Melvin Van Peebles Remembered: David Alan Grier, Barry Jenkins & Ava DuVernay Among Those Paying Tribute To Cinema’s “True Revolutionary”

Refresh for updates… Hollywood paid fast and heartfelt tribute to director Melvin Van Peebles today, with news of his death eliciting words of praise for the filmmaker from such industry figures as actor David Alan Grier and directors Barry Jenkins and Ava DuVernay, along with notable musicians and music execs.

“We’ve lost another lion,” tweeted the Tony-nominated Grier, who called Van Peebles “the true revolutionary, an artistic gangsta, cultural disrupter who forever changed the game.”

Oscar-winning Moonlight director Barry Jenkins wrote that the filmmaker “made the most of every second, of EVERY single damn frame.

“Admittedly,” he added, “while the last time I spent any time with him was MANY years ago, it was a night in which he absolutely danced his face off. The man just absolutely LIVED.”

Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay also paid tribute with a favorite quote of Van Peebles’: “You have to not let yourself believe you can’t. Do what you can do within the framework you have. And don’t look outside. Look inside.”

Then, there was Black List founder Franklin Leonard, who cited Van Peebles’ contributions as “Godfather of Black cinema, Godfather of (all) American independent cinema, and so much more.”

See all reactions and full statements below.

The Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song filmmaker, actor, playwright, novelist and composer, often hailed as the Godfather of Black Cinema, died Tuesday night at his home. He was 89.

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