The Butler by Wil Haygood

Author:Wil Haygood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books

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THE GREAT AND grand conversations about money and movies hark back to the moguls of the last century. Louis B. Mayer and Samuel Goldwyn both wanted to make profitable pictures. As many in the Hollywood camp are fond of repeating, no business, no show.

When an American movie with a mostly black cast—or even a themed movie where blacks carry the arc of the narrative—comes upon the cinematic landscape, the dialogue heats up. Will the public attend? Will the movie only play in urban areas? There is always the hope for crossover appeal as was the case with Clint Eastwood’s Bird, which starred The Butler ’s Forest Whitaker. If subject matter comes into play, slavery is a topic American filmmakers have uniformly shied from. There was Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, a film about a slave revolt and landmark court case. It was a stirring drama, with gripping performances given by Djimon Hounsou and Anthony Hopkins. Its domestic total gross was $45 million. That is nothing to snicker at, but hardly what a Spielberg film is expected to earn. So many simply concluded the scenes on screen—slaves drowning, shot to death, hogtied—were too tough to sit through. Much the same criticism greeted Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Nevertheless, that movie went on to be a robust hit and a prizewinner.

Sometimes a black-themed movie is so unique, so surprising, that the Establishment ignores grubby talk of gross receipts. One such movie was Daughters of the Dust, a 1991 movie set in the 1920s in South Carolina. It revolved around a group of women and their musings about migration. The film, directed by Julie Dash, had the sweep of a fever dream. It also did not have a single big-name Hollywood star in it. Aside from its ethereal quality, something else seemed amazing: it was the first movie to gain major distribution in this country that had been directed by a black woman. It set no box office records. In 2004, however, Daughters of the Dust was chosen by the Library of Congress to be placed in the National Film Registry for preservation. Art doesn’t necessarily get moviegoers into seats, but it can very often be both a noble and an admirable undertaking. Whopping big-budget movies have fallen by the wayside; Dash’s small and intimate one will be remembered.

In the category of films that will be remembered but not necessarily profitable is The Wiz. It was directed by the great Sidney Lumet and starred the luminous Lena Horne as the Good Witch. It must have seemed like a lovely idea at the time: a black cast reimagining a beloved classic. The movie—both fun to watch and a bit too busy—ultimately suffered from the miscasting of Diana Ross. But blacks thrilled at the sight of a big-budget musical. How many inner-city dreams were hatched from the viewing of that film? We may never know.

Filmmakers are, after all, ultimate gamblers. Throw race into that gamble, and the predictions get a lot trickier. Tyler Perry has legions of admirers, but also those who do not rush to see his comedic work.

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