>I thought Spikes script was based
>on Biography about malcolm X
>which was written by alex
>hailey? Are you sure about
>that??????

i'm positive. i was a film major who had to study that flick. it was not based on the autobiography as told to alex haley. and spike never told anyone it was or he'd still be in court. there were far too many characters and scenes in that flick that weren't in the book. spike only asked betty shabazz if she and malcolm ever argued. that's it. she NEVER endorsed the film. aesthetically speaking, denzel was NOT malcolm x. malcolm was 6-4, 180 lbs, long and lanky build, reddish-mariny complexion with gray eyes. and he made a point in his autobiography to tell you he was the lightest child in his family, which is why his father favored him over the rest of his sibblings. denzel did a good acting job, but the unwritten rule of film is that if you're doing a flick on a famous person, you don't need a major star to play his role. rather, you need find the closest person who looks like him. malcolm was one of those people. unless the person looked unusual like nixon or howard cossell, you find an actor who looks closest to his image.