Here's the crux in regards to the whole Seth Rogen controversy that suddenly emerged today.
A complaint was filed to producers on the set of the upcoming comedy “Good Boys," produced by Rogen and Evan Goldberg. This complaint stated that the film used a stand-in for 11-year-old actor Keith L. Williams wearing makeup to darken his face. This sparked outrage on social media.
Both the stand-in and Williams are African-American. Good Universe, the production company behind "Good Boys" told TMZ that the makeup was used to match the stand-in’s lighter skin tone, and that it's “not uncommon for lighting purposes to match actors’ skin tones.” However, IndieWire asked three cinematographers about the incident, and were told that the practice of blackface for the sake of darkening shadow was "unorthodox."
A black stand-in, who is not appearing on camera, shouldn't be counted as blackface. The fact that IndieWire actually went to the lengths they went, by asking pros about the incident, is not actually helpful.
This was just for lighting. It wasn't like they got a white actor and put blackface on them. Welcome to today's world, folks.
Oh, and Seth Rogen has now apologized for the incident:
“I should start by saying this shouldn’t have happened, and I’m terribly sorry it did,” Rogen said. “I won’t give excuses for why it happened. I’ll just say that as soon I was made aware of it, I ensured we put an end to it – and I give my word that on any project my team and I are involved in, we will take every precaution to make sure something similar does not take place again. I’m engaging in conversations to make sure I find the best way to do that. It’s on me to be proactive. Reacting isn’t enough."
“It is important for me to cast a person with similar complexion and physical stature to the actors they are standing in for,” the cinematographer said. “In regards to makeup, I’ve seen wigs used and powder to take down shine, but maybe not as extreme as what is being suggested here. I personally would never ask for someone to be made up in a darker tone. You would just compensate for what you understand to be lighter or darker while lighting.”
“Good Boy” is set for release in 2019.