In his new film Baadasssss! (out this week on DVD), director Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City) explores his father Melvin's real-life struggle to make the 1971 flick Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song. Back in the day, his dad's movie was right on the cutting edge of the blaxploitation trend and the upcoming indie-filmmaking boom. Here, Van Peebles (who not only directs, but also plays his father in Baadasssss!) gives TV Guide Online the lowdown on the current state of soul cinema and how one person did make a difference.
TV Guide Online: This film really shows how your dad fought to do things his way in the '70s.Mario Van Peebles: Yeah, my father insisted on having a multiracial crew. At that time, the unions were mostly all white and male. People were saying, "We shall overcome one day," but my dad was saying, "We shall overcome right now!" My father was mad at "isms" — racism, sexism and ageism, but he was never mad a
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