{"id":62289,"date":"2012-01-13T17:49:08","date_gmt":"2012-01-13T17:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2012\/01\/13\/terrence-howard-talks-red-tails-winnie-and-on-the-road\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T13:16:50","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T13:16:50","slug":"terrence-howard-talks-red-tails-winnie-and-on-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/terrence-howard-talks-red-tails-winnie-and-on-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Terrence Howard Talks Red Tails, Winnie, and On The Road"},"content":{"rendered":"

Red Tails<\/a>An Interview with Terrence Howard<\/strong>
\nBy Wilson Morales<\/p>\n

January 13, 2012<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Coming on Jan.20 is the highly anticipated Tuskegee Airmen film, \u2018Red Tails,\u2019<\/a> <\/strong>that was produced by \u2018Star Wars\u2019 George Lucas<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Directed by Anthony Hemingway, the film stars a bevy of veteran and newcomers (Cuba Gooding Jr<\/a>, Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Method Man, Tristan Wilds, Ne-Yo<\/a>, Michael B. Jordan<\/a>, Elijah Kelly, Leslie Odom Jr, Kevin Phillips, Lee Tergesen, Andre Royo, Bryan Cranston, Daniela Ruah<\/strong>) in a film where a crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.<\/p>\n

For Howard, who Bullard, the film represents his finest performance since he received an Academy Award nomination for the 2006 Craig Brewer film \u2018Hustle and Flow.\u2019 Howard will also appear in the Walter Salles<\/strong> film with Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart,<\/strong> and Sam Riley<\/strong>, and hopefully later this year, the long awaited \u2018Winnie,\u2019<\/strong> in which he plays Nelson Mandela<\/strong>, will show up in theaters.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In speaking with Blackfilm.com<\/a>,<\/strong> Howard talks about his character, the potential success of the film, and his upcoming projects.<\/p>\n

What was the attraction to doing the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Terrence Howard: <\/strong>I wanted to work with George Lucas, but the biggest attraction is to tell the heroics of these extraordinary men who flew 20,000 feet in the sky. These guys controlled the winds. They controlled the tides of the war. Without them, we wouldn\u2019t have won the war. It\u2019s nice to fix that hole in history that\u2019s been around for years, and it\u2019s nice to see that field with the truth. To be forever attached to that. No matter what I\u2019m going to be associated with the Tuskegee Airmen.<\/p>\n

How would you describe Col. A.J. Bullard?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>He was based on Benjamin O\u2019Davis. He was the third black graduate from West Point, and for four years, not one cadet spoke to him. They were white. He only got orders when needed. He didn\u2019t allow it to taint him and as a result, he ended up integrating the military and encouraging these young me to stand up. He was just 30 years old and was considered the old man because these kids were 19 and 20 and he showed them how to be rock stars in the sky. Tom Cruise would wish that he was black once he sees this movie. Even \u2018Top Gun\u2019 had nothing on these kids.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What sort of research did you do for this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>You go and look at the best of the war movies. You add them up and in the necessary imagination to accomplish that and then you open up the history books and ask yourself what doesn\u2019t fit. What\u2019s missing? You find your way to Alabama and go to Tuskegee and then you go to Washington and see half the people that accomplished things are the children of the Tuskegee Airmen. I didn\u2019t know until I was 30 years old that my daddy was a Tuskegee Airman. You sit down with Roscoe Brown and at 90 years old, this man with another Airman, stood in a spot for 30 minutes as were we were this promo for Fox. They were so disciplined.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve had your share of ensemble films. How was working with this cast?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>David Oyelowo is the next coming. His grace, charm and talent exceed anything that many people would expect from a foreigner. He comes here with a figure and a gumption, and arrogance that are necessary. It\u2019s reminiscent of those men of the past. You also have Nate Parker, and Tristan Wilds, I\u2019ve watched Nate shine for the first time and open the pedal to the flower of his ability when we did \u2018Pride\u2019 and to see him in \u2018The Great Debaters\u2019 and blossom now. I\u2019m supporting him. With Cuba, I had forgotten how talented he was and I think a lot of people have forgotten how talented was. Elijah Kelley has my heart. He plays Samuel ‘Joker’ George and was also in \u2018Hairspray\u2019 with Queen Latifah. He\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of talk about the success of the film before it has even opened up. While you have no control on the outcome, do you sense a big pressure for the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>Well, if it doesn\u2019t succeed, then they are already saying, the propaganda, that black films doesn\u2019t have international value and will not sell overseas so you can\u2019t make a black film with than $20 million dollars because the best you can hope to make is $50 million on your return and you can\u2019t even hope to do that. Now George Lucas has spent over $100 million dollars (budget and P & A) making this movie. Now, if it does not work, then that becomes a foundation stone that will stand for the next hundred years and with people saying that George Lucas, one of the best filmmakers of all time, tried to put out a black film or black cast into an action film. That\u2019s what this is, it\u2019s not a black film; it\u2019s an action movie that happens to have black people in it. If it fails, then it will be the standard and we will be forever sweeping the outskirts of the cinematic experience. We will never get a full shot, but one or two black folks in a film, a white film.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Although \u201cLaw & Order: Los Angeles\u201d didn\u2019t stay on the air long, will you consider doing another TV series?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>TV is the way to make money. Only a crackhead will call themselves an actor as opposed to an actor. There are only a few people that are making enough money to do just films. If I can make $500,000 a week on an episode, you are very right. I will do a TV show.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the status on \u2018Winnie\u2019<\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TH:<\/strong> \u2018Winnie\u2019 is being reworked and fixed the way it needs to be. It was never completed when we took it to the Toronto Film Festival. They just wanted to do a showing of it, but it\u2019s being completed. \u2018Winnie\u2019 is the best work I\u2019ve ever done. Compared to doing \u2018Red Tails,\u2019 that\u2019s the only thing I stand by, no matter what. Everything takes time to complete. How long did it \u2018Avatar\u2019 to be in theaters after they finished shooting it? The same goes with \u2018Star Wars.\u2019 It always takes a good two years to release a film. We shot in 2009 for it to come out at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 with more special effects than \u2018Transformers 3.\u2019 This film had 1600 special effects in it. The only two films that had more were \u2018Avatar\u2019 and \u2018Star Wars.\u2019 It takes time to do that.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How was filming \u2018On The Road\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TH: <\/strong>Yes. Walter Salle\u2019 film. I play a saxophone player so I got to do something that I haven\u2019t done cinematically. I play it in life but this time I was able to do it on film. I get to work with Garrett (Hedlund) again and he\u2019s fantastic. I thought he was the younger version of Val Kilmer years ago. Watching him now after seeing him in \u2018Country Strong,\u2019 \u2018Tron,\u2019 his growth has been exponential.<\/p>\n

You did well on Broadway with \u2018Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.\u2019 Any thoughts on returning to the theater world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

TH:<\/strong> I just bumped in James Earl Jones recently and he had wished that I would have joined him and reprise the role when they went to London, so if it\u2019s something with James or someone of that talent, I would do it again.<\/p>\n

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