RECENT POSTS
- 'X Factor's' Danyl Johnson: The Next Susan Boyle?
- Sam Rockwell Goes Over the Moon
- ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Found Dead After Apparent Suicide
- The Performance That Cowed Cowell
- What's Up With LiLo, Madge, Shawn Johnson?
- Post-Game Gossip: The Week's Biggest Entertainment Stories
- Kevin Spacey's Springboard for Young Filmmakers
- Swayze Still Battling Cancer...and Rumors
- And The Winner Is ... Anne Hathaway?
- False: Xmas Not Biggest Movie Day of the Year
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
« Previous | Main | Next »
Clint Eastwood Tells Spike Lee to 'Shut His Face'
June 06, 2008 12:25 PM
It takes a certain something to pick a fight with Dirty Harry. Apparently, Spike Lee has it.
At the Cannes Film Festival in May, Lee, whose next film, "Miracle at St. Anna," is about an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy during the war, slammed Clint Eastwood over his 2006 Iwo Jima movies, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima," saying the filmmaker overlooked the role of black soldiers during World War II.
"He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one black soldier in both of those films," Lee told reporters at Cannes. "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."
Now, Eastwood's throwing some punches of his own. In an interview to promote his latest film, "Changeling," Eastwood said Lee should "shut his face."
"Has he ever studied the history?," Eastwood growled to British paper The Guardian, who published the interview today. Regarding "Flags of Our Fathers," Eastwood admitted there was a small detachment of black troops on Iwo Jima, "but they didn't raise the flag. The story is 'Flags of Our Fathers,' the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn't do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people'd go, 'This guy's lost his mind.' I mean, it's not accurate."
Eastwood added that Lee's got another thing coming if he complains about the lack of black actors in "Changeling." The film is set in Los Angeles during the Depression, before the city had a significant black population.
"What are you going to do, you gonna tell a f*****' story about that?" Eastwood ranted. "Make it look like a commercial for an equal opportunity player? I'm not in that game. I'm playing it the way I read it historically, and that's the way it is. When I do a picture and it's 90 percent black, like 'Bird,' [the 1988 biopic of Charlie Parker] I use 90 percent black people."
He finished his roast with a simple, harsh directive:
"A guy like him should shut his face," Eastwood said.
Doubtful. ABCNEWS.com's request to Lee to comment was not immediately returned, but considering this isn't his first war of words with Eastwood, it's unlikely the outspoken director will stay silent for long.
Sheila Marikar
June 6, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (150)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
To the writer of this piece: The colloquial expression is "he has another think coming." It is not "he has another thing coming."
Posted by: Language lover | Jun 6, 2008 1:05:59 PM
DOWN WITH CLINT EASTWOOD! ALL AMERIKKKANS SHOULD FLY THE FLAG UPSIDE DOWN IN PROTEST! CLINT SUCKS!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:06:07 PM
DOWN WITH THE WHITEBOY CLINT EASTWOOD! HE SUCKS!
OBAMA 08!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:07:15 PM
*psssst!* umm BBlack... you're lack of education is showing. You might what to take a brush up on your grammatical and English composition skills.
Posted by: quiltedjeans | Jun 6, 2008 1:08:04 PM
QUILTEDJEANS: EAT A _ICK UP AND HICKUP!
MCCAIN 08! MORE WHITE GIRLS TO DATE!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:09:23 PM
Really Spike should let his own film speak for itself instead of criticizing others. Eastwood's movies about Iwo were amazing - and particularly bold in exploring the motivations of the enemy - another race - in "Letters".
Posted by: Michael | Jun 6, 2008 1:11:11 PM
EVERYONE SHOULD FLY THE AMERIKKKAN FLAG UPSIDE DOWN IN PROTEST OF CLINT EASTWOOD! CLINT SUCKS!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:11:42 PM
heh.. Maybe add in some anger management classes while you are at it!
Posted by: quiltedjeans | Jun 6, 2008 1:11:55 PM
Why is anyone surpised our race will never receive credit for anything? Clint is old and cranky former womanizer. American history books are filled with inaccurate info.
Posted by: Weareone | Jun 6, 2008 1:12:10 PM
BOYCOTT CLINT THE R.E.D.N.E.C.K'S MOVIES! CLINT SUCKS!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:12:59 PM
CLINT SUCKS!
OBAMA 08!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:14:05 PM
I was kind of leaning to Clint's side of this debate. But after reading the articulate, witty, compelling arguments made by BBlack, Spike Lee MUST be right. I can't imagine anyone that smart being on the wrong side of a debate. Spike certainly surrounds himself with the intellectual giants of the day.
Posted by: Kieth | Jun 6, 2008 1:14:40 PM
I belive Clint is in the right m it would take an idiot yes and idiot to agree with Spike. That guy is nothing but a racist him self. We need to unite as a whole country and fight back. This is our conrty lets take it back. not black
Posted by: The white man | Jun 6, 2008 1:14:40 PM
Spike is the idiot that sued Spike TV because he thought they were stealing his name; he thinks that the US government planted bombs in New Orleans to blow up the levy and in the trade towers of NY on 9/11. What a dope. Movies are for all time when they portray history correctly. We love you Clint!!
Posted by: JG | Jun 6, 2008 1:15:22 PM
BOYCOTT CLINT EASTWOOD! FLY THE AMERIKKKAN FLAG UPSIDEDOWN!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:15:36 PM
EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE A LEAK ON THE AMERIKKKAN FLAG IN HONOR OF CLINT THE MORON EASTWOOD!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:17:16 PM
CLINT SUCKS!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:18:33 PM
I can't stand Spike Lee and because of his big mouth I refuse to watch his movies. He needs to shut the **** up!
Posted by: Britt | Jun 6, 2008 1:18:39 PM
BBLACK: Are you mentally challenged?
Posted by: Britt | Jun 6, 2008 1:19:40 PM
IM GOONA GO TAKE ME A LEAK ON THE AMERIKKKAN FLAG FOR CLINT!BYE!
OBAMA 08!
Posted by: BBLACK | Jun 6, 2008 1:20:00 PM
Post a comment
