Two of Hollywood's most respected moviemakers, Clint Eastwood and Spike Lee, are making headlines after engaging in a public exchange of harsh words started by the latter who recently criticized Eastwood for not including African-Americans in his 2006 Iwo Jima movies, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima."

Speaking to British newspaper the Guardian, Eastwood defended his 2006 film "Flags of Our Fathers" claiming it was historically accurate, lashing out at his rival to "shut his face."

"The story is Flags Of Our Fathers, the famous flag-raising picture, and [black] soldiers didn't do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people would go: 'This guy's lost his mind.' I mean, it's not accurate," the Oscar winner explained, insisting that black troops were not involved in raising the flag at Iwo Jima.

Giving further arguments, Eastwood mentioned his 1988 Charlie Parker biopic, saying "When I do a movie and it's 90 percent black, like 'Bird,' then I use 90 percent black people."

Moreover, Eastwood said his upcoming project, "The Human Factor," is about Nelson Mandela and post apartheid South Africa. Asked if he would remain historically accurate with depictions of the former South African president, he joked: "I'm not going to make Nelson Mandela a white guy."

"A guy like him should shut his face," the 78-year-old actor/director continued referring to Lee, who wasted no time in firing back at Eastwood calling him "an angry old man."

"First of all, the man is not my father and we're not on a plantation either," Lee was quoted by ABCNEWS.com as saying. "He's a great director. He makes his films, I make my films. The thing about it though, I didn't personally attack him. And a comment like 'a guy like that should shut his face' -- come on Clint, come on. He sounds like an angry old man right there."

Two weeks ago, during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival, Lee, who is currently promoting his own film, "Miracle at St. Anna," about an all-black division of soldiers during World War II, blasted Eastwood for making "two films about Iwo Jima that ran for more than four hours total and there was not one Negro actor on the screen."

"If you reporters had any balls you'd ask him why. There's no way I know why he did that — that was his vision, not mine. But I know it was pointed out to him and that he could have changed it. It's not like he didn't know," Lee said at the time.