Shelton Jackson "Spike"Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually exploredrace relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee has won numerousaccolades for his work, including anAcademy Award, twoPrimetime Emmy Awards, aBAFTA Award, and twoPeabody Awards. He has also been honored with anHonorary BAFTA Award in 2002, anHonorary César in 2003, and theAcademy Honorary Award in 2015.
Shelton Jackson Lee was born inAtlanta, Georgia, the son of Jacqueline Carroll (née Shelton), a teacher of arts and black literature, andWilliam James Edward Lee III, a jazz musician andcomposer.[6][7] Lee has five younger siblings, three of whom (Joie,David, andCinqué) have worked in many different positions in Lee's films; a fourth, Christopher, died in 2014.[8] His youngest sibling is half-brother Arnold. DirectorMalcolm D. Lee is his cousin. When he was a child, the family moved from Atlanta toBrooklyn, New York. His mother nicknamed him "Spike" during his childhood. He attendedJohn Dewey High School in Brooklyn'sGravesend neighborhood.
In 1985, Lee began work on his first feature film,She's Gotta Have It. Theblack-and-white film concerns a young woman (played byTracy Camilla Johns) who is seeing three men, and the feelings this arrangement provokes. The film was Lee's first feature-length film, and launched Lee's career. Lee wrote, directed, produced, starred and edited the film with a budget of $175,000, he shot the film in two weeks. When the film was released in 1986, it grossed over $7 million at the U.S. box office.[11]New York Times film criticA.O. Scott wrote that the film "ushered in (along withJim Jarmusch'sStranger Than Paradise) the American independent film movement of the 1980s. It was also a groundbreaking film for African-American filmmakers and a welcome change in the representation of blacks in American cinema, depicting men and women of color not as pimps and whores, but as intelligent, upscale urbanites."[12] He followed this with the musical dramaSchool Daze (1988).[13]
To many people's surprise, the film was not nominated forBest Picture orBest Director at theAcademy Awards. The film only earned two Academy Award nominations forBest Original Screenplay, Spike Lee's first Oscar nomination, and forBest Supporting Actor for Danny Aiello. At the Academy ceremonyKim Basinger, who was a presenter that evening, stated thatDo the Right Thing also deserved a Best Picture nomination stating, "We've got five great films here, and they are great for one reason, because they tell the truth, but there is one film missing from this list because ironically it might tell the biggest truth of all and that'sDo the Right Thing".[16] The film that did win Best Picture wasDriving Miss Daisy, a film that focused on race relations between an elderly Jewish woman (Jessica Tandy) and her driver (Morgan Freeman).[17] Lee said in an April 7, 2006, interview withNew York magazine that the other film's success, which he thought was based on safe stereotypes, hurt him more than if his film had not been nominated for an award.[18]
In 1990, Lee had his first collaboration withDenzel Washington inMo' Better Blues. After the release ofMo' Better Blues, Lee was accused ofantisemitism by theAnti-Defamation League and several film critics. They criticized the characters of the club owners Josh and Moe Flatbush, described as "Shylocks". Lee denied the charge, explaining that he wrote those characters in order to depict how black artists struggled against exploitation. Lee said thatLew Wasserman,Sidney Sheinberg, or Tom Pollock, the Jewish heads of MCA andUniversal Studios, were unlikely to allow antisemitic content in a film they produced. He said he could not make an antisemitic film because Jews run Hollywood, and "that's a fact".[19] His next film wasJungle Fever (1991), for which Samuel L. Jackson won acclaim for his performance as acrack addict.[20]
In 1992, Spike released his biographical epic filmMalcolm X based on theAutobiography of Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington as the famedcivil rights leader. The film dramatizes key events in Malcolm X's life: his criminal career, hisincarceration, hisconversion to Islam, his ministry as a member of theNation of Islam and his later falling out with the organization, his marriage toBetty X, hispilgrimage toMecca and reevaluation of his views concerningwhites, and hisassassination on February 21, 1965. Defining childhood incidents, including his father's death, his mother'smental illness, and his experiences with racism are dramatized inflashbacks. The film received widespread critical acclaim including from criticRoger Ebert ranked the film No. 1 on his Top 10 list for 1992 and described the film as "one of the great screen biographies, celebrating the sweep of an American life that bottomed out in prison before its hero reinvented himself."[21] Ebert andMartin Scorsese, who was sitting in for lateAt the Movies co-hostGene Siskel, both rankedMalcolm X among the ten best films of the 1990s.[22] Denzel Washington's portrayal of Malcolm X in particular was widely praised and he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actor. Washington lost toAl Pacino (Scent of a Woman), a decision which Lee criticized, saying "I'm not the only one who thinks Denzel was robbed on that one."[23]
In 2000, Lee directedBamboozled (2000),[32] a satire about a modern televisedminstrel show. He followed this with25th Hour (2002) starringEdward Norton andPhilip Seymour Hoffman which opened to positive reviews, with several critics since having named it one of the best films of its decade. Film criticRoger Ebert added the film to his "Great Movies" list on December 16, 2009.[33]A. O. Scott,[34]Richard Roeper[35] and Roger Ebert all put it on their "best films of the decade" lists.[36] It was later named the 26th greatest film since 2000 in aBBC poll of 177 critics.[37] The film was also a financial success earning almost $24 million against a $5 million budget.[38] He followed25th Hour withShe Hate Me (2004), which received negative reviews.[39]
In 2006, Lee directedInside Man starring Denzel Washington,Jodie Foster,Clive Owen,Chiwetel Ejiofor,Willem Dafoe andChristopher Plummer. The film was an unusual film for Lee considering it was a studio heist thriller. The film was a critical and financial success earning $186 million off a $45 million budget.Empire gave the film four stars out of five, concluding, "It's certainly a Spike Lee film, but no Spike Lee Joint. Still, he's delivered a pacy, vigorous and frequently masterful take on a well-worn genre. Thanks to some slick lens work and a cast on cracking form, Lee proves (perhaps above all to himself?) that playing it straight is not always a bad thing."[40]
In 2015, Lee received anAcademy Honorary Award from theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his contributions to film.[47] Friends and frequent collaboratorsWesley Snipes, Denzel Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson presented Lee with the award at the privateGovernors Awards ceremony.[48] Lee directed, wrote, and produced the MyCareer story mode in the video gameNBA 2K16.[49] Later that same year, after a perceived long dip in quality, Lee rebounded with a musical drama film,Chi-Raq. The film is a modern-day adaptation of the ancient Greek playLysistrata byAristophanes set in modern-dayChicago's Southside and explores the challenges of race, sex, and violence in America.Teyonah Parris,Angela Bassett,Jennifer Hudson,Nick Cannon,Dave Chappelle, Wesley Snipes,John Cusack, and Samuel L. Jackson starred in the film. The film was released byAmazon Studios in select cities in November.Chi-Raq received generally positive reviews from critics. OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has rating of 82% with the site's critical consensus stating, "Chi-Raq is as urgently topical and satisfyingly ambitious as it is wildly uneven – and it contains some of Spike Lee's smartest, sharpest, and all-around entertaining late-period work."[50]
Lee's Vietnam war filmDa 5 Bloods was released onNetflix. The film starredDelroy Lindo,Jonathan Majors,Clarke Peters,Isiah Whitlock Jr.,Mélanie Thierry,Paul Walter Hauser andChadwick Boseman.[60] The film was released worldwide on June 12, 2020.[61][62] The film's plot follows a group of agingVietnam War veterans who return to the country in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader, as well as the treasure they buried while serving there. Before theCOVID-19 pandemic, the film was scheduled to premiere out-of-competition at the2020 Cannes Film Festival, then play in theaters in May or June before streaming on Netflix.[63] The film received widespread critical acclaim; the websiteRotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 92% based on 252 reviews, with the critical consensus reading: "Fierce energy and ambition course throughDa 5 Bloods, coming together to fuel one of Spike Lee's most urgent and impactful films."[64] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[65][66]
Lee has been linked to a movie musical about the origin story ofViagra, Pfizer's erectile dysfunction drug.[67] He signed a deal withNetflix to direct and produce more movies.[68] In February 2024, it was announced that Spike Lee was confirmed as the director ofHighest 2 Lowest, a remake ofHigh and Low (1963) originally directed byAkira Kurosawa, with Denzel Washington to star.[69]
Academic career and teaching
In 1991, Lee taught a course at Harvard about filmmaking. In 1993, he began to teach at New York University'sTisch School of the Arts in the Graduate Film Program. It was there that he received his master of fine arts. In 2002, he was appointed as artistic director of the school.[70] He is now a tenured professor at NYU.[71]
Commercials
In mid-1990,Levi's hired Lee to direct a series of TV commercials for their 501 button-fly jeans.[72] Marketing executives fromNike[73] offered Lee a job directing commercials for the company. They wanted to pair Lee's character,Mars Blackmon, who greatly admired athleteMichael Jordan, and Jordan in a marketing campaign for theAir Jordan line. Later, Lee was asked to comment on the phenomenon of violence related to inner-city youths trying to steal Air Jordans from other kids.[74] He said that, rather than blaming manufacturers of apparel that gained popularity, "deal with the conditions that make a kid put so much importance on a pair of sneakers, a jacket and gold".[74] Through the marketing wing of 40 Acres and a Mule, Lee has directed commercials forConverse,[75]Jaguar,[76]Taco Bell,[77] andBen & Jerry's.[78]
Artistic style and themes
Lee in September 2011
Lee's films are typically referred to as "Spike Lee Joints". The closing credits always end with the phrases "By Any Means Necessary", "Ya Dig", and "Sho Nuff".[79] His 2013 film,Oldboy, used the traditional "A Spike Lee Film" credit after producers had it re-edited.[45]
Themes
Lee's films have examinedrace relations,[80]colorism in the black community, the role of media in contemporary life,[81] urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. His films are also noted for their unique stylistic elements, including the use of dolly shots to portray the characters "floating" through their surroundings, which he has had his cinematographers repeatedly use in his work.[82]
Spike Lee takes part in the T-shirt toss at TheWNBA Semifinals, at theNY Liberty vsLV Aces game on September 29, 2024
When asked by theBBC whether he believed in God, Lee said: "Yes. I have faith that there is a higher being. All this cannot be an accident."[87] Lee continues to maintain an office inFort Greene,Brooklyn, but he and his wife live on theUpper East Side ofManhattan.[88]
Sports
Spike Lee is a fan of theNew York Knicks basketball team, theNew York Yankees baseball team (although he grew up aNew York Mets fan[89]), theNew York Rangers ice hockey team, and the English football clubArsenal.[90][91] One of the documentaries inESPN's30 for 30 series,Winning Time:Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, focuses partly on Lee's interaction with Miller at Knicks games inMadison Square Garden. In June 2003, Lee sought an injunction againstSpike TV to prevent them from using his nickname; he claimed that because of his fame, viewers would think he was associated with the channel.[92][93][94] In March 2020, Lee and the security team at Madison Square Garden had a disagreement over which entrance to use to see the New York Knicks; Lee stated he would not attend the rest of the games for the season.[95][96] Spike Lee has also frequentedNew York Liberty games atBarclays Center, sitting courtside during the2024 WNBA playoffs in aSabrina Ionescu Jersey[97]
In May 1999, theNew York Post reported that Lee made an inflammatory comment aboutCharlton Heston, president of theNational Rifle Association of America (NRA), while speaking to reporters at theCannes Film Festival. Lee was quoted as saying the National Rifle Association should be disbanded and, of Heston, someone should "Shoot him with a.44 Bull Dog."[98][99] Lee said he intended it as a joke. He was responding to coverage about whether Hollywood was responsible for school shootings. "The problem is guns", he said.[100]RepublicanHouseMajority LeaderDick Armey condemned Lee as having "nothing to offer the debate on school violence except more violence and more hate".[100]
In October 2005, Lee responded to aCNN anchor's question as to whether the government intentionally ignored the plight of black Americans during the2005 Hurricane Katrina catastrophe by saying, "It's not too far-fetched. I don't put anything past the United States government. I don't find it too far-fetched that they tried to displace all the black people out ofNew Orleans."[101] In later comments, Lee cited the government's past including theTuskegee Syphilis Study.[102][103]
In March 2012, after thekilling of Trayvon Martin, Spike Lee was one of many people who used Twitter to circulate a message that claimed to give the home address of the shooterGeorge Zimmerman. The address turned out to be incorrect, causing the real occupants, Elaine and David McClain, to leave home and stay at a hotel due to numerous death threats.[109] Lee issued an apology and reached an agreement with the McClains, which reportedly included "compensation", with their attorney stating "The McClains' claim is fully resolved".[110][111] Nevertheless, in November 2013, the McClains filed a negligence lawsuit which accused Lee of "encouraging a dangerous mob mentality among his Twitter followers, as well as the public-at-large".[109][112] The lawsuit, which a court filing reportedly valued at $1.2 million, alleged that the couple suffered "injuries and damages" that continued after the initial settlement up throughZimmerman's trial in 2013.[109] A Seminole County judge dismissed the McClains' suit, agreeing with Lee that the issue had already been settled previously.[113]
Controversies
At the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, Lee, who was then makingMiracle at St. Anna, about an all-black U.S. division fighting in Italy duringWorld War II, criticized directorClint Eastwood for not depicting black Marines in his own World War II film,Flags of Our Fathers. Citing historical accuracy, Eastwood responded that his film was specifically about the Marines who raised the flag onMount Suribachi atIwo Jima, pointing out that while black Marines did fight at Iwo Jima, the U.S. military wasracially segregated during World War II, and none of the men who raised the flag were black. He angrily said that Lee should "shut his face". Lee responded that Eastwood was acting like an "angry old man", and argued that despite making two Iwo Jima films back to back,Letters from Iwo Jima andFlags of Our Fathers, "there was not one black soldier in both of those films".[114][115][116] He added that he and Eastwood were "not on a plantation".[117] Lee later claimed that the event was exaggerated by the media and that he and Eastwood had reconciled through mutual friendSteven Spielberg, culminating in his sending Eastwood a print ofMiracle at St. Anna.[118]
Lee has been criticized for his representation of women. For example,bell hooks said that he wrote black women in the same objectifying way that white male filmmakers write the characters of white women.[119]Rosie Perez, who was in an acting role for the first time as Tina inDo the Right Thing, said later that she was very uncomfortable with doing the nude scene in the film, saying, "I had a big problem with it, mainly because I was afraid of what my family would think...It wasn't really about taking off my clothes. But I also didn't feel good about it because the atmosphere wasn't correct."[120] Subsequently, Perez stated that Lee had offered an apology, and the two maintained their friendship.[121]
Lee was nominated forAcademy Awards for Best Original Screenplay forDo the Right Thing[131][132] and Best Documentary for4 Little Girls, but did not win either award. In November 2015, he was given theAcademy Honorary Award for his contributions to filmmaking.[133] In 2019, he received his first Best Picture and Best Director nominations.[134]
In 2019, Lee's filmBlacKkKlansman went on to receive 6Academy Award nominations. Lee himself was nominated for 3 Oscars for Lee for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. He went on to win theBest Adapted Screenplay, his first Academy Award.[138]
Two of his films have competed for thePalme d'Or award at theCannes Film Festival, and of the two,BlacKkKlansman won the Grand Prix in 2018.[139]
^Bryan Stevenson (May 18, 2016)."Filmmaker Spike Lee speaks at Johns Hopkins graduation".Johns Hopkins University. RetrievedJune 26, 2020.I wish you could be graduating into a world of peace, light, and love, but that's not the case
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