Spike speaks out on bringing McBride’s ‘Miracle’ to a theater near you
Mr. McBride says “Miracle at St. Anna” is fiction inspired by real events. Can you tell me some of things in the story that are real?
Well, the 92nd [Infantry] Division, the Buffalo Soldiers, they did fight in Tuscany against the Nazis. The massacre in Sant’Anna di Stazzema on Aug. 12, 1944, where the Nazis’ 16th Division of the SS slaughtered 560 innocent Italian civilians, really happened. The statue head, that’s real, too.
Would you say “Miracle at St. Anna” is more than a war movie?
This film is definitely more than just a war film. Of all the movies I’ve done, this one, by far, has more discussions of religion, faith and hope. That reflects James McBride‘s novel, which is all about hope, faith, prayer, belief and God.
What do you expect people to take away from this movie?
I’m not in the business of telling audiences what to think. I respect their intelligence, and they’ll make up their own minds about what they think.
During World War II, America’s armed forces were segregated and the Department of Defense directed embedded cameramen not to film African American GIs in action. No blacks were featured in any of the early war films from the 1940s and ’50s, and none were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery in World War II until Bill Clinton corrected the oversight during his presidency. Was your purpose in making this movie an attempt to rectify the whitewashed version of history?
Well, that was part of it, because at the time these black men were fighting for the United States, the Army was still segregated. And they not only fought the fascists and the Nazis for the red, white and blue, but they had to fight Jim Crow down South once they got home.
But the whole movie isn’t about the Buffalo Soldiers. We spent a great deal of time with the Italians too, and the story is framed within a murder mystery. But nonetheless, there’s been a great omission here, and the surviving Buffalo Soldiers I’ve spoken to are elated that we’re doing this film.
New York University History Professor Yvonne Latty urged Clint Eastwood, even before he began production on [the 2006 movie] “Flags of Our Fathers,” to include black soldiers in the film since somewhere between 700 and 900 African Americans had fought on Iwo Jima. She even sent him a copy of her book about these unsung heroes, but to no avail. Is this the basis of your ongoing beef about the movie with Eastwood?
I’m glad you’re saying that because it needs to be known that there were people saying stuff to Clint even before he shot the film. So this stuff is on record. I was not the first one to voice those sentiments.
As far as I can tell, you’re the only film director who individually credits every musician who plays on his soundtrack. Why do you do that?
Because I grew up in a jazz household. My father [Bill Lee] is a great jazz bassist, and I value the contributions of the musicians and the composer. My father did the scores for my movies in film school and for “She’s Gotta Have It,” “School Daze,” “Do the Right Thing” and “Mo’ Better Blues.” And Terence Blanchard did all the scores for my films since.
Musicians are great artists. In my opinion, I think they’re the greatest artists. If somebody gets credit for pushing a dolly or holding a boom mike, why should someone who’s playing the violin, the bass, the trumpet, the French horn or the oboe not get credit, too? They contributed as much as anybody else. That’s why I give musicians credit in my films.
Where in Brooklyn did you grow up?
We were the first [black] family to move into Cobble Hill, which at the time was primarily an Italian neighborhood. Cobble Hill is right by the Brooklyn docks, and almost all the people that worked the docks were Italian back then, when the waterfront was alive and thriving.
Funny thing: We got called “nigger” a couple of times, when we first moved in, until they saw that there weren’t any more black families moving in behind us. We never had any more incidents after that.
Are you happy?
Yeah, very happy.
What was the last book you read?
“Dreams from My Father” by Barack Obama.
Who are you supporting for president?
Barack Obama!
Are you ever afraid?
Everybody’s afraid.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
My biggest disappoint so far was when I couldn’t get that Jackie Robinson film made. And then when I couldn’t get the Joe Louis-Max Schmeling film made, or the James Brown biopic.
Do you have a biopic in the works?
Yes, I do. I just optioned the rights to the autobiography of a black physicist and professor at the University of Connecticut named Ronald Mallett, called “The Time Traveler.” He’s drawn up the blueprint for a time machine.
What music are you listening to nowadays?
Right now I’m listening to Raphael Saadiq’s new album, “The Way I See It,” and to Terence Blanchard’s score to “Miracle at St. Anna.”
How do you want to be remembered?
For my body of work.