Lee on Eastwood

[Tisket]

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=315230


May 21, 2008, 9:05 AM EST
The Associated Press

Spike Lee is slamming Clint Eastwood over his two recent Iwo Jima movies, saying the filmmaker overlooked the role of black soldiers during World War II.

Lee — whose next film is this fall's "Miracle at St. Anna," the story of an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy during the war — said Eastwood's 2006 movies "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima" were whites-only affairs.

"He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one black soldier in both of those films," Lee said Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival, where he was a judge in an online short-film competition.

"Many veterans, African-Americans, who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood. In his vision of Iwo Jima, Negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version," Lee said.

I'm of two minds here. Personally, I think Lee is a piece-of-shit, has-been asswipe trying to draw attention to his soon to be released war movie "Miracle at St. Anna" by slamming Eastwood.

I do think Hollywood panders too often and rushes to insert anachronistic blacks in situations they were never in. Or you get the movie with a slave who talks with a harvard accent, etc. But, black troops did serve on Iwo Jima and at least one was indirectly involved in the raising of the flag there. Eastwood and his army of researchers failed to include this historical element. I don't think it was malicious but whatcha wanna bet that Eastwoods next few movies include more black actors in high profile roles.

[AnticorRifling]

Spike Lee is a douche. I've got a movie coming out I'd better stir up some racist shit to ensure I sell more tickets!

[Gan]

Spike Lee is a douche. I've got a movie coming out I'd better stir up some racist shit to ensure I sell more tickets!

Bingo

(No thats not a slam on old people gambling.)

[Stanley Burrell]

I couldn't go to that many Knicks games without developing severe anger.

Eastwood is also one of the biggest whitebread guild dicks around.

I say the two go to Iraq and see what war is all about in order to influence their documentaries. The amount of historians in Hollywood is amazing.

[Gan]

Eastwood is also one of the biggest whitebread guild dicks around.


Whitebread guild?

:wtf2:

[Parkbandit]

Don't try to understand Stanley.. it'll never happen unless you have a PhD in Retard.

I liked the Nike commercials that Spike Lee did with Michael Jordon.. since then, his work has gone dramatically to shit.

[Clove]

I don't think it was malicious but whatcha wanna bet that Eastwoods next few movies include more black actors in high profile roles.Watcha wanna bet that Eastwood tells Spike to go lick his crusty old balls?

[diethx]

I wonder how many white people are gonna be in Spike Lee's movie.

[Parkbandit]

I wonder how many white people are gonna be in Spike Lee's movie.


Racist.

[diethx]

Racist.

Yeah, i'm pretty sick of that double bullshit standard.

[Some Rogue]

I wonder how many white people are gonna be in Spike Lee's movie.

They need someone to play the racist bad guys. Duh.

[Gan]

Its entertainment (its a fucking movie).

BFD.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Diethx
I wonder how many white people are gonna be in Spike Lee's movie.

Whether you like Spike Lee or not is up to you but to the premise you're putting forth here that Spike's movies exclude white actors is false, especially as of late.

I will agree though this this is probably more of a publicity stunt than an actual criticism of Clint Eastwood. I never saw either movie so I can't comments on them.

[Stanley Burrell]

Whitebread guild?

:wtf2:

Yeah, he's a whitebread bastard. I don't know if that expression is allowed to exist in Texas. It's sort of like saying WASP, only applying it to Hollywood "cowboys."

He's one of the head honchos for the award committee/guild and dictates shit before the red carpet rolls out. He's fucked with lots of nominations and holds vendettas against Jim Carey-types. Not that he doesn't deserve a roll in critique.

I can...

A) Support this with Wikipedia.com engraved-in-fucking-stone fact, baby.

B) Let ParkBandit not understand me and still play video games for the next five or seven hours straight.

[Parkbandit]

Dude.. you think I'm the ONLY one on this forum that can't decipher most of you drug induced, retard vomit?

[Sean of the Thread]

This shit is starting to get ridiculous.

On the other hand as a monster history (especially war) buff I see minorities getting shafted historically a lot in movies.... but they're just movies.

For those interested Eugene Bullard was the first black pilot FYI going back to WWI as a volunteer before the U.S. officially entered the war. When we did declare war they kicked his ass out of the air corp and made him a ground pounder just because of his race.

Good books to be found on the WWI air volunteers when air warfare was being pioneered from a U.S. perspective. Lafayette Escadrille.

Again for those interested lot's of good biographies and autobiographies concerning the Tuskegee Airmen. Great stuff.

[Methais]

Spike Lee is a joke. Remember when he tried to sue Spike TV over their name?

rofl @ that

[Warriorbird]

I enjoyed Inside Man a whole lot and there were most definitely white actors in it.

I wish Spike Lee would've spent more energy publicizing his Katrina documentaries than a film of his that probably won't be terribly good. Clint Eastwood is not the problem or worthy of trumped up race card playing.

[diethx]

Whether you like Spike Lee or not is up to you but to the premise you're putting forth here that Spike's movies exclude white actors is false, especially as of late.

I will agree though this this is probably more of a publicity stunt than an actual criticism of Clint Eastwood. I never saw either movie so I can't comments on them.

Yeah, I couldn't name one Spike Lee movie off the top of my head so you may very well be correct. I'm just sick and tired of the same old bullshit race cards being played over DUMB stuff. When blacks are excluded from something white people do, it's racism. When whites are excluded from something black people do, it's simply black pride and celebration of the race.

Save the cries of racism for REAL instances of racism.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<Yeah, I couldn't name one Spike Lee movie off the top of my head so you may very well be correct.>>

Malcolm X? Inside Man?

[diethx]

I never saw Malcom X. Inside Man had Denzel in it right? I think I saw that one.

[TheEschaton]

She Hate Me was pretty good. Mainly for all the titties.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<Inside Man had Denzel in it right? I think I saw that one.>>

Yes.

[Gan]

She Hate Me was pretty good. Mainly for all the titties.

:rofl:

I'm sure thats the type of ringing endorsement that Spike Lee looks for.

Speaks loudly for his works.

[diethx]

Dude why ELSE do you put so many titties in a movie? So men want to watch it.

[Stanley Burrell]

Dude.. you think I'm the ONLY one on this forum that can't decipher most of you drug induced, retard vomit?

I think if I wanted mass quantities of drug-induced retard vomit, I'd punch you, your wife, and especially your kids' digestive tract with brass knuckles after you ate an anti-terrorist meal of super-sized McDonald's happy meal Freedom Fries. You are sort of basically the complete bigoted definition of a [edited by Snapp], no offense.

[Stanley Burrell]

I think the difference between you and Nieninque is how you always know the exact chemical gradient of my body when you post psychotic batshit, ParkBandit.

So congratulations on being psychic. :yawn: Eh, sorry about two posts in a row -- Just in case someone decides to be what I perceive as a wanton genital of female origins, and report the above and I have to use reverse psychology because no one reads my posts.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

I pretty much like any movie with Eastwood IN it, and he's done some great directing. Spike Lee, if you can get past his bullshit, does some great stuff too.

The problem I percieve with Lee, Michael Moore, Al Gore, Howard Stern, Imus, etc... is that their message gets lost to people like myself because frankly the sensationalist attention whoring makes me sick of it. I know WHY they do it, but I'd rather listen to someone I perceive as rational rather than hysterical. I tried to put a list of "non-partisan" examples above, so try to think of it that way.

I ignore people like Dave, Stainley, Backrash and lately Daniel & any PB political thread because I already know what they are going to post. No offense to Daniel and PB, I think they are both educated and opinionated which is a good thing -- just predictable. I'm sure I am in the same camp.

[Keller]

Spike Lee, if you can get past his bullshit, does some great stuff too.


Agreed.

I'd wager that half the people in this thread haven't even seen a single one of his films. I'd bet not more then 4 of us have seen more than 2.

But he's black and he's got an agenda -- so he must be film's version of Malcolm X.

[TheEschaton]

I've seen She Hate Me, Inside Man, Malcolm X, Do The Right Thing, He Got Game.

So I guess I'm one of your 4.

[Tisket]

Watcha wanna bet that Eastwood tells Spike to go lick his crusty old balls?


I totally visualized a Dirty Harry moment when I read that.

[Methais]

Off topic....has anyone seen STOMP THE YARD? I remember me and a friend sat there dumbfounded after the trailer came on TV when it was out in theaters. It was definitely a facepalm moment.

[BigWorm]

Agreed.

I'd wager that half the people in this thread haven't even seen a single one of his films. I'd bet not more then 4 of us have seen more than 2.

But he's black and he's got an agenda -- so he must be film's version of Malcolm X.

Eh, I'd think it was more than that, but I may have just been exposed to a lot of his movies which may be a consequence of living with a movie buff and seeing lots of movies in general ;). I've seen:

Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, He Got Game, Summer of Sam, 25th Hour, and Inside Man.

I think Spike Lee gets a lot out of the actors he works with, which tend to be really talented people who continue to make films with him. Most of the concerns about him having an agenda were with regard to Malcolm X, and his behavior at the time make it pretty obvious that he did as far as that film was concerned. In general though, I would say that his early films are more socially conscious than agenda driven. He's not usually one to take it over the top and I think the comparisons to Michael Moore and Howard Stern are a bit misguided.

[BigWorm]

Off topic....has anyone seen STOMP THE YARD? I remember me and a friend sat there dumbfounded after the trailer came on TV when it was out in theaters. It was definitely a facepalm moment.

Same here, but once I heard about the money made by You Got Served I just assumed we would see more along those lines.

[Tisket]

Agreed.

I'd wager that half the people in this thread haven't even seen a single one of his films. I'd bet not more then 4 of us have seen more than 2.

But he's black and he's got an agenda -- so he must be film's version of Malcolm X.

You're the one that seems to confuse his movies with the man. He's not exactly the black Spielberg. Regardless, even though he talks shit and is a douche I'd still probably watch his movies if he was a decent filmmaker.

I can watch a Mel Gibson movie with great enjoyment even though I know the man is an asshole in real life.

And I don't have to see one moment of any filmmakers work to be capable of judging the things they say and do outside their movies.

[AnticorRifling]

I think Family Guy had a clip talking about every white guy in Spike Lee movies. It was a white dude just snarling, clawing at the air and drooling.

[Latrinsorm]

I say the two go to Iraq and see what war is all about in order to influence their documentaries. The amount of historians in Hollywood is amazing.Eastwood was at least actually in the Army.

[Stanley Burrell]

I could see him making the draft cut for WWII.