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4. Gordon Parks
Two words best describe Gordon Park’s life…groundbreakingand inspirational.
Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director. He is best remembered for his photo essays for Life magazine. In the 1950s, Parks worked as a consultant on various Hollywood productions and later directed a series of documentaries commissioned by National Educational Television on black ghetto life. Beginning in the 1960s, Parks branched out into literature, writing The Learning Tree (1963), several books of poetry illustrated with his own photographs, and three volumes of memoirs. In 1969, Parks became Hollywood’s first major black director with his film adaptation of his autobiographical novel, The Learning Tree. Parks also composed the film’s musical score and wrote the screenplay. Shaft, Parks’ 1971 detective film starring Richard Roundtree, became a major hit that spawned a series of blaxploitation films. Parks’ feel for settings was confirmed by Shaft, with its portrayal of the super-cool leather-clad black private detective hired to find the kidnapped daughter of a Harlem racketeer. Parks also directed the 1972 sequel, Shaft’s Big Score in which the protagonist finds himself caught in the middle of rival gangs of racketeers. Parks’s other directorial credits included The Super Cops (1974), and Leadbelly (1976), a biopic of the blues musician Huddie Ledbetter.
In the 1980s, he made several films for television and composed the music and libretto for Martin, a ballet tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., which premiered in Washington, D.C. in 1989 and was screened on national television on King’s birthday in 1990.
I read about Gordon Parks for the first time back in 1997. Back then he inspired me to become a photographer myself. No “Black Directors” list will ever be complete without Gordon Parks’ name on it.
3. Antoine Fuqua
Antoine Fuqua is an American film director. After beginning his career directing music videos for popular artists like Toni Braxton and Prince, he became a successful film director. He is perhaps best known for the award winning film Training Day.
The reason I put Fuqua on my list is because this dude makes kick ass action movies! Let’s list them:
The Replacement Killers (1998)
Training Day (2001)
King Arthur (2004)
Shooter (2007)
He might not be as revered as others on this list but when it comes to pure pulse pounding entertainment. Fuqua gets two thumbs up!
2. John Singleton
You know that line from the movie Jerry Mcquire “You had me at hello”. Well, John Singleton…you had me at Boyz N The Hood. John Singelton is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. A native of South Los Angeles, many of his films consider the implications of inner-city violence like the critically acclaimed and popular Boyz N the Hood, Poetic Justice, Higher Learning and Baby Boy. He has recently branched out into mainstream territory with the blockbuster 2 Fast 2 Furious and the controversialFour Brothers. Singleton’s 1991 film debut Boyz N the Hood received Academy Award nods for Best Screenplay and Director. At age 23 he was the youngest person ever nominated for Best Director, and the only African-American to be nominated for the award. This guy was just 22 years old when he wrote and directed Boyz N The Hood! 22! In 2002, the United States Library of Congress deemed Boyz N The Hood “culturally significant” and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. Now that’s influence.
In 2005, Singleton worked as a producer and teamed with Craig Brewer and financed the independent film, Hustle and Flow.
1. Spike Lee
No real surprise here. Spike Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983.
Lee’s movies have examined race relations, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee has won an Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Lee’s film Do the Right Thing was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1989. Many people, including some in Hollywood, such as Kim Basinger, believed thatDo the Right Thing also deserved a Best Picture nomination. Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture that year and according to Lee in an April 7, 2006 interview with New York magazine, this hurt him more than his film not receiving the nomination. His documentary 4 Little Girls was nominated for the Best Feature Documentary Academy Award in 1997.
I’m not a huge Spike Lee fan but I have respect for any one who is passionate about filmmaking and takes tremendous risks in the pursue of telling stories that touch audiences emotionally.
To Your Success!
Ian Agard
Filmmaker & Author of "Stop Waiting and Make Your Movie"
http://www.ianagard.com
P.S. Get info about my new ebook at:
http://www.ianagard.com/how-to-finance-your-movie
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