Apparently there are a lot of folks who aren’t too happy about the newly released 12 Years a Slave movie. Just yesterday we told you about one of the film’s leading actresses, Alfre Woodard, who actually addressed some of the harsh criticism that the movie has received. But just because Alfre is clapping back at critics doesn’t mean that people won’t continue to express their opinions about the film. Belle’s actress Elise Neal also expressed her disappointment in the Steve McQueen-directed flick.
“Everybody is talking about how great “12 Years of Slave” was. No, it wasn’t great. I’m sorry. I was very disappointed,” Elise said during a recent interview with Erica Vain.
She also addressed her disgust with the fact that great directors like Spike Lee have to turn to Kickstarter campaigns.
“I’ve seen the best best budgets being spent on Malcolm Lee, you know when the first “Best Man”was released. I think it’s sad that a great film maker and a friend of mine, like Spike Lee has to even think about doing a kick starter to get a movie made in the right way with owning his own films.”
“He is a legend in our game and he still deserves respect, you know what I mean? I just don’t understand that, I don’t. I don’t like it. And again I’ll say, I miss the time when Will, and anyone of African American descent could do a movie about us and not have to try to down play the role or just go to the story of slavery or whatever. I don’t like it,” she continued.
Elise added that she doesn’t really understand why people feel the need to continue making slave movies.
“Why do we need movies to remind us of where we used to be? I feel like, that’s not what we should be doing. We should be doing things to encourage us where we are right now. What we’re doing right now. What black people’s lives are like right now. And if you are going to produce a movie that reminds us of where and who we used to be, TELL THE FULL STORY.”
“I said this last night after seeing that movie [ 12 Years a Slave], and I will say this again, I love the direction of Steve McQueen and the movie’s amazing cinematography, but I guarantee you, if I go to the bookstore and pick up “12 Years a Slave,” I’m not going to just read about the beatings. I’m not just going to just read about people calling each other nikkas. I’m not going to just read THAT. I’m going to get a full story of a African American man, living in a certain time period; A story about how he met his beautiful wife and created his wonderful family. The book will detail how this African American man made his way to being amongst a circle of white people and what it was like to be in artistry during that time. It seems that the movies only depict the negative.”
