TORONTO - Director Spike Lee took aim at John Wayne on Sunday, saying films starring the legendary cowboy contributed to historical lies that brushed aside the contributions of racial minorities in the military and misinformed younger generations.
The outspoken director launched into a tirade about the iconic actor during a news conference Sunday to promote his new movie "Miracle at St. Anna."
"In a World War II film, John Wayne is kicking Nazi ass and he's kicking Japanese ass. If it's a western he's killing the savage Indians," Lee said.
"I'm not trying to kill the man, because it wasn't his fault, but he was built up to represent America."
The director was in town for the Toronto International Film Festival, where "St. Anna" is having its world premiere.
The movie tells the story of a group of Buffalo soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Tuscany during the Second World War.
"Hopefully this film will spark the many other stories that have yet to be told about this great war and the so-called great generation," said Lee.
"We cannot continue putting out these lies again and again and young people growing up have no idea that this stuff even happened."
Lee built his career on mostly New York-based, racially charged urban dramas including "Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever."
While "St. Anna" is a departure in some ways, the themes and Lee's overall goals for the film are still the same. He said he hopes "St. Anna" will draw attention to the flood of minorities who played key roles in defending America.
Once known as one of the kings of independent cinema, Lee was criticized by some in 2006 for straying from his low-budget social commentaries to direct "Inside Man," a Hollywood production starring Jodie Foster and Denzel Washington that he says cost $45 million to make.
The film won over most critics and generated almost $300 million in box-office receipts and DVD sales around the world, Lee said. A sequel is in the works -- also a first for the director.
Still, the 51-year-old still appears to be as socially conscious as ever, and he proudly wore a white shirt emblazoned with an image of Barack Obama to the news conference.
"We're living in a time where there's been a seismic shift in America," he said.
"I never, ever thought we'd be at a point where a man of African descent would be on the verge of being the president of the United States of America."
Last year, Lee grabbed headlines when he criticized Clint Eastwood for not including any black characters in his Second World War movies "Flags of our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima," both which were released in 2006.
Since then, reports have said Disney asked Lee to refrain from making further comments about his gripe, saying it could cost "St. Anna" a chance at Oscar nominations.
Lee says Hollywood wasn't particularly interested in making the "St. Anna" story, which is based on the book by James McBride.
"After my biggest hit ever, `Inside Man,' I thought it'd be a little easier to get my next film made," he said of the 2006 heist flick which starred Jodie Foster and Denzel Washington and was a blockbuster hit in North America and abroad.
But Lee says it was difficult to secure funding for an epic war movie without any big name stars and a cast of mostly black actors.
Lee said he had to "be creative," and talked to financiers overseas who agreed take on the project.
"If you're not doing a comic book movie or some TV show made into a movie, it's hard to get original stuff made," he said.
"I'm not complaining about it, we've just got to make due with what we've got."
