Spike Lee takes hit over portrayal of Italians

June 11, 2008 Lee first criticized Eastwood last month during the Festival de Cannes, saying that black actors were conspicuous by their absence in Eastwood's Iwo Jima films "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima." Eastwood replied that the films were historically accurate and that Lee should "shut his face," to which Lee quipped that Eastwood "is not my father, and we're not on a plantation." The Italic Institute of America has criticized Lee in the past for his portrayal of Italian-Americans in "Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever" and has expressed worry about "Miracle at St. Anna," Lee's upcoming World War II drama set in Italy.

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