Idiot Article of the Week

This has nothing to do with animation, but it's so insanely stupid that it had me gnawing my way across the office carpet.

... British actor Henry Cavill, who has just been cast as the iconic -- and very American -- Superman, is the latest in a string of foreigners who have been chosen to play key movie roles by Hollywood. But since Superman is so quintessentially American, this latest casting has triggered a wave of soul-searching as yet another sought-after part has been outsourced.

"This casting is fundamentally anti-American," wrote one commentator on Ain't It Cool News. "It's disgusting casting to the highest degree, and I will never ever see a movie with a Brit as Superman."

These commenters on "Ain't it Cool News?" They really ought to get out of Grannie's attic, throw away their lap tops, and experience actual life as it's lived in the real world.

Let's take a trip back through Hollywood history for a minute, shall we?

* Ohio-born Clark Gable played British officer Fletcher Christian in Mutiny On The Bounty. He then played (much to his subsequent regret) Irish patriot Charles Stewart Parnell in the movie of the same name. No Irish or British citizens rose up in open revolt.

* British-born Claude Raines played Captain Renault, a Frenchman, in a small picture entitled Casablanca. The French had minimal reaction.

* Aussie actor Errol Flynn played Robin Hood, cavalry officer Jeb Stuart, and George Armstrong Custer; few objected. (He played an Australian in exactly two movies.)

* Anthony Quinn -- of Irish-Mexican descent -- played Frenchmen, Native Americans, Arabs and Greeks (anybody remember Zorba?) among numerous other nationalities.

Etcetera.

But stupid comes in many shapes and sizes. And it comes in both "The Hollywood Reporter" and "The Los Angeles Times." Go figure.