Marketing Black Films

Your article on the marketing and profits of African-American films (“Good News/Bad News of the New Black Cinema,” by Nina J. Easton, June 16) implies that “Do the Right Thing” made $28 million only because of its white co-stars. But “House Party” (which cost $2.5 million, not “under $2 million”) made $27 million with an all-black cast.

There is a stereotyped notion about the profitability of a film for the black (i.e., “limited”) market. Conventional wisdom holds that if a black film doesn’t appeal to white audiences, it can’t make money. Yet many successful “white” films (particularly action and horror) are “black” films by audience demographic--sometimes up to 60%.

Hollywood makes production and marketing budget decisions based on precedent but gerrymanders the rules. When a black film project is pitched, you can’t compare it to a successful white film of a similar theme, because it’s . . . well, black. Nor can you point to the success of Eddie Murphy (even in all-black-cast films like “Coming to America”), because “he’s Eddie.”

As the wonderful scene in “Do the Right Thing” illustrated, tremendous success by black performers makes them honorary whites. The fact that Murphy was not mentioned in your article could be evidence of this idea.

When a film is considered to have a “limited” market, the filmmakers are not given the resources for the production values that drive many of Hollywood’s blockbusters. But if black filmmakers do manage to overcome these handicaps and make a big hit, studios reclassify them as exceptions rather than re-examine their own preconceptions.

When race is a factor in failure but not success, that’s prejudice.

In a time when sequels and remakes evidence Hollywood’s cultural exhaustion, the fresh perspectives of black filmmakers are crucial to the health of American cinema.

Considering that whites are now a minority in many major cities, one invaluable step would be hiring executives of color who understand how to develop and market product that will appeal to an audience that is much more sophisticated than conventional wisdom allows.

REGINALD HUDLIN

New York

Hudlin and his brother Warrington were the creators of “House Party.”