and go to third world countries and try to work with impoverished nations build societies that you think provide acceptable lifestyles. Its not Fox Searchlight’s responsibility to organize its employees personal lives into a suitable existence for the mass public. Current NFL Players don’t pay the old timers any kickbacks for making the leaugue what it is, Elvis never gave any blues singers money…
Also, GutPunch and BigSam are fucking assholes for not realizing the grueling irony of this little girl WEARING HER OSCAR DRESS IN THE SLUM, while Slumdog is probably signing rights with Showtime or HBO and then will go into movie syndication heaven on Starz, OnDemand, etc. etc.
So whats the fucking solution? This crumby thread isn’t stopping anything. A gust of shit smelling wind just blew past these kids as we write and read this?
Guys, this is life. The kids got sucked up into the Hollywood press machine.
You act like the Hollywood press machine has a conscience? Its a big hungry Shiva like warrior that just wants energy thrown its way. It doesn’t stop.
Someone wrote on here, taking care of these two kids wont solve anything. Thats compeltely true. The “deserve” to be rescued because they acted like themselvs on camera? They were barely acting, they followed instructions during assigned shooting periods. Editors, music and production design did the acting. This isn’t Shakespere at the bloody Vic.
“Movieblog” – The official home of correct ‘movie opiions’.
Lets stick to edting, acting, production, dialogue and finished materials.
Highlighting the error of ways on this situation is a waste of fucking time.
All due respect. We are all right and we are all wrong in some ways. One thing I’m certain of, we are certainly not going to effect any solution. Even if two kids are plucked out of the slums, their families and cousins and friends will rip apart the proceeds, poverty is a bigger problem then a nice house and a trust fund, if anything, those two things will just create poverty somewhere else.
This story pisses me off. I’m so angry about hearing how these children are being treated after the work they put into one of the most successful films this year.
John, please keep us updated on this situation. I am hoping and praying these kids actually do end up in a decent home sometime soon.
Unlike “every other actor” they were lifted out of their environment, which in case you didn’t know was the subject of the film. The film relied on actors like them to warrant sympathy for the film, and to get those interested in “issue” movies to go see it, and to support it. If it’s a bad situation, making a movie about it is a good way to draw attention to it. So they scouted for kids that they thought would do this the best, and found the aforementioned children for the movie. They probably gave them a couple hundred bucks, if that, and showed them around for Hollywood. The thing that stuck in my mind was the girl from the film was still wearing her gown from the Oscars. They didn’t have the decency to even change her. If you’re so fucking naive that you think that is normal, I have nothing else to say to you.
See, now you are making assumptions that you have no idea if they are true or not. You don’t know how much they got paid, you say these numbers because you are so tangled up in this none story and are just spouting nonsense that everybody else is saying. You are wishing they treated them badly so you can feel self righteous and be correct. It’s fucking sad.
The girl still wore the dress because it was pretty and new, are they supposed to take it away from her? It was a gift, she can wear it any time she wants.
If you are so riled up about this why don’t you help them? Send them money if you feel that the big bad movie studio took advantage of them. I’m sure it’s easy to track them down seeing that they are now probably the most famous kids in India right about now.
It’s very disgusting and sad how they completely exploited those children.
How credible is this report? For all we know this could just be a rumor. Personally I think this is just a rumor. However, if this is true it’s terrible. At the same time the producers have no obligation to take care of the kids after the movie is done. Let’s hope that some Hollywood producers have morals and heart.
Gutpunch is a fucking idiot for making comparisons between children of slums and movie stars. Not even the same fucking sport. I agree though it’s horrific the amount of exploitation that went on. I am losing a lot of respect for the studio and even for Danny Boyle, who I thought had good intentions…
i agree totally…..the fact that they went in that region and got kids that would cost nothing basically then kinda said thnx…bow go back to living in shit…IMO 25% of the money the movie makes should be invested in the children…they made the fucking movie period…..frido pinta or w/e was shitty in the movie…can u say no fucking way…and the main actor i swear i play world of warcraft with lol….story was good but the kids were the amazing part…
Pardon, you can’t be that fucking naive can you? I know you are mesmerized by the cuteness of the kids and how adorable they are but that doesn’t change the fact that they were hired as actors to do this movie, just as every fucking actor in it. They are not any more special than the rest of them. You need to put down the coolaid and think for a minute before you start screaming some knee jerk reaction.
And please don’t use the word exploitation when you clearly don’t know what it means. They were not “exploited”, they were not treated badly and they are not being thrown to the side like you want to believe. They were treated exactly the same as any other actor on this film.
Answer this question. Did Danny Boyle not say that they were starting up funds and buying them houses? (here’s a hint, the answer is yes).
And John, these things take time. I don’t know how many trust funds you’ve started or many houses you’ve bought but it sure takes more time than the PC police wants it to.
Cool your jets people.
I fucking hate the internet sometimes.
Sorry Gutpunch, but this warrants reaction. You keep trying to write this off as a typical Hollywood situation… but it’s not and you just don’t seem to get it. Fair enough, you’re entitled to your opinion
Oh I get it John. It’s just that I don’t get why people are screaming bloody murder when clearly the filmmakers have said, numerous times, that they are indeed helping them out. People refuse to listen so they can blather bullshit online for a while and feel good about themselves until they forget about them and don’t give a shit anymore. It makes them feel better for a few days and feel that they have contributed in some way.
Hey Gutpunch,
No, I don’t think you do get it. It’s all well and good to quote that people said they WOULD do something… but this movie finished filming over a year ago and the kids are still where they are.
Often it takes the public shaming rich studios into doing what they should do, or follow through on what they committed to doing.
A year.
i agree w/ john most people wont do anything about it as long as people keep their mouths shut, this goes back to that issue w/ christian bale about his rant, i know this is not that situation,but bale wouldnt have apologized if it wasnt made out to be a big issue, the same goes for this situation w/ these kids
This is retarded, it was announced weeks ago that Boyle is buying these children a home in the area they live. It was also expressed that the officials of Mumbai think of these children as heroes and they were going to pay special interest to them overseeing there health & welfare.
I saw this on Entertainment tonight, sorry I cant remember air date. Maybe author of this article should do a little more digging before ranting.
Hey Anti-Septic,
Yeah… more than a few weeks ago Boyle and one of the producers said they were going to do that. The point here is… it still hasn’t happened. Saying stuff is easy… doing stuff is another thing
reason why they didnt is cause the family wanted to sell the house for bullshit…thats why they set up a trust fund.
So who is dropping the ball here, I would say it is not Danny Boyle but the officials of Mumbai. Maybe Danny Boyle is dragging his feet here, but the officials of Mumbai promised to oversee these special children’s health and welfare and clearly that is not being done if this article is indeed true and not hear say propaganda.
Why is this all Danny Boyles fault, is what I am trying to express? Are not the words of the Mumbai officials to be held to the same standards and contempt you show for Boyle?
I think the moive is not a ‘feel-good’ movie! it is devastating sad to see what happens to the three central characters in their childhood. However there is a very happy ending. Love triumphs, this is a must see movie!
It is not their jobs as movie executives to look after these kids but as HUMAN BEINGS it is
IMO it is….they exploited them and won a oscar….they new that the parents of these kids where shit heads….and they most likely new what they where gonna do, thus why the implemented a trust fund for when there 18…….
I don’t mean to throw water on the studio flame war, but how sure are we that this is true? I know the internet is usually a source of lock solid information and all. But maybe we should wait for some credible information THEN start our hour of hate?
no one sed that they hated them just are very annoyed and hurt by what these people are doing.
ok i didnt even bother reasing cause these 2 kids are getting fucked over by there shitty 3rd world family….they tried hooking them up but the parents fucked it up so they made a trust fund…..boyle should have known what was gonna happen when u fuck wit a country with no sewer systems and the highest rate of under 14 year old rapes..wikipidea has usefull information about shitty countries like this.
ouch! that really hurt!
hey bigsampson,
why do u have to say India is a shitty country??
I can assure u India is definitely not another 3rd world country…but people like u dont see anything else(u see a black spot in a white wall)….India may not be as posh as US but still is a great country with great people.
um it is a 3rd world county ….and the stuff i wrot about underage rapes is true to….no need for me to go find the information on it and show u link cause i have done my own research….and no where did i say there were not great people in india…what i said was the family that takes care of these kids are degenerates….india has such a major problem with helth care and infustructure* that there biased views on the world and what they assume is needed to make a civil country has been undermined for years…this movie is a total explotation of a large community … i know there are wonderful people in india…but if u look at the numbers of illiterates and hiv infected kids its such a high percentage …and for a country that puts out some of the brightest minds on the planet .. its kinda sad that the goverment lets it go that far…in america there are child services and other organizations that make the problems they have over in india a very small percent here.
bigsampson is soo tru.. in india they are still stuck in the past and i think this movie made iit more widely known. India makes it so poor people are poor no one tries to protect these kids therefore little children being abducted and raped and harmed for profit.
Hey Gutpunch,
Yes… movie stars are often invited to the Oscars. Stars… who make enough money to live on.
Sorry man, but plucking out children, dressing them up for your own films PR and giving off the appearance that they’re doing just fine, and then tossing them back in refuse when you’re done with them after you’ve made your millions off their backs is horrific.
I agree and disagree to a point. I think that they did exploit these children and they were likely paid a pittance to be in the movie, but like anyone paid to be in a movie thats what they were paid to do.
On paper it sounds cold but its just business. Do they have an obligation to take care of these kids after they were done their job? No.
If they exploited me and my situation for a movie, paid me a bit of money to do it, then fine.. job done and paid. After the movie made tons of money would I feel that they should kick back more than my original pay? Of course I would WANT them to, but frankly there is no obligation saying they should.
Would it be a great thing to do? Hell yes.
I think this is the conflict. Cold hard facts say no while the warm fuzzies and moral sympathies say yes.
So if you hired a homless man to be in your film, a small part, and the film is a success are you saying that you will buy him a house? There are plenty of starving actors out there basically living out of their cars, are filmmakers then obligated to provide for them if the film they make suddenly becomes a success.
Of course the filmmakers are using the children to promote the film, they are actors in it aren’t they? The other actors did.
Aren’t the filmmakers raising funds for them? Isn’t the plan to get them a better place to live? I don’t see the argument here. This is just knee jerk reaction to a none story that wouldn’t have happened had the film not been such a success.
Peter raised a good point actually. The kids get a new home, then what? How are they better off dirt poor in a decent house than they were before? These kids have gotten huge exposure both abroad and in their native country and I’ll be damned if they don’t get more offers to do movies after this.
Does is suck that the kids live in such poor neighborhoods, yes of course but that’s not the filmmaker’s problem. Of course it would be great if they would help them out but for people to demand that the studio basically take them on and provide for them for the next foreseeable future is ridiculous.
Hey Gutpunch,
I think there is a fundamental difference between buying a house in Hollywood for a Hollywood actor and CHILDREN who live in poverty in.
And yes, if I hired a homeless guy for my movie… but then near awards time dressed him up in tuxedos and paraded him around Hollywood for my pr and passed him off as doing well… then yes, I’d feel a responsibility to make sure he’s got enough to eat if my movie ends up making millions.
So what you are saying is that it was wrong of them to invite actors who are in the movie to the Oscars and dress them up. Would you rather they’d stay home or came dressed up in the rags they usually wear?
Aren’t actors usually invited to the Oscars if the movie is nominated? And why do people feel it was exploitative of them “drag” the kifd all the way to Hollywood like it was the worst thing that could happen to them because they had a taste of the good life for a week or two and then had to get back to reality.
That’s like saying that you have to invite your girlfriend to the most expensive restaurant around every time you go out to eat because you did it one time before.
“…then yes, I’d feel a responsibility to make sure he’s got enough to eat if my movie ends up making millions.”
Well you say that now.
Anything wrong with what? A film company not providing housing and funds for actors after they’ve done the job they were hired for? Since when is is their fucking business to do so?
These actors weren’t “USED”, they weren’t exploited, they were hired to do a job like any fucking actor out there, they are no different.
They were invited to the Oscars because the film was nominated and they had prominent parts, its the norm, quit making it out like it was some devious plan of the producers to cash in on them.
And are you actually suggesting that the filmmakers adopt these kids so they don’t have to go back to the slums they were born and brought up in? Give me a fucking break.
If there’s anyone on a high horse its you fucking lot.
Sorry Gutpunch, I’ve got to disagree with you.
When you parade these children around Hollywood in little tuxedo suits and dresses so you can get tons of attention and PR for your film… CHILDREN… then yes, when your film makes over $200 million I think you have a moral obligation to see to it that they at least have enough money to have a roof over their heads and food on their plates.
This is NOT the same situation as most actors who want to own 7 Bentleys instead of 5. These are children you used to promote your film, created an appearance that they were well off, and then threw them back into squallier when you were done with them and you got your $200 million. That’s not right.
Those award shows always have plenty of free food for anyone in a tux. He would have plenty to eat.
But ask Brad and Angelina. They might adopt them just for kicks.
look if i hired these kids to landscape me a garden then hired that garden out for weddings that i made a massive profit on would that mean i owed them more than the original payment for their services no sure your trying to make an example out of them, saying that they need help but are you thinking of the thirty or forty thousand other kids in the slums the ones whos faces havent been seen on the big screen maybe the film company should put all its profits into fixing this situation but that isnt how the world works. job done, actors paid, moral indignaiton unjustified.
To everyone complaining–
Have Boyle or any of the producers personally commented on what they doing to help these kids? No. Stop speculating and over-reacting to a situation you only know half of the story to.
And even if Boyle and Co. are looking into buying two of the children flats, give it time. Last time I checked, purchasing a home and relocating an entire family out of the slums takes a little longer than a couple weeks. And do these families even have a means to support themselves when they are relocated? That makes things more complicated (aka prolonging the process).
And of course their conditions are horrible. They live in the slums. They aren’t any different from before they were in the movie. But only now is it so unacceptable and disgusting.
What’s disgusting is how many people here on their high horses don’t see anything wrong with this.
slushie
i agree
Helping these two kids is a start.
OK this might sound heartless but why is it the studio’s responsibility to feed and shelter these kids? They acted in a movie, they got paid end of story. These kids can now actively pursue acting careers in their native country and live of that. Remember, this was a low budget movie that was supposed to go straight to DVD in the states but unexpectedly was a huge success. That doesn’t obligate the producers to give its actors more money or buy them houses. If it had gone straight to DVD and hadn’t done the business that it did none of you would give a fuck about them and wouldn’t give them a second thought.
The kids weren’t “used” as you put it, they got hired to do a job, a job that they got paid for.
You’re right – that does sound pretty heartless, because it is. Yeah, it’s not the studio’s responsibility to feed and shelter these kids. They could have just paid them $100 and leave it at that. But there’s this thing called “Human Decency”, or “sharing”, or “compassion”, or “valuing people more than money”. If these kids helped them make boatloads of money, they should share in the prosperity.
We should really write to the studio and let them know that we won’t be sending any more money their way if that’s how they act. That really can change things.
Oh please. So now studios have to check the financial situation of everyone they hire so they can take care of them afterwards?
Bull crap.
this is just sickening, i mean seriously how can these people just use these kids to make millions of dollars then just be like
oh well now that we used you, we are just going to dump you back off where we found you with no money and the cloths on your back
see you later.
this makes me sick the d!ck heads need to at least give these kids a place to stay and health care.
I know what the moral argument is but let’s face it Hollywood is a business like any other and like my past film teacher used to say, “Hollywood isn’t about making money, it’s about making tons of money”.
It reminds me of the time when the top oil industry was called before the U.S. Congress to address the record setting profits they recorded over the last 6 years. They were asked whether they could supply some relief to the poor in America who would not be able to get heat in the winter of 2006. Their answer was we apologize but basically we are a business not a philanthropic organization. We are here to make money not help support the poor. For all intents and purpose they are right. They are a business and imposing moral obligations on them isn’t going to sway them.
Hollywood is the same it’s a business plain and simple.
I’m glad some do step to the plate, like Danny and the producer are doing…but they really should have anticipated this in the first place.
they should do the same thing to these kids as they did with the city of god and city of men kids
How about instead of focusing on getting the kids out of there, why don’t people focus on fixing the actual situation? Getting those kids out of there helps who? Only them. Sure it’ll be great for them and we’ll all feel warm and fuzzy inside but then countless people are still there, not being helped. If anything, this movie (one I did really like) should be opening our eyes to the situation there (and worldwide) more.
Will it be hard? Of course, nothing is easy, but no one deserves to be in a situation where they have “no bed and the air smells like poo”.
I know, the studio used them in a movie and made profit and didn’t help them (and they should be helped, I agree with you all) but fixing the situation would be a better end result for everyone there, not a small few.
I absoultely agree. The situation is more broad than just the 2 of them but they should be getting paid something, i apologize to some… such as gun whatever his name is because they are “paying” for their homes. but I don’t believe it is up to them to give them homes but its good. It’s time someone takes charge though and since im the average joe I can’t do too much.. but im not saying that I wouldn’t be able to help somehow but India needs to take responsibility!!!! America doesn’t say that we should help them but when we get America together then we can help others.
-Very Blah
The film has made a ton of money and is very profitable. These kids need to be taken care of!
chuck
Over population, I feel bad for the kids but this is the life they have been used to their whole life little will change this. It was wrong to introduce them to the lime light and them send them right back to their crappy lives, but it is their lives.
Does it hurt to be that big of an asshole?
These kids shouldn’t have had to wait until after the movie’s success. Boyle and Co. should have provided permanent shelter the day these kids were cast in the movie.
There was a story on /flim last week reporting that Danny Boyle and producer Christina Colson are going to buy the two children flats in Indian. I pasted the link below. However it is awful to hear that the kids for the time being are sick and living in the slums. I hope they are relocated soon.
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/02/25/danny-boyle-offers-to-buy-slumdog-child-actors-new-homes/
Their treating them like trash! This is vile, they really shouldn’t treat them like that
“you didn’t just use them in your movie… you plucked them out of their environment, dressed them up in little suits and dresses and paraded them around Hollywood to increase the “cute” image of your film and get more attention for yourselves”
Exactly
Who is this studio?! This is outrageous.
It’s Celador Films that made it. Danny Boyles lunch money would make these poor kids wealthy… I agree help the kids, but where do you stop, what about the millions of other children in Indian slums…
Give money to help the masses, not just these first time child actors… although they where so natural at acting it was fantastic to see.
You dont want these kids turning into Macaulay Culkin do you…. LOL