Why Is It So Difficult to Get a Film Like Red Tails Made?

 I recently watched the movie Red Tails a film that is inspired by the real life exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen a squadron of all black pilots and crew. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I found the dogfights to be especially enjoyable. Overall I recommend anybody who is a fan of WWII movies or history to check it out.

 The interesting fact for me is the difficulty in getting the movie made in the first place. I remember hearing about the project years before and anticipated its release. George Lucas has stated he had problems finding backers for the 58 million dollar film. In this article he explains how he fears that if the movie is not a success it could have far reaching consequences for future black filmmakers being able to direct bigger budgeted projects with predominately black casts.

 When I think about this I realize that up until this point most predominately black movies tend to be of the lower budget variety. They consist mainly of comedies and urban dramas. As far as directors I can only name a handful that’s had success with larger budget features those being F. Gary Gray, Antoine Fuqua, Jon Singleton, and Spike Lee. Actually Spike Lee is having troublegetting backers to finance the sequel to his biggest hit The Inside Man.

 It’s an interesting issue that sits in the back of my mind. As I was telling a friend and classmate of mine the heights that I wanted to achieve and all the challenges that I will face he said and don’t forget you’re black that has it’s own set of challenges. At the time I dismissed his statement saying I wasn’t even worried about that and the statement still holds true today. However I cannot ignore that fact considering that not many people in general are afforded the opportunity to direct big budgeted films. It seems that the prospects are even less for a black filmmaker.