Terrell Takes Hannity To The Woodshed Over Eastwood's Indefensible Portrayal of Only White Men Fighting at Iwo Jima

Bravo to my buddy and former KABC colleague Leo Terrell. While he and Fox News Spokeshole Sean Hannity remain on the same Los Angeles radio station, that didn't prevent Leo from checking Sean last night about Clint Eastwood. Check it out:


Continue... after the jump.

Nevermind that Clint's done "Black films" like "Byrd" or that he's married to a biracial sister. While I don't always agree with Spike Lee, he's absolutely on point on this issue. And don't think folks were not high-fiving each other over Lee's brazen statement that he "is no longer living on a plantation" when it comes to calling out what he feels is insensitivity to all the men of color who have not been properly acknowledged or heralded. This despite fighting for a country who has not always returned that unconditional love to these veterans.

Clint, you should know better. At the end of the day, it's about folks skilled at their craft having an opportunity to work so they can join the Screen Actors Guild, get some dental and medical benefits, and leverage working with a Clint Eastwood for the next gig. It's one thing if it would be historically inaccurate to portray black people. It's completely different when demonstative evidence establishes otherwise, and still a conscious decision is made to keep us off the set under the guise of artistic license.

Hannity's ridiculous response to this battle between the two acclaimed directors/actors over the lack of African-Americans being depicted in World War II films was comical... and pathetic. Sometimes it's not about black or white. Sometimes, it's about right and wrong.

Exibit A why my GOP party is bracing for some heavy losses this November.

Spike Lee Takes On Clint Eastwood, Aka... Mars Blackman vs. High Plains Drifter: Who's Correct on Blacks Role In WWII?

Cannes Film Festival--Most things you do successfully in life; you feel good afterwards. There are a few things you can do, fail, and still feel good afterwards.

Taking on Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood is neither of those.

Spike Lee accepts this risk and is determined to make things happen, as he goes after Clint for the lack of an African American presence in his two war epics Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. His first move was creating the new movie Miracle at St Anna.

This is an epic story about members of the all-black 92nd Buffalo Division, which fought the Germans in Italy. His second move was to "call Eastwood out" for his lack of Black soldiers at a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival yesterday.

“Here’s the paradox,” he said. “These African-American men wanted to fight against fascism in the name of democracy. At the same time, they were still second-class citizens.” Although Lee emphasised his respect for Eastwood as a film-maker, he claimed that the director had been told of the African-Americans who fought at Iwo Jima, and had chosen to ignore that “information”.

TIMES ON LINE has more of this story.