Antoine Fuqua’s success in Hollywood is the exception for black directors.
If the 2015 Oscars nominations have taught us anything, it’s that Hollywood has a depressing lack of black people — actors, directors, producers, editors, the list goes on. Recently, the internet has been abuzz with anger over the perceived snub of Ava DuVernay for her film, Selma. She’s not the first black person in Hollywood to miss her Oscar moment, nor will she be the last. In fact, Denzel Washington has only won Best Actor at the Oscars once. Denzel won for his performance as the crooked cop Alonzo in Training Day.
Antoine Fuqua’s most notable work might be Training Day (2001) which follows two LAPD narcotics officers over a 24-hour period. He went on to direct the fairly awful King Arthur (2004). More recently, Fuqua directed Olympus Has Fallen (2013). Fuqua has achieved a kind of success that few black creators achieve; Fuqua is a director who happens to be black. His work is diverse and pretty damn good.
TL;DR
- In an industry that seeks to pigeonhole black creators, Fuqua refuses to be predictable.
- Fuqua’s film Training Day garnered Denzel Washington his only Best Actor Academy Award.
What You Should Do Now:
- Watch Olympus Has Fallen on Netflix.
- Find a copy of Training Day and watch it.
- Watch at least one movie this week directed by a black director.
28 Days of Inspirational Black People:
Photo — Flickr/Made in Hollywood
