Pajiba

While I can understand Spike's grievances, he lost me at the "plantation" remark. That's bullshit, and it makes him sound like an ass.

Sorry, that Weight Watchers stuff, while amusing, is a direct rip-off of James Lileks' Gallery of Regrettable Food, which used to be on his site before he published the book. I see he's published a second book on the same theme. Hys-fucking-terical.

I understand Lee's beef, but I must admit to finding it hilarious that Eastwood didn't crumble in the face of Lee's criticism. Lee's a pretty tough adversary and is armed with serious directorial skills and a decent command of history and Eastwood basically blew him off. That might be a first.

There have been experiments that prove that people can process misspelled words pretty easily as long as the first and last letter are correct and all the letters that should be there are. Which is why, when I saw the "Incest Repellent," it took me a while to figure out what the problem was.

I love that Eastwood was just like "STFU." Lee constantly sets out to be inflammatory, and while that's all to the good (or often to the good) in his movies, he totally deserved to get shut down in this case. Eastwood wasn't being racist; "a guy like that" meant "a guy who likes to start shit," not "a guy who is inferior."

I once saw Spike Lee taken to task by a frat boy at our college. He was lambasting us for being a racist nation, and a racist college (remember Lee Chapel with the Confederate Flags from my other story? cause I know you do.) and how he tries in his movies to foster a healthy and positive racial discourse. So this kid stood up and said, "So in Do The Right Thing, when Mookie throws the trashcan through the window of the pizza parlor, what was the positive message you were trying to send?" He looks at him, and says, "Man, if you were black, you wouldn't need to ask me that question." The kid blinks once and says, "But you are, so that's why I'm asking you."

I admire the movies Spike Lee has made, but he's lost more touch with his audience than Woody Allen.

megbon, my husband is also a better "wife" than I am. God bless him. Always keeps his pantyhose seams straight.

I discovered James Lileks and Candyboots about the same time, so I'm not sure who came first.

Well, see, BWeaves, I am sure. If I hadn't been sure, I wouldn't have posted.

Nothin' againt CandyBoots, 'cause she's fairly funny and all; but she wasn't first.

It seems the only way Spike can get press nowadays (Rather than, say, make a decent movie...)is to start stirring up some racial controversy over movies released a couple of years ago. C'mon dude; is this what you've been reduced to?

And of all the filmmakers to pick on, Eastwood? The guy is at the point in his life (Read: Beyond geriatric.) where he could give a monkey's butt what anyone thinks of him. It's commendable the man's still directing movies; he's neigh on 80. What was Spike expecting? Some big mea culpa?

Seriously dude, pick your battles.

And DAMN, Weight Watchers has come along way. I can see how women used to loose weight; if those were my food options, I'd have starved.

Those Weight Watchers recipes bring back memories. I joined the program in the '70's.(Yes, I am that old, and fat.) The program was ridiculously restrictive then, so people came up with some bizarre concoctions. My mom and I were both members, and I remember one time she tried to make "coconut" candy. It was some mixture of coconut flavoring, dry potato flakes(for the coconut texture) and milk. You mixed it up, poured it into a shallow plate, and put it in the freezer to harden. After she had made it and placed it in the freezer, my brother came in and went to get out some ice. He took one look at the candy and yelled "who froze the puke?!?" Needless to say, Mother never made that candy again. Incidentally, I never tasted it, mostly because I don't like coconut, and yes, it did look like puke.

Spike is right. Eastwood is right. Spike is wrong. Eastwood is wrong.

Yeah Spike, it would have been nice for the Black troops at Iwo Jima would have gotten a shout-out. Yeah, Eastwood, your movie was about the flag raisers an no one else. Spike, you are an ass for criticizing Eastwood for focusing on telling the story he wanted to tell. Eastwood, you couldn't have had one or two of those brothers in the background or something?

Besides, "Letters from Iwo Jima" as a FAR superior flick.

Spike's just drumming us press for his upcoming WWII movie. But rather than let the film stand on it's own, he's made it about him. Look Spike, you got back your cred with "25th Hour" and "Inside Man" two "non-Black" movies, which I know to made (and made well) to drum up finiacing for your WWII epic. But srsly, why go and piss off a dude like Eastwood, who made freakin' Bird, a project no one would touch, something he fought long and hard to get made, and the thing that put Forrest on the map! Spike, STFU. You too, Eastwood. You shouldn't have even dignified this mess with an answer.

Flags of our Fathers was focused on the flag-raisers. The movie was based on a very good book of the same name that was written by one of the flag-raisers sons. Letters from Iwo Jima was focused on the Japanese that fought in the battle. These are two movies that have nothing to do with Spike's argument. Eastwood made the movies and made them well enough that the people who were the main focus were happy with the way that they were done. If the people or their descendants that were the focus were unhappy, then they would have a right to complain. Spike, you have no right. These movies were not told from a black person's perspective and as such, did not feature them prominently.

Besides, I have a feeling that if a few were thrown in as extras, Spike would still be complaining.

Thanks for the info Lannie.

Gotta say even the most anti-Lee post here so far, has some cogent reasoning behind it. Even when it doesn't its at least not racist. Thanks for the good point Ciji, I do believe I had heard Lee was making a WWII movie.

Personally I think Eastwood may have missed an opportunity there, but that does not in anyway denigrate the movie. The choice would have been expensive and time consuming. Directors have to make choices and those choices will upset some critics, particularly in historical dramas. Let's be honest too, Blacks tend to get short shrift in those drama unless they are the subject. That's not PC that's just an issue that's always in the background given our country's years of racial stereotyping and racist revisionism.

My only beef is when the critic gets targeted for bigoted attacks. Then Lannie set me straight. Of course I don't remember Lee initially saying Eastwood's choices were racist, just ill advised. Only after Eastwood, who could have shrugged his shoulders, got nastie did Lee respond.

Yeah...there are other Black directors, and yes, no one appointed Lee spokesman for black actors or black people in film. Still, yeah, he's a fellow Director who gets to be critical of Eastwood's choices. Let's remember, wether we like'em or not, Lee has more experiance doing historical drama's than Eastwood.

Now Dirty Harry fans may not like that, but that's a fact. If they don't they should watch the movie "Paint your Wagon" a few times until the anger fades.

Again, got lots of Pajiba pride at how most you guys are posting (tearing up).

You know what?

Fuck PETA. There. I said it.

"Oh. Well, they're eating meat. So let's objectify some women."

I think the final straw was when I read that in response to Gordon Ramsay talking about eating horse meat on The F Word, they dumped a tonne of manure in front of one of his restaurants. What goes through a person's mind when you do that?

"..hey, he talked about eating horse meat. Let's go put a flaming bag of manure on his doorstep. Then his shoes will smell like poo."

"... Oh my god. What if we got an entire dump truck full of manure and dumped it on his -restaurant-?"

"Then everybody's shoes would smell like poo!"

Not to mention the constant harassment and humiliating treatment of women that it seems to believe is all right. We're mammals too, fuckwads.

.. and I think this is the only non Lee/Eastwood comment here, and though I have no opinion on the matter (other than "Shut up, Spike, before you ruin any more chances of your future movies not bombing..."), here goes.

Shut up, Spike, before you ruin any more chances of your future movies not bombing. Eastwood could probably still beat seven shades of shit out of you (..and me, for that matter.). In the immortal words of Kenny Rodgers,

"You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run."

Fold, and walk away from the table, man. If you're having a problem with the guy, call him up or have a face to face. Jesus.