Footlights Dedicated to Illuminating Theater and Connecting to Audiences
Deadline Hollywood: The true rules of a system are often hidden. Just as the election of Barack Obama did not signal a “post-racial” society, more actors of color at the Oscars may not signal a “post-racial” Hollywood. For example, well-known actor, Don Cheadle, decided to make a film about jazz great, Miles Davis. But funding for that film required something besides Cheadle’s resume, as he explains:
“There are different metrics by which those who are going to spend money on films determine if it’s a good risk or not, and there is a lot of apocryphal, not proven evidence that black films don’t sell overseas. Having a white actor in this film turned out to be a financial imperative.”
Cheadle’s film, Miles Ahead, in which he both stars and directs, opens April 1, 2016.
