In Blackbird, he plays Randy's loving father.Īll the drama around what Washington might have said on the Grey's Anatomy set did not concern Polk. That's because seven years ago, Washington was accused of using an anti-gay slur in an argument on the set of the show Grey's Anatomy. Coming from me, I know it's going to raise eyebrows.' " Washington recalls: "I said, 'So, sorry I said have to be part of this - this is an amazing story. When Polk finally adapted Blackbird, he sent the script to actor Isaiah Washington.
That perspective informs everything Polk's made for the past 20 years, including his groundbreaking cable series Noah's Arc. "I'd never read anything that was told from a gay black perspective."
The book was Blackbird by Larry Duplechan.
"I could see illustrated brown skin on the spine." "And there was one book on the shelf I could tell had an illustration of a black person on the cover," he recalls.
Even though his best friend is gay, Randy's in denial about his own sexuality.ĭirector Patrik-Ian Polk says Blackbird is a movie he has wanted to make ever since he left Mississippi for college and found himself in the gay and lesbian section of a Boston bookstore. Everyone thinks he's gay, and they're totally fine with it. In Blackbird, the main character Randy is in high school. The first original film it has acquired is a gay interracial romance set in the Deep South.
Johnson created BET and now, the Urban Movie Channel - an online channel that's being called the black Netflix. If Pelosi’s intent is to show that evangelical faith suffocates reason, the point is well-made.Blackbird is about a gay interracial romance set in the deep South.Ī tiny independent movie has been picked by one of Hollywood's biggest moguls to promote his latest venture. They appear as automatons, unable or unwilling to question the pronouncements of their leaders.Īlso difficult to watch were those who, despite having elected a born-again president and established giant radio and TV networks and a political power base second to none, still feel they are a persecuted minority. Rather, it was the willingness of evangelicals, young and old, to accept as figurative and literal gospel anything and everything fed to them by authority figures. Still, the parts of the film that were most troubling were not about abortion or gay marriage or even the incredibly pathetic attacks on evolution. The film was completed a week or so before that happened, and Pelosi chose not to revisit the interviews to make points on evangelical hypocrisy, though she might have. Her guide for much of the journey was Ted Haggard, president of the 30 million-member National Association of evangelicals until he resigned in November after evidence of his gay relationships and drug use came to light. The daughter of House speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled the Bible Belt to bring back footage of fundamentalist worshipers, as well as Christian miniature golf courses, wrestling federations, car clubs and theme parks. LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Alexandra Pelosi, speaking about her documentary on red state evangelicals, said it’s possible for everyone to get along if we can get past the hot-button issues of abortion and gay marriage. Alexandra Pelosi, producer of the HBO documentary "Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi" poses in Pasadena, California January 12, 2007.