Clint Eastwood to Spike Lee: “Shut your face!”
June 6th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Taking time away from his busy schedule of making movies that no one sees, Spike Lee decided to generate much needed publicity by broadsiding master filmmaker Clint Eastwood.
Spike is miffed because Clint failed to include African American actors in his Oscar-winning World War II films Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. Never mind that Letters, which assumes the Japanese point-of-view, is one of Hollywood’s few intelligent productions aimed at pointing up the ignorance in racism, to Spike it simply wasn’t the right race.
Spike’s energy would have been to better use were he to have complained about the timeworn drunken Indian stereotypes littered throughout Flags’ screenplay.
Clint explained that the black troops that did take part in the 1945 battle were assigned to munitions companies and had no part in the flag-raising moment that is the focus of Flags. “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.” Referring to Lee, Clint added: “A guy like him should shut his face.”
Lee quickly responded, telling ABC News on Friday that Eastwood’s comments surprised him.
“First of all, the man is not my father and we’re not on a plantation either,” he said. Remember, telling someone to shut up is tantamount to endorsing slavery.
“He’s a great director,” Lee continued. “He makes his films, I make my films. The thing about it though, I didn’t personally attack him. And a comment like ‘a guy like that should shut his face’ — come on Clint, come on. He sounds like an angry old man right there.”
And you don’t listen well, do you aaaaaaasshole!
Spike Sharpton told AOL News, “If he wishes, I could assemble African-American men who fought at Iwo Jima and I’d like him to tell these guys that what they did was insignificant and they did not exist. I’m not making this up. I know history. I’m a student of history. And I know the history of Hollywood and its omission of the one million African-American men and women who contributed to World War II.”
Than why not make a movie about them, Spike? Oh, you did! And Miracle at St. Anna is currently in post-production due for US release in October? Looks like Lee’s way of starting the promotional bandwagon is to crap on two-year old films in order to make his upcoming gift look better.
As these pictures from The National Archives prove, Spike was certainly correct about their being African American soldiers on the beach at Iwo Jima. (According to the site, “over 2.5 million African-American men registered for the draft.”) Eastwood’s films never set out to prove that World War II was an all-white battle, nor were any of the characters intrinsic to his story black.
When asked how St. Anna will stack up against Saving Private Ryan, Lee said “Steven Spielberg’s a great filmmaker. I’ve always respected his work but this is totally different.” (Why isn’t Spike up in arms about the lack of African Americans in Schindler’s List? From what I’ve read, as far as Hitler was concerned, blacks were third in line behind Jews and gays.)
Student of history Lee dumps all over Clint and goes on to call the man that made The Color Purple “a great filmmaker.” Anyone want to buy my copy of Bamboozled?
“Ooooohh! What the f@#&’s wrong with you? Where do you get your balls big enough to say that to him? Are you out of your f@#&ing mind? He eats s%@# like you for breakfast. Now I want you to go over there and f@#&ing apologize to him, you hear what I’m saying? And personally I don’t give a f%$@ what color you are. if I ever catch you speaking out of line to Mr. Eastwood again, I’ll f@#&ing kill you myself, pure and simple.”
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15 Responses to “Clint Eastwood to Spike Lee: “Shut your face!””
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After meeting both Clint and Spike, I can say this: Clint is a gentleman and Spike is not. The man can make whatever films he wants to make. If Spike doesn’t like them, let him make his own movie about the subject. Didn’t Truffaut say the best way to critique a movie is to make another movie? We’ll see hoe his film does in October.
Regarding “shut your face”, it you can’t stand the heat, Sheldon, stay out of the kitchen. What were you expecting? Clint to not say anything? By the way, who the hell asked for your opinion anyway, Spike?
“We’ll see hoe” - Interesting typo. What would Freud say? Are you unconsciously thinking Mr. Lee a sellout?
“After meeting…Clint”
So? Where? When? Why? How? Nag, Nag, Nag!
OK, here are my stories:
I was working for the American Cinematheque a few years ago and we were screening “Mystic River” with Mr. Eastwood in attendance doing a Q&A afterwards and it was my job with another co-worker to see that he got everything he needed. Such a quiet, intelligent funny gentleman. I was so nervous but after speaking with him, he was so nice to me and everybody whom he met.
I met Spike when I first moved to L.A. and worked at Virgin Megastore and Spike came in and asked how much the laserdisc box set (remember those?) was of “Natural Born Killers”. He then asked if we could give him a “director’s discount”. Even at the age of 24, fresh from Chicago and wet behind the ears, I was shocked and pissed. Who the hell did this guy think he was? I mean, “Girl 6″ didn’t tank that bad. Ever since then, I refuse to see any of Spike’s movies.
When he asked for a director’s discount you should have paused and looked around for one.
To quote Spike Lee:
“If he wishes, I could assemble African-American men who fought at Iwo Jima and I’d like him to tell these guys that what they did was insignificant and they did not exist.”
To quote Todd from the celebrity blog “I Don’t Like You In That Way”:
“Spike Lee is right. Those 900 black soldiers out of the 70,000 that landed on Iwo Jima really helped turned the tide.”
I love this one. How appropriate that they’re arguing over war films. This thing has escalated like a war… or better yet, a bar fight.
Spike overgeneralized about Clint’s movie, basically trying to make a point about WWII films in general. Okay, “Shut your face” isn’t exactly calling him “boy” (which is what Spike seems to be implying) but come on guys - it’s still fightin’ words.
I think they need to take this one outside.
Spike will leave the ring more battered than an X-Box at a NAMBLA convention.
As a World War Two historian, I can honestly say that Mr. Lee is talking out of his. . . .
There were no African Americans on Iwo Jima to speak of.
The only ones of note were either the Tuskegee Airmen or a tank battalion stationed in Africa I believe around that time. Which were nowhere near Iwo.
Other than that, let’s see how “The St. Anna” film he’s doing will do box office wise. It is an adaptation of a James McBride novel, if I remember correctly.
Thanks, Anonymous. Love your poems. It is based on a James McBride novel.
Sorry, Scott.
That was me, BushidoJohn.
And yes, I am a amateur World War Two historian.
Spike added this: “Even though he’s trying to have a Dirty Harry flashback, I’m going to take the Obama high road and end it right here,” he told ABCNEWS.com. “Peace and love.”
Wha??? He started this whole fight, and now he says “peace and love”? Sigh!
My hat off to Mr. Clint Eastwood!!! spike, quit whining and make your own and add black to your so-called movies. Then we’ll see what kind of notoriety the so-called movies make. Why must you piggy-back on such “Famous Producers” to have blacks portrayed on their money making movies. Why? I’ll tell you why spike, cause if it’s a black movies nobody will see them except for blacks. Get a life spike and deal with it, we don’t want black thrown in own face. If you want blacks make your own God-damned so-called movies. GET A LIFE!!! You go Mr. Clint Eastwood!!!
I think that after “Malcolm X” black audiences have long since tired of Spike’s joints. His recent audience is comprised of white liberals that believe they will actually learn something new about race relations by watching a Spike Lee movie and so-called serious film students.
“Bamboozled”….oh my gawdddd!!!!!! I still have nightmare flashbacks to that sub-public access TV production.
I love “Bamboozled.” It’s “The Producers” in blackface!