Movies
Bill Duke Pulls Back ‘Cover’ on Down Low Men and HIV/AIDS
By Duane Wells

Mar 4, 2008

Bill Duke

In person, acclaimed actor/director/producer Bill Duke is as physically imposing a figure as the menacing characters he has brought to life in films like Predator, Commando and Payback, yet when he speaks, his demeanor is neither gruff nor intimidating. On the contrary, Duke is measured, cool and thoughtful. That is, of course, until you get him to talking about his new film Cover. Starring Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr., Vivica A. Fox, Clifton Davis and Aunjanue Ellis with a cameo by Patti Labelle, Cover is a cautionary tale about a family torn asunder by the lies and deceit that are part and parcel of a life lived on the ‘down-low.’  

Filled with twists and turns that explore the secret world of men on the DL, the lives of the women who live in it and how the two sometimes collide in explosive ways, Cover is a film that steadfastly refutes the notion that the down-low phenomenon is a thing of the past. In fact, if anything, Cover is both a wake-up call and reminder that the issue of men living on the down-low is one that had best not be forgotten.  

A far cry from some of his better known, big budget studio films like Sister Act 2, Cemetery Club and Hoodlum, Cover is an independent production that Duke committed to for largely personal reasons.  

"There was incident in my extended family where a woman was disrespected by a man living on the DL and that really provoked me," Duke says when asked why he decided to direct and produce Cover. "Then seeing all the stats – the fact of the matter is that one in seven Black men in DC is infected with HIV, that of the newly reported cases of HIV/AIDS among women, 70% are black women, and that the majority of those women are infected by men who know they have the disease. When you see those stats, if you have any young women or any young men in your life at all, to just stand still and not do or say anything is, in my mind, criminal."  

Surprisingly, on the subject of HIV/AIDS, Duke has become something of walking catalog of statistics which he weaves into his often passionate discussion about the twin causes – HIV/AIDS and education – that he has made his priority these days.  

“I’m not an activist or anything, but I’m a filmmaker so I try to use my skills as a filmmaker to do what I can do,” Duke says matter of factly about his commitment to his passions. “We cannot afford to get blamnesia… that’s the black man’s amnesia. Our concerns have to transcend our personal needs. Dr. King, Malcolm and Marcus Garvey would be ashamed of us. What is wrong with us? We don’t care about anything? It’s shameful?"  

Contrary to what Duke expected, Cover was not to be an easy project to get off the ground. From casting to production to distribution, making this film was an uphill battle for Bill, who was busy juggling a full slate of other projects simultaneous to making this one.  

"I thought that when people were told about the stats and what we face, they would come on aboard and say ‘Let’s do something about this," he says. "[But] there was no real interest in putting dollars into this film because it wasn’t a comedy… it wasn’t ‘entertaining’. As far as some people were concerned, the subject matter was old. Distributors didn’t know what the audience was. But, hey, that’s part of what you deal with you’re doing what you got to do."  

And don’t even get him started about the difficulty of casting this film.

"It was horrendously difficult casting this film," Duke offers with a sigh of exasperation. "Oh my god. You know I know most of the actors in the film community. I’ve worked with them. We’re friends. But nobody would do [this film] because of the stigma. Everybody was saying, ‘People are going to think I’m gay or that I’m DL… there’s going to be this stigma on me… it’s going to hurt my career’. Everyone except a few brave souls like Leon, Obba Babbatunde, Lou Gossett and brave people like Aunjanue Ellis and Vivica Fox, who took one-tenth of their salary and then donated that back to the film because they believed in it. These people had the balls to do it."  

Talk of the potential stigma associated with making Cover led me to ask Mr. Duke if he was ever concerned or worried about people in the industry thinking that he himself might be gay or living on the ‘DL.’  

“Who me? They can kiss my ass," he says defiantly. "No let me rephrase that… they can kiss my black, rosy, shiny ass.  

"I don’t care what they think about me," he continues with a chuckle.  

Still, for all his bravado and fight, Duke seems somewhat humbled by the unexpected journey that Cover took him on. As a straight man who counts  Magic Johnson among his friends, Duke learned just how much he didn’t know about HIV/AIDS and the psychology associated with the disease.  

"I had no idea how painful it was going to be on a number of levels," Duke says of the journey. "I wasn’t prepared for the shame element, for how HIV/AIDS is a shame disease. According to the CDC [Center for Disease Control] and other organizations, there are people who will not be tested. And that there are people who, if they are tested and find out they’re positive, will not tell anyone else because of the element of shame.  

I also learned that to ask DL men to come out and give our daughters and sisters and women an option is not a simple request because if they do have the courage to come out, they will come out to a crucifixion. No one is coming out to a crucifixion. So we as a community have to re-think our response to honesty."  

And what should that response be?  

"I’m not suggesting that this is an easy issue because there are a lot of dimensions, but while we’re having this debate, people are dying!" Duke responds angrily.  

"While we’re having this debate, children and young people are getting infected and we’re acting as if this is cancer. This is a preventable disease. While we’re having the debate, can’t we put in measures that stop our kids and our women and our young men from dying and becoming infected? This is catastrophic to me."  

Bill Duke has become a preacher by this point in our conversation, his voice rising and falling with a cadence normally associated with the most fervent of sermons. There can be little question that this film has changed him in some way – that it might have even transformed him into an unlikely advocate of sorts.  

Given all that he experienced since he began work on Cover, including going through two weeks of shutting down production in Philadelphia when the movie ran out of money... two weeks when he, along with the cast, were stuck in a hotel in Philadelphia not knowing if they would be able to pay the bill... one wonders if knowing what he knows now, Duke would have chosen to endure the trials of making this film again.  

"[Laughing] That’s a good question. My heart says ‘yes’ but my stomach and my nervous system say ‘no’. But my heart says ‘yes."  

Despite the obstacles and setbacks he faced with Cover, Duke plans to continue to do his part to spread the word about HIV/AIDS prevention while continuing to do what he does best… filmmaking.  

"I’ve made documentary called the Faces of HIV which is hopefully going into schools and service organizations," Duke says of his future plans. "I don’t have funding yet but I’m also going to make two more documentaries that focus on children and HIV and another about families that are totally affected by the disease. I’m a filmmaker and activist, not a politician, but I’m out of gear after that. I just sold a pilot to HBO… so I’m making a living but I’m trying to give back."  

Cover is in limited release now. For more information, visit www.CovertheMovie.com.