A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

SAL'S PIZZERIA RUNS HOLLYWOOD: Spike Lee talks to the New Statesman:

He is clear about the reasons for the dearth of big-bucks black film talent, but torn about the solution. Recently, he had a James Brown biopic project turned down by every major studio. "It's the trilogy that has not been made," he says, laughing bitterly - "first Jackie Robinson, then Joe Louis, now James Brown. For me, it has been a wake-up call. I thought after the worldwide success of Inside Man it would be a little easier to make what I want, but I was mistaken. It all goes back to the gatekeepers. There are very few people in Hollywood - and these individuals are predominantly white males - who decide what you are going to see. And it's a problem. Many times when I go to these meetings, the only black person I see is the brother at the gate who lets me in. Even today, I will sit in meetings about James Brown and I'm the only black person in the room. These people in Hollywood don't see James Brown as the universal figure that he is; they only see him as the subject for a black film."

Raise your hand if you want to see a Spike Lee-directed James Brown biopic, because I sure do. Joe Louis, hells yeah. Jackie Robinson? My first reaction was that there was no way to make such a movie that wasn't a sentimental, cliched "inspirational" movie, and my second reaction was that there'd be nothing wrong with that. For every Miracle, Rudy, or Invincible-type underdog sports movie that's about the triumph of white athletes, it's about time we had one starring a black person that's better than Radio.