Cool News
Spike Lee IDs The Director Of George Lucas' RED TAILS!!
Merrick here...
Spike Lee has revealed who'll direct RED TAILS, George Lucas' long-in-development tale of African American pilots in World War II.
It was like eight men at the roundtable. And two of ‘em, Lee Archer and Roscoe Brown, was the 8th pilots of the Tuskegee Airmen, which I might add, this spring George Lucas is finally doin’ his Tuskegee Airmen film, “Redtails." He’s gonna produce it and a young African- American director, Anthony Hemingway, is gonna direct it. He’s done several episodic TVs, and is a young director so I’m looking forward to that and hopefully “Miracle” with “Redtails” coming’ up will generate more films to show the untold story about the participation.
...says Lee in his interview with Ebert, which can be found HERE!!
Awkwardly identified only as "a black director" by Lucas in THIS INTERVIEW out of the UK, Hemmingway comes to the project from a strong TV background, including CSI: NY, CSI: MIAMI, THE WIRE and Sci Fi's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.
Readers Talkback
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it'll be nice to see something by Lucas not Star Wars or Indy related. Been a while...
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Thank you, goodnight!
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fucking A george, give him the budget and ILMs resources and leave him the fuck alone this might be the best thing youve had a hand in for years
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Sept. 25, 2008, 10:50 a.m. CST
The only thing "awkward" is Merrick's man-obsession of Lucas
by Atticus Finch
Merrick is like the spurned lover Lucas kicked to the curb years ago, the way he always tries to take cheap little pot-shots at Lucas every time his name comes up. His obsession is funny and sad at the same time.
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This needs to be a Spike Lee joint! Give it the Bamboozled treatment!
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Why was he complaining about films not focusing on black soldiers during WW2, when he himself was already involved in TWO high-profile projects based on the topic?!? He's got the film he directed AND this film that he's co-producing with George freakin' Lucas!!! I could understand if he weren't an established director, but he IS! And these films are happening! So why is he crying like black soldiers were going to continue being excluded from WW2 films?!?
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I guess this is Lucas' opportunity to not only make another movie about an era he clearly loves, but to also shake off the racist image he developed with characters like Jar-Jar "Stepin Fetchit" Binks. "I'm no racist. See? Not only am I making a whole movie about black people, but I'm even letting one of 'em direct it!"
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that the movie is being directed by a black director because a white or asian director would never be able to tell this story.
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...I miss that show.
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In Lucas' defense, which is hard to do recently, he was talking about Redtails before TPM and Jar Jar. He's also dating a black woman.
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I don't see anything wrong with Lucas saying he was choosing "a black director." What he was probably trying to say when he did that was that he knew he wanted an a black filmmaker to tell the story which I appreciate. So he probably looked around for the right person who could understand the point of view of the characters where racial discrimination is concerned. Lucas is tops in my book.
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This project has potential. Remember Lucashaters, George Lucas is not directing or writing the script. He's just the producer, and maybe the "story by" guy. Can't wait to see some awesome dog fights
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I'm a life-long Lucas lover, and this director he's hired has had a hand in some brilliant TV. Let's hope this one realises its potential
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Wait, which Tuskegee are you talking about? This is about the Tuskegee Airmen, but the way you talk about what the gov't did, it sounds more like you're referring to the Tuskegee syphilis study? I would think that is more comparable to the example you're citing than the racism related to the Tuskegee Airmen.
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Has there been a review on here of Miracle at St. Anna?
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Sounds pretty good! Now THIS is cool news! First that excellent interview with Spike Lee and now this! Best of all it's not a remake!
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they say the best way to comment on a film is to make another...High Noon/ Rio Bravo for example. if Lee thinks the Black Contribution to the wars are under represented in film then he should make his own black war film..not go whining to Clint Eastwood about it. ..and now Lee is like the Jesse Jackson of war films, where you have to go through him to get approval? thats bullshit- he has nothing to do with Red Tails' long road to production?
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I seem to recall an interview with Lee where he denounced the portrayal of Jar Jar Binks in TPM. He admitted he hadn't seen the movie, but he had heard from friends of his who had, and he'd formed a negative opinion of GL as a result. I guess they made nice? Or perhaps it was a brewing controversy that wasn't.
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that is all.
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He'll flap his mouth about any old crap to get attention.
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...as in chicks...spanking other chicks...throughout the centuries...VERY disappointed in this news.
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That was hilarious.
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Spike Lee did just make a black ww2 film, Miracle at St. Anna
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Just finished Force Unleashed and while it has it's problems with playability it kicks the new Prequel Trilogy in the Jar jars as far as old school Starwars story and atmosphere is concearned!
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it had Laurence Fishburne in it and was called the Tuskegee Airmen
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Why should Lucas lie?
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Seriously Wheres The Mention Of Spike I Hate White People Lee? The Only "Normal" Movie Spike Lee Did Was Inside Man. And Inside Man 2: Man Inside.
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Ok Thats My Favorite
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LOL!!
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So he deserves credit for getting this pulled together. As for the reflexive bashing and traffic that ALWAYS comes up whenever Lucas is mentioned in this site (and therefore, he's mentioned a lot) it has become a telltale sign of ignorance and laziness. Prequel bashing is like an internet fart from 1999 that never diffused. The people doing it have seen each of the prequels numerous times and have closets full of new Star Wars toys falling off shelves. The prequels are in fact pretty damn good when you look at them as a whole and those people jumping on "The Force Unleashed" as some kind of second coming should probably acknowledge that for the most part its story and settings would make little to no sense without the prequels. The people that pile on the prequels, the new Indy and Lucas are utterly divorced from the reality of how the originals were perceived by the cognitive elite (now debased to include everyone with an internet connection) in their day or completely ignorant of the sensibilities that inform the very existence of both series. Muppets belching and Chewie tarzan'ing were all clapped and cheered by the same people that go apoplectic over new animation that is today's equivalent of the old Saturday morning Ewok's cartoons. People that clamor for auteur treatment for He-Man, GI Joe and Transformers so the "true subtext" of these properties can be finally realized are comically sad when at the same time they fail to grasp most of what Lucas was doing with his latest movies. Let go of your hate.
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Yeah, Spike Lee IS making a movie involving black soldiers in World War 2. That's kind of why he brought it up. In fact, that's why Ebert's interviewing him. You kind of should have mentioned that, Merrick.<p>And I think it's perfectly fine Spike is saying blacks have been under represented in WW2 films. I think it's true, actually. I mean, how many have films have their been, except for the OTHER Tuskeegee Airmen movie, that show their contribution? It's been sixty years and there have been a LOT of WW2 films. I thought his comment about the levees getting blown up was ridiculous, too, but I think he was on the mark with these comments. Or at least not too far off.<p>So, we've got Lucas producing ONLY and some others writing and directing? That's how it should always be. I'm hoping this turns out to be a good flick.
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Can you please put out a good movie? YOu haven't done that since 1989.
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Lucas better take a cue from Speilberg and, at least, get the aircraft correct. If I see a damned T-6 Texan dressed up as a P-51C I'm going to throw my partially masticated Dum-dum's at the screen. This is a great story and I'm really looking forward to seeing it told (again) on the Big Screen.
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There are more than enough P-51s still around to pull this off. I saw ~80 of them last year at an airshow in Columbus. No need to dress up another plane to make it appear as one. Of course I am sure ILM will just animate them for the dogfight scenes, like they did in Pearl Harbor. Hopefully this time the animators will not have them manuever like T.I.E. fighters, like they did in P.H.
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and thats because i know people who work at ilm.
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I'd love to see some of these prequels the fans think they can make better.
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I remember that he mentioned this movie on a convention a few years ago.
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Help a brotha out!
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Seriously. The man knows how to make movies about pilots.
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I, too, know folks that work at the Presidio. The whole management at that site are douchebags...
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Anyway, this movie sounds cool.
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As critical as I've been of Lucas in recent years, I think he made good choice with Hemingway. Doesn't matter to me if the director is black or white, since Spielberg made a wonderful "The Color Purple" years ago, but Hemingway's credentials are top notch. "Battlestar Galactica" and "The Wire"?<p> I'm interested.
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one of the most prominent portrayals of blacks in WWII came in the early '70s, on episodic network TV. "Roll Out" tried to build on the popularity of MASH and black films of the time, telling a comic-dramatic story of the Red Ball Express, black supply unit loaders and drivers who humped food, ammo, replacement weapons and sometimes people through the worst parts of the war. Some real heroes came out of the Red Ball. But almost no one remembers them, and the network canceled "Roll Out" pretty quickly when white America showed a disinterest in the WWII subject matter and the racial politics. I remember it very vaguely but with some fondness.
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You wrote, "The prequels are in fact pretty damn good when you look at them as a whole..."<p> That's your opinion, not a fact. My opinion differs significantly from yours, as do most people's. You're welcome to express your view, obviously, but don't expect people to be swayed by it.
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Take a deep breath, please. There have been lots of movies about fliers and fighters in WWII that highlighted their heroism. There haven't been many films about how blacks were blocked from most combat service and had to fight just for the right to serve their country as something other than cooks and mechanics and drivers. That fact doesn't get taught in schools, much either, so lots of Americans have no idea how the USA discriminated against blacks in a moment of dire need. They should know, just as they already know about the achievements of whites. The sociopolitical message is the whole point of the movie. Without it, it's just another movie about fighter pilots. Do we really need another one of those?
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Sept. 25, 2008, 6:56 p.m. CST
I think a lot of you just have knee-jerk reactions to "black mov
by terry1978
That's pretty much all it is. I don't blame you too much, as I know society has basically made it cool to be as politically incorrect as possible due to backlash from the quote unquote "race card." But as was mentioned, many minorities in past wars did a hell of a lot, and in some cases moreso than their white counterparts, and were more than likely viewed as lower than the fucking dogs and horses that the white guys rode...so, yeah.
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but I do think that many of the criticisms leveled at those movies and those sustained and repeated vs. Lucas have pretty weak legs to stand on for the most part and devolve into weird misplaced vendetta territory. There are few movies that couldn't be improved in this way and that and it's pretty easy to understand why some of the most popular movies of all time would have so many opinions about how new installments should unfold - what's not easy to understand is how you could possibly reconcile all of them into something that made sense or pleased everyone, much less the person creating it in the first place.
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to the two who mentioned that shit, can you elaborate? Would love some good gossip on that place... know you prolly gotta be discreet, but any funny stories or anecdotes you can relate about it?
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a director that has worked on both The Wire and Battlestar Galactica. I don't care how much hate you have for Spike Lee or George Lucas.... they're only producing this movie. This thing is heading in the right direction to be fantastic.
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Ah Thank you.
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It is almost as if he is compelled to trash Lucas in order to gain some fans here....
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in the Hyborian Age.
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It starred Lawrence Fishburn. Do we really need another one?
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…how about the movie ‘Memphis Belle’? That bomber crew was a part of the Eighth and though I don’t remember a specific name, I’m quite sure the crew in ‘Twelve O’clock High’ was part of the Eighth also since it wasn’t until later that the Fifteenth started operations from Italy. I think your snarky comment is completely inappropriate and wholly unjustified…how many other WWII movies, besides ‘Tuskegee Airmen’ have involved mostly minority war fighters?
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Thank you. This film is not going to be about one unit's sacrifice, so far as I can tell. It's going to be about what the men had to do simply to be allowed to make that sacrifice. It's a political issue story as much as a war story. <p> <p> TheGoddamnSiege: That was 13 years ago, on TV. That may as well be 50 years ago for most people. From that position I guess we don't need any more WWII films at all, since there have been so many and you can find Hitler on The History Channel at any random moment. And we don't need any more action movies ever. The existence of certain hit films wipes out the need for entire genres. *wink*
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