ACTOR Danny Glover, who blasted city cabbies last year for refusing to pick up African-Americans, is now in the driver seat himself.
Glover, a one-time cabbie in San Francisco, is playing the role of a New York City hack in “3 A.M.,” a new movie for Showtime produced by Spike Lee.
Glover said he prepared for his role using his own experience driving a cab, not so much from his confrontation with New York City drivers last year.
“I was not there with my complaints to demonize cab drivers,” he said onthe Jersey City set. “I have driven a cab, it’s a difficult job. I know that.”
Glover who’s playing the role of an aging cab driver, still recalls the experience of being turned down on a city street last year as “a very painful one.”
The film is about a trio of drivers, played by Glover, Michelle Rodriguez and Sergej Trifunovic, who work for the “low-rent” Lucky Lady Cab Co. in New York.
The drivers are coming to term with their own lives at a time when 11 cabbies have been murdered in the city.
Glover’s character, Hershey, is an ex-basketball star. His waitress-girlfriend is played by “Jackie Brown” star Pam Grier.
In November, Glover raised hell with the city’s cabbies, accusing them of routinely passing by blacks.
Furious about being passed over himself five times in a single day, Glover not only filed a complaint with the Taxi and Limousine Commission, he held a press conference.
Mayor Giuliani responded the next day when he announced a high-profile undercover sting aimed at hacks who refused to pick up passengers.
Taxi & Limousine Commission Chairwoman Diane McGrath McKechnie credited Glover with bringing public attention to the problem, but was quick to add that the city has been cracking down since 1996.
So far this year, 218 refusal summonses have been issued out of 3,834 undercover inspections – a compliance rate of 94 percent, McKechnie said, adding that Operation Refusal is ongoing.
Michael Higgins, editor of Taxi Talk magazine, says Glover ought to try a real-life stint behind the wheel to see what taxi drivers actually go through.
“It would be nice if he’d pick up real fares in New York City,” said Higgins. “That’s a movie I’d go see.”
