Lee Daniels had a keynote speech at SXSW recently, and topics he addressed included why he doesn’t support #OscarsSoWhite and confiding in Oprah Winfrey about the disappointing ratings for “Star.”
Variety writes:
In December, Lee Daniels was despondent that his new Fox TV series “Star” premiered to less than 7 million viewers. For encouragement, he called a friend. She happened to be named Oprah Winfrey. “I don’t understand this!” Daniels told her. But Winfrey wouldn’t let him wallow. “You petulant child!” she replied. “You have a good show. Your numbers are solid. Welcome to the real world.”
Daniels told this story at a keynote speech at SXSW on Sunday morning. He took a brief pause. “I still want those numbers, though,” he said with a laugh. At once serious, funny, rambling, and raw, Daniels — the director of such hit films as “Precious” and “The Butler” and the executive producer of TV’s “Empire” — delivered his talk with no pre-written remarks. Instead, he improvised tales about his poor upbringing in Philadelphia, knowing that he was gay at 8 or 9, lapsing into drugs, and starting a nursing business that gave him financial security.
…As a producer, Daniels raised money — “some of it wasn’t legal” — to make “Monster’s Ball,” the 2001 drama that made history after Halle Berry became the first black woman to win the Oscar for best actress. “It was a big deal for me,” Daniels said. “You would have thunk Lionsgate would have built a fortress around me. I was getting offered movies like ‘Who’s My Baby’s Mamma’ and ‘Leprechaun From the Hood Part 7.’ I wanted to show a deeper side of me.”
He said he had to find his own way. “I’ve never had to depend on Hollywood,” he said, as he admitted not relating to the recent outrage for the lack of diversity at the Academy Awards. “I don’t understand the #OscarsSoWhite. I’m really trying to understand it. I paved my own way. I’ve believed we created a generation, at least with my kids, where you feel entitled. I had to fight for everything. No one owes me anything.”
He’s an idiot as usual. Next.
And this is why the ratings for Star are boo boo. He’s a c–n. A lot of us give Lee a pass for Empire because of our loyalty to Taraji and Jussie but we aren’t invested in anyone on Star so we don’t watch. He needs to stop talking so much. When he says c–n stuff like this, it makes people not want to support him.
The more foolishness he talks, the less people want to watch his shows.
He loves kissing white folks a-ses.
Sigh…
Lee is such a disgrace and Star is terrible I’ve watched it a couple of times just for Latifah but after the 3rd episode I stopped it’s horrible.
Star is just a terrible show. Truth is Empire isn’t that far behind it but people keep trying to give it a chance because season one was decent and they like the cast. But that could change if the writing doesn’t improve. There’s too many good TV shows out now to stick to something out of loyalty.
So he’s still pandering to white folks and they still aren’t watching his show? Oh.
I don’t understand why everybody so mad, he made oscar nominated movies so why would he be apart of oscars so white when it didn’t apply to him. Maybe more black directors should make better movies
Lmao Lee Daniels is one of the most overrated black directors of all time. Notice how his only decent projects revolved around books he didn’t write. But things he comes up with on his own are straight trash. He better be careful about talking down to black folks. He’s going to need us when white people finally stop thinking he’s hip and move on to the next c–n. How many times have we seen that happen?
Oh and black directors have been making great films for a very long time and many of them have never been nominated for an Oscar. Meanwhile, mediocre white films stay collecting awards. Catch up.