The Hughes Brothers Talk "Book of Eli" Pg 2
March 12, 2012 - 9:59 pm by kholmes
At 21, they were crowned cinema’s new enfants terribles. Reveling in their brash and honest reputation, Albert even confronted legendary film critic Roger Ebert over his Dead Presidents review. But their loudest protests were reserved for comparisons with other uncompromising Black filmmakers such as Spike Lee and John Singleton. “People were like, ‘Spike and John. Spike and John.’ That’s all we kept hearing,” Allen says today. “It was like, ‘Damn, that’s the grading curve for the whole class? It’s not Spielberg or Scorsese? It’s Spike and John? You guys are grading us on that curve? Cool. I guess we’ll get a straight A.’ As Black filmmakers, you want to be graded on the curve of the classroom with everyone in it, not just the Black classmates. We never had real beef with John Singleton or Spike Lee.”
In March 1993, there was an incident between Tupac and Allen at a music video shoot which resulted in Tupac being convicted of assault and battery. “The biggest misnomer is that me and Tupac got into any fight. It was me and 12 Crips that he got to jump me. He didn’t do shit,” Allen claims. “Tupac didn’t lay a hand on me. I had my hands on him. But there was not a physical fight between me and Tupac. It was a physical fight between me and 12 gangbangers. I believe they are called the Rolling 40s and they rolled me up pretty good.”
Allen adds: “Tupac was an artist. Tupac was not a gangbanger. Tupac could not fight to save his motherfucking life. I know that for a fact. He was an immensely gifted person and he was far, far, far from a thug.” He lets out a deep sigh. “I think that’s just years of frustration that just came out.”
But what’s on the horizon for the Hughes Brothers? Can they continue their craft as filmmakers in an industry that doesn’t take too kindly to free spirits? Will there be work for the brothers who refuse to adopt the mindless movie franchise formula? “I have no idea,” Albert says. “Hopefully, we will roll into [another film] soon because we don’t plan on taking much time off. Shit, if we take time off again, next time you see us, we will be old men.” -Thomas Golianopoulos
