The Treatment
John Ridley: Red Tails
Elvis Mitchell engages with writer/director/novelist John Ridley about Red Tails, his new film as writer, as well as the singular experience of being black in Hollywood.
By Elvis Mitchell • • 28m ListenJohn Ridley's prolificacy is attributed, above all else, to the fact that he loves to write. That said, people really seem to like his stuff. He's published several books and screenplays, as well as having been a frequent contributor for CNN, MSNBC and NPR. This week he sits down with Elvis to talk about his new screenplay for the film Red Tails, which was produced by George Lucas and tracks the story of the Tuskegee airmen during World War II. Ridley discusses his experiences talking to the actual members of this all-African American flight crew, and why he aims to keep making films in the future that are "colorblind but race aware."
