Taye Diggs: ‘Studios set double standards for black films’

CEBU, Philippines - Actor Taye Diggs says Hollywood studios hold African-American films to a frustratingly separate and unfair standard.

Whether a studio decides to proceed with a black-oriented film can depend on the success of other movies with primarily African-American casts, even if the projects are unconnected, said Diggs, who starred in “The Best Man” romantic comedy and its sequel.

The actor said he and others who worked on the “Best Man” movies are eager to start on a third. But its fate is tied to how other black-oriented films, including the upcoming “Think Like a Man Too,” perform at the box office, he said.

“Unfortunately, the business is such that as far as studios are concerned, they judge one quote-unquote black movie on how other ‘black’ movies have done, even if they have nothing to do with each other,” he said.

That’s “ridiculously” frustrating, said Diggs, 43, whose movie credits include “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” and “Rent.” He stars in a new TNT drama, “Murder in the First.”

“We’ve definitely come a long way. But we’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “It’s too bad we can’t do well on our own merit when it comes to the studios. They don’t like to take risks and, unfortunately, we’re still considered a huge risk, even though I don’t think we are.”

“The Best Man Holiday” grossed more than $70 million in North America last year and was profitable, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak.

Diggs also opened up in the July issue of Redbook magazine about his separation from his wife of 10 years – Frozen’s Idina Menzel. The “Private Practice” star revealed that he wasn’t really surprised that people were heartbroken over the pair’s breakup. “I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times when I thought, ‘Oh, man, people are going to trip out [if we split].’ Maybe they thought it was cute that we met in ‘Rent.’”

“There weren’t a lot of couples like us in the theater community—and I know there aren’t a lot of performers as talented as she is, and then you have the whole mixed [race] thing,” the 43-year-old continued. “It was easy for people to root for us. Right now, we’re still trying to figure out a lot of stuff because we’re on different coasts and our son is getting older.” (FREEMAN)