Can you expand on how 21st century Black Hollywood differs from the eras covered in Bright Boulevards?
I do think there is a Black Hollywood today. Among the big stars in the industry there’s an awareness that racial lines in Hollywood – some have gone down, but there’s still distinctions there. And that Hollywood’s really not the free and open place people would like to think it is. It’s changed a great deal – but in some ways, it hasn’t. The new Black Hollywood, socializing does go on in their homes; it’s not in any particular part of town. Some stars don’t speak publicly about the problems. But privately you’ll often hear people talk about things that go on still in the studios. There was a recent incident – Antoine Fuqua, the director of Training Day, was fired from the production [of American Gangster, with Denzel Washington]; they said he was going over budget. Another director was brought in; then, they dropped the movie altogether. My feeling is that Denzel Washington is a major box office star who has opened number one movies. Why would you just drop plans for a movie with this
