Jul 01 2008
The Hughes Brothers

The Hughes Brothers Out of Ideas: Let’s Pimp Some Mo’

The Hughes brothers haven’t directed a high-profile movie since Dead Presidents - and that’s if you want to call that high profile.

With black directors behind the camera on big budget movies like Tim Story’s The Fantastic 4, John Singleton’s The A-Team, and Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna, the Hughes brothers surprisingly aren’t on that list. They tried to expand their vision with Johhny Depp in From Hell but since then haven’t even snagged a bad urban comedy.

Maybe it’s because they’re stuck on old themes.

With the 1999 documentary American Pimp under their belt, the Hughes brothers are set to revisit the world of pimping for a dramatic HBO series called Gentlemen of Leisure.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the show will look at the world of prostitution in Oakland, Calif., through the eyes of a legendary pimp who is considering retirement.

Allen Hughes

Allen Hughes defended/described Gentlemen of Leisure as having..

’‘Some of the themes from The Godfather but in the world of pimping.. We haven’t done a movie in eight years, and we’re really interested in trying do something new. You’re not going to see a bunch of colorful, goofy ‘70’s pimps. This is a film noir-style urban drama based in rich characters that will explore the human conditions across the board.’‘

The show will be written by Rescue Me executive producer Evan Reilly.

I’m gonna file this in the ran out of ideas category.

Not only do the Hughes brothers have two DVDs about pimps; rappers have already saturated the topic. What new perspective needs to be brought to this glamorous profession?

I’ll admit bringing Iceberg Slim’s Mama Black Widow to the widescreen is interesting - Kerry Washington, Mos Def, Anthony Anderson..

Rihanna’s not in it.

But that’s interpreting a classic street book; it’s already written.

Time to move on to new topics, black creatives; if you’re in film, best believe, pimps ain’t it.


☼ What's Your Opinion? ☼

1 lili Wed, Jul 02, 2008 - 10:24 pm

They’re not full black their mom is Armenian so maybe they can give Kim Kardashian a call

2 WESS... Thu, Jul 03, 2008 - 12:03 pm

They’re desperate! This shit sounds like an exploitative attempt to jump on the bandwagon and cash in. Black cinema and black music has gotten to be so depressingly wack! becase its creators have all of the wrong motivations and intentions.

I beleive that if artists would actually tap into their talent and put their passion and artistry first and the money last then the creativity will be able flow more freely.

3 ABOVE Thu, Jul 03, 2008 - 1:03 pm

Wess, you are on point but why should they try to be creative? All they need is a hook and they can make millions off of that alone. Look at Soulja Boy, he has all these fans and can’t rap for shit.

4 Wess Thu, Jul 03, 2008 - 5:48 pm

Above, you’ve hit the nail on the head! But being creative builds credibility and respect. Finding a hook and making millions is the luck of the draw and is usually short lived. There’s obviously room for both. But when it gets to be as unbalanced as we’re seeing today, where EVERYBODY is just trying their luck with any ol thing in hopes of finding that one good hook to make them millions. The overall quality of everything begins to suffer because the only intention is to get rich.

5 Above Thu, Jul 03, 2008 - 6:15 pm

Wess, the thing is that it is really up to the fans to want to start demanding quality instead of the luck. As long as fans keep buying garbage the rappers especially will continue to put out garbage. It’s just like a real job, If the boss lets you get away with doing nothing all day that is what most people will continue to do. We now have nothing more than hype men that are now stars. This is how low the rap music has declined.

6 bowldust Wed, Jul 30, 2008 - 7:47 am

WOW! I have never before seen such a bunch of haters! First of where was the outrage when Spielberg did “Band of brothers” for TV after “Saving Private Ryan”, he has also produced or directed 4 “Jurassic park” or “Indiana Jones” movies, has Spielberg run out of ideas? Admittedly, the Hughes brothers are not the most prolific filmmakers out there but hey, there are lots in history who weren’t.  What’s bothersome is the slant and venom of this article, also the lack of simple fact checking, “From Hell” their last movie, was a major Hollywood “high profile release”, it was in more theaters than “Dead Prez”. The writer of this article considers a bad urban comedy something the Hughes should aspire to? WHAT? or to remake the A-team like John Simpleton, isn’t that your point in the first place, be original, then you go on to site, the A-team, Fantastic four and Spike Lees WW2 movie, wow, uh, yeah, those are all original territory.  Sounds like this writer has a beef, and should be clear before he takes his ignorant, no research ass back to the computer keys.  Anyhow, he even failed to do a simple search and see what the brothers have in the works for features, The Book of Eli with Warner bros, and several other original things development.  Like I said earlier they may not be prolific but that can’t be called unoriginal or running out of ideas.  Sounds like this hater writer needs to step back and check himself and maybe be a bit more original in his research and approach. Huh, and maybe bit less contradictory when he writes…Unbelievable!

7 bowldust Wed, Jul 30, 2008 - 7:58 am

WESS, you should check yourself also with lines like these, “EVERYBODY is just trying their luck with any ol thing in hopes of finding that one good hook to make them millions. The overall quality of everything begins to suffer because the only intention is to get rich.” UH….what? Have the brothers put out a bunch of shit year after year to cash in and make millions? NO! They actually have taste and have not flooded the market with money making bull.  The irony in all the above comments is that all this should be directed towards other people who actually do cash in and flood the market with shit to make cash.  You all are really barking up the wrong tree on this one.  Sounds like the brothers are trying there best to be patience in the feature world and give the movie fans something different instead of remakes and comic book movies, but hey, you tell a lie enough times and people start to believe its the truth.  Hate to repeat myself people but there is a thing called the internet, you know? its this thing where you can actually do a little cross checking and get SOME facts before you throw you 2 cents in…

8 Fayton Hollington Thu, Jul 31, 2008 - 3:31 am

I’m a writer based in New York with a number of completed projects. If anyone could help me contact these brothers I would appreciate it. I’ve got projects for them.

Holla!

.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

9 Maroi Sat, Jul 31, 2010 - 2:52 pm

The entire film industry is suffering from a lack of creativity . The Hughes Brothers are no different. Havent most of the box office hits been
REMAKES? Transformers, Karate Kid, A-Team, Miami Vice, Nightmare on Elm Street, Prom Night (not a hits but still illustrates my point. Most movies are based on book written by authors like Michael Crichton, John Grisham and Alice Walker. We see this in music too with all the sampling.

Hell, 2003 young folks were still breakdancing and pop-locking in You Got served…uymm, didnt breakdance come to prominence in the 80’s? Yeah, but so did the tights and fluorescent clothes, ripped jeans folks are wearing as I type.

I think we wanna reminisce artistcially rather
than create the next original piece. Digging deep into what this generation has to say might help but what is this generation about? I’d like to know.

10 John Doe Fri, Mar 02, 2012 - 4:15 am

i dont see how is this not a new idea. what series out there deals with pimps? what series out there takes place in Oakland? i think that this is a great idea for a project. “a film noir style urban drama” would be a very artistically relevant way of showcasing a very real issue that oakland has been dealing with for decades.  if you havent seen any film noir movies than you wont understand how unique this show could be. and hey, what better way to hone in on the human condition than filming a show where the subject matter is based on the oldest profession in human history. think about that. dont blindly follow what this article says.

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