Comics creator Derek Kirk Kim comments on the casting choices for the The Last Airbender movie. While the setting of the cartoon the movie is based on is "wholly and inarguably built around Asian (and Inuit) culture," white actors have been cast in the roles of the four main characters:

Before I go any further, it behooves me to spill some information on "Avatar, the Last Airbender" for those people who have no idea what it is. 1) It's the greatest, most ambitious animated action adventure TV series ever hatched in the U.S. A cartoon series for kids in which one epic story actually spans 3 entire seasons. A kid's show in which the characters actually grow and change and evolve! A cartoon which actually respects a kid's intelligence and vast imagination. Imagine that! 2) It's wholly and inarguably built around Asian (and Inuit) culture. Everything from to the costume designs, to the written language, to the landscapes, to martial arts, to philosophy, to spirituality, to eating utensils!—it's all an evocative, but thinly veiled, re-imagining of ancient Asia. (In one episode, a region is shown where everyone is garbed in Korean hanboks—traditional Korean clothing—the design of which wasn't even altered at all.) It would take a willful disregard of the show's intentions and origins to think this wouldn't extend to the race of the characters as well. You certainly don't see any blonde people running around in "Avatar." (I'm not saying that would have necessarily been a bad thing, I'm just stating the facts of the show and the world in which it is set.)

Read Kim's entire statement at his site.

The four main characters from The Last Airbender will be played by Jackson Rathbone, Jesse McCartney, Nicola Peltz and Noah Ringer. Rathbone, who was in the recent Twilight movie, talks about needing a tan for his Airbender role on MTV.com.

Kim, whose book with Gene Yang, The Eternal Smile, is due later this year, also asks creators in the arts and entertainment industry to sign a petition to condemn the movie and boycott the film:

Since the outraged fans seem to be getting ignored by Paramount, I am starting a petition for professionals in the arts and entertainment industry who want to condemn this move and boycott this discriminatory film if it isn't recast. If you're involved in the Film/TV/Animation/Comics/Literary fields in any way and you find Paramount's racist actions even the least bit reprehensible, please leave your name and occupation in the comments.