George Lucas: Hollywood Wouldn't Back My Film About Tuskegee Airmen Due to All Black Cast
Star Wars creator George Lucas said Monday that Hollywood studios refused to back his new film Red Tails - about World War II's Tuskegee Airmen - because the cast was all black.
This was told to a rather stunned Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's Daily Show (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):
For those not familiar, the Tuskegee Airmen were a group of black pilots that fought in WWII segregated from white forces.
“It was designed to be during the war," Lucas said. "It’s very patriotic, very jingoistic, very old-fashioned, corny, just exactly like Flying Leathernecks only this one was held up for release from 1942 when it was shot, and I’ve been trying to get it released ever since.”
Lucas told Stewart he’s been working on the film for 23 years. Although paying for it himself, he went to the studios to create the prints, ads, and be responsible for distribution.
“I showed it to all of them and they said, ‘No. We don’t know how to market a movie like this.'”
When Stewart asked why, Lucas first responded, “Because it’s not green enough. They only release green movies.”
The filmmaker clarified, “It's because it's an all black movie. There's no major white roles in it at all. It’s one of the first all black action pictures ever made.”
Lucas continued, “It’s a reasonably expensive movie. Normally black movies, say Tyler Perry movies or something, you know, they’re very low-budget, and, even they won’t release his movies. It goes to the lower, not major distributors. And they do well, but they do a certain amount of money, and they know what that is, and this costs more than those movies make. And they don’t believe there’s any foreign market for it. That’s 60 percent of their profit.”
Sadder still was how Hollywood balked given the message Lucas was trying to convey.
“I wanted to make it inspirational for teenaged boys. I wanted to show that they have heroes, they’re real American heroes, they’re patriots that helped to make the country what it is today. And it’s not Glory where you have a lot of white officers running these guys into cannon fodder. It’s like a real, they were real heroes.”
And Hollywood said, "No."
Just remember that the next time some movie star or film director calls Republicans or members of the Tea Party racist.
(H/T Huffington Post)
- Noel Sheppard's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Utter Nonsense
Submitted by libBuster on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:30am.
Utter nonsense spewed out for publicity.
Done in One
Submitted by TC Lynch on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:10pm.
It's more likely they turned him down because it's already been done, with Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., and they knew everyone would see the commercial and say "why re-make 'Tuskegee Airmen'?"
That's a good question
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:26pm.
That's a good question, why is he re-making the Tuskegee Airmen? Is it that he covets the Emmy's it won?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
That's a good point, TC
Submitted by Galvanic on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:47pm.
Red Tails will leave it self open to comparisons with the made-for-TV movie Tuskegee Airmen.
Also, Hollywood is reluctant to go with war movies these days, and Spike Lee's recent film about black GIs in WW2 Italy probably doesn't inspire them to go with this one.
But as others have noted, Lucas may be trying to gain some publicity for his work. "The true story that was too black for Hollywood."
I intend to see the movie because I am familiar with the subject and curious to see how they dramatize it. They need not stray from the real history to make a compelling story.
Another story that needs to be retold is that of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (Nisei) of WW2. Consisting mostly of Japanese-Americans -- all volunteers and many coming out of the relocation camps -- the 442 RCT was the most decorated US Army regiment of WW2 in terms of awards per days in theater. A film called Go For Broke (1950) did an adequate job of telling their story, but it really toned down much of the social aspects and ramifications. Van Johnson starred in it to make it marketable; most of the Nisei actors were veterans of the 442. I think this one is overdue for remake.
Valor with Honor
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 1:02pm.
There is a very good documentary about the Nisei solders called Valor with Honor that has been released recently. DVD's are available, if you're interested.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Van Johnson's character was quite the racist in GFB
Submitted by rolling_o on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 3:20pm.
I haven't seen Go For Broke in quite a few years, but as I recall, Van Johnson's character was quite racist for the first two-thirds of the movie.
On a related note, about ten years ago I was at the Costco in Mtn. View, CA. As I headed towards the exit, I saw an elderly Japanese man walking towards me who was wearing a cap labeled "442". I am annoyed with myself to this day for not stopping him and thanking him for his service.
Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion
Submitted by ljacone on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 4:44pm.
In 2009, comics writer and artist Billy Tucci produced an excellent miniseries starring Sgt. Rock which details the story of the Nisei entitled "Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion." I picked this up as single issues and it's a great retelling of the story of the 442. It's also available in softcover and hardcover collected editions.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the 442nd.
http://www.comicbookdb.com/title.php?ID=20997
Tuskegee Airmen was about their training
Submitted by stunned on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:41pm.
This film is about their experience flying escort duty in Europe. Lucas wanted to make a patriotic war movie about these guys fighting in Europe for over 20 years. You know the flag waving red white and blue movie after meeting some of these pilots many years ago. He put up 52 million of his own money to make it and was just looking for a studio to put it out and advertise it. The liberal SOB's in Hollywierd didn't think it would make money because the "enlightened" idiots believe a conservative audience they would be trying to attract, unlike the liberal audience they normally market to, are too racist to appreciate the Tuskegee fliers courage. Lucas has more faith in his fellow Americans and put his money on the line to make a film to show the greatness of the American soldier. The heck with their color.
I am pissed, my white 13 year old and his white buddies watched the trailer and are really looking forward to this movie. Heck I thought the trailer was terrific and didn't shortchange the courage and the heavy risks and losses suffered by the white bomber crews. A story I know well as my friend's mom lost her first husband in one of those planes and her older sister never met her father, the B-17 losses were in the tens of thousands during WW II. I am looking forward to the film as well as I love a good war movie and I am a right wing conservative by Hollywood standard.
tired of liberal lies
Black Soldiers in WWII
Submitted by Dcunning30 on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 4:44pm.
My father was a black soldier during WWII. Just before he died, he revealed to me that he was at what he called the Battle for Bastogne.
I NEVER saw Miracle at St. Anna, nor do I plan to. Spike Lee is just one of those leftist directors whose films I won't watch.
I've been to the Tuskegee Institute and I've seen Moton Field. I plan on seeing Red Tails on opening night.
Tuskegee Airman is old.
Submitted by Dcunning30 on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 4:39pm.
I saw Tuskegee Airmen and I'm looking forward to seeing Red Tails. The previous was a low budget effort, this is not.
Hollywood has LOTS of contradictions, also recall the pedophilia that has been going on and everyone looks the other way because they like their very attractive paychecks.
Maybe George is telling the truth...
Submitted by nonncom on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 4:38pm.
That usually doesn't work out very well for media types, no matter the vocation.....just ask Jimmy the Greek....LOL....
Lucas doesn't have
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:36am.
enough Star Wars money to do it himself? Maybe Okrah would help him.
Okrah
Submitted by Schofield Kid on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 6:23pm.
Ha, Okrah, good one! and I agree, it seems he could go the route of Mel Gibson and just market the movie himself if he really believes in it.
He did.
Submitted by stunned on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:23pm.
Lucas final total to make and market the film is 52 million. He is financing the kind of film he wishes more filmakers would make, a pro American movie.
tired of liberal lies
I wonder if another reason
Submitted by Ken Shepherd on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:37am.
I wonder if another reason was that it was not too green or too black but too "red, white and blue," too patriotic for studio execs' tastes.
Liberals & the Color Wheel
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:42am.
The one true color they love, yellow.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Baloney...
Submitted by Jer on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 1:46am.
If it were too patriotic, the scripts of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers would be gathering dust in Speilberg's closet, or produced and released only to become spectacular flops.
Or if the 'black cast, patriotic, action flick' were the decisive issue, Glory would have been a short-lived, embarrassing loser. Matthew Broderick and a few white officers are not the reason Glory, and its predominantly black cast including Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman, was a viable, successful, and critically acclaimed product.
Nor do I think the "Hollywood producers are closet racists" --or the absurd and insulting 'libs hate patriotic movies'--angle flies either. The Red Tails could, however, and I hope the movie will as well.
Jer
Pimiento Loaf....
Submitted by The Vet on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 2:07am.
I put the ellipses in there but I really don't know why, what was I trailing off to? The rest of the ingredients to my lunch?
Anyhoos....
Wow, ellipses again, I... Oh never mind.
It might be that "red, white and blue" don't sell so good overseas. But let's devolve into deli meats and completely dismiss Mr. Shepherd over lunch.
This focus on foreign markets is clearly changing the way studios assemble their feature film slates. Nowhere is this more evident than at Paramount Pictures, Hollywood's market-share leader in 2011 with 19.2% of the overall business. In 2007, when the studio also had the largest share of the market, Paramount did roughly the same amount of business in the U.S. as it did overseas — $1.5 billion domestic versus $1.6 billion international. In 2011, the studio's films grossed $1.9 billion in the U.S. But they made a whopping $3.2 billion overseas.
~
The expensive films, “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “The Adventures of Tintin,” all were aimed at international audiences.
~
This is no doubt great news for Paramount's bottom line, as well as for other media conglomerates that are moving in a similar globally oriented direction.
~
We still see American-oriented dramas at Oscar time, since the lure of a best picture statuette can still hypnotize the most pragmatic studio executive into ignoring their bottom-line instincts. But this year's leading best picture contender, “The Artist,” is an international production...
~
“Our movies may no longer espouse American values, but they carry a ‘Made in America' stamp that guarantees a commercial and technical quality level that's unmatched anywhere else,” Lynton says.
Vet...
Submitted by Jer on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 2:21am.
The ellipses which began by happenstance and developed into a habit have become something of a personal trademark, such as matthewdean's: --- Wrathful Brunette's: ~ and the Vet"s: Shut Up You Lying Troll.
But you make a good point in your comment about increasing catering to the international market. I believe Red Tails, with smart marketing, would also be well-received in other countries. I hope so.
Jer
Any word on if it'll be released?
Submitted by bkeyser on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:38am.
I'm not sure what's going on here. He makes a movie, it's paid for other than advertising and distribution, and no one will take on that part because the movie has an all-black cast? Not even Universal? So now what? Straight to video? I'm confused.
No, it's slated for a a
Submitted by Ken Shepherd on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:51am.
No, it's slated for a a theatrical release.
Working on it for 23 years
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:41am.
In Hollywoodspeak, means it has been sitting in a drawer for quite a while.
Note the way he spins it though.....mean racists held him back from telling this story forever!!!!
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
He had to earn the 52 million first.
Submitted by stunned on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:30pm.
He is putting up his own money and is taking ALL the risk. I hope it is a big his as this is the kind of film we need more of. I for one am sick of teenage slasher, vulger comedies and boring melodramas. It is his response to all the anti-American, anti-military films made back in the Bush years,remember?. Hollywierd didn't mind piling on that crap even when they lost a ton of money and a large chunk of their audience.
tired of liberal lies
Hay, George, be a Man, go independent!
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:46am.
Hay, George, why don't you do an independent release, if the film is that important to you? Of course, you won't get the box office receipts that you've grown accustomed to, but you did say the film was very important, so go independent. What's the matter, afraid of not making hundreds of millions of dollars on it or something?
Come on, George, be a man. Stop complaining and go independent. Others have done it, so why can't you?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
The truth will out...
Submitted by c5then on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:50am.
Doesn't the Hollywood elite call Middle America racists?
They seem to be practicing what they accuse others of doing.
Once again Lucas is going to make a fortune doing what the "establishment" says they don't know how to do or can't do.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
I think what they are saying here is...
Submitted by MightyMouth on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:53am.
...it's not Hollywood that is racist, but us Redneck KKK members in Flyover country who are the racists. And of course the rest of the movie going world. Racism will never die when you keep manufacturing it while trying to appear a guilty, self righteous white progressive.
So let's all go see his movie for the same reason we were supposed to vote for Obama...so we prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are ready for the 'first' all black movie!
It's not actually the first
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:24pm.
It's not actually the first movie about these brave men. There was a PBS/HBO movie called "The Tuskegee Airmen" back in 1995. It was a rather good movie. It even won 3 Emmy's, as well as the Peabody Award. Of course, Lucas doesn't have his name attached to it, so....
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
You missed his point.
Submitted by stunned on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:39pm.
His comments are a slam at the Hollywood establishment who believes flyover country is too racist to appreciate a patriotic movie with black men. LOL they thought they would make a bundle with the anti-American, anti-military films back in 08 full of white men, each was a bigger bomb than the next. He is right, Hollywood and liberals are the ones who obssess over race and ethnic differences and make movie choices because of THEIR biases. Hollywood is so out of touch. I spent 2 hours watching network TV one night last month and came away disgusted and happy knowing my kids have NEVER spent one minute watching the garbage on network TV. All the while they sit aroung blaming cable, the internet ect ect ect for their declining audience share.
tired of liberal lies
Affirmative Action
Submitted by Ashrak on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:52am.
cuts both ways......
But seriously, this isn't about profits and it isn't about race. Or is it?
This is about military members being heroes and the reality that Hollywood doesn't want to portray military action as positive or beneficial, much less justified. Being anti-war, no matter what, comes first and foremost.
I suppose there might be a hint of race involved, as this wouldn't exactly fit the meme that white folks just used black folks as human shields, and I suppose that there is even a certain profit minded motivation here, but both of those fail in the face of what I already said. The real aversion here is a positive depiction of military action.
Gee, maybe the "marketing" aspect has just been accomplished, via comedy central and news coverage of it, eh?
Maybe the race issue is something else entirely. Maybe Hollywood "bosses" fear the reaction, the positive one from the public, to a movie like this and is afraid that more will want to make movies that set our military members, both past and present and of course of any color, as the good and decent folks they are, as opposed to the 60's era foolishness of baby killers and atrocity committers along the line of Attila the Hun or Genghis Kahn.
Hollywood is in the pits. Newspapers are in the pits. Maybe that endless feed of liberal garbage is really the root of the problems after all.......
So Lucas is lying? The
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:59am.
So Lucas is lying? The studios are actually racist and anti-American, which is why they didn't want this movie, is that what everyone's saying?
That's not what I'm saying.
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:07pm.
That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that Lucas should release this film himself and stop looking for the Studios for funding. He's just pitching a fit that they won't pay for the advertizing and distribution for his independently produced film, which is a substantial cost, no doubt. Well, if it's good enough, important enough, to be produced independently, then it's good enough, important enough, to be released independently.
Lucas doesn't seem willing to pay for that advertizing and distribution costs himself, so he's calling Hollywood racist as a ploy to force them to cover those expenses, a typical ploy from liberals like him.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
I can go with that, balboa.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:19pm.
War II's Tuskegee Airmen were ALL BLACK, yo! Kind of makes sense that the cast would be pretty much all black.
I'd say that the liberal elites who run Hollywood love money more than the truth. They won't invest in an all-black movie because who won't watch it?
I will watch it in a heartbeat, and I am a card carrying sexist, racist, homophobe according to the Hollywood assholes.
Maybe if Lucas would have one white gay guy who was the lover of one of the pilots, or a black lesbian passing as male just to shoot down Germans. Ooo, ooo! Maybe one of the pilots takes a round through the cockpit that makes him "transgender?" Now THAT is a movie that these clowns would get behind and promote!
Give it a rest balboa.
Submitted by The Vet on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 1:39pm.
No matter how much you fish and claim Hollywood is racist and anti-American, they still will not remake your favorite movie. Maybe if you sent in all that evidence you keep under your bed, someone might give you a meeting.
Kareem Mamu Jabbar
Submitted by Schofield Kid on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 6:34pm.
Or whatever his name is. Wow, that must've been some great movie...only 7 people bothered to review on IMDB. I guess people just aren't that interested in convicted cop killers (which numerous eyewitnesses testified to btw). But hey, start writing poetry or be a convicted pedophile who makes good movies, well then you become a left wing celebrity.
I met two of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen recently
Submitted by SickofLibs on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:25pm.
at an air show... Eugene Richardson and John Harrison... you couldn't meet two nicer, down to earth gentlemen, and true heroes.
Seems like Hollywood has no problem coughing up for Obama's neverending $38,000 per ticket fundraisers.
I think Lucas isn't trying hard enough. Maybe he should convince some of these filthy rich rappers to step up to the plate; hell, Jay-Z just blew $1.5 million on his wife's two-day hospital maternity stay.
foreign market is 60% of the
Submitted by inquiringmind on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:26pm.
foreign market is 60% of the profits? Hmmm... I thought they were the enlightened ones. Maybe not so much.
Smell That?
Submitted by Utherpend on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:29pm.
That my friends is the smell of BS. If Lucas had anymore of it coming out of his ears he would be a sewage treatment plant.
Its that sort of disconnect from reality that shows he needs to turn over all the decisions for any and all projects to saner minds.
maybe?
Submitted by Agnostic on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:38pm.
They don't want to interfere with PBO vs OBL
If this is true it begs the question
Submitted by octavioj on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 12:46pm.
Why is Mr. Lucas still a liberal?
A quick search
Submitted by retrocon on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 1:01pm.
Shows that the "evil racist" Rupert Murdoch's 20th Century Fox has picked it up and is releasing it. www.redtails2012.com.
That aside. If i remember, even the original "Airmen" movie wasn't a 100% black cast, and i think that was the point Lucas' was making.
I'm not sure why so many attacks? Sure, he's said some stupid things in the past, one of his most memorable was the comment "So, this is how democracy ends, to thunderous applause," was aimed at Bush. Well, i would argue that over the last few months, we have plenty of proof that it's really a perfect statement to make about the current administration, and Obama's "well, if they don't do it, I will" disregard for the constitution.
Plenty of applause from the left on that.
Why a 100% black cast?
Submitted by CobraMan on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 1:14pm.
Why is Lucas using a 100% black cast? The unit itself wasn't 100% black. There were many white officers and enlisted men involved. Why exclude their contributions to the success of the Tuskegee Airmen? The best part of the whole unit was the integration it inspired in the rest of the Armed Forces and the successes that integration produced. Why not show the integration in it's entirety and actually include everyone involved, even the "racist" white people?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
You'll need to
Submitted by retrocon on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 1:22pm.
you'll need to ask Lucas that question. Maybe it focuses on a period of time or event that only had the black airmen? Maybe he's taking artistic license? Maybe he just wanted to.
But the question was really, with a 100% black cast, why wouldn't anyone, besides Fox, distribute for him?
I believe all the leads are
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 2:50pm.
I believe all the leads are black, not the entire cast. I know I've seen plenty of white people in the trailers.
Lucas
Submitted by okiehawk44 on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 1:10pm.
Lucas if Hollywood doesn't want a movie with an all-black cast maybe it doesn't want a WHITE director/producer either.
You folks are racists to the core and don't even realize it. That goes for all of you liberals.
Please recognize the
Submitted by Pewah on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 1:58pm.
Please recognize the brilliance of Lucas in making this movie. Well known for making horrible casting decisions in many of his past movies, he knows that nobody today would dare bad-mouth the actors in an all black cast. Right?
He has stated the obvious
Submitted by Optionyout on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 2:05pm.
I don't see him saying anything we, here, don't already know. Hollywood and Liberalism is a bunch of BS. They are capitalists. They chose to not finance this film because it wouldn't make enough money. Why?, because their projections say not enough people will pay to watch a film with a black cast. That is exactly what Lucas said. So he financed it himself. Hollywood makes films for profit and if people will watch a movie about the environment then they make movies about the environment. Same with horror or violence. The Liberal spin is just that spin. They care as long as they stay wealthy and are elite as opposed to the masses they care so much for. They should make movies that lose $ because they are idealists? They are profiteers. Capitalists. End of story. Just like Romney should have never let anyone go and let the companies continue to lose money just because he is wealthy and patriotic. Two faced SOBS.
MAYBE.....
Submitted by Dave the mailman on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 2:58pm.
Just maybe, they screened the movie and it wasn't that great. Maybe thats why they passed on it and Lucas didn't like the criticism.
who cares
Submitted by quipster on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 3:00pm.
i have not been too a movie since about 1994, hollywood a bunch of gays lizbo's and commies and lucas is a commie to. i don't plan on going to see this movie either.
YES!
Submitted by John Francroix Jr on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 8:01pm.
Winner!
What I think is worse is that
Submitted by WarEagle66 on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 3:52pm.
What I think is worse is that the Tuskegee base was closed. Left to rot. I was born on a base, in Alabama, and if I had been able to (neck injury prevented) I would have gone Air Force ROTC.
I think that they should have kept it open and run every airman through it for a few months to see just how great American flyers can be, no matter who tries to stop them. Instead we closed too many bases, kicked out too many good men and now we have idiot politician telling us that we are stretched too thin.
I hate all politicians who treat our servicemen like bargaining chips in appropriations.
Cry me a river
Submitted by Daisytoo on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 9:56pm.
George Lucas: Produce it yourself, if you think it's that good.
Sickening to watch Stewart and Lucas, both driven to the bone by popular ratings, falsely bemoan the fact that studios look at the bottom line when deciding whether or not to produce a movie.
Of course, Hollywood, being Liberal, is finally and always racist. Only movies condescending to blacks need be made in Hollywood.
So which is it, Hollywood's
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 10:08pm.
So which is it, Hollywood's racist or obsessed with the bottom line?
Yes....
Submitted by UpNorth on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:18pm.
.
Cry me a river
Submitted by Daisytoo on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 7:08pm.
I didn't characterize being concerned w/the bottom line as an obsession, that's your thought/word.
I did note that Lucas, Stewart and Hollywood, all Leftist, are condescending "Liberal" racists. And I did notice that Stewart and Lucas' disingenuous pretense concerning concerns over profitability was disgusting. Moreover, I did suggest that, if Lucas thinks his movie is that good, he should produce it himself instead of whining about anyone else's opinion about the potential profitability of his movie.
He did produce it himself
Submitted by John Francroix Jr on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 7:29pm.
Read the article. If you don't like reading, watch the video.
Lucas had spent about 80
Submitted by balboa on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 9:55am.
Lucas had spent about 80 million of his own money on this movie.
Gimme a break...
Submitted by ghostsouls on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:28pm.
Why do all these bleeding heart libs cry racism, they see racism under every damn rock. Did he ever consider there just isn't enough interest in that film, period...no racism at all involved??? God forbid everyone doesn't think the exact same way as he does. Why doesn't he make a movie about reverse racism??? Tons of people would go see it. Or how about a movie involving corrupt senators and congressmen/women using insider trading making millions of dollars for them selves and their husbands/wives? Or how about a movie about a socialist president hell bent on taking down the country he is in charge of??? Yeah, you kinda have to have an audience that is genuinely interested in the topic, not just because it is his pet project....he's whining because of bad judgment, and all the money he has put out to pay every one, and no one wants to see the crap. It's been done, it was a great movie, some movies do not benefit from remakes.... this is one of them. In a galaxy far, far away, sat a man who thought everyone should think just like him......
Stick to wookies, Georgie.
Submitted by drsamherman on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 11:38pm.
His political intelligence disappeared into a galaxy far, far away a long, long time ago.
I would see the movie, but I will wait until it comes to free TV. I like the story of the Tuskegee airmen, but I will not pay a dime to enrich fools like Lucas.
You will miss out...
Submitted by Radical Reductionist on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 9:48am.
The aerial combat scenes are made for the big screen; and, on the big screen, it is awesome!!! That is the key of this movie, what these men did in the air, and Lucas does it justice!
Sorry. Still won't do it.
Submitted by drsamherman on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 4:45pm.
Lucas has a history of outlandish leftist political statements and positions. I will NOT pay to see his movie in a theater or even pay per view. If one of my kids wants to go see it, maybe I will--if they pick up the ticket. I will not pay to enable his ignorant political grandstanding in any way, shape or form.
Hollywood Hypocrisy
Submitted by Perseus317 on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 2:56am.
This only exposes the hypocrisy of the Hollywood elites. They all come out and campaign for liberal causes, unless those causes hit too close to home. I'm sure that the stars, producers, and directors are all for black equality... that is, until a number of blacks want to move into their neighborhood. What is even more frustrating is that most blacks don't recognize the hypocrisy that exists among white liberal elites. It is a shame that more blacks who have struggled and become successful don't come out and condemn the liberals who have kept a large segment of blacks dependent on government handouts in order to buy their votes at election time. What our society needs is more successful black role models, who can attest to the importance of education and hard work in breaking out of the cycle of poverty and dependence. I, for one, celebrate the fact that a movie can be made with an all-black cast, and which celebrates the accomplishments of a group of primarily black airmen who made a major contribution to our success in the war in Europe. As for those Hollywood hypocrites, I hope they choke on their prejudices, and I hope the black movie stars publicly call them on their hypocrisy.
Bingo and Lucas called them out!
Submitted by stunned on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 8:32am.
Don't hold your breath waiting for black actors calling out their liberal hypocrisy. There are too few jobs for too many actors in Hollywood and they would be blacklisted in a heartbeat for exposing liberal racism. It is the liberal establishment that views the majority of Americans as racists and that is why movies with black casts are marketed and produced with only the black audience in mind. Oh they will throw in a black actor to play the comic relief in big budget releases, nothing new there huh, but overall most movie roles still go to white actors. Movies with Americans as the the good guys are are rare as movies with black actors in the major roles. Liberalism and its accompaning tokenism is alive and well in Hollywood.
tired of liberal lies
Lucas continues his decent into madness
Submitted by jesusknight72 on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 9:22am.
"And it’s not Glory where you have a lot of white officers running these guys into cannon fodder. It’s like a real, they were real heroes.”
Lucas, you're an idiot. Glory was a fantastic and historically accurate movie about how those times were. It had black actors, doing an excellent job I might add, portraying what life was like for those men in those days who gave up their freedom to fight. They didn't just "run them into cannon fodder". They showed their strength by volunteering to attack a fortification that they KNEW would be hard to take. THEY WERE REAL HEROES, JACKASS. They did it anyway knowing the losses would be great. Oh, and as I remember, THERE WERE WHITE OFFICERS DYING RIGHT ALONG SIDE THEIR MEN. That's honor, character, and sacrifice.
Glory didn't, however, have a cast of actors that talked with modern day manerisms like I witnessed in this movie's commercial. It looked laughable.
Oh, and the last time I checked you DO have white actors in this film. It's not an all black cast. Are you so cenile that you can't even remember what you put together? You need a history lesson and a catscan.
Not green enough
Submitted by Radical1979 on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 9:59am.
well George, the goal of a business, even the movie business, is to make a profit. If the execs didn't see any profit in your movie, there you go. Of course many movies go the independent route now, and the god ones end up being seen. You know the term "sleeper" right George?
I think the problem is that Lucas feels anything he offers to the studios should cause them to fall at his feet prostrate with gratitude. Times are hard, and Lucas is ignorant.
Lucas: 'Glory' was not about
Submitted by Slyrr on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 10:45am.
Lucas: 'Glory' was not about 'white officers using black soldiers as cannon fodder'. Even though it was a dramatization, the platoon volunteered to lead the assault at the end of the movie. The whole film was about how they WANTED to be on the front lines fighting, instead of being used as props (like Obama would have done).
Idiot.
I agree Slyr
Submitted by ahusser on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 11:31am.
Lucas' statement about black soldiers being cannon fodder is typically liberal. A partial truth. Stated to inflame emotions. The past as seen through those peculiar liberal lenses that block out all facts that are uncomfortable or not in line with their modern sensibilities and point of view. That statement implies that black soldiers were "only" used as cannon fodder and not white soldiers. You know, how dare these white officers send these poor black souls to their deaths. So his ignorance of how Civil War battles were fought is on display. Napoleonic tactics with rifled cannon and muskets, horrendous slaughter on both sides from Marye's heights to Pickett's charge as exemplars. Modern warfare wasn't figured out until much much later if at all.
"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there". -Lesley Hartley
"Somehow, I told you so, just doesn't quite say it." Will Smith in 'I, Robot.'
Well, duh!
Submitted by JeddMcHead on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 11:14am.
Of course Jon Stewart was "stunned" to hear Hollyweird is racist. Jon Stewart is a guilty, white liberal and like all guilty, white liberals he is an idiot. It's always "news" to them that this or that liberal institution is "racist" because they think of THEMSELVES as anything but racist.
But here's a bit of hard truth -- the biggest racists on the planet are guilty, white liberals! They treat all minorities like they're children who cannot take care of themselves ("white man's burden") and should NOT be responsible for their behavior. It makes the guilty, white liberal feel GOOD about themselves when they get the government to take money away from one group (rich) and give it to another (poor) despite the fact that "rich" and "poor" are comprised of all races.
Btw, the black community has more than its' share of racist pinheads, themselves, but they're certainly in control of the purse strings in Hollyweird.
Hollywood Bias against blacks?
Submitted by Taxpayer550 on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 2:04pm.
This is absolute BS! The only groups that Hollywood is biased against are Christians, Conservatives, Cops, and Organized Religion.
Lucas is unsuccessfully trying to create a canard, possibly to cast a shadow of racism on the upcoming election.
Meesa so angry
Submitted by Biff Ulysses on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 5:20pm.
Lucas is starting to remind me of Rumpelstiltskin driving himself into the ground. Pure publicity-whoring whiny race-baiting crapola to soothe his own ego.
He went from a veritable film-making genius with Star Wars and Raiders to a laughingstock with Jar-Jar Binks, "remastered" Star Wars complete with cartoony animations and phony high-contrast bells-and-whistles, and Indiana Jones XVIII.
C'mon Bill
Submitted by Radical1979 on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 5:33pm.
You aren't buying that someone could survive a nuclear blast in a refrigerator?!
Stuff like that makes me wonder how good/bad this new movie really is.
Tuskegee Airmen movie
Submitted by axsmith on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 11:20pm.
Mr. Lucas: You claim that a movie you produced about the Tuskegee Airmen 23 years ago will not be shown because it has an all Black cast. Sir, I do not wish to be disrespectful to my elders, but I fear Sir that you might be losing your mind. Of course that would suggest you may have had one to lose in the first place. May I also add that the "Tea Party" was started almost five years ago. And last but not least: Democrats were the party of racism, who started the KKK, killed MLK, etc. Please read some good non-revisionist history books!
P.S. I guess your movie days are over!
I think you misunderstood
Submitted by balboa on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:33am.
I think you misunderstood most of what he said.
Why?
Submitted by The Vet on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 12:57am.
Nothing was mentioned about your beloved cop killers so how would you know what was understood or not.
You know what would clear the air? Posting all that evidence you have that you claim clears your two favorite cop killers. Any day now.
Hollywood and Other Liberal Hypocrites
Submitted by berlet98 on Sun, 01/15/2012 - 5:03pm.
Hollywood and Other Liberal Hypocrites
Scratch a liberal often enough and you’ll always uncover a bigot–and a hypocrite.
No less a figure than George Lucas of Star Wars fame has discovered that fact of life and called out Hollywood liberals–if that’s not redundant–for its racism.
Accused of racism himself after the release of Star Wars due to the lack of inclusion of blacks, Lucas should have been prepared for the racial politics that exists in the Movie Capital of the World.
The famous film producer didn’t, couldn’t, express his feelings in those terms since he still has to work in Tinsel Town but he left no doubt what he meant during an appearance on ultra-liberal Jon Stewart’s ”Daily Show.”
The subject of Lucas’ charge concerned his film about the segregated Tuskegee Airmen in WWII, Red Tails, and Hollywood’s monumental disinterest in distributing the movie or having anything to do with it because, as he told Stewart, “It’s an all black movie. There’s no major white roles in it at all. It’s one of the first all black action pictures ever made.”
He also described Red Tails as “very patriotic, very jingoistic, very old-fashioned, corny,” which may have been another factor in Hollywood’s refusal to assist Lucas even though he financed the filming on his own.
Bigotry is acceptable in Tinsel Town but they cringe at patriotism there saying, “No. We don’t know how to market a movie like this. . . And they don’t believe there’s any foreign market for it. That’s 60 percent of their profit.”
In other words, the big wigs wouldn’t distribute Red Tails because it was all about blacks, was patriotic AND, as is typical with “black movies,”didn’t have enough profit potential to stuff their wallets.
Maybe if Lucas’ next effort involves African-Americans bad-mouthing their country, he’d get more support from Hollywood hypocrites.
Hypocrisy–and deception–are rampant in Liberal Land and the current effort to resurrect and refurbish President Barack Hussein Obama’s mentor and pastor of 20 years, Rev. Jeremiah “God Damn America” Wright, is probably the most blatant in Washington.
In the event no one has noticed, 2012 is an election year and the president is in the process of “pulling a Clinton,” that is, ostensibly moving to the middle of the socio-political spectrum, transforming into a “moderate,” in hopes of concealing the extremist changes and dashed hopes of the past three years.
With the economy still a mess, there’s little hope in the White House of restoring any real economic hope before November 6th so rehabilitating Obama’s radical background is one way he can forestall anticipated Republican campaign attacks on his extremist past and his far-out leftist associations.
Obama’s old buddies, the un-reconstructed revolutionary Bill Ayers is as out there as he ever was preaching revolt to the Occupy Wall Street anarchists and Rev. Michael Pfleger has never given up his message of self-hating race hatred.
However, Rev. Wright has been relatively less-incendiary–relatively–since candidate Obama disowned him under pressure in the heat of the last campaign.
Therefore, close presidential adviser and confidante, David Axelrod, figured this was a good a time as any to re-hab the good reverend so that the Republican nominee can’t beat his boss over the head with Wright. Since the mainstream media ably assisted last time around in hiding the intimate Obama-Wright connection, the MSM should be onboard again.
Notwithstanding Wright’s history of denouncing white people as congenital liars, his mindless, vicious allegations that America brought on September 11th, 2001, that we caused the AIDS virus, that America is under the control of the KKK and supports terrorism, plus a slew of other craziness, Axelrod is defending the certifiable racist nut.
Axelrod contends that all the criticism boils down to “ninety seconds of vitriol plucked from thirty years of sermons by some enterprising opposition researcher.”
Either David is smoking what his hero smoked for years, and it’s not cigarettes, or he has evolved into a bigger nutcase than Rev. Wright. . . (Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=12135.)