Clint Eastwood

Whoa.  Not good.

Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood are having a little bit of a tit for tat.  It’s fast becomming a “He said..then he said…” spectacle.

Apparently, Spike Lee took exception to the representation of “African American” men in Eastwood’s films, “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima.” It’s his right, of course, to have opinions about other director’s work. Just as other directors may take exception to his films. For example, maybe they question the way their race is represented in his films. However, Spike Lee didn’t just think the thoughts, he voiced them. As a fan of both men, I wish Lee had gone to Eastwood - face to face, man to man. If he thought something was unfair, I personally think he should have had his say - to Clint Eastwood. There wasn’t any need, in my opinion, to speak out publicly on the subject.

Eastwood’s response: Again, words that would have been better directed (excuse the pun) at the individual, not the public. “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, he added: “A guy like him should shut his face.”

As you can guess, that went over pretty well.

Spike Lee’s response? “First of all, the man is not my father and we’re not on a plantation either,” he said. “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.”

Now it’s stooped to name-calling. Not cool. These are educated men, here!

Here are the facts: almost 900 of the 30,000 marines that stormed the Japanese island were African-American. Eastwood explained that he wasn’t going to alter history for the sake of a film:

“I’m not in that game. I’m playing it the way I read it historically, and that’s the way it is,” he said.

“When I do a picture and it’s 90% black, like ‘Bird,’ I use 90% black people.” Bird was, of course, his 1998 film about jazz musician Charlie “Bird” Parker. Eastwood brought up the fact that even then, Spike Lee complained - “He was complaining when I did Bird (a biopic of Charlie Parker). Why would a white guy be doing that? I was the only guy who made it, that’s why. He could have gone ahead and made it. Instead he was making something else.”

Truth, more than anything, hits the hardest, doesn’t it?

Spike Lee’s next film is “Miracle at St. Anna.” It’s about the all-black 92nd Buffalo Division that fought in Tuscany, Italy during World War II. Clint Eastwood’s next project (The Human Factor) is about Nelson Mandela and his journey to help South Africa overcome the damages of apartheid.

About casting this film, Clint Eastwood said, “I’m not going to make Nelson Mandela a white guy.”
Touche’!

*In an AOL poll, the question was asked, “Whose side are you on?” After voting, I saw that 92 percent are on “Team Clint” and 8 percent are on “Team Spike.”

Clint Eastwood and Charlton Heston Photo Enlargement
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Sadly, one of my all-time favorite actors recently died. He did, however, get to live a long, rewarding life and make a huge impact on the entertainment world - whether he was battling apes or delivering the 10 Commandments. Of course I’m referring to the one and only, larger than life Charlton Heston. When I was really, really young….and my interest was beginning to be held by the male population, Charlton Heston (along with Clint Eastwood) were early crushes. While most girls my age were enthralled by celebrities of our own generation (Shaun Cassidy, Parker Stevenson, Mark Hamil…) - I was much more attracted to the tough guys from the past. Besides, around my house, that’s the sort of thing my dad always had on. Old movies and the Rockford Files. (I liked him, too!)

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve seen the Planet of the Apes movies - each and every one of them. I love this series! Campy? Sure. But I can’t get enough of the whole experience - from the UNBELIEVABLE music to the first sign of an ape… I’m glued to the screen right till the end. Each and every time.

We’ve lost a great, great actor and person. Damn dirty death!

I would like to say this (although I try to keep political and social opinions off of most of my blogs…especially my entertainment ones) - I wish people would quit harping on Charlton Heston’s views on guns/gun control. This is America, and everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. They’re free to express themselves as well as their opinions. If someone, today (with the world as it is now) doesn’t agree with Mr. Heston’s views on guns - they have to remember that he came from a different generation than the rest of us. The world when Charlton Heston was growing up - and even the one he lived in as an adult in his 30s and 40s - was vastly different from the one we face today! We have no way of knowing what his opinions would be if he were a 35 year old man in the 2008. He might have had the same opinions (which would have been his right) or he might have had complete opposite opinions (also his right).

I’d just rather concentrate on his entire life - not a tiny portion of it.

Charlton Heston Photo Enlargement
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Shop MTV is coming out with an AMAZING-sounding collection for Charlton Heston fans: The Hollywood Collection: Charlton Heston - For All Seasons.

From the website:
Expected Release Date: May 6, 2008
Order this item now and we will ship it to you as soon as it is available.

This documentary video, part of The Hollywood Collection, features the life and work of actor and political conservative Charlton Heston.

After growing up in a rural part of Michigan, Heston migrated to the urban landscape of Chicago to attend a high school for the dramatic arts. He attended Northwestern University, where his talent and passion for acting increased with his participation in school theater productions. Then he moved onto the Broadway stage and eventually to the movie soundstages in Hollywood.

Heston, known best for his epic film roles as such biblical characters as Moses in Cecil B. De Mille’s The Ten Commandments and as the title character in William Wyler’s Oscar-winning production of Ben-Hur, speaks openly in this video about his career, family, and his politics. This video also shows movie footage, including a rare 1942 student film of a young Heston. There are also interviews with family, co-workers, and friends, including Gregory Peck.

Sign me up!

More Charlton Heston Pictures, Posters and Prints:

Charlton Heston Photo
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Charlton Heston Photo Enlargement
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The Omega Man Poster
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Ben-Hur Photo
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Julius Caesar Poster
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Planet of the Apes Photo
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Charlton Heston Photo
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I love that a lot of today’s fashion features throwbacks to the golden age of Hollywood’s glamour and mystique. Click HERE to read about a business that makes gorgeous silk hankies. You won’t believe how lovely these little beauties are!

By the way - this has absolutely, totally NOTHING to do with fashion or glamour, but did you catch High Plains Drifter last night? Clint Eastwood’s a big, big favorite of mine, and this movie’s one of his best. Something about the characters, the scenes…everything, I just love it. I only watched a little of it, though, because my beloved St. Louis Cardinals were playing, and God knows they need all the support they can get this year!