MOVIE NEWS: Red Tails is officially a BLOCKBUSTER, or is it?!?

Can a movie with a cast of ALL BLACK ACTORS "do well?"
Can George Lucas single-handedly change the plight of black actors/films by paying for a movie with his own money? 
Will audiences venture out to see an action movie that only features African Americans?  


I know you're tempted but don't  just read 'em like they're rhetorical, those are actual questions. 


Can it? 
Can he? 
WILL THEY? 


The above are questions people have been faced with long before Red Tails was released. If Red Tails is the measuring tool, then you can nod your pretty little head in the affirmative.  The reports are in and the movie grossed over $19 million in its weekend debut. 
Thats fantastic, right? 


The movie seems to have beat a Hollywood stereotype but at what cost? 
Would people have gone out to support the movie if George Lucas and the cast, and other famous Hollywood-type folks had not spoken out about the need to keep producing films like this?


Excuse my bluntness but I ::have:: to ask: did people really go see the movie because they wanted to or did people go see it because they of the guilt trip speeches heralded at them? Everybody got in on the promo. I read stories about how President and Mrs. Obama hosted a group of Tuskegee Airmen at a private screening in the White House theater and stars of the movie went around the country treating audiences to free screenings. I'm not knocking the uniqueness of the promo tour because I can appreciate actors who are genuinely interested in the success of their movie. 


What was I saying again? 
Ah! Yes! Red Tails. 


Full Disclosure: When I first heard about the movie, I planned to go see it before I heard about the story of George Lucas having difficulty making films. I wanted to see the film because I LOOOOOVVVEEEE movies centered upon black history. I LOOOOVVVVEEE movies with chocolate eye candy. I go see movies that feature at least one of those things. If I can get a movie with both->>>::swoon:: 


We all know these movies come few and far between. 
This bothers me. It doesn't bother me in the sense that I'm going to protest any studio that doesn't release "black movies." It bothers me the way waiting for my hot water to warm up bothers me. If I don't immediately get what I want, I'm willing to wait. This means I tend to not go to movies that lack the kind of subject matter (and chocolate eye candy) that I love. *Gasps* is that racist? Chill your melons. This isn't the time for you wolf crying heathens to howl at the moon of quasi-racism. If you thought it was, have a seat cuz you're wrong. Besides, I'm not about to explain or justify how I choose to allocate MY money for MY entertainment.


I knew black directors and producers like Tyler Perry *cringe* had issues getting funding but I thought it was due to some form of racism or some conspiracy to perpetuate the idea that black actors in America can't "carry" a movie. Hearing that George Lucas had issues getting funding [George friggin LUCAS] was a shocker. If HollyWEIRD wont' give this man money with his proven track record we might really be in trouble. 


*queue the knight in shining armor*


I would like to tell you that I'm one of the people wondering why we still have this conversation but I'm not naive enough to believe bullsh*t answers. These convos are still happening because African Americans are still not viewed as a powerful people. Yea, I said it! You mad? 


Have a seat with your I just wanna be mad to get attention  mad self. 

What is it REALLY gonna take for Hollywood to see "black" films as viable investments? Your guess is as good as mine. Matta fack, I don't wanna guess. I don't want you to guess either. Wanna know what I want? I want movies with predominantly black casts to not have to guilt audiences into a place where they feel a strong enough desire to pay for the movie. 

I'm happy Red Tails has been able to defy stereotypes. Truly, I am. I'm not satisfied or content just because the reports are good. That still doesn't mean things are gonna change. It might have come in at #2 and made 19 millie but it still didn't make Transformers money. It won't make Avatar money. In a community where money talks and bullsh*t walks (a thousand miles), we still have to speak with dead presidents. 

Bottom line, I don't want to have to go thru another 6 month guilt trip of negative media before hearing a story about a black movie *finally* making big bucks. Go out and support the damn movie people!

Sooo do I think Red Tails broke records? Do I think it SOARED at the box office? Why do you care? Ok that was mean. I'm sorry. I'll end with "no further comment."

What say you? Did you feel the guilty during the promo tours? Have you seen Red Tails? If not, do you have plans to support it? 

*Updated Movie News: George Lucas Debuts Trailer for "Red Tails"

Source. 


You all may remember this original post back in August before we had an official release date. Now that we have some additional deets, I decided to repost it. Check the trailer below: 

Some of the finest pieces of chocolate actors Hollywood has to offer have teamed up to work in the new film Red Tails about Tuskegee airmen during World War II. The story centers around the the pilots who famously painted the tails of their P-51 Mustang planes red. If the story sounds familiar to you, its because their story was also told in the 1995 Tuskegee Airmen flick. The movie stars acting greats like Cuba Gooding Jr, Terrance Howard, Tristan Wilds and rapper-turned-actor Method Man. The film, directed by powerhouse George Lucas (who is funding this out of his own pockets), touches on the two wars at once – one against enemies overseas, and the other against discrimination within the military and back home.

When speaking about the film Cuba said,    

"I’ve seen the movie, I’ve seen the special effects, and I can’t tell you how excited I am about that movie and for people to see it. In my career I’ve done a couple of movies that blown up the zeitgeist of cinema and hit social consciousness, like ‘Boyz N The Hood’ or ‘Men Of Honor’ or ‘Jerry Maguire.’ These are movies where people are affected by either a scenario or scene or environment they’ve never been exposed to, or it just hits them and in their everyday life they can identify with.

We actors live for that, and we’ve done that again with George Lucas’ ‘Red Tails.’ The movie is breathtaking, and the thing about it is, visually you haven’t seen the things that George is doing with these fighter sequences. It’s insane. The real people we portray, like my character Major Emanuelle Stance. He took these young black men out of the schools of Tuskegee, Alabama and into the Air Force Base in Italy and turned them into warriors. You fall in love with not just the pilots but these men that helped them along their journey."

"Courage has no color."I am a HUGE fan of Cuba's acting so I can hardly wait to see this movie!  The movie is the first action movie starring an all African American cast. The official release date of the movie is slated for January 20, 2012. Go out and show your support! 


I LOVE their motto: Until the last plane, the last bullet, the last man, the last minute, we fight! we fight! we fight! You gotta say it with soul. 


Check out this video of the Air Force Association saluting the Tuskegee Airmen:



On another note: If you have older family members that have served in segregated wars, LISTEN to their stories. You will amazed at what they can share with you and how far we have come (or haven't come). Last week, I learned my uncle served on a segregated mission guarding artillery where the black soldiers were denied bullets. Wait, you missed that. They let my uncle guard bullets in a warehouse but refused to give him bullets to protect his own life against robbers and the like. Good Ol American history!