Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

September 5, 2008 2:48:42 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Eastwood to Spike Lee: Shut Up

Posted Jun 6, 08 11:35 AM CDT in Arts & Living,  Gossip 

(Newser) – At 78, Clint Eastwood doesn’t have much patience for his current critic Spike Lee. The most influential African-American filmmaker has taken issue with the lack of black people in Flags of Our Fathers and, previously, with having a white man direct Bird, the 1998 Charlie Park biopic. "A guy like him should shut his face," the five-time Oscar winner told the Guardian.

Eastwood prefers that his films be historically accurate rather than look like a "commercial for an equal opportunity player." So don't expect to see many black characters in his latest flick Changeling, set in Depression-era LA. It wouldn't be accurate, he says. He jokes that he'll stick to that formula for his next project, The Human Factor, about South Africa. "I'm not going to make Nelson Mandela a white guy."

Source Guardian (UK)

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Spike to Clint: 'We're Not on a Plantation'

    Jun 7, 08 7:23 PM CDT
    Spike to Clint: 'We're Not on a Plantation' Clint Eastwood told him to “shut his face,” but Spike Lee is talking back in full force: “The man is not my father, and we’re not on a plantation,” he said. Lee further chided the star director for ignoring blacks in his WWII films, calling him "an angry old man" and saying, “Not everything was John Wayne, baby.” More »

  • Oscar Winner Sydney Pollack Dead at 73

    May 26, 08 8:48 PM CDT
    Oscar Winner Sydney Pollack Dead at 73 Oscar-winning filmmaker Sidney Pollack died of cancer today at age 73 in Los Angeles, the New York Times reports. His career, defined by classics like Tootsie and Out of Africa, spanned an era when directors wrangled stars and battled studios to make artful yet commercial films. He later grieved that mainstream movies are good only by "accident" in today's Hollywood. More »

  • First Film Was Minghella's Finest Work

    Mar 21, 08 12:45 PM CDT
    First Film Was Minghella's Finest Work He might be known for his sweep of the 1996 Academy Awards with The English Patient, but director Anthony Minghella should be remembered for his first film, Dana Stevens writes in Slate. Truly, Madly, Deeply, a 1990 made-for-TV movie that's now something of a cult classic, is a "psychologically accurate portrait of grief" that still manages to be funny and "madly romantic." More »

  • Sean Penn to Head Cannes Jury

    Jan 3, 08 10:06 AM CST
    Sean Penn to Head Cannes Jury Hollywood's favorite bad boy Sean Penn will preside over the jury for the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, AFP reports. The now twice-divorced actor and director "represents the independent American cinema as well as a vision of America which we like," said the festival's artistic director. Americans Clint Eastwood and Quentin Tarantino have previously helmed the Cannes jury. More »

Clint Eastwood talks about Spike Lee's critiques of his films over the years with the Guardian.   (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Clint Eastwood with Angelina Jolie, the star of his latest flick "Changeling" at Cannes film festival last month.   (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Clint Eastwood doesn't have time for critics like fellow director Spike Lee.   (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
Clint Eastwood and his "Changeling" star Angelina Jolie pose together at th Cannes film festival last month.   (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 3)

Tags

film  • race  • movies  • film director  • Clint Eastwood  • Spike Lee


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular


Other Gossip Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »