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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

SIAP: New Lucas film: Red Tails

Discussion in 'Archive: Your Jedi Council Community' started by Riven_JTAC, Jul 29, 2011.

  1. Evil Incarnate

    Evil Incarnate Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 18, 2003
    Overall I enjoyed the movie quite thoroughly. Heck, I'd probably watch it again.

    Nothing really stuck out to me as being horrible, and the were quite a few things that stuck out as awesome. The crowd I viewed it with seemed to enjoy it quite a bit as well. :)

    Also, lol at black jesus.

    Evil.
     
  2. Souderwan

    Souderwan Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2005
    I really enjoyed this movie. It was flawed, sure. But I've seen way crappier movies (Bayformers) do way better. Some of it is marketing. Some of it is that I guess the studio execs had it right.

    Still, listening to George Lucas talk about how Hollywood execs wouldn't even watch the film, let alone assist in distributing and marketing it was sad beyond words.

    And since the movie didn't do well, as they predicted, I guess I'll be stuck watching Will Smith and Denzel Washington not kissing white women for the forseable future.

    Yay.
     
  3. Jabba-wocky

    Jabba-wocky Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 4, 2003
    I wanted to follow up on my earlier post. While I thought many of the side-plots were completely awful, I did think the one about alcoholism was quite well done. Especially for a George Lucas production. If the others had been as thoughtfully executed as this one we would have had a truly stellar film. As it was, we just have an enjoyable one.
     
  4. Souderwan

    Souderwan Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2005
    I agree. I wish it were a better-written movie because I thought the performances were really good and the subject matter is awesome.
     
  5. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    I agree, the poor performance of Red Tails has immediately invalidated and scrubbed from existence Spike Lee's entirely filmography.
     
  6. Jabba-wocky

    Jabba-wocky Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 4, 2003
    Ranmza, Souderwan has something of a point. Yes, Spike Lee has been quite successful, making thoughtful films with primarily African-American casts. Similarly, Tyler Perry has been successful making stupid, low-brow wish fulfillment films with primarily African-American casts. But they both suffer from having their work somewhat "ghetto-ized."

    A film of this sort by Lee (or even by a white director, like Lucas) is still seen more as a "black" film, whereas no one would be inclined to argue that Schindler's List was a film only of interest to Jews. While it is taken for granted that white characters, relationships, and cinematic themes have transcendent value and interest for all parts of society, it is almost just as often assumed that films about traditionally marginalized groups do not. He's not really out on some limb in describing that dynamic.
     
  7. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    That's true, but I just feel that an inordinate amount of attention and psychoanalysis is being placed on this film's performance, when it's been quite under-advertised and, by quite a lot of critical accounts, is sub-par at best at precisely the time of year when sub-par doesn't really cut it.

    If Lucas actually intended this to be a big blockbuster kind of movie, why didn't he put more effort into the ad campaign and why didn't he release it during the summer? Something stinks about the whole thing.
     
  8. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    Lucas also if he really wanted could have cast some heavyweight black lead actors that everyone would pay to see (like Freeman, Washington, Fox or Smith). He shouldn't have to do that, but if the basis of the studios not accepting his movie was the fact it doesn't have white guys in it and so isn't marketable he could have cast non-white actors who are.

    If the movie is good and entertaining, word of mouth will get people watchin it and any really good film does. It has nothing to do with critics not liking it, is has to do with how entertaining it is.
     
  9. Souderwan

    Souderwan Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2005
    No. My point was not that the film did poorly. My point is that the film's performance only serves to feed a stupid narrative in Hollywood that "black" films don't do well. It's like racial profiling. If you only look for black criminals, shockingly, you'll only arrest black people. You then turn around and use the startling statistic that our prisons are filled with black people to justify racial profiling.

    This is the exact. Same. Dyanamic.

    Lucas could have done things better, sure.

    But the point is that Hollywood expected this film to flop. They ignored it at every turn. And frankly anything short of a box office explosion would only serve to make a lot of these "liberal" hollywood execs say "I told you so." **** those guys.

    I have seen more of a push for that stupid Matthew Broderick monstrosity of a commercial than there was for this movie.

    On this point, I'll give Fox News credit. They did a great War Stories with Oliver North episode on the Tuskegee Airmen. Too bad I had to record it because it was on Sunday night at like 11 p.m. But it's better than anything the networks did.
     
  10. LAJ_FETT

    LAJ_FETT Tech Admin (2007-2023) - She Held Us Together star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 25, 2002
    I was hoping to see this but so far I don't think it has a UK release date. If it ends up going straight to DVD I might get it then.
     
  11. SithLordDarthRichie

    SithLordDarthRichie CR Emeritus: London star 9

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2003
    I haven't seen anything about its release overseas yet, I assume Lucas is seeing how well it does in the US first. After all, if even the US public won't watch a movie about US Airforce pilots, will foreign box office accept it?
     
  12. Dark Lady Mara

    Dark Lady Mara Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 1999
    I think there will be an audience for it in any country that sided with the Allies in WWII. C'mon, it's about black guys whooping Nazi butt. I hope the industry has the sense to realize Britons (and others) will like it.

    The dogfighting alone made this movie worth seeing on the big screen.
     
  13. Kiki-Gonn

    Kiki-Gonn Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 26, 2001
    Looks like the movie will make it's budget back with it's US run. That doesn't include the marketing/distribution but basically overseas, cable, DVD, etc. looks like gravy.
    The movie has mostly poor reviews, mostly positive word of mouth and is seen as performing well above expectations according to industry sites.
    I think uncle George gets to count this as a win overall.


    Foreign box office- this was the thing that frightened Hollywood execs the most. Hope they're proven wrong.
     
  14. MandalorianDuchess

    MandalorianDuchess Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 16, 2010
    Well, the film was Lucas' project, but we have to admit he didn't direct it - he left that job to an African-American director. So he did the stuff that, apparently, no African-American filmmaker could do at this point (largely self-financing this kind of project and launching it with minimal cooperation from a major studio) and left the cast & crew with what I imagine was a large degree of freedom.

    Perhaps he'd have had an easier time of it if he had gone the way of Spielberg & Tom Hanks with "Band of Brothers", making this a TV miniseries or something like that.