'Black Or White,' It's What's On The Inside That Matters
DETROIT (WWJ) - "Black or White" is a movie with a message. It's based on actual events that occurred in the life of the film's writer and director, native Detroiter Mike Binder, who made his mark in show business as a writer and stand-up comedian.
"My wife's sister -- when she was 32 -- died young," Binder told WWJ's Terri Lee during a promotional stop in Detroit, "and she had a little seven-year-old child, a boy who's biracial, and his father wasn't in his life, but his father's mother and all his aunts, and sisters and cousins were, and everyone in my wife's family was and we all kind of came together and raised him."
But getting to that point apparently wasn't without the family's fair share of trials and tribulations. Their struggle to do what each side feels is "best" for the child is what's at the heart of "Black or White." In the film, Elliott Anderson, played by Academy Award®-winning actor Kevin Costner, suddenly finds himself caring for Eloise, his biracial granddaughter. With the help of her brother, a lawyer portrayed by Anthony Mackie, Anderson battles with the girl's grandmother, Rowena Jeffers (Academy Award® winner Octavia Spencer), for custody.
With no love lost between the two sides, a custody battle ensues and Eloise is caught in the middle. Both grandparents have strong opinions about who should have custody, and neither side wants to bend.
In light of current events in the U.S. (think Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, NY) as well as around the world, the message conveyed in "Black or White" is good reason to see this film. Without being preachy, it serves as a reminder that no matter what color our skin may be on the outside, it's what's on the inside that matters.
See you at the movies!
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