Blackface: Reflections on African Americans in the Movies

In a year that has seen African-American actors receive more top honors than ever, Blackface revisits the efforts of black filmmakers and the portrayal of African-Americans in cinema. As a film critic for the Village Voice, Nelson George has analyzed films and reported on the careers of black directors and actors; as the screenplay writer for Strictly Business and the co-author and executive producer for CB4, George experienced Hollywood from the inside, meeting with studio execs and creating movies that didn't turn out as he hoped. George shares a candid and personal perspective on 30 years of African-American cinema in Blackface―both the films he saw and the films he made. Blackface includes essays on 2002's honorary Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier, the Black Filmmaker Foundation, Spike Lee, and George's CB4 partner Chris Rock. George also discusses the impact of African-American independent films since the 60s, the blaxploitation craze, and the influence of white money on black artists. New to this edition are pieces on the Hughes brothers, Richard Pryor, and African-American cinema at the beginning of the 21st century, as well as George's own encounters with Hollywood.