The war of words between Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood has reached a fevered pitch as Spike Lee obviously doesn’t know when to “shut his face” as Eastwood so eloquently put it.
As we told you the other day, Spike Lee is upset with Eastwood for not putting black actors in his WWII movies, Flags Of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. In response to Lee’s racist-tinted accusations against him, Eastwood said that “A guy like him should shut his face.”
Well, Spike Lee started talking some more. ABCNews.com was able to get this response from Lee:
“First of all, the man is not my father and we’re not on a plantation either,” he told ABCNEWS.com. “He’s a great director. 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.”
Lee has a proposal for Eastwood:
“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,” he said. “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.”
So Spike Lee put Clint Eastwood in his place, right? He basically said, “hey, you ain’t my daddy or my master so you can’t tell me what to do.” A tad racist, but accurate, I suppose. He also called Clint out for being an angry old man. Of course, I’d be angry too if I had to defend myself against these kinds of “history experts.”
Concerning the black soldiers at Iwo Jima, Eastwood fired back at Lee and told Focus Magazine this (Newsbusters):
“Does he know anything about American history?” Eastwood told Focus when asked about Lee’s criticism. “The U.S. military was segregated til the Korean War, and the blacks in World War Two were totally segregated. The only black battalion on Iwo Jima was a small munitions supply unit that came to the beach.
“The story was about the men who raised the flag and we can’t make them black if they were not there. So tell him: Why don’t you go back and study your history and stop mouthing off!”
Where I once thought Spike Lee was just dredging up controversy to sell his black soldiers in WWII film, Miracle At St. Anna, I now think he’s just a little ignorant.
I’ve always thought he was racist.
Here is the poster for Lee’s film:
Wow
Do you think Robert Downey, Jr. is playing the lead in Lee's movie?
Probably left the Tropic Thunder set and went right to this one
Doubleplusungood crimethink by Clint Eastwood.
Spike Lee is just looking for something to complain about and to promote his own movie. I'd guess if there was a token African-American who dropped off ammo with the flag raisers he would have complained about that too.
Heya Frank! Good to see you
You've been a bit absent…how is OpTempo going?
By the way, you get a point for being funny too.
I love Disqus
I wish I did – maybe I'll get the swing of it shortly…
Jason, I feel like you are holding back… I'm not sure I can tell how you feel about Spike Lee. Next time, could you be a little more direct? No more sitting on the fence.
Sometimes I have a hard time expressing my feelings.
You don't love it? Sad…you need a banana?
There's a point system??
Yeah, you can award points to really good comments (like this one) by clicking the up arrow next to the avatar of the person who made the comment. It doesn't work, however, for people who are replying to a comment made by yourself.
Exactly! That's all I'm saying.
Does Spike Lee ever do anything besides piss and moan?
We miss you Kory!
Get some sleep man.
Spike is pathetic. He's not interested in being honest, only in generating controversy. The industrial-sized chip on his shoulder doesn't help. Clint could have pandered to him by gratuitously throwing in an “ammo bearers on the beach” scene, though the story didn't revolve around that, but there wasn't a whole lot of room for non-Japanese in Letters from Iwo Jima.
Did I miss a memo? Can't Clint make a movie without consulting Spike first to see if it meets the proper Equal Opportunity guidelines?
May I suggest you Google “92nd Infantry”? If there were no Black soldiers at Iwo Jima, even supply truck drivers, it wasn’t for a lack of desire. Our great country didn’t allow them to fight because they were Black. Spike Lee is right and Clint Eastwood is an angry old man. But, hey–there’s no law against being angry. Hell, I’m angry too! Have any of you even seen the movie “Miracle at St. Anna”? Probably not… armchair critics. Spike is a visionary and a cinematic genius. He’s had more diversity in his films than Eastwood. Morgan Freeman as a sidekick in “Million Dollar Baby” doesn’t count (though his portrayal of his character was brilliant). Maybe Clint ought to shut his mouth around some humble pie and chew it! If it weren’t for those supply truck drivers and other Black soldiers like them in WWI, those White boys at Iwo Jima might have been lying under that flag instead of raising it.
Morgan Freeman also Co-starred in Unforgiven, heard of it? Lots of awards for that movie, so shut it ‘angryblackwoman’. The only person bringing race into this is Spike Lee. Maybe he is jealous of Clints countless awards. And if you think I’m just another racist white guy, I’m not, I’m Hispanic and not racist. But I am human.
Spike Lee’s got nothin on the man with no name!
[...] should mention this to Spike Lee, or else he'll start pissing and moaning about how Obama honors a racist Clint Eastwood. Oh by the way, Miracle at St. Anna was the dumbest war movie ever made. Friggin' Rambo movies [...]
Hey angry black woman, you do realize not all the flag raisers were white yes?
I admire most of Spike Lee’s work. I am not a racist in any way shape or form. People are people regardless of ethnicity. People do and say stupid things all the time. My opinion is that Spike Lee is the friggin racist! No negroes in Eastwoods Iwo Jima flicks? How about whites in your Miracle at St Anna vanity project? He can’t seem to hold back on any perceived slight against African Americans. Baggar Vance?! Come on Spike! It’s not about the white guys magical negro buddy. Spike can go ahead and blather on about racial stereotypes in movies(and there are many) but give it a rest! Yes, OK racism exists! I’m a white guy who has been the victim of racism! Give it a rest Spikey wikey. Shut up and focus on your art before you make yourself into a complete, rich, movie-director ass-hole!
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Lmfao all of you who think Lee is raciest are all white…. ironic I think not.
spike is a butthurt nigger and clint is a old fake faggot
Proud To Be White
Someone finally said it.
How many are actually paying attention to this?
There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me ‘White boy,’ ‘Cracker,’ ‘Honkey,’ ‘Whitey,’ ‘Caveman’ … and that’s OK.
But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink … You call me a racist.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
You have the United Negro College Fund.
Youhave Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Ma’uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP.
You have BET.
If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we’d be racists.
If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
If we had White History Month , we’d be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to ‘advance’ OUR lives we’d be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that?
A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we’d be racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US. Yet if there were ‘White colleges’ THAT would be a racist college.
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.
You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you’re not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.
You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.
I am proud. But you call me a racist.
Why is it that only whites can be racists?
Because the filthy immoral Zionists want it that way.
del,
You couldn’t be more right!! Does anyone have the answers to his questions? I would love to hear what Mr Spike Lee would come up with..
Didn’t think so……..