Spike Lee rips into Eastwood and the Coens.

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sean90291 said:
1) Well, I'm not scared. I'll be as politically incorrect or as politcally correct in my films as I see fit. I will let my point of view drive my film, rather than fear of comment. That said, I might be open to incredibly negative criticism and hostility if my point of view is hurtful to people. I'll take that risk when I see fit. But I won't be scared into being politcally correct. More likely you can be scared into not speaking up against stronger more numerous forces. That can be scary. Try being the only guy on set asking folks to can the anti-X jokes.

2) Are you then saying you'd like to advise him/see him do a better job with his agenda? I don't think that's most people's motivation in reacting negatively. They want him to shut up. But he's very outspoken. People like him probably won't shut up, because he's angry, even if he'd make more friends and money if he did shut up.

When a Black guy says something bothers him, I guess I'd rather not see white people telling him it shouldn't bother him. Maybe he has good reason to be bothered by it. He's probably the most outspoken Black filmmaker working with the Hollywood system. He's hte only one within the system speaking out this way. But I bet a lot of other Black filmmakers know exactly why he says the things he does. Maybe Clint Eastwood is just being used for his agenda. I think Clint can take it. And I agree he could have come back with something better than shut your trap. I've already read better responses against Spike's comment in this thread.
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I'm glad you aren't scared. Multi-national corporations who spend millions on films every year can be.

And no, I'm not advising anything. I'm just stating that if his purpose is to raise awareness about millennia of prejudice, complaining about this particular pair of films isn't doing much for his cause.

Spike can make the films he wants (and God knows he has taken heat for having very specific and often divisive perpectives in some of those films). So why can't he let someone else make the film they want? As Eastwood pointed out, it was an accurate portrayal of the events. It wasn't a film about the Tuskegee Airmen, nor was it a project that intentionally overlooked a group of people who made a significant contribution to those specific events.

He's got a right to be bothered if it bothers him. But when you start to have an intellectual conversation about the grounds for that irritation, the cause is broader, but the specifics are found wanting.
 
All these digs on the Irish is making me angry.

I'm going to have to get drunk tonight and go out fighting to blow off some steam.
 
sean90291 said:
If they're scared into casting a couple of black actors, I guess I'm not too concerned.
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That's not my point. My concern is some producer making "Braveheart II, the Wrath of the Bruce" says, "gee, I don't want to piss off the (insert demographic here), so lets include a battalion of them", regardless of the fact that they weren't there.
 
ddp said:
Just stay out of my Italian neighborhood....:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
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I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in NYC, and I was constantly picked on for being Irish.

A group of neighbors (led by a cop) also burned down a house that was bought by a black family, to keep "them" out.
 
I hear ya Jim. I guess I think that's the producer's problem. And nothing Spike, or I or you can do will change the fact that some producers will try to squish that movie into something that makes lots of money and offends nobody. Whether Spike says anything or not, it's not gonna change the fact that the producer in question is always going to be pandering to someone.
 
Jim Brennan said:
I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in NYC, and I was constantly picked on for being Irish.

A group of neighbors (led by a cop) also burned down a house that was bought by a black family, to keep "them" out.
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Well, there are good and bad people of every ethnicity and colour.

Life goes on and times change.

Spike Lee is desperately trying to make something out of nothing. I think Clint's response was spot on.
 
Jim Brennan said:
I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in NYC, and I was constantly picked on for being Irish.

.
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My dad came fresh off the boat from Italy in the 30's. He got a rash of crap from every ethnicity. No one race can claim a monopoly on being mistreated.
 
I have prepared a remark that I feel should avoid any unecessary bickering due to my political views:

"Spike Lee was wrong in what he did, which was essentially use the talent of other directors in the form of their names in order to shamelessly promote himself. I disagree with his actions and, further, I feel Mr. Lee needs to remove himself from a certain niche that I cannot further describe at this juncture."

All I can add is...go Sad Max! Now back down from the politcs before I have to pull out the taser and start a raid of this thread! :grin:
 
Here's direct quote from Spike...

"For him to insinuate that I'm rewriting history and have one of the four guys with the flag be black … no one said that. It's just that there's not one black in either film. And because I know my history, that's why I made that observation."
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LOL!

There are actually six men who helped to raise that flag.
At least Clint got that part right.
:grin:
 
A group of neighbors (led by a cop) also burned down a house that was bought by a black family, to keep "them" out.
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Thats nuts.

I grew up in a province that is pretty much Irish, Scottish, English or Acadian backgrounds. We had one black kid in our school and when he attended his first day he was called every name imaginable by moronic kids, and this was 1993 or 1994 and I think in High School we had maybe 7 black kids out of close to a thousand in the school. Not a whole lot of culture there.
 
It's ironic to me because I grew up in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, yet I was so insulated from anyone who was not of European descent.
 
I don't remember Saving Private Ryan that well, but I don't remember a lot of black soldiers in that opening scene, if any. You can make an argument that Vin Diesel is black, but I'm not entirely sure that's true. So then why isn't Spike ripping Spielberg? Hmmm. Maybe because it's career suicide?

Spike is an angry man, period. Which makes it all the more hilarious that he accussed Clint of being "an angry old man".

Anyway, I'm shocked this thread has been allowed to last this long.
 
Other then segregated units, most blacks filled support roles early on in WW2. It's doubtful any hit the beach in the first wave on d-day.
I believe submarines at the time were the exceptions for blacks because there was no "support", everyone was involved.

And the thread goes on because it's civil.
 
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