It’s a straight-forward action/thriller that starts off running and doesn’t really let up the rest of the way. It’s violent, bloody, comical, cheesy… a B-movie essentially, but still entertaining. Call it a guilty pleasure, despite the fact that it was mostly trashed by critics.

However, in watching it again it got me thinking – was Danny Glover’s an opportunity lost when considering black male actors who had the potential to be action hero movie stars? Glover’s resume is full of mostly dramas and he may not even have wanted to pursue a career as an action movie star, but, indulge me anyway.

He’s practically a maniac in Predator 2. Rough, tough, fearless, determined, relentless as police Lieutenant Mike Harrigan, in an early nod to colorblind casting. He’s a black man, but the film doesn’t care, and it really didn’t need to given the kind of film it is. And he wins in the end. Though there’s no “girl” to get, as is often the case in movies of its ilk.

It wasn’t exactly common to see a black actor leading in a film like this at the time. These were the years when Eddie Murphy was still da man with two Beverly Hills Cop movies and 48 Hours on his resume. Wesley Snipes wouldn’t make his action hero mark for another 2 years, with Passenger 57.

This sequel really isn’t much better nor worse than the first Predator flick, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wasn’t quite the major Hollywood player he would eventually become some years later.

In it, there’s even a scene in which he’s referred to by one of the other characters as John Wayne – a name that’s become an adjective implying toughness and a no-nonsense approach to whatever task is at hand.

Maybe Danny Glover never really fit Hollywood’s definition of what good looks are, but tough guys like the aforementioned John Wayne, as well as Charles Bronson, Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and others, weren’t exactly Hollywood pretty boys either. They were all tough guys who did what we expected tough guys to do in movies. Be tough!

Plus, Glover had the size. The man stands at about 6ft 3inches tall, and back in the day, he wasn’t exactly skinny. He was 44 years old at the time by the way. And I’d say he was a more versatile actor than a lot of those other guys I mentioned above.

I imagine he could have done a few more of these genre action/thriller-type flicks after Predator 2. It was actually nice to see him get out of Mel Gibson’s shadow after two Lethal Weapon movies.

So what do you think? Danny Glover, action movie star 20 years ago?

Trailer below:

Tambay Obenson is editor of Shadow And Act on the indieWIRE Network at blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact

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Common will portray Vincent, a troubled ex-con who strikes up a friendship with his shy, 13-year-old nephew, who is in search of his family.

“Vincent is a uniquely conflicted character,” Common said of his character in the film. “I found an appeal in his desire to move past his failures and onto the right track, and the challenges that presents.”

Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Michael K. Williams, and Meagan Good are some of the other actors attached to the project. First time director, Sheldon Candis, will direct the film.

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While it’s nice to have a real life Black president to both praise and criticize, we can look forward to Will Smith turning things around for movie-Presidents in the rumored Independence Day sequel.  In the meantime here is a rundown of the Black Presidents in the movies.

Tom Beck, Deep Impact (1998)

In this late 90s disaster flick President Tom Beck, played by Morgan Freeman, must prepare the world for the E.L.E — extinction level event (We see you Busta!). A 7-mile wide comet is on a collision course with the Earth and only a select few will be granted asylum. President Beck has the daunting task of telling everyone “hey, we found about this a year ago and have been preparing to stop it, but we’re only telling you now.”

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President Limberg, The 5th Element (1997)

In 2263 a Great Evil appears and destroys a Federated Army battleship as it heads to Earth. Tommy “Tiny” Lister is President Limberg, who is not just the HNIC for America, but the entire planet. Once again we get control only when the world is threatened with annihilation.

Mays Gilliam, Head Of State (2003)

In another vote of confidence, alderman Mays Gilliam (played by Chris Rock) is chosen to run for President after the Democratic Party’s original candidate dies. Rock is a man of the people but his own party doesn’t think he’ll win. Thanks to some encouragement from his brother (played by the late Bernie Mac) Mays turns things around. The best part of the movie is watching Rock send Robin Givens packing when he screams “Security!”

Duane Elizondo Camacho, Idiocracy

500 years into the future we’ve all had our brains scrambled by too much Waka Flocka and reality television so an idiot like Duane Elizondo Camacho, played by Terry Crews, gets to be President. Camacho is a former porn star and professional wrestler and with Jess Ventura making it to Governor this doesn’t seem that far fetched.

Douglass Dilman, The Man (1972)

In this 1972 political drama James Earl Jones plays Senate President Douglass Dilman who is handed the keys to the Oval Office when the President and Speaker of the House are killed in a building collapse. The VP declines the office siting age and health. James is the next inline making him “The Man” and the first African-American President of the United States.  In an interview with Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times that ran Jan. 16, 2009, four days before Barack Obama was inaugurated as president, Jones was asked about having portrayed the fictional first black U.S. president on film. He replied: “I have misgivings about that one. It was done as a TV special. Had we known it was to be released as a motion picture, we would have asked for more time and more production money. I regret that.”

Thomas Wilson , 2012 (2009)

In what is essentially Noah’s Ark for the modern age Danny Glover plays President Thomas Wilson in yet another disaster movie with a Black Commander-In-Chief. Solar flares are causing the Earth’s temperature to spike triggering natural disasters across the globe.  The only humans who will survive are those with a Billion dollars of spare change to reserve a seat on one of the three massive ships being built.

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“It was a pretty popular audition. At the time were not many Afrocentric films so it was an event. Plus it was Spielberg,” she remembers. “I read the book right when it came out. It was a pretty big sensation. Not much fiction gets written about us so it’s important to read it.”

In celebration of its 25th anniversary and Blu-Ray release on January 25, 2011 Rae Dawn Chong shares some candid thoughts and memories about making the film and what kind of progress we’ve made since.

Playing Squeak….

I auditioned specifically for Squeak because she was the only one that was mixed. I liked the fact that she was a hero and went to the jail to rescue Sophia. In the book she gets raped by the jailer but they cut it in the movie. They were really nervous about the movie so they created that churchy musical for Sug. That was an added piece to spice up the film. It was a bone of contention for me because I may not have been interested in the movie because there was no part for me after that. I’m on the periphery of the film. It wasn’t a step up for me.

The voice…

I had to raise my voice a bunch of octaves [but] I can sing. I’ve been a singer my whole life so I can make my voice do a lot of things. I’ve played a cave woman. In “Quest For Fire” I had a really high voice so it was nothing.

Getting punched by Sophia

“I learned a lot about stunts. That was me. I did the fall. It added levity. When the movie starts to get really intense it cuts away to a chicken or a chicken coup. They were concerned that it was being too heavy so they added things like Squeak falling into a hole, which is just physically impossible. If you read the books it might have made you question the motives but people love the movie.”

On the current state of Black Films…

I’m sort of appalled that we’re not further along and segregated in the community. The film community is relegated to the BET network and that’s it. We’re tokenized still. In films it’s Tyler Perry and Spike Lee occasionally. Not many strides have been made. I don’t know if it’s because it’s a narcissistic business. The writers and directors aren’t integrated in their personal lives [so] why woud they be professionally? It’s great that we have a movie like Precious, but is that our only story? It’s frustrating. It always has to be the “other.”

Up-Coming projects

I have three movies; The Blood of Pegasus on Sy Fy playing Mayda the witch, Jeff Who Lives At Home and I just finished a movie called Shiver where I play a detective.

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The film boasted an all-star cast including Danny Glover, Adolph Caesar, Margaret Avery, Laurence Fishburne, Rae Dawn Chong, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey.

Here are a few of our favorite, and most quotable, scenes from this shoulda-swept-the-Oscars film!

1. Mister separates Celie and Nettie

Don’t act like this didn’t make your eyes water the first time you saw this movie.  “Me and you, us never part!”

2. “You told Harpo to beat me!”

Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) gives Harpo (Willard Pugh) a bad piece of advice…

3. “Celie’s Fixin To Shave Mister!”

After putting up with Mister’s (Danny Glover) abusive ways for decades, Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) is nearing her breaking point.

4. “I’m poor, black… I may even be ugly, but dear God, I’m here!”

As the movie draws to a conclusion, Celie finally stands up to Mister.

What are your favorite scenes from The Color Purple? Let us know in the comments!

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Chris Rock played a bit of a practical joke on Danny Glover and Tracy Morgan on the set of their latest film, Death At A Funeral.

From Essence.com

ESSENCE.com: Any particularly funny moments on set?
CHRIS ROCK: I just love Tracy and Danny Glover on the toilet.
TRACY MORGAN: Danny Glover took Ex-Lax before I shot my scene and he pooped on my hand. When I first did that scene I was so subdued and Chris and Neil LaBute, the director, were like “You just got poop on your hand! You have to go crazy!”
ROCK: That really happened, I slipped an Ex-Lax in Danny’s lunch and he didn’t know that he took it.

Read more of Essence’s interview with Chris Rock & Tracy Morgan here!

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Chris Rock’s upcoming remake of the British comedy, Death At A Funeral, is sure to be one of the funniest films of 2010. Get an inside look at the film which hits theaters on April 16th and features an all-star cast including Danny Glover, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Regina Hall, and many more!

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Chris Rock’s plays the lead in Death At A Funeral, a remake of the 2007 British film of the same name directed by Frank Oz.  The Neil LaBute directed film also stars Tracy Morgan, Danny Glover, Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Regina Hall, and Zoe Saldana.

The film centers around a funeral and all of the misadventures that happen from family secrets being revealed to the body coming up missing.  Judging from the trailer and the excellent ensemble cast, this looks like a film worth watching when it hits theaters on April 16, 2010!

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VIA EMPIRE:

We’ve been teased before with teasers, but a full trailer for Roland Emmerich’s latest disaster CG-fest, 2012, has just gone up at Yahoo (with a little intro from the director).

It’s nothing to do with Arthur C. Clark or Stanley Kubrick, but instead based on a Mayan prophecy that the world will end at the 2012 solstice. Hey, that means we’ll miss Batman 3! But it truly does look spectacular: we’ve got avalanches, floods, an eclipse, mass suicides, forest fires, what looks like a meteor strike, earthquake, and an airlifted giraffe. And is that LA falling into the ocean? Bill Hicks would be delighted!

Whether that spectacle translates into a decent story is another matter. Emmerich’s CV has often made for great trailers and so-so movies: ID4, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow… And let’s just forget the Apocalypto-lite 10,000 Years B.C. Please.

John Cusack is on hand though, which bodes well, and the cast is pretty strong: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Woody Harrelson, and Danny Glover as the US President.

Let’s hope it’s a disaster epic, rather than an epic disaster. Find out in November.