Sunday, December 06, 2015

Auteur Watch - Ernest Dickerson

For some reason, I'm put in mind of the latest attack on the dreamers.  I hate to quarrel with Stephen Colbert... but I guess he'll never know about it.  I forget who the guest was, but he mentioned a quote by artist Chuck Close... something like, screw the dreamers, I came here to work.  Well, his pieces are rather labor-intensive.  And I couldn't help but think of former Spike Lee cinematographer turned director Ernest Dickerson.  I don't know if Spike's that much of a dreamer anymore, but Dickerson is a guy what goes to work!  Fifty-nine directing credits?  Dayamnnnn... and two of 'em are in the works right now!
Hard to say what Ernest's favourite decade is.  Was it the go-go 80s when he was just happy to be getting work?  Or the go-go '90s when he finally realized, hey.  I don't need Spike anymore!  I'll be my own damn director?  And then he actually did it?  He led the way for John Singleton, in a sense; no shame in doing a brainless actioner, brother!  Bulletproof, for instance.  Silly me, I thought Surviving the Game was the one that was going to last.  Well, maybe on Spike TV.

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