Clint Eastwood Thinks Spike Lee Should Shut His Face

"Both were narrow depictions of the lives of black musicians, as seen through the eyes of white screenwriters and white directors."

Based on earlier comments, it doesn't seem like Spike Lee would have been happy if Clint Eastwood had included black actors into "Flags of Our Fathers" or "Letters from Iwo Jima".

The sad thing about all of this is that Lee has a point, Hollywood is "whitewashed". I do not believe that Spike Lee is attempting to start a discussion about Hollywood and race which is unfortunate because it is a discussion worth having. However, by attacking two specific films based on true events, he narrows down the argument and allows people to dismiss him more eaisly.

"...all we need know is to hear what the Coen brothers think"

I thought a movie blog of all places would know that the Coen brothers used up all their public statements for the year when they accepted their Oscars.

Reply

Its really only interesting because Lee's movies are not really very good.

This has the same sort of tone to it as Boll ripping on Bay. Boll and Bay make similar types of movies (mindless, kinetic), as do Lee and Eastwood.

Bay and Eastwood are very good at what they do.

Lee and Boll are less talented and mostly maintain name recognition through being loud mouths.

Now, before I get called something I am not saying Lee equals Boll. It is like those word games as a kid: Bay is to Boll as Eastwood is to Lee.

Its just soap opera drama, right?

Reply

Lee really is presenting an impossible standard. Damned if you do - damned if you don't, and apparently only he is qualified to tell black stories.

As Eastwood said "Shaddup'yer face.." it's not worth listening.

Reply

I hate when people play the race card. In the eyes of those who want to find a controversy, everything is racist. However, who ever said that a piece of work should be all encompassing, class and culture equal, guaranteed with a hopeful and happy ending? Life is unfair, filled with bad people and fixed outcomes. If a creative team can navigate that minefield and tell a good story, then what outsider should expect to put in their $.02 and be heard. If Lee thinks he can do a better job while dealing with differences with culture, then he should make his own damn movie and let it speak for himself. Also, regarding his comments, there is such an idea of "reverse racism."

Reply

The Spike Lee quote regarding Flags is being taken out of context. He was responding to reports asking him why there were no black soldiers in Eastwood's film. Lee basically told them to ask Clint themselves, as in "why are you asking ME that? Go ask him." This is a false controversy started by reporters and embiggened by bloggers. They may as well ask C.E. "did you hear what Spike said about yo mama?" and see where it goes from there.

Reply

its amazing what some people are saying. bet has one station how many do white people have. ALLL. and shit bet is owned by white people now anyway. and bet is a terrible WASTE OF A CHANNEL. I am black and i stopped watch it about 2 years ago. its a piece of crap. Viacom owns them i think and they have done nothing to change it i love rap but the videos are annoying and all the new owners have done is put a bunch of stupid dating shows on the air. Girlfriends recently got cut from the CW why not pick it up? put an actual credible show on the air? because they like continuing to do nothing to help black kids. just more rap videos with half naked women showign money and cars.

anyways enough about bet. personally i feel blacks (and i am black) cry race too much SOMETIMES. but there are instances where they are right. black movies generally only have black actors cuz in the white movies they are just the token black guy. and its always some black guy thats kind of the abnormal of i guess the typical black hanging with white guys and he has no lines.

i just watched umm alien vs predator and there was a back guy in there like one line ahh i wont go into watch the movie ull see what im talking about. its always like that in a lot of movies. not another teen movie made fun of it cuz its real. they usually dont last long or are not main characters.

step up 2 the streets? come on i havent even seen it but its called the streets and the 2 leads are white.

spike lee is semi right. he should have gone at whats his face directly instead of through the press. man up and step to him like a man,

these famous people spend too much time bickering through the press.

Reply

Per above, Spike Lee said: "Shortly after seeing Bird, I read that Woody Allen was planning a film about jazz. Now, wait a minute! First Clint Eastwood, and now Woody Allen!"

This an absurd, ignorant, and totally stupid comment. WOODY ALLEN HAS HIMSELF PLAYED IN JAZZ BANDS SINCE HE WAS A KID. Lee's comment implies that only black people play jazz and therefore only black people should make a movie about jazz musicians. Is he really that stupid and far gone? My own father, a white man, played in jazz bands in Manhattan back in the 1960s (or earlier...he's dead now so I can't confirm a date).

I've never liked Spike Lee or his movies. Not because he's black, but because he's a no talent ass clown. Clint Eastwood's movies are classics. Unforgiven, which won the Oscar for best picture, had a black actor (Morgan Freeman) in a strong supporting role. (and don't go there and say, 'yeah, and he got killed' because there were at least a dozen white guys that also got killed in that movie).

There are many talented black actors and filmmakers out there, and it's increasingly more common to see good roles for black actors/actresses. Spike Lee is still living in the 1960s or something, thinking that every white man is out to surpress the black man. That is total nonsense. Of course there is still in-equality, but to focus your comments on someone who isn't racist, makes no sense.

Reply

ok Maybe Spike Lee is too far to one side of the issue but it doesn't mean that black actors don't get stereotyped and movies don't get white washed. It does happen for every ethnic group. If 21 was based off the book, the lead should have been asian. It doesn't mean that Clint Eastwood is racist or that hollywood is racist. People are just stuck with a certain mindset of what's expected, and Hollywood is one place where major studio releases don't like to break the mold and maybe lose money.

And Spike Lee has made some great movies and some duds. Just like many other important directors of this time.
Personally I love Inside Man, He Got Game, and 25th Hour. And of course Malcolm X is an all time classic movie. That's 4 good to great films just right there, I'll say he's better than a no talent ass-clown, thanks.

Reply

Let's try this: We'll make a movie about the Declaration of Independence and have all the participants, Jefferson, Franklin, Hancock, played by Asians. And we'll market it as a historic recreation of the actual events. Most people will say that's an inaccurate representation. Many people would be offended. But that's what happens in film all the time with African Americans. We're written out of our own history. Do that a couple hundred times over the course of the last 20 years, and people tend to get annoyed.



Spike wasn't asking that the cast be all black or even that the main characters be black. But for heaven's sake, couldn't some of the extras be black? Black people did fight in WWII.

Reply

hollywood is hollywood and its not going to change because a dude who looks like a crickett mouths off to a guy who paid his dues in hollywood. respect your elders and help the younger generation change things show them how do not just use your big mouth to make everyone dislike you.

is it true that spike tv had to pay him to use spike in the network. no that is really weak.

Reply

One way to define a racist or prejudice person is a person who judges or makes decisions about people based on the color of their skin. This is what Spike Lee does all the time.

A person who goes into a movie theater, watches a movie, and the first thing they say is "there were no black people in it" is far too concerned with race and color. We are all equals in doesn't matter.

"Both were narrow depictions of the lives of black musicians..."

What the hell is a "black life" anyway? Is he saying that blacks live in such a totally different way from whites that there needs to be this distinction? Spike Lee himself is alienating blacks from whites and basically promoting segregation.

"Shortly after seeing Bird, I read that Woody Allen was planning a film about jazz. Now, wait a minute! First Clint Eastwood, and now Woody Allen! You know I couldn't let Woody Allen do a jazz film before I did."

This is how I think Spike Lee looks at the situation:

"After seeing a jazz film a white man made, I found out another white man was making a jazz film. I had to make a jazz film before the second white man."

He does exactly what he says other people should not do. He defines people by their race.

I think Spike Lee apitimizes a racist person.

By the way, my father is black and my mother is white. My opinion is completely unbiased.

Reply

Look -- I don't know how applicable Spike Lee's comments are to this situation. But the point is African Americans are out there in show biz and pushing the envelope. How many iconic singers are out there with amazing voices? Alicia Keys. Mary J Blige. Keyshia Cole. How many awesome actors? Will Smith. Denzel. And that's just a few of the very talented artists. Obama is running for president. I'm not saying they didn't fight to achieve success but there are a lot of other minorities out there that deserve recognition as well. How many famous Asian stars or singers can you think of? I'm not trying to belittle the African American fight for equal recognition, because its there and its real. I'm just saying they've come a long way relative to other minorities.

Reply

ARE YOU GOING BRING YOUR POINTED HOOD AND BURNING CROSS ALSO? YOU REDNECK PRICK.

Reply

This made me chuckle.

Reply

Considering the make up of the writers on this site, I am and its readership's skew to the right- I am less than surprised you think Spike is wrong with regard to race issues in Hollywood. Hollywood remains one of the most underrepresented industries in America. This isn't theory. Look up the numbers at the DGA, SAG, WGA. Look at who are the executives in the industry. The product also skews this way. The voice being heard are small and often narrowly defined. When I tried to pitch an idea for a film that wasn't "urban," to a white film financier, his response was that I would be better off doing a film with Lil Kim about gangsta rap. His words. Not mine. That's the industry. I am not taking away from the progress we are making. But to read this blog, one would think there are no problems with race. Do me a favor- stick with fluff pieces. it suits you better.

Reply

A follow up:

The other interesting thing about this site is how the comments section ran over the fact that all the characters in several Asian films (Akira) were cast by white actors. The response there was that this is no big deal, and that authencity doesn't matter. yet , here you claim the opposite, that contrary to fact, blacks weren't in WWII and that whites being the only combantants, was actually true.

Reply