Original subtitles

[boy] ♪ They bled my mama ♪

[protesters chanting] Hell, no, we won't go!

Hell, no, we won't go!

Hell, no, we won't go! Hell, no, we won't go!

There was a war going on.

- They killed Malcolm... - [gunshot]

- King, the president. - [gunshot]

Even the president's brother.

Vietnam was being shoved down our throats.

They were shooting us, hosing us, lynching us.

And in the movies, they was making us look any fucking way they wanted to.

[laughs] Did I fuck him?

Now, see, that's none of your damn business.

Remember this.

Good things... do not come... to those who wait.

[man] 1970.

I’d just finished directing Watermelon Man for Columbia Pictures.

They were setting me up to become their very first token nigga-ologist.

Since the movie hadn't come out yet,

everyone was being extra nice, calling me "Mel, baby."

[man 1] Mel, baby, great picture. I loved it.

[man 2] Very funny. Hey, when do we get the next script, huh?

Three-picture deal with fucking Columbia Pictures.

Three-picture deal with fucking Columbia Pictures. Am I good or am I good?

You gotta start pitching these sons of bitches

before Watermelon Man comes out, because if we wait and it opens badly,

these cocksuckers, they'll turn on us, you know, in a second.

[Melvin] My agent Howard was right.

I had to come up with my next film idea before the money guys got cold.

I mean, it's got to be something funny 'cause they want something funny.

Hollywood liked to show us clowning,

but America wasn't in a laughing mood.

Especially Black America.

Times were changing.

The Panthers knew it.

The students knew it.

Hollywood was ignoring it.

You happen to be brilliant with something funny.

What do you — Maybe, uh, Fried Chicken Man.

[laughs] It's 'cause it's not far from Watermelon Man,

and you could make it funny.

[Melvin] Yeah.

- I'd grown up on those images. - Yes, sir... Yes, sir... Yes, sir... Yes, sir...

But nothing Hollywood ever did reflected who we were.

[crossing alarm clanging]

This is it?

This ain't camping. We don't have a sleeping bag.

You got the helmet, didn't you?

Shut up and listen for a while.

What was my next movie gonna be?

Some idea was lurking back there,

just waiting for the coast to clear.

The military? Somebody, like, a guy who's, like, a cook in the army

and God knows what happens to him.

[Melvin] There was even a military flick where a brother can't walk.

The kindly white doctor gives him a good, old-fashioned dose of racial shock...

You dirty nigger, get up and walk!

... to get him back on his feet.

All for a good cause.

Melvin!

Street brother.

Average hustler turns revolutionary.

Another comedy?

Serious as cancer.

Who's gonna want to see that?

Black guys always die in the end.

Can we go now?

[Melvin] That's it.

I'd make a film about a real brother.

Not some bougie or clown, like they always do,

but a real brother, a street brother, just getting the man's foot out his ass.

Given number one — no cop-outs.

I want a movie where niggas can walk out the picture standing tall,

instead of having to avoid each other's eyes.

Given number two —

entertainment-wise, it had to be a motherfucker.

If folks get bored, it's over.

Given number three —

show business is business.

The Man has an Achilles pocketbook. It had to be a moneymaker.

The Man ain’t gonna carry no messages for you for free,

especially a relevant one.

[instrumental piano music playing]

[no audible dialogue]

Given number four —

I wanted this picture to star the community.

All the community.

All the faces that Norman Rockwell never painted.

[boy] ♪ They bled my mama... ♪

I might have had a Leroy once. I might have had a Leroy once.

[woman] I might have had a Leroy...

I might have had...

[murmuring, faint]

My secretary, Priscilla,

turned every entrance into an audition, but she was too late.

All I could hear were the voices in my head talking to me now.

[man 1] Take him. He's our future, brother.

Take him...

[chorus] ♪ They bled my papa ♪

Howie's on the phone.

♪ They bled my papa ♪

Mel. Your agent's on the phone.

[Martin Luther King, Jr.] I have a dream that one day —

that all men are created equal.

[Malcolm X] We don't see any American dream.

We've experienced only the American nightmare.

[crowd cheering]

[girl] Wash your car, mister?

- Wash your car, mister? - [man 2] Last car from the rear for you.

[girl] Wash your car, mister?

Now you go and hibernate like that ol' bear.

[man 3] Now you go and hibernate like that ol' bear.

[overlapping singing, chattering]

[man 4] Too bad the witness

- has injured himself in a fall. - Bam. Bam.

[man 5] You want to know what they think of you? Just turn on your TV.

You're nothing but a bunch of ignorant clowns and disturbances.

[man 6] The policeman isn't there to create disorder.

The policeman is there to preserve disorder.

[female reporter] A riot has broken out in what appears to be

another case of police brutality.

[sirens wailing]

[woman] Are you anti-cop, or anti-white?

[overlapping chattering continues]

[man 7] ... to defend the freedom in Vietnam.

[John F. Kennedy] Ask not what your country can do for you.

- Ask what you can do for your country. - [helicopters whirring]

[protesters] Justice is Black!

[Melvin] I'd been expecting him.

I knew he'd show up sooner or later.

You're out of your fucking mind, you know that?

You in or out?

[chuckles]

[Melvin] Finished. Only one thing left.

I'd need bread.

Money.

[boy] ♪ They bled my papa ♪

[phone ringing]

- Mel? - Yeah, yeah.

After two weeks, you finally decide to pick up.

- Where the hell have you been? - I've been in the gold mine, man.

I struck the mother lode.

Mel, don't mess with me. Do you have any idea what's going on?

They're gonna back-burner the three-picture deal, Mel.

Now. Yesterday they wanted to do it.

I'm meeting with these executives in less than an hour.

A brother, a street brother, turns revolutionary.

Okay, good. So wait.

- The hero is him or — or the brother? - Now, listen.

He's the wrong nigga to fuck with.

The cops fuck with him, and he whups some ass.

The man comes after him, full force —

helicopter, cars, everything — and... he gets away.

Why are the cops after him if he's the good guy?

'Cause they're dirty cops, man. They're racist. Th-They're crooked cops.

Listen, Mel. Here's what you're gonna do.

You're gonna meet me on the lot in an hour.

You're gonna wear a suit, please.

And Mel, even Cagney didn’t get away with killing cops, right?

Dirty or otherwise.

Oh. [chuckles]

[vocalizing]

- [director] And we're cut. - [sound stage bell rings]

[man] Oh, these bags are heavy!

- I'm tired of this shit. - Oh, come on.

He's making money, and he's funny. Come on. Don't be so touchy.

It's a western. Everybody loves a western.

You know what? Speaking of westerns,

this idea I got is kind of like a ghetto western.

- In fact... - Ghetto western?

...the brother even wears, like, a black kind of cowboy hat.

And dig this, man, at the end of the movie, when he gets away,

words come blazing across the screen:

"Badass nigga's gonna come back and collect some dues."

"Badass nigga"? Have you lost your mind? Are you taking drugs now?

Listen to me. Listen to me. Melvin, listen to me.

On Watermelon Man, your white lead is supposed to wake up

from this nightmare where he's a Black guy and turns back into being white again,

and you said, "No, no, being Black is not a nightmare."

And you didn't shoot the ending the studio wanted. Who backed you 100%?

- You the man, Howie. - So why are you doing this to me?

I can't take this kind of inflammatory shit.

To a major studio, nobody legitimate is gonna touch Baadasssss. No one!

You know how hard we worked to get here? Melvin, just do the fucking comedy, okay?

All right, look, they're coming. Do you know what this is?

You're terrified you're gonna fail, so you're failing yourself.

It has nothing to do with being Black or blue or green.

You hear me? It's self-destruction.

Hey, Marty. [chuckling]

- Alan. How are you doing? - Good to see you.

So, listen, you know...

I was — I was — Melvin, wait.

He's in a world of his own. [laughing]

Melvin.

[man] What is this, some kind of personal crusade,

or are you really gonna make a movie?

[Melvin] I'm making a movie, motherfucker.

- [man] Yeah? - [Melvin] First Black power film.

- Yeah, what about people power, man? - [Melvin] No, you people got the power.

All you gotta do is get yourself a haircut,

you join the establishment anytime you want.

- [man] And you are Black forever. - [Melvin] Dig it.

Mm-hmm. I hear that.

You just gotta remember the golden rule —

he who has the gold makes the rules.

[laughs] You know, if the studio gives you money,

- they're gonna want control. - That's true.

Nothing truly revolutionary is gonna come from the studio machine.

Independent money.

That's the answer — independent financing.

Yes. That's exactly what I'm talking about.

A group of radical young filmmakers collaborating, man.

It makes this easier for us to float a loan from the money guy.

You know what I'm talking about? Diversify our resources, right?

We get a warehouse, a working space. Share equipment, right? A living space.

Bill, that's more of this hippie commune shit.

That's never gonna fly, man.

Fuck you, man. [giggling]

That hurts my feelings, calling me a hippie.

Why you wanna do that?

Look, man, I got film experience. You gotta let me produce.

You can't even balance your own checkbook.

I got resources, man. Economic resources.

I got people lined up ready to invest their money in something real.

You help me raise the money, you call yourself whatever you want.

Producer. Produced by Bill Harris. [laughs]

Executive producer.

[both laughing]

- Oh, another thing. - Mm-hmm?

I want this motherfucker to be a living workshop.

I want 50% of the people on the crew

to be getting experience, to be third-world folks.

Unions are lily-white.

- Mm-mmm. They'll never go for it. - Fuck 'em.

[Melvin] Bill was right. The unions were lily-white.

Even if I could afford their rates,

they'd never let me have a 50% minority crew.

Whoo, whoo. Whoa, whoa. Hey!

You look like you got a sweet, sweet back.

Why don't you come party with Delicious for a while.

- No, y'all are too much for me. - Come on, now.

- I can make you say, "Mm-hmm." - I bet you could, girl.

Well, that's a shame.

[woman moaning on screen]

[Melvin] The answer was so obvious I didn't see it at first.

The unions don't bother with smut films.

They consider pornos beneath their dignity.

I'd tell everyone I was making a Black beaver flick.

Maybe they'd leave me the hell alone.

One name kept coming up in the production credits —

Clyde Houston.

[panting, moaning]

Can I get a little bit more emotion, Brenda?

You have to fuck me for that.

More of the same then. That's perfect.

[continues moaning]

[Melvin] Melvin Van Peebles.

I'm putting together a feature. I saw your credit on Lily White.

Oh, yeah, man. I got your message. I'm in.

[clears throat]

Don't you wanna know what it's about?

Do they wear clothes?

Yeah.

Well, like I said, I'm in.

One more time from the top, please.

- [moaning resumes] - [laughing]

- Hey, Bill. - Go get it!

- [Melvin] Hey, Nixon. - Nixon. Hey, baby, look at that.

Nixon loves you, baby. [laughs]

- What's happening? - All right.

Here we go.

So this guy used to be an actor.

Used to be in all these black-and-white westerns.

- You'll probably recognize him. - He's got real money? No, I'm cool.

Real money, my friend.

He's already financed a couple of independent films in Europe,

and he's ready to break big stateside, huh?

Okay. Ostentatious big white house on the left.

- Go ahead. Go on, man. - Whoa, whoa. You're not coming?

Oh, no, no, no, man.

He just wants to meet one on one. You know, artist to artist. All right?

Go get it. Okay. What's this?

Oh, man.

My favorite fucking Danishes, man. What's this for?

For being a friend, you crazy motherfucker.

Oh! You are my friend! [laughs]

- Mr. Van Peebles, howdy, howdy. - Melvin.

- What'll it be? Name your poison. - Beer's cool.

[Melvin] Aside from the tan,

this guy seemed pretty genuine for Hollywood standards.

My contacts at the studio said that you can be a real stubborn pain in the ass.

They used to say the same thing about me.

I like that. It means you're different.

Different threatens them.

Now tell me about that movie you wanna make.

This is a movie about modern-day colonialism,

about a brother...

He was a no-bullshit guy. No lackeys.

No chicks hanging around the pool for him to impress.

Just straight to the point.

Strong.

Insightful.

Very powerful.

Who's playing the lead?

I don't know yet.

It should be you.

- I'm the writer. I'm the director — - But you've been living it.

You have the passion for it, don't you?

- Yeah. - Trust me.

I have the eye. Be honest.

You're beautiful,

sleek, strong.

You're not afraid to be different.

You're not afraid to be who you really are, are you?

How well I know what that is.

How about a little dippity-doo?

Come on, sexy man.

Oh, Melvin. Hey, how'd it go, man?

Give me my motherfucking Danishes.

Hollywood's a close-knit community.

It's easy to make friends, and it's easy to make enemies.

The friends you don't normally keep,

but the enemies you do.

If you wanna be a part of the stew, you really don't want to stir things up,

or you may find yourself in the fire, baby.

MGM, Paramount — they're all losing money. They're all in the toilet.

MGM's selling off its backlot. It's selling...

It's selling Dorothy's red shoes, for God's sake.

And he's making them nervous with this kind of material?

[newscaster on radio] The Chicago Seven trial has finally come to an end.

Black Panther Bobby Seale, one of the original defendants

who was earlier —

Mom?

Mom, where are the kids?

Oh, say, Rochester, see that Mr. Kern has some coffee, please.

Yes, sir.

Mom.

Get 'em all. Get 'em all. Always do a good job.

- [clears throat] - You crumb-crushers ready?

Get your bathing suits. Let's hit it.

Hey, Dad.

I'm teaching the boy about work.

Man's gotta know how to make a living.

You look tired.

Need anything?

No, I'm — I'm fine.

What about you, Dad?

- [woman] Peebles? - [chuckles]

Peebles!

Guess I better be going.

You know how your mother is.

Melvin, what happened to your motorcycle?

I borrowed a car for the day. Get in.

[engine starts]

I want you to start calling me Dad.

Answer me when I talk to you.

Mom lets us call her Maria.

It's less confusing when everyone's calling out for their mother.

I'm not your mother. I'm your father.

And while you're here, you do what the fuck I say. Am I clear?

Yes, Dad.

Okay.

All right.

♪ Do dee, do dee-dee ♪

Sing it for me. Be my piano.

- ♪ Do dee, do dee-dee ♪ - [Melvin] Louder.

- [kids] ♪ Do dee, do dee-dee ♪ - [Melvin] Louder.

♪ You bled my mama ♪

[kids] ♪ Do dee, do dee-dee ♪

[Melvin] ♪ You bled my papa ♪

[kids] ♪ Do dee, do dee-dee ♪

[Melvin] You won't bleed me! Again, louder!

[engine off]

[man] Mel, welcome. How you doing?

- Good, how you doing? - Doing great. This is my wife, Jennifer.

- Hi, Jennifer. - That there's Josh and Tracy.

These are my kids, Mario and Megan.

Oh, good thing you brought along your bathing suits, kids.

Why don't you take a dip while your dad and I talk shop, huh?

- Go on. - Jenn, go and get Mel something to eat.

- You want a drink? - Sure, water's good.

All right. Help yourself.

So, um, I hear great things from Bill Harris about your project.

Real radical stuff, huh?

The truth is always radical when it's told by the oppressed, right?

Whatever. I make movies.

Hey, Dad, come on. Can we climb the rope?

Well, that's just something I do to keep in shape. [chuckles]

[grunting]

Come on, Dad. You can do it.

[makes Tarzan call]

- [grunts, chuckles] - Yeah!

That is not easy.

[chuckles] Congratulations.

- You try it. - [Melvin] Huh?

No, it took me almost a year before I could get to the top.

You gotta be in great shape. You don't wanna embarrass yourself.

Please? You can do it.

- You know what? Not today, kids. - Your dad's tired.

Hey, I think we got some cake in the house. Who wants cake?

- I do. I do. I do. - Okay. Let's go.

Come on.

Please?

Dad?

[Melvin] I should have known better than to make that climb,

considering Black folks' history with ropes.

I gotta be the first nigga in history that hung himself.

[rock music playing]

Hey, man, all right. You made it. Hey, you're not still mad, are you?

All right, man, who's your friend?

He is in here, man. He is ready for you, my friend.

Everybody is flying high. Come on in.

Hey, Moonbeam, Ginnie, this is Melvin.

Ohh!

Moonbeam is pure love, man.

And this is Ginnie. She's from —

- Where you from? Where you from, baby? - Alabama.

[Bill] Alabama. [laughing]

Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill, where's the money guy, man?

He's here, man. He's for real.

I mean, he's ready to do some serious business, man.

- Let's go meet this guy, man. - Come on.

[voices distorted, echoing]

[Melvin] This time, the brother gets away and we're calling the movie

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.

[laughing]

- Far out. - Donovan, what do you think, man?

Everybody needs someone to love, right?

So now I got one question for you, my brother.

Will the collective conscience of the universe be expanded

after people see this flick?

Now I'm not talking individuals here.

I'm talking about the whole fucking universe

moving ahead in time.

Not horizontally, man. Vertically! You know, a jump.

You know what I mean? A real jump. Is that what we got here?

Abso-fucking-lutely, man.

All right.

How do I know they're not narcs?

They're not narcs.

- Okay. - One minute, gentlemen. Come here.

- How do I know they're real, man? - He's good.

- How do I know they're fucking real? - He's for real.

He wants to be a producer, man.

It's all good.

Oh. Hello.

He wants to be loved,

but he'll settle for attention.

[Melvin] Bill, this guy's got real money, right?

It's for real. Relax, man.

And the serious one. Intense.

[rock music continues playing]

Loose.

[sighs]

He'll do it.

Here's the conditions.

My client is a silent partner. His name does not appear anywhere.

All negotiations will be with my firm with all legal fees added to the budget.

This is the deal, gentlemen.

[Melvin] Bottom-feeders always do that, especially bottom-feeding attorneys,

inserting themselves and their fees into the deal.

But fuck it, man.

If this was real, we were a go movie, a green light.

- What did I say, Melvin? - Have a wonderful evening.

What did I say, man? [laughs]

It's real.

[rock music continues playing]

[laughing]

Whoo!

Yeah! Whoo!

[boy] ♪ You bled my mama ♪

♪ You bled my papa ♪

♪ Don't bleed me ♪

♪ Don't bleed me ♪

♪ You bled my mama ♪

♪ You bled my papa... ♪

Oh, man. You chewed this motherfucker to death.

- Bill. - Mmm?

You know what I'm thinking?

When Sweetback's in the desert, he hears the voices of angels.

- But he doesn't see them. - No, he just hears 'em.

Like a ghetto choir, like voices of the disenfranchised.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Oh, hello. [chuckles]

- Good morning. - Upsy-daisy. [chuckles]

- Fantastic. - Right.

You know, I like it. I like it. It's surreal.

You know, it takes it all to a whole another dimension, right?

That's good. It's operatic.

And then use superimposition for when he's running through the ghetto? Urban decay?

- Right. Right. - Huh?

I see it. Oh, hi.

Rise and shine.

- Good morning. - Hey.

Let's — Whoa. Where am I going? Okay.

- Whoa! [exclaims] - [moans]

- Another thing. You listening to me? - [Bill grunting]

Check it out. The music on this motherfucker, right?

It's gotta drive. It's gotta be up front, man.

- Huh? - [Bill grunting]

[Ginnie moaning]

Who is that bitch?

- Who is that bitch? - Priscilla...

Don't "Priscilla" me. Bill?

Wait, and you got a dog too?

You nasty, sick motherfucker!

What the fuck you looking at?

I don't believe this shit, Melvin.

What about Melvin Jr.?

What about our baby, Melvin? How could you...

You know what? I want a divorce! 'Cause you're killing me.

You're killing me!

It's over. Over!

[sobbing]

[sobbing continues]

You're married?

Oh, no, no, no, no, man. That's his secretary.

See, she does this whole audition thing.

[upbeat funk music playing]

[all moaning]

[man] Oh, yeah.

That's good! Camera needs another short end, maybe 250 or 300 if you got it.

- Okay. - Anybody have another towel, please?

[Melvin] Clyde introduced me to his cameraman, Bob Maxwell.

Bob Maxwell...

His wife, Nora, did makeup.

There's a saying in the business:

If you can make an ass look good, then faces were a snap.

It was like there was a whole nonunion movie industry

in existence right then,

and I knew every one of them motherfuckers.

Imagine the kind of opportunity that is lost,

and he had such a chance to be such a credit to his people.

How many Negro directors were there altogether?

Gordon Parks, there's Ossie Davis, and Melvin.

Mel, we don't have a permit for any of this,

so we got to shoot it and get up out of here.

We gonna steal this shit.

Priscilla, don't write the location down till we all agree on it.

And those pads ain't cheap. Use a pencil next time.

And, girl, put some clothes on. This ain't Soul Train. Come on, now.

[dog grunts]

Ew!

Bill, get this mangy mutt off of me, please.

Oh, come on, Nixon.

He just can't resist you.

You look like a lemon Popsicle, girl.

[Priscilla laughs]

All through here. All of this is great shit.

And I can sing, dance, model, and act too,

so tell that controlling Leo motherfucker over there to put me in his damn movie.

Hey, Bill.

Jump over the wall and run down here, man.

It's too fucking steep!

Hey, man, this is art, baby.

You can do it.

Okay! Hold this.

Whoa!

Come on, feet! Cruise to me!

[echoing] Come on, man!

Come on, run.

Come on, Bill.

- [Bill] Whoa! - [Melvin] Oh, shit. Oh, shit.

Bill, Bill, Bill.

You know we're gonna need a stuntman if we shoot this.

[Bill] Oh, yeah! Sweetback is still alive!

[Melvin] Priscilla, make a note.

I want some dogs at the end to chase the brother.

Three dogs. Bloodhounds.

We'll get some modern runaway slave imagery with these dogs, man.

And I can save us time and money if we shoot this handheld,

if you don't mind a little edge.

Edge? Shit, this motherfucker is gonna be nothing but edge.

Ghetto realism like folks ain't never seen.

- Right on, baby. - You know what I'm saying?

I mean, look at this, man.

- This is beautiful. Look at that. - [Bob] This will all play.

Back the fuck up...

[stutters] bitch.

- [laughing] - Pigs ain't got nothing on me.

Okay, again. Contain the hostility more.

[stutters]

Back the fuck up, b-bitch.

[laughing continues]

Pigs ain't got nothing on me.

Thank you, brother.

S-S-Shit, n-niggas.

[snickering, laughing]

Clyde.

Well, he didn't exactly take direction, now, did he?

He's not the lead. I mean, he's not even SAG.

The guy can't talk. Doesn't that bother anybody?

I like his fucked-up speech. It's real.

Make a note. Let's put him somewhere, Priscilla.

Shit, I'm better than half these motherfuckers anyway.

Next.

All right, brother. Sit down right there.

Action.

[Melvin] Finding the lead was turning out to be problematic.

Sweetback would only have six lines in the whole movie.

Those with the grit didn't have the technique,

and those with the technique wanted more lines.

- Hey, crumb-crusher. - Huh?

Come here.

Why don't you have lunch with your old man, huh?

Wanted me to go see Howie's daughter, remember?

Oh.

Howie was probably hoping I'd come to my senses.

His wife, Roz, was taking Mario for the day.

We were gonna be shooting in some rough-ass places,

so we'd need some ghetto muscle.

- [upbeat music playing] - [man orating on recording]

Aw, hell, we damn proud.

Colored folks tired of singin' about it, start swingin'.

- Hello? - Detroit, Chicago, LA.

Nonviolence is dead, y'all!

- [men continue orating on recording] - Hey!

Bein' colored didn't work. We Black now.

- Come on, y'all. - Say it loud!

I'm black and I'm proud!

Afro. Afro-conscious.

[orating continues, faint]

Latinos, Asians, hippies, or women.

Niggas talking about education, voting, organizing,

and getting the man's foot out of they ass.

- See, now, you a problem. - Hello?

- [man 2] You mean you're anti-white? - [man] We anti-oppression.

You can't fight racism with racism.

What, niggas talking revolution is crossing the picket line? Hell no.

[dogs barking]

No more Mr. Nice Guy.

The man takes off the old sheets and picks up the badge and the gun.

- [men] To protect and serve? - [man] To patrol and control.

- Keeping your Black ass in check. - Hello.

[men] Will "just-us"prevail or will it just be us in jail?

[man] Oh, shit. That's right, brother.

From shackles to cuffs, he's still got his foot in your ass.

[louder] One size fits all, nigga.

One size fits all, nigga.

One size fits all.

One size fits all, nigga.

[recording stops, needle dragging in record groove]

[barking, snarling]

[man] T.J., down, boy.

T.J. alpha male.

They do what he do.

Last motherfucker broke in here,

they tore his arm off.

[T.J. barks]

That pipe wouldn't have helped.

[pipe clanks on floor]

You eat pig?

- Yeah. - Pig bad for you.

This here's smoked turkey.

Tastes better than pig.

I heard you spent six months in film school.

So you gonna be in the smoked meat business,

or you gonna be in the movie business?

Besides security,

T could double as the boom man for the sound guy.

Only drawback — he didn't know shit about recording sound.

Check it out.

What?

Honey. Melvin, it's Mario on the phone. He's gonna be a little late.

[Melvin] Tell him to get his ass on home.

Okay — Hey! Mwah!

Your dad is busy right now, honey. You better come on home.

- [pot clanking] - [Melvin] All right.

First thing you need to know about movie making —

when the director says, "Listen up," you listen the fuck up, okay?

We start shooting in three days.

This is a family affair. This is Bob and his lovely wife, Nora.

Nora does makeup. Bob is our cinematographer.

We'll have two cameras working, so we also have, from New York,

Black Latino Filmmaker's Coalition, Jose Garcia.

¡Que viva Puerto Rico libre!

- [cheering] - [Melvin] Exactly.

All right. On script, we got Randy over here.

And our genius of sound is Tommy,

backed up by Big T, who'll also be heading up security.

Oh, no, no, man. Hey, hey.

Why do I gotta answer to a white man

on a movie about a brother finally breaking the chains, you dig?

We been answering to whitey for 400 years, blood.

Well, T, now, hold up.

Tommy here is risking his career to be here.

He's one of the few motherfuckers here who really knows what he's doing.

So do yourself a favor. Learn something. Listen to this man.

When your big ass has been listening to whitey for 400 years,

- another month won't hurt. - [all laughing]

All right, last but not least, right here, my foxy production secretary

and star of the first day of shooting

of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, Priscilla.

[squealing]

[Melvin] That's right.

Listen up. The speech. Come here, baby.

Look around you.

No crew has ever looked like this.

We're not supposed to get along,

let alone be able to make a movie together, okay?

Once we get started, there's no quitting.

So anybody want out, hit the door now.

I'm sorry.

It's all right. Anybody else?

Ah, Mr. Harris.

We'll have none of this WPT, Mr. Harris.

- What's WPT? - White people time, T.

- We have to talk. - All right.

Let's do it. Let's make a movie.

- Yeah! - All right!

[chattering, laughing]

- Hey, Melvin. - What's up?

The script guy,

he says you only got a 65-minute movie here.

- [phone ringing] - Listen, I know what I got.

Let him keep track of the shots, okay? I got it in my head. Cool?

- We're all right, brother. Don't worry. - [Priscilla] Hey, Melvin. It's Clyde.

- He gotta talk to you. - We gotta talk now.

All right, well, find out what he wants, okay? Come on, Bill.

Hey, Clyde.

He got arrested.

- Who? - Donovan.

Our financing man.

Motherfucker. What for?

What about that attorney? We had a deal.

Yeah, let's just say that, uh, financing for this film

has been put on the back burner for the foreseeable future,

like the next five to ten years, man.

You gotta go in there.

You gotta cancel.

Fuck it. I’ll use my own bread.

Oh, no, no, no, man. Nobody uses their own money to finance a movie, man.

What if the movie's a bomb?

Or you spend your money on it and you can't get a distributor?

I can raise $72,450.

Make that 72,000. I haven't paid next month's rent.

But that's enough to get the train rolling.

I get the train rolling, investors are gonna see we got something good

- and they're gonna jump on board. - And what if they don't, man?

That 72,000 is not even gonna get you through preproduction.

Bill, do you have money for me?

Melvin, we got a problem.

Yeah?

[Clyde] They're asking for one week's payroll up front, Melvin.

Well, I ain't got that kind of bread, Clyde.

Fuck it.

Well, but SAG is gonna —

We can't use any SAG actors.

What?

Shit, we shoot in three days. We're gonna have to postpone, right?

We start shooting May 11th as planned.

Everybody got that?

- Everybody got that? - [all affirming]

All right, get back to work. We'll recast.

- Shit. - [door slams]

Who's gonna play Sweetback?

[Melvin] I was starting to believe my own bullshit.

Chomping on an unlit cigar.

Hey, Mel. Come on.

Ta-da!

[laughs] Howie says hello.

You've got a great kid here.

[car door closes]

[horn honks]

What you got there?

Mrs. Kaufman bought it for me. I didn't ask for it.

Tomorrow you bring it back.

Bring it back?

You losing your hearing?

When I want a favor from Howie, I’ll call it in, okay?

You don't let people use you to get to me.

What people?

Get in the house.

Melvin had not submitted the proper paperwork to the Screen Actors Guild.

I think when you've heard "no" all of your life,

you just don't listen anymore.

Who had to go down there and sort everything out? Mr. Clyde.

Of course, you don't hear about that.

We were following him, you know?

He was our leader, so if he was crazy, we were fucking lunatics.

I just looked around and I knew we were in trouble.

[Sweetback] In LA, you can't even see the stars at night.

It's not the city lights. It's the smog.

Shut the fuck up, man. I'm trying to calculate.

What you trying to calculate?

You ain't got shit. You ain't even got your lead.

No, no, I’ll play the lead. I’ll play Sweetback.

Fuck it. I know the lines. I'm not union, right?

I'm not taking a salary.

Fool, ain't nobody investing in this shit.

I’ll cut more days out of the schedule.

Hey, look, it takes 40 days to make a studio movie.

You settle for 27.

Then you cut it down to 24, minimum. Now what?

Twenty.

Twenty with some ragtag crew that don't know shit?

Man, you're about to lose every fucking thing.

Kids' college funds, all of it.

Just get the fuck off my roof.

Look around you, man.

Every fucking sign is saying, "Don't do this."

You're about to be a Hollywood joke.

Go back to the studio. Do a comedy. Do whatever. Do it with their money.

- Make a real movie with their money. - Get the fuck off my roof!

Get the fuck off my roof.

Get the fuck off my roof. You hear me?

Melvin, who are you talking to?

Running lines.

Been a long fucking time since I acted.

I'm sorry to bother you, but I need to talk to you about something.

Whoa, whoa, hold on. Now, is this something negative?

Because if it's negative, I can't even deal with it right now.

I'm a broke, pissed-off nigga from Chicago, Priscilla,

and I'm down to my last cigar, okay?

Don't leave.

Cheer up a guy.

About...

About tomorrow...

- I can't be in the movie. - What?

My boyfriend doesn't think I should do it.

Hold up. Hold up. I thought you discussed this with your boyfriend.

I did, but not about all the sexy stuff exactly.

We're making a sexy fucking movie, right?

Now, I've been straight about that from the get-go.

I know.

I'm sorry.

Tomorrow's our first day of shooting.

With all the other shit I got coming down on my head right now,

you're fucking sorry?

I’ll leave production if you want me to.

Leave production? Are you crazy?

That's your final decision? You can't?

Okay. You know what you fucking need to do?

You need to get off my fucking roof before I throw you off this motherfucker.

All right?

Get the fuck out of here!

I'm trying to do something,

and sorry motherfuckers come along and "sorry" your ass to death.

[speakers: upbeat soul music playing]

[phone ringing]

Hello?

Hey, Ginnie, it's Mel.

- Who? - Melvin.

- Bill's friend. - [laughs] Oh, yeah.

- What do you want? - Girl, you grin, you win.

How about a date?

So you're asking me out?

Yeah, why the fuck not?

Hmm.

- Why not? - Okay.

It's gonna be special, though.

I want you to meet me at 52730 Alameda tomorrow morning,

7:00 a.m.

A.M.? Man, shit, you're tripping.

Wait, now. This is gonna be special.

I told you, you're never gonna forget it. And don't go getting shy on me, girl.

Gonna be a couple of people watching.

Now, see, I knew you was a real kinky motherfucker.

So, are we on?

- [chuckles] Yeah, we're on. - All right.

Tomorrow morning. Don't be late.

["Groove Me" playing]

Clyde, Clyde, come here.

Melvin's gonna use his own dad for this scene?

We ain't got enough extras, and Melvin's dad'll do it for free.

You dig? But that's Melvin.

He told me to get a dildo. What's a dildo?

- [snickering] - [Big T] Tommy. Tommy.

Why are you doing this movie, man?

You wanna see how the other half lives, huh?

Hey, look, there's your fairy godmother, right here.

Melvin, Melvin, we got to start shooting, man,

before the husband comes home and kicks us the hell out of here.

Where's Ginnie, man? Come on.

[Melvin] We were shooting our sexiest scene up first,

so if the union showed, they'd be convinced we were doing a Black porno.

The problem was, my date, Ginnie, got the same impression.

- You're an hour late. - Oh, fuck you, nigga!

- I don't do this kind of shit! - Listen, I want you to be —

Bill Harris, get your sorry motherfucking ass over here.

- Sister, listen — - No, no.

Your sorry-ass friend wants me to be in his fucking porno.

Did you know about this? Give me my goddamn hat.

Okay, okay. It's not a porno, Ginnie, I swear.

- [humming] - Okay, here we go.

It's not a porno. It's a social statement.

- Tell her, Mel. - A social statement?

I should whup both y'all fucking asses. I'm out of here.

No, no, wait. Sister, listen, listen, listen.

We have been marginalized sexually for years.

We've been Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben.

We've never had a Marilyn Monroe, never had our own Mae West.

This thing is going to be breaking all the taboos.

It's about getting the man's foot out your ass.

Exactly. This could be totally revolutionary.

[Melvin] Ginnie was at least listening now.

I rapped on about this being the opportunity of lifetime

for her to be the first soul sister sex goddess.

That was the clincher.

Revolutionary or not, I still need to get paid.

[Melvin] Plus, the couple of emergency Benjamins I laid on her didn't hurt.

[Ginnie] Don't fuck with me.

He ain't budging on the camera.

Okay, let's get her dressed. I wanna shoot right now.

Mel, let me handle this. Gonna be outta sight, baby.

Talk to me, Bob. I am the producer.

- Speed. - [chattering quiets]

[camera whirring]

And... action.

- [funk music playing] - [all cheering, whooping]

Bet you ain't never seen no shit like this before.

[funk music continues playing]

♪ I can hardly wait to feel your loving' ♪

♪ You leave your love behind ♪

[all whooping, catcalling]

You all right?

Uh, yeah, yeah, I've got a heart thing.

It's no big deal.

♪ I want you up and down ♪

[man on screen] Does someone else have a sweet back?

♪ Beautiful chocolate brown ♪

What are they watching?

Some kind of Black porn thing. I don't know.

She's hot, right? [laughs]

Let's go.

[Melvin] The union seemed to buy our porno scam.

We were on our way.

[Melvin] Huh? Huh?

- ¡Dios mío! - Yeah.

- [Big T] You dig that sound? - Yeah, the sound of your jaw dropping.

Brother, good work.

[man] Man, it was great. Great first assembly.

[Melvin] Hey, Cosby, man.

Say, hey, when you gonna light that cigar, man?

[laughs] Yeah!

- When I can afford to buy me another one. - Oh, please, please.

Listen, I heard about the three-picture deal, man.

Listen, listen, I'm doing an independent right now.

We just had our first day of dailies. Powerful shit.

Got a second? I’ll string 'em up for you.

Excuse me, Mr. Cosby. We gotta get to the airport, sir.

I gotta take care of some business, but check this out.

They get three strikes, we only get one.

You sure you know what you get into with this whole independent stuff?

- Let me show you. - Hey, listen, I’ll call you, okay?

Number's still the same.

Listen, you're looking good too. Keep on doing what you're doing.

[chuckles] Hey, man, listen, man...

[motorcycle engines revving]

- [people groaning] - [Melvin] Shit.

Priscilla, get a flashlight.

- Melvin, we lost the generator again. - I see that shit, Clyde.

Reroute the cables. Get that motherfucker back on.

Clyde made another one of his cut-rate deals on a generator.

You get what you pay for.

- Bill. - Okay.

- Huh? - All right.

Miss Bougie is here with the kids.

All right, listen, we gotta cut another day out of the schedule, man.

No way, man. The schedule's too tight already.

What about all those investors that were jumping on the train?

You got ten grand to loan me, huh?

That'll buy me another day, baby. It is what it is.

- What? - We low on bread.

But you're not really going to use your own son in that scene, are you?

Everybody's somebody's son.

Why would I not use my own kid if I'd use somebody else's, huh?

Have Nora meet me on the set with hair and makeup right now.

Bill, hold this. Hold this.

Melvin, listen.

I know it's none of my business, but you can't be doing this to your own...

- [man] Generator's back up. - The other generator's up. Come on.

Let's go on the other set. Come on, Bill.

[Big T] This kid got an eye, man.

See, your father's too cheap to use 35-millimeter film.

- That's why we're shooting 16. - You don't need to shoot 35 all the time.

It depends on the shot. T, that's not a toy.

- You're sound department. - Yes, sir, boss.

All right. You crumb-crushers are going to be in the movie.

All right.

You're gonna blow up a cop car, and you're gonna help Sweetback escape.

Do I get to wear makeup?

Pretty little girls do not need to wear makeup.

- You. You a good actor? - Yeah.

- You are? - Yeah.

Good, 'cause I got another role for you.

- I get to play two roles? - That's right.

I'm gonna open the movie with you playing Sweetback losing his cherry.

Having sex for the first time. Nora, take a look at his 'fro.

- What will I be wearing? - Nothing. It's a sex scene.

Cut this all real short and then cut some bald patches in it.

Melvin, we need you.

- I gotta cut my 'fro? - [Melvin] Yeah.

You're a malnutritioned street kid. It's the Depression era, okay?

Put some makeup on the bald patches. Make it look like ringworm.

- What? What? - We got a problem with the actor...

- What the hell's holding us up? - Melvin.

- Bob. - Camera's ready.

- Let's do it. - Roll sound.

Rolling!

- [Big T] Speed. - [Bob] Slate. Camera set.

And... action.

I have not seen Sweetback.

Cut. What the fuck happened to his stutter?

He took speech lessons. That's what I was trying to tell you.

He's got a piece.

All right, brother, look, I need to have that piece, man.

Well, I-I thought there might be some trouble.

What the f-fuck you doing?

Good! Back at the mic! That's it! Again!

Fuck you. [stuttering] Give me my gun.

Right here. Right here. The line. The line.

Action!

S-Sweetback ain't here, m-motherfucker!

Pissed off. Go ahead. Again.

S-Sweetback ain't here, m-motherfucker.

- [Melvin] Perfect. Bob? - Got it.

Perfect. Beautiful. Beautiful.

Priscilla, put this somewhere safe. All right. Next set. Let's go.

- Melvin, can I speak to you for a minute? - Yeah.

All right, the script supervisor says we need to shoot the reverse.

I got the whole thing edited in my head. I know just what I need here, Clyde.

- Melvin. - What?

He said it's not gonna cut unless we get the reverse.

All right, I’ll handle this. You. Script. Come over here. Come over here.

Tell you what. Give me this right here. Here, okay.

Now, you are getting a promotion. You're going to be an actor.

I want you to stand right over there in that light. Got it? Go.

Go ahead. In the light.

Everybody, I'm doing the fucking script now, okay?

Next set. Let's go.

[man] Why don't you step out over here. Get some fresh air.

[Melvin] The scene with the dirty cops was the one that divided the crew.

He doesn't look very tough to me. Does he look tough to you?

- Nah. - Huh?

- He don't look too tough. - [grunts]

- Ooh! - Don't mark his face.

Hey, Sweetback. [laughs] I'm sorry, man.

Forgot you two were attached together. Let's see if we can get...

[Melvin] White folks who had never experienced racial brutality

couldn't really believe that a double standard existed for minorities.

[police officer] Stay home at night, and you wouldn't...

[Melvin] Black folks, who had lived it,

were more than ready to see someone stand up against racism...

Fuck them pigs up!

... even when it hid behind a badge.

[Priscilla] Help the brother out, Sweetback!

[Big T] Yeah!

[Big T] Got a new thing right there! Come on, Sweetback!

- [Priscilla] Yeah! - [Big T] Yeah!

- Fuck 'em up. - [man] Right on, Sweetback.

- [Big T] Fuck 'em up, Sweetback! - [Priscilla] Get them crackers!

Yeah. It's about time.

[man] Never seen nothing like this.

Thanks, man.

- [Big T] Yup. Mm-hmm. - [Priscilla] Righteous. Righteous.

[Sandra] He's just a child.

Huh?

Mario. He's barely 13, Melvin.

When I was eight, I was already working the cash register

at my dad's tailor shop.

He gave me old clothes to sell.

Old reject shit that folks left behind.

Here comes this skinny little kid with a wagon-load full of shitty clothes.

Boy, you gotta work hard. And that's only the beginning.

You think I liked that?

Hmm?

You think I even liked my dad back then?

I got my ass whupped damn near every day,

and every day Daddy sent me right back on the streets,

selling them old, fucked-up clothes.

[chuckles softly]

Until I learned...

how to give the gangsters some free shit

to protect me from those bullies

while I sold those clothes to the winos and the junkies.

My dad had taught me how to survive, how to hustle.

I'm not in the tailor business anymore. I'm in the movie business.

My kids want to be in this shit, hey... it is what it is.

I just think he's ready to go home and be with his mama, honey.

No shit.

Shit.

We don't always get what we want, do we?

What if his friends see the movie? He's gonna be embarrassed.

Fuck his friends. His friends ain't paying college.

Well, at least let him keep his Afro.

That wig lady thinks she can make him a skin wig.

It'll look natural. It'll be perfect.

Of course she does. And a skin wig costs money.

I don't have the bread to pamper him, or you, or any other motherfucker,

and if I did, I'd fix the focus on B camera first

and I'd buy more film.

Mario can grow more hair later. I can't grow more film.

Melvin, listen to yourself.

You're cutting the boy's hair off and you're forcing him to be in a sex scene.

It's not real. It's acting. He wants to act.

He's in a motherfucking movie. He should be happy.

What? He's tough. He's resilient.

He's an ambitious little motherfucker. He can handle it.

What if he can't handle it?

You're gonna risk fucking up his childhood just because yours was fucked up?

You wanna turn him into some macho stud man

like you think you're supposed to be?

I'm gonna split.

- I'm out. - Of course you are.

You got to go screw everything that moves?

That's what this shit is about? Huh?

- Me and chicks? - No, it's not about you and your chicks.

It's about you not respecting anyone.

Not even your own son.

You know what you are?

You're a nice sister who has no idea what it's like

on the other side of the tracks — none.

And maybe you don't respect the fact

that I know my own kid better than he knows himself.

I know what the fuck I'm doing and he can handle it.

He can handle it!

Why don't you ask Bill, or Clyde,

or that crazy-ass assistant of yours, Priscilla?

[door slams]

If they ain't too scared to tell you the truth.

My grandmother used to call it, uh, listening with half an ear.

Dig? [chuckles]

Well, Melvin,

he'll listen with, like, a third of an ear.

It was Melvin. His kids. His dad.

It was a family affair.

And we were all a part of it. We all had a role to play in it.

Like it or not.

Black man's got to work twice as hard to get his.

That's what I taught Melvin.

Can't be afraid of hard work.

I wasn't hard on the boy. That's a fact.

How much?

Short ends is all I could get for 50 bucks.

Fucking actors kept dropping lines. Eight fucking takes.

- You gotta buy enough film, man. - Well, film costs money.

So does downtime, Clyde.

Every minute that crew's sitting on their ass, that's costing us.

- Get what you need. - With what?

How the fuck was I supposed to know the bitch wouldn't know her damn lines?

- [Melvin] Why aren't we shooting? - [Bob] Camera's reloading, chief.

- How long has he been waiting? - [Bob] Too long.

- Quiet on the set. - [Clyde] Quiet on the set.

- Roll sound. - [Tommy] Rolling!

- [Big T] Speed. - A camera.

- [Bob] A camera is rolling. - B camera.

B camera ready.

And... action.

Little smile, ladies.

Looking at me right here.

At me. Looking at me.

Fine. And good. And cut.

[Clyde] You're up next, little man. Time to get ready.

- [Jose] Hey, Clyde, what time tomorrow? - Can you wait for the call sheets?

- [Jose] I gotta go to court. - Jose, you're killing me. All right?

[Melvin] Show me the sides.

There. Right above the ear.

See that, Nora? Smooth that down.

We conceal it. Cover it with makeup. I think it'll be fine.

I didn't ask you what you think, Clyde.

All right, let's do it. We got a movie to shoot.

Scene two, opening sequence.

Young Sweetback loses his virginity.

[sighs]

Thank you for letting him wear the skin wig and not cutting his hair off.

That's just the way things worked out this time.

We still got a scene to shoot.

Am I gonna see you later?

I don't know. I don't think so.

Suit yourself.

Megan wants to go shopping with me.

Don't buy her anything you can't afford, 'cause I ain't paying it back.

[both laugh]

Bye, Melvin.

[Sandra] Come on, baby.

[Megan giggles]

Hey, uh, I'm gonna pick up second meal, man.

- What should I get? - Something cheap. Real cheap.

Want some licorice?

Nora, can I see you here?

Hey, little man.

Come here.

Mmm. Let's get these clothes off.

[laughs] Damn.

Unbutton this.

Yeah, don't worry, sugar.

You ain’t getting your picture taken.

Come on. Move.

Yeah. That's it.

[laughs] Damn, little man, I wish that shit was me.

I didn't get my dick wet till I was 18 and she was double-bag ugly.

[man] Some distributor's gotta be crazy not to buy this.

Well...

Darlin', we're gonna go grab some dinner.

All right, cool. Get a bite. I’ll catch up to you.

- All right, let's go. - Go ahead.

- Hungry? - [Priscilla] Melvin?

- What? - My boyfriend wants to talk to you.

- What the fuck is wrong now? - He just wants to talk to you.

- Haven't got time for this shit. - This is my man, Maurice.

- Hey, brother. - It's good to meet you, brother.

Look, man, I gotta tell you, the shit you are putting down is right on.

Now, I know you don't know me, but I need to do the music on this, man.

- I can do whatever you need. - Look, man —

No, Priscilla, she hipped me to the deal, all right?

I know you don't have a lot of cash, but we could really use this chance.

- "We"? - My new band.

- What do y'all call yourselves? - Earth, Wind & Fire.

All right, here's how it works. What I sing, you play.

If I like what I hear — if I like what I hear — we got a deal.

- All right. Sounds good, man. - You ain't me heard sing yet.

[Big T] I don't know shit about no gun, nigga!

[stammering] The f-fuck y-you don't!

[Big T] What's your malfunction, man?

[stuttering] Go get my... my piece, nigga!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow your roll.

My apologies. I thought you got your piece back, okay?

Priscilla, what happened to his.357?

- The pistol? - Yeah, from the other day.

Oh, I put it in the prop box with the other guns.

What?

[Melvin] A loaded gun in the prop box?

The actors had been in and out of that prop box at least a hundred times,

all to get their guns —

police specials, just like that brother's loaded one.

What?

Sometime, I suppose, when I get the time,

I’ll have reoccurring nightmares about that escape.

Mario.

Hey.

Hey, come on. I know you're awake.

Look, son, I want to tell you that...

You don't have to sleep on the floor. Sleep — Sleep on the bed.

I-I’ll take the couch.

Mario.

Suit yourself.

[male reporter on TV] President Nixon had no comment on...

- [Bill] Ooh! [chuckles] - [TV reporter continues, faint]

Your dick's on fire too? [laughs]

- [Melvin] Where the second unit, man? - I thought they'd be here by now.

Oh, the lab called and the dailies aren't gonna be ready till Monday.

[phone ringing]

- Yeah. - [Jose] We got arrested, Mel.

- You gotta come down here and get us out. - What the hell happened?

We were heading back from the shoot and...

[upbeat music playing]

♪ Yeah-eah-eah ♪

[volume increases]

♪ Yeah ♪

[laughs]

[siren wails]

[Jose] The pigs, they pulled us over.

You're not gonna believe this.

They thought my telephoto lens was a bazooka.

- [chorus] ♪ They bled your mama ♪ - Out of the truck. Hands against it.

Let's go. Come on!

Put that down! Put that down!

- ♪ They bled your papa ♪ - Right here. Right here.

You one of them Black Panthers, boy?

- [Melvin] What are they holding you for? - Grand theft.

They saw us with all that equipment, they figured it must have been stolen,

so they impounded all of it.

- Including the truck. - Did you show them your receipts, Jose?

Yeah. I showed them everything. They thought it was funny.

- Excuse me, Officer. I'm not through yet. - Jose?

Get on it, man. Call a lawyer.

What lawyer, man? With what money?

Oh, come on, for crying out loud.

This is our equipment. Some of that's my personal stuff. Huh?

- What's the charge? - [chuckles]

Charged with being Black.

Welcome aboard.

You's a real nigga now.

[Big T] When Van Peebles getting us out?

Soon. He's coming soon. Yeah.

He fucking better. Shit.

He fucking better.

Sick of this shit.

[line ringing]

- [Cosby] Hello. - Yeah, man, it's me, Melvin.

"Oh, Bill" nothing. Hold on a second, man.

Learn how to play some tennis.

Hey, Mel, you okay?

My crew just got arrested.

I don't know if I'm gonna make it. I'm tapped out.

I gotta finish this movie. I gotta do it right.

So how much you need?

To get me through post, a lot.

Well, how much?

50,000.

- Cosby came through. - They fucked us, man.

It's the start of the weekend. There's no judges available till Monday.

You go down there and you visit 'em.

Yeah. It'll do the troops good for them to see you.

- No. - What the fuck are you talking about?

No. No. Right now, to those cops,

"Melvin Van Peebles" is some white, aristocratic Dutch guy, right?

I show up with my Black ass

to start singing "We Shall Overcome" with the troops,

they throw us all the fuck in jail.

We got three days left of filming this motherfucker.

- We'll jeopardize the whole film, man. - Fuck the film, man! Fuck it!

Fuck the fucking film.

This is our crew behind bars on bullshit charges. Doesn't that bother you?

Yeah, it's been bothering me for 400 years!

That's why we're shooting this shit, Bill!

Don't give me that 400 — Fuck it, I’ll go by myself.

No, no, no, no. Hold the fuck up.

Here's what the fuck you do. You go home. You cool the fuck down.

Monday morning, you put on a nice white guy suit,

go down there and bail them out.

Any emotional liberal shit you do right now

will only jeopardize our crew.

Do you hear me?

Yeah.

I hear you.

[Sandra] Hey, he'd sacrifice his friends,

his family,

even me.

Well, a Black man in jail who's not afraid is a fool,

but I heard Big T was crying like a bitch, crying for his mama.

[laughing]

I wasn't scared of shit in that jail, man.

[scoffs] I was scared of being hungry, that's all.

- [siren wailing in distance] - [chattering]

- Please, folks, this is sound equipment. - Sound equipment?

- Please stand back. - Y'all making a movie?

I can do Flip Wilson, man.

[Big T] Get the fuck out of the way. Move.

- How many extras we got? - [Priscilla] Seven.

We need more.

Melvin, we got a problem. We only got four mags of film.

Fuck.

If everything went perfect, I'd need five.

I told Clyde six. Where's Clyde?

Clyde!

- Two men, two women? - Fine.

Damage control.

Some of them are pissed about spending the weekend in jail.

Now, if T quits, the others might follow.

Bill tells me we only got four mags of film for the whole day.

- Uh, really, that should be plenty. - I asked you for six.

Well, I needed the money for the stuntman for the LA river chase.

You saw what happened when Bill tried.

Clyde, I can do that stunt myself. What I can't do is shoot without film.

- Did you sign off on this? - No, no.

Okay, here's what I want.

You, Bill, go get all those people away from the sound equipment.

I want to start our first shot in 20 minutes.

We're gonna start with the cops bringing Sweetback out.

- Isn't that Clyde's job, man? - Not anymore. Clyde, you're fired.

This shit is not my fault.

There's only so much I can do with no money.

But if you're looking for somebody to blame —

Clyde, it's my fault. I got you in over your head. I'm sorry.

When I get a bigger budget or a smaller film, I’ll give you a call.

This is bullshit, Melvin!

T, I need to talk to you.

We got a problem?

Yeah, brother, we got a problem.

I work with niggas, I end up in jail.

Some shit like that go down again,

I'm gonna break me some little motherfucker neck.

T, you's a big motherfucker.

In a fair fight, you'd whup my ass. I ain't fought fair in a long time.

And if I was afraid of you, I wouldn't be the kind of nigga to get that shit done

in the first motherfucking place!

I got everything I own on the line, and all my family's shit.

But it's bigger than me, and it's bigger than your two days in jail.

This is a war.

It's our war.

And if you don't know by now that it's your war,

take your big ass back to your shed and your smoked meat.

No hard feelings, brother.

We got three days left to shoot.

So if you stay,

and, brother, I hope you do,

don't ever threaten me again.

Just step to me and take me the fuck out before I take you.

'Cause I'm gonna have to take you seriously, T.

T, this is our shit.

Hey, yo, that fool with the glasses said he gonna put me in the movie, man.

Please, you gotta move these people back. I can't hear a thing.

Okay, all right, uh, hey, my good brothers and sisters.

- Let's move it on back, please. - I ain't your brother, Casper.

Man, I’ll beat your white ass back across that freeway.

Don't come here telling us where we can't be.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Peace, peace, okay?

Let's just, uh, back it up there.

[chuckles] All right. All right.

Excellent. That's exactly what I'm talking about. Thank you.

Sound is ready, boss.

[Bob] Camera set.

Okay, kids, get in.

Frame up.

It's out of focus.

Looks sharp to me, chief.

Okay, frame up. T.

Rolling.

Slate. Action.

Wash your car, mister? No charge if you don't like it.

Yeah, no charge if you don't like it.

- Okay, Bob? - Got it.

Okay, cut! All right, everybody out. We're gonna blow this motherfucker up.

I need everybody back. Need all those people back over there.

[bystanders chattering, shouting]

[screams]

Fire engines! They're coming! Fire engines!

Somebody must have called the fire department.

- We gotta get the hell out of here. - No, hold on.

That's why we got the permits on Friday,

so they couldn't notify the fire department.

You can't buy this kind of production value.

Tommy, get over here. Listen. Fire department's gonna show up soon.

Don't show them the permit till the last possible second.

I’ll get the production value. Sweetback's going to make his escape.

- Roll the cameras. Go! - [sirens wailing]

[Melvin] Somehow we got that shot.

With the Cosby money, a deal from the labs,

and my borrowing from anyone I could,

our little ragtag crew managed to make it through the end of the shoot.

Trial by fire will singe your ass,

but it also bonds.

We'd become more than comrades in arms.

We were family.

Smoked turkey?

Last you're gonna see in a while.

Tommy's taking me on his next film.

[both laughing]

Teach him how to mix sound.

Somebody's gotta learn this shit before I retire.

That's fucking great. [laughs]

That's beautiful. Beautiful.

- Come here. - Oh!

- Hey, Melvin. - Huh?

Allow me to introduce you.

This is Jimmy, the best editor no money can buy.

Jimmy, you up for spending long hours in a dark room with me?

Because I'm a motherfucker to work with.

Fun is the enemy, sir.

I see you've been briefed.

All right. Welcome aboard.

[Bill] I’ll tell you one thing right now.

Independent filmmaking would not exist

had Melvin not put a "Van" in the middle of his name.

You know, when you're clowning and making the man laugh,

you can do anything.

But when you get serious, you see,

that's when you become dangerous.

[Tommy] Yeah, it kind of went, like:

♪ You bled my mama ♪

♪ You bled my papa ♪

♪ Well, you won't bleed me ♪

[playing upbeat funk music]

[Melvin] Good news was,

Earth, Wind & Fire came through with some of the music.

We played it against the movie, and it worked like a motherfucker.

Now!

♪ You bled my mama ♪

♪ You bled my papa ♪

♪ Won't bleed me ♪

♪ Won't bleed me ♪

Yeah! That's it!

- That's it! - We got it, baby!

- That is it! - We know what you want.

You niggas go on home, make some more of this music.

I need it. I need all of it right now.

Time is money. Go, go, go, go, go.

Jimmy, when you're ready.

Speaking of which, we need some bread, man.

Got it.

- Gotta be a check, though. - No problem.

Okay.

[clears throat]

All right.

- Bring it back to me now. - Right on.

- All right, little brother. - All right, man.

That check was $500. You ain't got that.

Get me some coffee. Go on. Get me some coffee.

[barking]

[chorus] ♪ They bled your mama ♪

[hawk screeches]

[Melvin] The bad news was,

with the rental of the editing room and all the money I owed,

interest was piling up.

Time was of the essence.

I couldn't make a dime on the movie until I sold it,

and I couldn't sell it until I finished it.

My ass was dragging.

[man 1] Where's Sweetback?

[man 2] Where's Sweetback?

[man 3] Sweetback!

[phone ringing]

[ringing continues]

Yeah.

[man] Mr. Van Peebles? It's about the money.

I told you, I got nothing to pay you with till I sell this thing.

Really? You expect us to wait it out?

Yeah. No, no.

Uh, I don't know. Two weeks?

Unacceptable. They want it now. Get it?

- Is that a threat? - Take it any way you want to.

- Is that a threat, motherfucker? - [line clicks]

Is that a fucking threat?

- [man] Where's Sweetback? Where is he? - I don't know where's Sweetback.

- Where's Sweetback? - Come on, boy!

- [voices chattering, distorted] - Where's Sweetback?

I don't know where —

- Where's he at? - Where's Sweetback?

Where is he?

- Sweetback! - Come on, boy, talk!

[voices continue, faint, distorted]

Are you okay? You all right?

I'm okay. Yeah, get — Yeah.

- Get me some coffee. - You gotta see a doctor.

Go get me some coffee.

About your eyes.

You gotta see a doctor. Please, Dad.

[whispers] I'm okay.

Get a man some coffee. Go ahead. I'm fine. Go ahead.

- [Melvin] And that was it. - Go ahead. I'm fine.

The first time my kid ever called me Dad.

You worry about your kids until they put you in the grave.

I thought he looked like he needed a good meal and a good rest.

- Circles under his eyes. - Yeah.

Melvin had lost a lot of weight.

He was in trouble, you see.

'Cause I could see it in his eyes.

Things had gotten so bad, I had to sell the bike.

From now on, we'd be hoofing it.

I also had to collect all my debts by any motherfucking means necessary.

[groaning, shouting]

Doctor said if I didn't rest soon, I could lose sight in my left eye.

Rest wasn't an option, so I got an eye patch.

- I need the edit list from yesterday. - Hey, can we talk?

We just did. I said I need the edit list from yesterday.

I'm quitting.

What the fuck you say?

I have to quit. Man, I'm really sorry, but I got this other thing.

Coming in here, telling me what the fuck you gonna do?

What —

You gonna leave this fucking film when I tell you you can!

- [Bill] Melvin! What the fuck, man? - We had a deal! We had a deal!

You're the only other motherfucker in here besides me that knows all these elements!

If I don't sell this shit and make some bread soon,

I'm gonna lose every fucking thing!

- You got it? - Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

[boy] ♪ You bled my mama ♪

♪ You bled my papa ♪

[Melvin] Things had gotten out of hand.

But somehow I managed to get the movie done.

All 97 minutes of it.

I was desperate to sell.

Plan was to have distributors come to a cast-and-crew screening...

[applause]

... so the buyers would see it with an enthusiastic audience.

You know, T, the Temptations called. They want the suit back.

[Melvin] I'd have to put on my best game face.

Never let the buyers see you bleed.

Action.

[both] No, we have not seen Sweetback.

And cut.

Apple don't fall far from the tree, does it, Pop?

Ah, you're so right.

[father] Comes a point where you got to let the kids go...

and just be supportive of them.

This was a movie by the brothers, for the brothers,

about the brothers.

And you know what?

We're all brothers.

They didn't even invite me to the cast-and-crew screening.

Do you believe that shit? It's not like I would have gone.

I mean, who the fuck am I? Blame-A-Nigga?

Like everything bad that happened is Clyde's fault.

That motherfucker. And that Bill Harris.

That white boy, with all that peace and love bullshit,

now, that was one honky that was out to get me from the very beginning.

I knew it. I could feel it.

I was supposed to have the lead in this motherfucking movie,

but I had two f-f-fucking lines.

- Well, it was very uncomfortable. - Yeah.

- To be honest, I didn't feel safe. - It was embarrassing.

Distributors were tripping over themselves to get out of the theater.

What can I say? Listen, we like Mel.

Oh, well, we both do. That's not the point.

It's just that the movie wasn't entertaining.

- No. - And who wants to see something like that?

First thing is, when you make a movie, you have to know who your audience is.

And that's a lesson Mel completely forgot. Went completely out of his head. Very sad.

There's the guy from Stax Records. He says the album's ready.

Just wants to know when the movie's coming out.

Well, tell him to give me some vinyl and I’ll let him know when we know. Okay?

- Hey, brother. - Man, it's beautiful, beautiful.

Hello.

Congratulations. [laughs]

- Thank you, baby. - You're welcome.

Bill. Hey. Hey, Moonbeam, what's happening?

Let me borrow him for one second. Come here. Come here.

So what do the fucking distributors think?

I don't know, man. They split halfway through.

One guy left his card.

I don't even know them. Cinemation? What about the guy from Spotlight?

Yeah, he says, once you get it rated,

if it gets nothing harder than an R, then he'll screen it.

Mel, we're gonna have to run, so I just want to congratulate you.

I can tell you, a lot of hard work up there. Good.

Roz, when are you gonna leave this bullshit artist?

- Oh! - Come on, come on.

Come on, what did you really think?

Honestly?

Mel, uh, it's — it's a dangerous film. What can I tell you?

But it's not dangerous when John Wayne has the gun.

See, most of America looks like John Wayne,

so I'm just a little nervous people aren't gonna be able to identify with it.

I don't know. I always identified with the Indians.

You know what? I don't know anything, so leave me out of it, all right?

- When's it rated? - When and if I submit it.

Okay, Melvin, no, no, no, no, no.

The whole porn thing, that worked with the unions.

But the ratings board, they're just gonna want to cut out a few tits,

they're gonna want to get rid of a few swear words.

- Just get your R and go. - You know what? It's an all-white jury.

Listen to me. This board has been doing this since the year zero.

Somebody has to tell parents what kids can see, what they can't see.

[woman] I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!

[Jose] It wasn’t just the Blacks who were being portrayed negatively.

It was all of us.

I'm telling you, all the Mexicans who kept saying,

"Badges! I got no stinking badges!"

- The Chinese... - You speak to me?

... the Indians, you name it.

The truth is, if you weren't white, you were the joke.

Only thing is, we weren't laughing.

[Melvin] And any white actor could play us.

Yellow face, red face, Black face or brown face.

Get yourself a feather or a turban. Who said that was okay?

Making us mammies and butlers, kissing Shirley Temple's little ass.

Didn't I tell you to bring this water?

That's right. It was you.

[Melvin] And it fucked up white kids too, 'cause they'd think that's who we were.

No all-white jury has the right

to tell the Black community what it may or may not see.

Now, if the rest of you want to submit to that program, that's your business.

Honestly, aren't you doing this for the press?

Whose press? Whose press?

I'm not doing it for the white media's consumption, or yours either.

I'm telling the truth, brother. You take it however you want to take it.

- [reporters clamoring] - Melvin, you just bought yourself an X.

[phone ringing]

[Melvin] I was hemorrhaging cash, every day bleeding more.

Calls for money were constant. Even death threats now.

I devised a signal for the inner circle.

- Ring twice, hang up, then call back. - [Howie] Hey, kid. It's Howie.

We had, uh... We had a couple of calls about the picture.

Nothing much, but I thought I'd tell you about it anyway.

Um...

One of them, they'll distribute Sweetback worldwide,

but they want their fee up front, and they want 70% into perpetuity, so...

We're losing bread.

I know, I know, it's ridiculous. Don't even think about it. It's a no.

Listen, it only gets worse. The other one, it's a very— it's a lowball buyout.

I'm not even gonna insult you with it.

You ever hear of Cinemation?

[Howie] Cinemation? Yeah.

Yeah, they're a very low-level distributor doing mostly schlock.

[laughs] If they're even still in business.

Kid, you all right?

[Melvin] Yeah, I'm fine.

- Dad. - Huh?

The patch.

Oh, yeah.

- How do I look? - HNIC.

Head Nigga In Charge?

Huh.

So, I gotta be honest here.

What we got is an X-rated Black film with no stars.

No Sidney Poitier, no Diahann Carroll.

In this film, a Black hustler beats up two white cops,

screws a white chick, and gets away with it.

Black folks are gonna fucking love it, Jerry. They're gonna love it.

Black folks don't own theaters in America.

Old white guys do.

On Watermelon Man, we had a nice opening.

Sweetback has gotta open big. You with me? Bam!

- How many theaters can you get me? - Two, if we're lucky.

Just two in LA?

[Jerry] Two in the US of A, my friend.

The second's in Atlanta.

The first, in Detroit.

The Grand Circus. It's run by the Goldberg twins.

Believe me, I begged.

I want to get us in as many theaters as possible.

My money is where your money is.

And even if they run it, they're gonna play it safe.

They're gonna sandwich it between two other flicks.

Only two theaters in all of America?

And it won't even run alone, not even first run?

They don't run X-rated films, Melvin.

You know you can't even print the title?

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song?

You can't put it in the newspapers. You can't even put it up on the marquee.

Let's get the fuck out of here.

No peeking.

All right, open up.

- [giggles] - What you got there?

For finishing your movie.

- [sighs] - Congratulations, honey!

What's wrong?

I still gotta pick out a still photo for the poster.

I can't even see straight.

Okay.

Okay, honey, listen, go to bed, rest your eye,

and I’ll help you with that, I’ll take care of it.

Congratu-fucking-lations.

[scoffs]

[mutters] Fuck.

Fuck!

All right, I’ll do this fucking deal.

I just want to meet these guys that run this theater.

Absolutely not. You'll fuck it up for us.

Come on, man. They're premiering my movie.

All right, go charm the shit out of them.

But do us a favor, okay?

Why don't you take a shave, put on a suit?

These guys are very sharp dressers. You understand?

All right, here's where you're going.

To say that this is self indulgent to make this movie...

that's too good.

The thing is, if you want to make political statements,

you can't be concerned about box office as well.

We were so busy talking shit about bringing a message to the people,

we never stopped to bother whether the people gave a shit

about the message we were bringing to them.

We were just wondering if they would come.

Fernando! Fernando!

- [Melvin] Hello. - Look at what you're doing, will you?

- Excuse me. - The show don't start till 2:00.

Fernando, I told you, just copy off the damn poster!

It's "Zombie" with a Z, not an S.

I'm Melvin Van Peebles. You're premiering my movie.

- The box office ain't open yet. - Uh, you must be Mr. Goldberg, correct?

- Yeah. - I'm Melvin Van Peebles.

I'm the producer-director of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.

This is my son, Mario. Can we take a look at your theater?

- Hold on a second. - Okay.

All right, Ethel, tell Manny I want to see him.

And get rid of this crazy fucking shvartzer, okay?

- Yeah. - See you.

That's him!

Some wild movie.

Were you really shtupping those girls?

What movie? What fucking movie? Hey, hey, you eat it, you pay for it.

Right there. Triple feature.

Desert Killers, 40-Foot Woman, Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.

Now, listen. Don't shortchange yourself by playing it as a triple feature, man.

Kid, when white people lived in this neighborhood, we got first-run flicks.

Now we got a half-empty barn screening second-run triple features

because your people want a lot of movie for their buck.

Of course they do, but you're not giving them a lot of movie.

You're giving them second-rate B stuff that's got nothing to do with their lives.

Melvin, I saw the movie, and I don't think —

Manny, no offense, but you guys aren't the audience.

Hey, son. Excuse me for a minute.

What did you get?

3,200 seats total. But the balcony's been closed for years.

2,062 seats working, a dollar a ticket, three shows a day.

Look, kid, even if we ran your movie alone,

it's rated X.

Reputable newspapers won't run X-rated ads.

How's anyone going to know it's playing?

Early to bed. Early to rise.

Work like a dog, and advertise.

Sweetback soundtrack and T-shirt.

- Bam. - A record?

We don't sell records.

That is the Sweetback soundtrack.

I'm gonna be all over the local radio station

playing this soundtrack, wear that fucking T-shirt,

and talk about the world premiere

of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song right here,

at Goldberg's spectacular Grand Circus Theater.

It's still gotta be a triple feature.

I’ll make you a bet.

I’ll bet you a brand-new suit

that if you run Sweetback alone, the way it should be,

you'll make more money in one day than you did all last week.

Chutzpah, this fucking kid.

A suit? Three pieces, our tailor?

- Your tailor. - There's two of us.

And one of me. If I lose, I lose double.

[chorus] ♪ They bled your mama ♪

[Melvin] Won't bleed me.

[chorus] ♪ They bled your papa ♪

[Melvin] Your mama and your sister too!

Hey, hey, Detroit, it's your main man, J.J. Davis, right here at KLST,

and we're here in the studio with Mr. Melvin Van Peebles,

the soul brother of cinema.

We're taking calls for Mr. Van Peebles.

KLST. Rap on.

[woman] Mr. Van Peebles, are you gonna be in the theater in person tonight?

That depends, girl. Are you on the pill?

- [all laugh] - [woman] Ooh!

KLST. Rap on, brother.

[man] Hey, I seen your comedy Watermelon Man with Godfrey Cambridge.

Does Sweetback have any stars in it?

Yeah — you, me, the Black community. We the stars, brother.

[man laughs] Oh, shit, I look out my window and see that for free.

Not on the big screen, brother.

Sweetback opens tomorrow at the Grand Circus. Where else?

[Melvin] Right here in Detroit, Grand Circus Theater, world premiere.

[music playing softly on radio]

What y'all showing?

First-run movie, brand-new.

- Sweetback's. - What else shows with it?

- Nothing. - Nothing? For a dollar?

Man, let's go over to the Greek Theater. These people tripping.

You keep forgetting to eat.

- You hungry? - Yeah.

Go get some food.

Here. Here you go.

- You don't want anything? - I'm fine. Go ahead.

[upbeat funk music playing]

[woman] ♪ Oh ♪

[vocalizing]

You got a sweet, sweet back.

[officer] Sir, I think we discovered the weapon and one of the assailants.

- Uh-huh? - Mr. Sweetback.

- Yeah? - We have a new development in the case.

Wash your car, mister?

[officer] I'm not buying it. Now get away from here!

- No charge if you don't like it. - Yeah, no charge if you don't like it.

Too bad the witness has injured himself in a fall.

Okay. Right, sir.

Commissioner says to beat the information out of the nigger

before we get into the station.

[people clamoring, clapping]

[woman, echoing] Well?

- Oh, Lord. Let's go. - [movie soundtrack continues playing]

Got no time for this.

Mm-mm-mm.

[movie soundtrack: man shouting]

I mean, it's gotta be something funny, 'cause they want something funny.

[Cosby] You sure you know what you get into with this whole independent stuff?

[Melvin] Average hustler turns revolutionary.

Another comedy?

[Melvin] Serious as cancer.

Who's gonna want to see that? [echoing]

Well?

They'll show.

They better.

It's 15 minutes till the 7:00 show.

If your soul brothers don't show by then,

we have to cut our losses and switch to the other movies while we still can.

Eagle ain't nothing but a bird.

White man ain't nothing but a turd.

Niggas ain't shit.

Fuck you.

No, you fucked us.

Change the marquee.

Switch to Zombies and 40-Foot Woman. ¡Rápido!

All right, all right.

Hello. Five for Sweetback.

Oh, I'm sorry. We're not playing that one anymore.

I can give you tickets to 40-Foot Woman and Killer Zombie.

- What? - Well, the marquee says "Sweetback."

- We got a problem? - [Bill] I sure hope not,

because we drove a long-ass way to see Sweetback.

Customer's always right, Ethel.

- Hi, sweetie. - Hi.

- Where's Daddy? - I don't know.

- Hey! Good to see you, little man. - Hey, Big T.

[applause, cheering]

Oh, Manny. We've got a problem.

There was this guy, he was in here before, acting suspicious.

Gang members. More of them keep gathering.

They're up to something. I know it.

[Manny] Black Panthers. What do they want?

Get Melvin.

He left.

We don't give refunds. That's our policy.

Give him his refund, Ethel.

No, lady, I wanna buy some tickets.

Yes, sir. [stammering] How many?

Twenty-two.

- Twenty-three. - Make it 23.

[woman] Ooh, yeah, baby!

- [funk music playing] - [all cheering, whooping]

[man] You could feed a small African village with them things, boy!

Whoo!

- [man] Oww! - [audience chattering, whistling]

[whispering] Manny, you're never gonna believe this.

Outside.

[people chattering]

- Oh, my God. Will you look at that? - [woman] Oh, no, you can't get in!

Everything is sold out, they said!

[chattering continues]

Morty. Come here.

You ain't from around here.

- LA. - Ah.

Long way to come for a drink.

Yeah.

What the fuck are they showing?

[excited chattering]

We're getting more, sir. It'll be just one minute.

We're sold out.

Like hell we are. We'll open the balcony.

We're out of popcorn, and there's no hot dogs left.

I’ll take over the stand. You go down to the Greek Theater.

Buy whatever they got. Fernando can help you carry it.

Don't slop up my Caddy.

Hot dogs too? Don't they have to be kosher?

We're not eating them, schmuck. We're just selling them. Now go!

- [upbeat funk music playing] - [police siren wailing]

[woman in audience shouting] Don't let them crackers get ya! Come on!

Told you, man. I told you it'd be bad, man.

Shut up, man. Shut up.

[chorus] ♪ They bled your mama ♪

- [Sweetback] Won't bleed me! - [audience shouting]

[officer] He's got to get to the border. We gotta stop him.

- You see him? - No.

Come on, Sweetback!

Run, motherfucker, run!

[shouting continues]

Down in front!

[barking]

[officer] He's getting away. He's getting away.

We've gotta get him before he gets to the border.

[chorus] The man knows everything, Sweetback!

[Sweetback] Then he oughta know I'm tired of him fucking with me!

[audience shouting, cheering]

[Melvin] Well, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

became the top grossing independent hit of 1971.

Folks started calling me "Mel baby"again.

Cinemation got out of bankruptcy.

Bill Cosby got paid back.

Earth, Wind & Fire blew up.

And oh, yeah, those Goldberg twins,

they made me that suit.

I had a little bit of the money, and I went to Mrs. Cosby,

and, uh, she said sure, and that —

it was done as far as I was concerned.

The first time I found out about Sweetback was one day when I went to visit Melvin,

and he came to the door with a big gun in his hands.

"Okay, that's enough. I heard enough. Lock 'em up.

Suspected grand larceny and impersonating LAPD police officers."

So we spent the weekend in jail.

So I brought the dildo back to Melvin,

and Melvin said, "It's brown."

I said "So? What's the big deal?"

He said, "Go back and get me a black one."

And he was almost like a conductor. Melvin would show us clips of the film

and say, "Okay, this is gonna go here. This is gonna go there."

Melvin was the time code.

My brother Maurice knew Melvin.

He was very tight with Melvin,

so Melvin had this idea about doing this crazy film.

The thing I remember most of all is that he gave me a check for $500.

That check was $500. You ain't got that.

That check bounced all over Hollywood, all over the world, you dig?

I do remember singing with Earth, Wind & Fire...

Wash your car, mister?

...for the soundtrack.

And my voice is so bad.

- No charge if you don't like it. - Yeah. No charge if you don't like it.

It was because of Melvin's commitment

and Melvin's focus and his passion about this.

Nothing was gonna prevent him.

If he had to die making this film, he would make this film.

The Panthers identified with the part that I played as Mu-Mu.

We had every one of our chapters

mobilize community support to go see that movie

because we were so inspired by this first revolutionary piece of cinema.

Very important film.

There was a great deal of solidarity. That's what brought us together.

Hollywood ain't seen nothing like Melvin ever before.

He was a combination of arrogance, insecurity

and boastfulness.

We've come full circle.

And some of the things that were happening

at that particular time,

the message that was delivered in that particular film,

we're still experiencing some of that today.

We supported that film to the extent that we put the film in our newspapers.

People keep saying, "Follow your dream."

And I'd say, "Okay," but I think there's more to it than that.

I think follow your dream — the first thing you do is you wake up.

Shaft, I think, was being written for a white actor,

and after Sweetback, they changed it over to a Black person.

It was before Shaft. It was before, uh, New Jack City.

It was really the prelude of all the films that we see now.

I think that Melvin Van Peebles is a wonderful example,

and not the only example,

but a wonderful example of a person

who had a thought...

dreamt, woke up, did it...

and it's still good.

[Maurice] ♪ Bled your mama ♪

♪ Bled your papa ♪

But you won't bleed me.