Hollywood Shuffler

Robert Townsend was a young black actor with a problem. "I was always auditioning for pimps, junkies, and basketball players. I kept saying, 'Where are all the Errol Flynn roles?' And everybody said, 'No, no, they're not for you.' " So Townsend decided to make a movie of his own. Hollywood Shuffle is a rather wet story (about the trials of a young black actor), but it's punctuated by hilarious parodic sketches of slave epics, acting school, and, best of all, film-review shows—Townsend calls his Sneakin' in the Movies—that mark him as a director to watch.