HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Spike Lee is lashing out against Clint Eastwood, accusing the Hollywood legend of overlooking black soldiers in his two latest films.
“He did two films about Iwo Jima back to back and there was not one black soldier in both of those films,” an irate Lee said at the Cannes Film Festival, according to The Associated Press.
“Many veterans, African-Americans, who survived that war are upset at Clint Eastwood. In his vision of Iwo Jima, Negro soldiers did not exist. Simple as that. I have a different version,” Lee said.
The “Do the Right Thing” filmmaker was referring to the 77-year-old Eastwood’s recent movies, “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima,” which were both released in 2006.
The 51-year-old Lee’s next film, “Miracle at St. Anna,” is a movie about an all-black group of U.S. soldiers fighting in Italy during World War II. It is due in theaters in the fall.
Eastwood is currently in Cannes for his next film, “Changeling,” the story of a mom whose missing son comes home, but she soon begins to suspect that the child that returns is not her own. The film stars Angelina Jolie.
A reporter’s attempt to ask Eastwood about Lee’s comments during a press conference in Cannes was cut off by a moderator, AP says.
