`From Hell' to `Training Day': young directors score with major moneymakers - filmmakers Antoine Fuqua, Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes - Brief Article

Ebony, Feb, 2002 by Aldore Collier

THE first megahit movie to hit screens following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., was Denzel Washington's Training Day, a movie that featured the superstar as a diabolical Los Angeles police officer.

Right on the heels of Training Day was From Hell, the latest take on the Jack the Ripper story, featuring Johnny Depp as a London policeman investigating the serial killing of prostitutes in the 19th century. In its first 10 days of release, the movie led the pack, earning $21 million.

While those films took on divergent topics, the common thread (beyond law enforcement) is that both were directed by Black directors. Training Day was helmed by Antoine Fuqua, who made a name for himself when he directed Replacement Killers in 1998. From Hell featured twins Albert and Allen Hughes, who garnered worldwide attention when, at the age of 21, they directed the successful and acclaimed urban drama Menace II Society back in 1993.

These young and talented directors defied the odds and conventional wisdom in Tinsel Town that has always held that White males are best suited to direct major, big-budget films featuring White actors.

They were not the first Blacks to direct films featuring predominantly White casts. But their films were among the few to immediately soar to the top of the box-office with Black, White and Latino audiences.

In the process, these young directors have demonstrated to the film industry that knowledge, determination and skills behind the lens are not exclusive domains of the good-old-boy network. They, therefore, put Hollywood on notice that Blacks can easily supervise the expression of the dreams of any screenwriter.

Antoine Fuqua Started With Music Videos

ANTOINE Fuqua made a name for himself directing music videos while learning the ropes of the film industry. The 35-year-old Pittsburgh, Pa., native first exhibited his talent when he directed a number of videos for Prince, Arrested Development, Stevie Wonder, Toni Braxton and Usher, and won two Music Video Production awards.

Fuqua, who is married to actress Lela Rochon, has had a lifelong love of movies, especially the tones created by Chinatown, Blade Runner and The Seven Samurai.

In 1998, he made his movie directorial debut in the action-adventure film Replacement Killers, which included Chinese legend Chow Yun Fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Academy Award-winner Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite).

Fuqua followed that up with Bait, an action thriller featuring Jamie Foxx, David Morse and Doug Hutchison. But this time, Fuqua injected a nice dose of humor. Foxx played a petty thief jailed after he is caught stealing prawns. His cell mate ends up giving him vague information that may lead to stolen gold.

Both those films earned significant money, but Fuqua hit paydirt with his most recent, critically acclaimed effort, Training Day. The film was a dramatic departure for Denzel Washington, who--for the first time in his career--portrayed a mesmerizing bad guy.

Fuqua says he loves movies and the artistry of making them, especially movies that inspire.

Hughes Brothers Made Debut With Menace II Society

WHILE growing up in suburban Los Angeles, Allen and Albert Hughes were given a video camera by their mother (their father is Black and their mother is Armenian) to occupy their time so that they'd stay out of trouble. That led to a love of movies and the making of rap videos for artists like KRS-One.

The twins (now 29) later took on Hollywood, making their debut with the hit Menace II Society. The worldwide accolades they received from that film led to a deal with Disney's Caravan Pictures and Dead Presidents, a movie (starring Larenz Tate, Bokeem Woodbine and Chris Tucker) that explored the psychological difficulties Black Vietnam veterans encountered.

The twins say they're often on the same page creatively and intellectually. "With music, movies and everything as far as the arts, we like the exact same things," Albert says. "If he says something is great, I best believe it's great because we're very similar."

But when production gets underway, Allen generally deals with the performers while Albert handles the visual elements.

While promoting From Hell, the brothers tried to dispel the notion that Black filmmakers are too narrowly focused to direct "mainstream" movies. "The thing people forget is that the Black culture is raised with the White culture all around. It's a lot easier for an ethnic filmmaker to do a White movie, because it's all you see," Albert told the Los Angeles Times.

The Jack the Ripper story had been told in several films, television movies and numerous books, but the Hughes brothers decided that they could add a few new wrinkles in the story, including new twists and new looks to 1888 London that audiences loved.

They're not I-told-you-so types, but they realize the wisdom of sticking to their guns.