I'm sure you've heard by now that Danny Glover and his Louverture Films were in pre-production for the biopic Toussaint. The epic tale of famed Toussaint L' Ouverture and the history-making Haitian Revolution. Don Cheadle was slated to play Toussaint and Chiwitel Ejifor, Angela Bassett, Mos Def and Wesley Snipes was cast in the film as well.Now I'm sure you've also heard that Danny Glover pulled out the racist claim a few weeks ago at a Paris film seminar. He alleged that Hollywood execs don't want to invest in Toussaint mainly due to its lack of white heroes. Apparently, Glover received the classic, "We like it, it's great, but it's too black to make money" mantra and because of that, distribution will be weak in Europe and Japan. There's some economic truth to that mantra, [I guess].
Recently, the producer of my film project and I met with an independent film company here in New York City. They offered one bit of advice: find a star or celebrity that will help sell it to the European and Asian markets. They said if you want to make money, you need European distribution. Otherwise, it's a vanity project. Good advice, I thought. Because the producer had certainly been considering some amazing technicolor theater talent without any celebrity status and that's apparently a no-no in filmmaking 101.
However, this indie company didn't suggest black folks couldn't sell abroad. In fact, they suggested Will Smith, or Morgan Freeman. Whoever it is, they said, should have international appeal. So with that said, Toussant's Chiwetel Ejiofor [a British actor], Wesley Snipes and Mos Def all have international appeal and then some. So I wonder what's really going on.
Some critics of Venezuela [where the film was scheduled to shoot] purport that Glover's connection with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is a deterrent. Chavez offered 18 million dollars [of the 36 million needed] for Danny Glover to shoot the project in Venezuela. Other critics feel the script is too preachy and a story about the first successful slave revolt that produced the first independent black nation in the western hemisphere isn't as entertaining as... a Tyler Perry Project. And then, of course, there's the white hero complaint.
But this is where I stand: One, I want the film to get made. Like Glover and Chavez, I feel the world should have greater exposure to Toussaint and the impact of his revolution, both negatively and positively. Two, I'm a bit suspicious about this "preachy script" rumor. I love biopics and I love black history, but I'm not interested in any talking heads either. Let's hope Glover's scribes have created a real and honest depiction of the man and the event. Three, Glover needs to get the other 18 million elsewhere. I'm sure he's knocked on Oprah's door [as well as Mel Gibson's] and I have no doubt they handed him at least a mil each. But what about Will Smith [the highest paid actor in Hollywood] or Tyler Perry [who Forbes recently named one of the world's next billionaires]?
What's really going on? What's your thoughts on this?
