Danny Glover's Haiti film lacked 'white heroes', producers said

[Kristopher]

Paris.– US actor Danny Glover, who plans an epic next year on Haitian independence hero Toussaint-Louverture, said he slaved to raise funds for the movie because financiers complained there were no white heroes.

"Producers said 'It's a nice project, a great project... where are the white heroes?'" he told the press during a stay in Paris this month for a seminar on film.

"I couldn't get the money here, I couldn't get the money in Britain. I went to everybody. You wouldn't believe the number of producers based in Europe, and in the States, that I went to," he said.

D"The first question you get, is 'Is it a black film?' All of them agree, it's not going to do good in Europe, it's not going to do good in Japan.

"Somebody has to prove that to be a lie!", he said. "Maybe I'll have the chance to prove it."

"Toussaint," Glover's first project as film director, is about Francois Dominique Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803), a former slave and one of the fathers of Haiti's independence from France in 1804, making it the first black nation to throw off imperial rule and become a republic.

The uprising he led was bloodily put down in 1802 by 20,000 soldiers dispatched to the Caribbean by Napoleon Bonaparte, who then re-established slavery after its ban by the leaders of the French Revolution.

Due to be shot in Venezuela early next year, the film will star Don Cheadle, Mos Def, Wesley Snipes and Angela Bassett.
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/people/2008/7/26/28807/Danny-Glovers-Haiti-film-lacked-white-heroes-producers-said

[Imaro]

I LOVE THIS DUDE!!!! I will see this movie multiple times at the theaters!

L'union fait la force

Paul F

[Hypestyle]

I hope this film finally comes together, and hopefully as many original casting ideas can be involved as possible.. Wesley snipes is still locked up for, what, another 18 months?
there is definitely plenty of room for world-history films..
..what are the african-cinema festivals held every year?

[Kristopher]

I hope this film finally comes together, and hopefully as many original casting ideas can be involved as possible.. Wesley snipes is still locked up for, what, another 18 months?
there is definitely plenty of room for world-history films..
..what are the african-cinema festivals held every year?

Have you seen this:
http://www.africandigitalart.com/2010/11/nigerian-3d-animation-mark-of-uru/

[BmoreAkuma]

Are they f*cking serious? "where are the white heroes"? Really?

[BPStorm4ever]

Due to be shot in Venezuela early next year, the film will star Don Cheadle, Mos Def, Wesley Snipes and Angela Bassett.
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/people/2008/7/26/28807/Danny-Glovers-Haiti-film-lacked-white-heroes-producers-said

  Wesley Snipes is free?

[BPStorm4ever]

Are they f*cking serious? "where are the white heroes"? Really?

The irony is the movie would have a "white hero": Napolean Bonapart. He's the one responsible for putting Louverture in jail where he later died. Though that would appeal to some racist white folks, it would primarily look bad (who were the savages again?), hence the need for a "white hero" as a sort of balance.

In other words, since it wouldn't be a film like The Help, Glover had a hard time getting it funded.

[BmoreAkuma]

Are they f*cking serious? "where are the white heroes"? Really?

The irony is the movie would have a "white hero": Napolean Bonapart. He's the one responsible for putting Louverture in jail where he later died. Though that would appeal to some racist white folks, it would primarily look bad (who were the savages again?), hence the need for a "white hero" as a sort of balance.

In other words, since it wouldn't be a film like The Help, Glover had a hard time getting it funded.

I'm fully aware of it but this is the type of crap I can't stand. The Help is just another movie of the "white guilt female superhero" whom saves the day from those "poor blacks whom dont know better" 

[Vic Vega]

Due to be shot in Venezuela early next year, the film will star Don Cheadle, Mos Def, Wesley Snipes and Angela Bassett.
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/people/2008/7/26/28807/Danny-Glovers-Haiti-film-lacked-white-heroes-producers-said

  Wesley Snipes is free?

They figure he'll be out by the time they will be ready to film.

[Battle]

They figure he'll be out by the time they will be ready to film.

It's good to plan ahead.

[BPStorm4ever]

Are they f*cking serious? "where are the white heroes"? Really?

The irony is the movie would have a "white hero": Napolean Bonapart. He's the one responsible for putting Louverture in jail where he later died. Though that would appeal to some racist white folks, it would primarily look bad (who were the savages again?), hence the need for a "white hero" as a sort of balance.

In other words, since it wouldn't be a film like The Help, Glover had a hard time getting it funded.

I'm fully aware of it but this is the type of crap I can't stand. The Help is just another movie of the "white guilt female superhero" whom saves the day from those "poor blacks whom dont know better" 

Cosign all day long. Unfortunately "poor blacks whom dont know better" needing to be saved from themselves by white folks is still in fashion, judging by The Help's box office take. Studios who would salivate over a movie like The Help would think the inverse is box office suicide.

[BPStorm4ever]

Due to be shot in Venezuela early next year, the film will star Don Cheadle, Mos Def, Wesley Snipes and Angela Bassett.
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/people/2008/7/26/28807/Danny-Glovers-Haiti-film-lacked-white-heroes-producers-said

  Wesley Snipes is free?

They figure he'll be out by the time they will be ready to film.

He's not getting out till July 19th, 2013. So the movie is gonna stay in pre-production until then?

I don't know, I like Wesley Snipes but if Glover can get the funds together before then...unless Snipes is playing Louverture himself they might wanna go ahead without him.

[Redjack]

THe thing tht bothers me about this, that has always bothered me about so-called "Black Hollywood" is this:

Danny should have had to make maybe, ten calls. Maybe. Each call should have netted him a two million dollar commitment from the likes of people whose names you all know. Why? Because he's Danny Effing Glover.

With that twenty million he should have then simply hired financing agent to sell rights in various regions, I'm thinking African ones and perhaps South american ones to start. This would garner him another ten million. Now he's at thirty plus.

Lastly, he goes to one of the major banks with letters of intent from the various high powered actors who he plans to have in this epic for matching funds.

At this point he's at sixty million.  If he can't make the movie for that, it doesn't deserve to get made.

But the stunning lack of financial support of black works by not only the black public but the black success stories has made me ill for a couple decades now.

Pathetic.

If we don't do it, nobody's gonna.

And it's looking a lot like nobody's gonna.

[BmoreAkuma]

THe thing tht bothers me about this, that has always bothered me about so-called "Black Hollywood" is this:

Danny should have had to make maybe, ten calls. Maybe. Each call should have netted him a two million dollar commitment from the likes of people whose names you all know.

With that twenty million she should have then simply hired financing agent to sell rights in various regions, I'm thinking African ones and perhaps South american ones to start. This would garner him another ten million. Now he's at thirty plus.

Lastly, he goes to one of the major banks with letters of intent from the various high powered actors who he plans to have in this epic for matching funds.

At this point he's at sixty million.  If he can't make the movie for that, it doesn't deserve to get made.

But the stunning lack of financial support of black works by not only the black public but the black success stories has made me ill for a couple decades now.

Pathetic.

If we don't do it, nobody's gonna.

And it's looking a lot like nobody's gonna.

you know that is a very excellent point. As for names on the top of my head: Will/Jada Smith, Tyler Perry, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee

[stanleyballard]

Agreed....actors like Denzel have enough money to put in a million without even breaking a sweat....that's just a sign of how far we have not come and that we have a very, very long way to go in terms of how we treat our own community, culture and history.  And what about other entertainers in music who have made large sums of money and are vested in our community?