A little bit ago I posted regarding Spike Lee's comments at Cannes, accusing Clint Eastwood of tacit racism because no black actors appeared on screen in Flags of Our Fathers or Letters from Iwo Jima. "If you reporters had any balls you'd ask him why," he told reporters. "There's no way I know why he did that -- that was his vision, not mine. But I know it was pointed out to him and that he could have changed it. It's not like he didn't know."

That post touched a nerve and elicited a barrage of comments from you folks, some of them nasty, but many interesting and thoughtful. So I figured I'd be remiss not to report Eastwood's recent response in a Guardian article to Lee's remarks.

Frankly I'm amazed that the announcement for a fourth Bourne movie wouldn't get a little more fanfare than buried half way down an article. In a press release in Variety, Universal announced that Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass will be returning for a new installment of the Bourne franchise. Originally, when the two were peppered with questions about a fourth film, they had the stock answer that Damon would only reprise his role if Greengrass returned to direct, and Greengrass would only return to direct if Damon was willing to star. Confused? Don't be, it was basically the PR equivalent of keeping the idea of a film on the back-burner without promising anything too specific.

Universal released the info in a release about their upcoming slate of films, and according to them both Damon and Greengrass are definitely returning to work together on the spy franchise. There are two books left in the Bourne series, so at least there would be some source material to start with. The two are currently working on the Iraq drama, The Green Zone, and Damon has already signed to star in The Informant for Steven Soderberg and is also in talks to star in The Human Factor for Clint Eastwood. Greengrass is also going to be busy with his upcoming Vietnam drama, They Marched into Sunlight. So it could be as late as 2010, before the two can even get started on making another Bourne flick, let alone get one into the theaters. However, with Bourne Ultimatum taking home three Oscars last night (three!), I imagine the fourth flick might be made a priority. For Universal's sake, I hope this one is a done deal. I can't help but think how embarrassing it must have been for MGM's Harry Sloan when his studio got a little overzealous about a certain spy franchise.

[via Empire]

Yes, Nelson Mandela is still alive, despite what President Bush said (I know it was taken out of context). And now the previously announced Mandela biopic is also very much alive, and may even get a multiple Oscar-winner as its director. According to Variety, Clint Eastwood is interested in helming The Human Factor, an adaptation of the same-titled book by John Carlin (with subtitle: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Changed the World). The film won't actually be a full biopic, though; instead, it focuses on the former President of South Africa post-imprisonment, on the eve of apartheid's end. It also deals with the 1995 Rugby World Cup and how it aided in the post-apartheid healing of South Africa. The adaptation has been scripted by South African screenwriter Anthony Peckham (Don't Say a Word).

We've already learned that Mandela will be portrayed by Morgan Freeman (perfect choice), who will also be producing with his company Revelations Entertainment (10 Items or Less). Now possibly joining Freeman on screen is Matt Damon, who is in talks to play the captain of rugby team the Springboks. Although both Freeman and Damon contributed to the 3D IMAX documentary Magnificent Desolation, the two have never acted together. Freeman and Eastwood, though, have collaborated a few times, and it was due to working with the actor-director on Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby that Freeman reportedly requested Eastwood's filmmaking talents for this project. My guess is that Eastwood appreciates the opportunity, as it sounds like something that will garner him yet another Oscar nomination. However, it won't be the director's next film; that has already been announced as The Changeling, with Angelina Jolie.

For those looking for a Mandela movie in the meantime, perhaps someone will finally pick up U.S. distribution rights to Bille August's new film, Goodbye Bafana, which features Dennis Haysbert as the iconic prisoner-turned-leader. Erik caught the pic in Berlin earlier this year and called it, "a perfect movie -- one that gets it all right," and it is very surprising that there's no plans yet to release the film here. Perhaps someone is waiting until they can pit it against The Human Factor, in order to fulfill the new Hollywood law that all biopics must have a dueling competitor.

Morgan Freeman is about to embark on one of the best film roles of his life. Freeman will be portraying his long-time friend Nelson Mandela in The Human Factor. The film is a drama that will be produced by Freeman's production company Revelations Entertainment and was written by South African screenwriter Anthony Peckham -- who also wrote Don't Say A Word starring Brittany Murphy and Michael Douglas.

The Human Factor will follow the life of Mandela from the release of his 27-year imprisonment and after the first democratic election in South Africa following the fall of the apartheid. Mandela is most recognized for his work on South African reconciliation when his most pivotal and widely watched efforts were during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. South Africa was the host of the games when Mandela asked the black South Africans to support the widely-hated team the Springbok. The team won the world cup as Mandela revolutionized and began to unionize South African races by presenting the cup to Francois Pienaar; the captain of the rugby team.

I feel so accustomed to seeing Morgan Freeman in similar roles, best described as the ethereal voice of reason and aptly portrayed in Bruce Almighty and today's release of Evan Almighty, the God-like roles. It will be breathtaking to see Freeman portray one of the most influential and stunning public figures of our time. The film is based off the book The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed the World, written by John Carlin. I, for one, have a great amount of confidence in this particular piece of work. Freeman is one of the greater actors of our time and Nelson Mandela is one of the most influential and renowned purveyors of community and peace throughout the world. A film about a great man and portrayed by a great actor should be, at the very least, good.