Putting an End to the Shailene Woodley Nonsense...
EDIT (since too many people seem to just jump to the comments without reading): I discuss why Woodley's casting doesn't need as much of a passionate reactions as it's getting from both sides (The haters and the defenders).
Good god ladies and gents... This issue does not deserve the kind of passionate flame wars that it's been starting.
To those who think she's too ugly: She isn't really. She's ok-looking. And the precedent here's Kirsten Dunst. The bar hasn't exactly been set too high. Nor has the precedent for live-action MJ been "red-hot supermodel". She'll probably play another girl next door type. And that isn't really the biggest problem with this franchise anyways (character, story, emotions, comedy, action... There's a lot more Webb needs to fix in the sequel than just MJ's hotness levels). So calm your tits, and if your gonna engage in a debate, do it about a topic that's worthwhile.
To those who think that it's some big, bad, shallow deed for us to judge her on her looks: It's Hollywood. Looks are a big part of the industry whether you like it or not. Especially with female leads in big budget actions films like Spider-Man. Sad? Maybe. Enfuriatingly unexpected? No. Whenever talks of Hollywood actors is brought up, more often than not, their looks are contemplated. It isn't some big shocker. These young actors don't go into the business blind like a bunch of happy-go-lucky lads and ladies. They expect scrutiny. It's a part of their jobs. Be [frick]in' realistic. And stop making such a fuss about it.
I hope this puts an end to the overly passionate nonsense.
But, in the more than likely case, that this article gets entirely ignored. And people continue to war passionately about a subject that doesn't really beg for much attention. Here's my predictions for how the whole thing's gonna go down:
Much like Anne Hathaway's casting as Catwoman
1) Pre-release: Haters are gonna hate. Defenders are gonna defend.
2) Post-release: Haters are gonna proclaim that they were right and Woodley was ugly in the film. Defenders are gonna proclaim that they were right and Woodley was gorgeous in the film.
3) A few months after all this: People are gonna forget about all this rubbish because Marc Webb will probably make yet another forgettable limp-dick Spider-Man film.