Daniel Robert Epstein: Antoine Fuqua

This man is a huge talent, but it keeps getting wasted on crap movies. I think he needs to move into the indie frield where he would have more control and not have big studios breathing down his neck.

Anyway, good interview.

Overall, I think he had good things to say, as an artist and about trying to maintain an artistic vision in the face of conflicting financial interests. I do find it kind of silly that the "truth" he brings up as being stomped on in Arthur had to do with "black" (see footnote 1) "knights" (see footnote 2) in a movie that was still otherwise historically laughable. I hope the final condition of Arthur is meant to underscore his point, because otherwise it really undermines it.

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1. "Black" may have been how they referred to Arabians at the time (although, of course, the translation from whatever breton/keltic/aenglo-saxonic/jutic/etc. word they used at the time would, by now, be rather tenuous), but I certainly wouldn't call an Arab a "black" man now. I've read accounts where Arthur supposedly had one or more Nubian, Numidian, or Ethopian companions, whom I would be more willing to call "black." Also, any idea of a Roman "conquest" of Arabia is pretty tenuous. I think it would be much safer to say the Romans "had contact with" Arabia.

2. The concept of a "knight" not really being anywhere near fully formed in 5th century Briton.

totally.

anyway, in related news from the imdb...

"Training Day director Antoine Fuqua is considering filing a breach of contract lawsuit against Universal bosses after being sacked from the now defunct gangster film Tru Blu for feuding with studio heads. Universal have reportedly agreed to sign off $30 million on the gritty Denzel Washington film - based on the life of real-life drug kingpin Frank Lucas - rather than press on with the project. And angry Fuqua, who fought for years to make the project, is intent on getting justice after falling out with studio bosses at Universal over where to shoot the film. He insisted on making the movie in New York, while the moneymen wanted save cash and locate to Canada. Fuqua says, "Me and Universal just disagreed on some things and we decided to part ways but my goal was always to tell the truth and do an authentic film and I think some people were afraid of that."

So, maybe if he wins the lawsuit, he can take some of that money and make the movie on hiw own tearms. Hmmm...I dunno. That's very interesting, though....