Auteur Watch - Bill Duke

Taraji P. Henson? Bill Duke worked with her? I mean, she worked with Bill Duke? That's more like it. Small world after all! But where's HIS Oscar nom?
Oh my God, I feel so old. And Bill probably does, too. Were you REALLY born in 1943? Damn! Well, happy birthday for tomorrow, Bill. Guess we better look at the Director Decades theory here, definitely. So what's your favorite decade, Duke? Is it the Disco 70s when you were up and coming in the biz, and you were on shows like Starsky & Hutch, Kojak and Charlie's Angels? And getting your piece of the Car Wash pie?
Or is it the go-go 80s, when the TV directing work was through the roof, and you got to pal around with Ah-nold in BOTH Commando and Predator as the same guy? Oh, snap? If I had to guess, and I think I do here, it's probably the go-go 90s that are your favorite decade, when the whole semi-Hollywood auteur thing kicked in, and your directorial efforts were getting the red carpet treatment big time! The Cemetery Club! Hoodlum! A Rage in Harlem! (good title) Sister Act 2? I like that one because the end credits look exactly like Whoopi's short-lived TV interview show. I think I remembered that correctly.
No, the 2000s and beyond, you did have that small but memorable cameo in The Limey. Payback, not so much. Clearly this is your emeritus years, where you've gone from Deep Cover to just plain Cover. And Not Easily Broken was the latest entry in the Tyler Perry Sweepstakes, but where Ty succeeds and everyone else fails is with her Big Momma character. Make a note of that. I suggest you go out with a bang like Kubrick and make your Eyes Wide Shut. On the other hand, destroy all that good will you've worked so hard to build up all these years? Think about it!