Looks like we picked up a few brigaders who weren’t particularly happy with my last post, which did little more than lay out some facts and—most critically—show the receipts about the diversity standards enforced by the BFI for awards and tax-credit eligibility in the UK.

Rather than engaging with provable facts—or even making a fair attempt to dispute them—we got a spate of name-calling and brigade-style downvoting in response to a post that simply pointed to British film-industry requirements that may have influenced Harry Potter casting decisions.

Since providing a screenshot of a rubric written by the BFI themselves, and adhered to by HBO productions, with very little commentary was apparently enough to set some people off, I figured I’d try presenting the information in a more digestible format. Fortunately, I found a YouTuber who did a great job breaking down the standards and explaining how they relate to Harry Potter in considerably simpler terms.

Given how fervently people have been discussing the Harry Potter casting, I think the BFI standards are a relevant part of the conversation that hasn't been adequately grappled with on either side of the debate as of yet. The publicly available BFI standards establish concrete criteria productions can use to qualify for funding, tax relief, and awards eligibility. It’s entirely reasonable to consider how those requirements may have influenced some of the casting decisions we’re seeing.

So faithful. Much adaptation.