No Mexicans In Outer Space

Interesting quote by writer/director Robert Towne in an article published in the March 18th edition of The Dallas Morning News. In the article, he described actress Salma Hayek's reluctance to play a certain role in his new movie Ask The Dust:

“She looked stricken. She said, 'I can't play a Mexican waitress. I'd be typecast forever. I came to the United States to get crossover roles.' She had just been turned down for a science-fiction movie. They'd told her no one would believe there were Mexicans in outer space. So she was sensitive.”

I'm not sure how serious I should take this story, but if true, it doesn't exactly say great things about Hollywood liberalism.

Why do I get the feeling that the science fiction movie in question wasn't an adaptation of an Octavia Butler story?

Anyway, the big question here is why exactly are Hollywood executives so sure there were no Mexicans in outer space? How would they know? Is there a “no se habla español” sign on the moon that I don't know about? Is there some law restricting applicants of a certain ancestry from being astronauts?

And why do I get the feeling that Mexicans who look like, say, Charisma Carpenter would be more welcome in Hollywood's version of outer space than Mexicans who look like Salma Hayek?

Inquiring minds want to know...