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Fun stuff in the Observer's interview with Spike Lee. He discusses his new documentary about Hurricane Katrina, his work, and living in the city. He moved from Brooklyn to live in an Upper East Side townhouse (here's a spread about it in Town & Country - his place looks amazing), but we thought his insight as a Brooklyn native was especially amusing:
Over the years, Mr. Lee has ridden the waves of gentrification in New York, watching neighborhoods change colors overnight. "Manhattan is too expensive, so people move to the East Village," he said. "The East Village is too expensive? They move to Williamsburg. Now people are getting priced out of Williamsburg! New York City is not New York City if only millionaires can live here."Who knew sidewalk dining could be so funny? Spike is promoting his new film, The Inside Man, which does have an irresistible combination of Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen and NYC (the posters, which are crisp and graphic, help).
Mr. Lee has spent the years moving in the opposite direction.
"I grew up in Brooklyn—first in Crown Heights and then we moved to Cobble Hill," Mr. Lee said. "My late mother had the vision to say, 'We should buy a home.' We were one of the first people to buy a brownstone in Fort Greene—this was when the getting was good," he said. "Back then, Atlantic Avenue divided Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights like opposite sides of the train tracks. Now when you see young white professionals walking down Myrtle Avenue," he cracked up, "there are white linen tables on the sidewalk! I never would have thunk it."
Our favorite Spike Lee movies are Do the Right Thing, Clockers, and the 25th Hour. What about you?
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Didn't see the 25th Hour, but MalcolmX and Mo'Better Blues were pretty good too
only good movie he ever made was Malcolm X. Do the right thing was alright but felt uneven. Spike Lee is overrated.
Crooklyn is one of my favorites. It's a wonderful coming of age story of a young girl in Brooklyn during the 70s. Great performances, and one of the few movies to depict urban life, girlhood, and divorce in a non Lifetimey way.
Good call on Clockers, an often-overlooked Spike Lee film that features Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, and Mekhi Pheifer. Features all the directorial and cinematographic tics of early Spike Lee, but is a much more interesting and full look at the culture of the drug trade than the one he presented via Sam Jackson in Jungle Fever. Clockers almost seems like cinematic penance for the former. Adapted from an excellent novel by Richard Price.
I liked Do The Right Thing, too, particularly because it launched the career of the inimitable Rosie Perez.
Caught "She's Gotta Have It" on IFC a few weeks ago, remembering how much I loved it when it first came out. Looking at it from today's perspective, though, I was thinking, "Wow, this is awful... like a really bad student film, with a nice soundtrack and horrible actors."
It was revolutionary for its time, though.
Gotta disagree with you, Jen, regarding the poster. I was just thinking this morning, as I saw it overlooking Canal Street, that it conveys nothing about the movie. It simply tells the viewer that major stars are in the featured roles. I like how the commercial, though, emulates "Psycho's" Saul Bass-designed title sequence.
And your thoughts on "V for Vendetta's" promotional campaign?
"Favorite" as in "the ones that didn't suck horribly"?
"New York City is not New York City if only millionaires can live here..."
Ahhh. I love when millionaires talk like they know what is like to be working class in NYC. Well, since he is a film director, I am sure he is very good at *imagining* what it's like. You know, since he doesn't have to live it day to day. I think he pretty much lost his street cred when he posed for that photoshoot with T+C.
He was my graduation speaker several years ago and wouldn't look at/shake anybody's hand if they were white. Sad, but true.
I like the Inside Man poster because as a studio film poster, there's more white space and it's cleaner. It could have gone the standard "three people in profile" (see here for an example), but this is a more interesting take. And while the poster doesn't tell you that much, I liked the crossing lines (and their names made me think skyline). So, you're right - not the greatest poster ever made, but I think a better than average. Of course, the average is not that good.
And the V for Vendetta campaign is wonderful - it's probably best as wild postings, because seeing all three or so styles makes it seem very exciting.
Also, Crooklyn is definitely number 4 on my list - it is a sweet movie.
For those Gothamist readers who love the art of promoting movies:
http://www.goldentrailer.com/ , http://www.reel-poster.com/ and http://www.impawards.com/
Spike works the "just an ordinary guy" cr*p too much. He and his sister Joie went to St.Ann's private school in Brooklyn Heights; I think his mom worked at the school too. Spike is far from the the street guy he plays.
I went to a casting call for one of Spike's flicks back in the 90s, must've been for Crooklyn, and I was clearly not appropriate for the role (I was about 10 years older than everyone else). Regardless, I wore my Public Enemy T-shirt to differentiate myself. Although not cast, Spike smiled at me when he saw the shirt, knowing I was trying to kiss ass. Joie was very nice and helpful.
I was actually reading the message boards for Crash on imdb.com yesterday, and it was interesting to read several posters compare Crash to Do the Right Thing. Both films deal with race, racism, etc. Crash is a film that takes place in one single day in Los Angeles; Do the Right Thing takes place in New York on one day.
However, Do the Right Thing was not nominated for best director or best screenplay.. And certainly not Best Picture.
It has been brought up on the message boards that it is questionable that a white filmmaker/screenwriter was awarded for Crash; while a far better film made by a black filmmaker dealing with the same issues around a similar structure was ignored by the Academy?
I remember spike lee doing the leg work promoting She's gotta have it. He would work the lines at a movie theatre giving out postcards, pins anything.
Hey, how come there ain't no black guys on the wall of your pizzaria, sal?
As to him being street, he's as street as eminem, as kathy griffin would say both 5 ft seven, buck ten tops.
Spike is a cool ass dude. I love how he ruffles the feathers of those crazy crackas.
crooklyn and she's gotta have it tie for my faves. don't care too much for do the right thing surprisingly. i like malcom x and mo better blues. also jungle fever, for the Gator character alone.
Nothere, the fallacy of arguing that millionaires can't speak to being "street" has been well articulated before. Jesus, Spike wasn't born rich.
I remain the only champion of School Daze, despite the ridiculous ending and unbelievable climax. I loved the richness of colors (ok, maybe I loved it for Dickerson) and light shone on a world few people outside middle class black folk know anything about.
25th Hour was also pretty damn good.
Generally, Spike sucks at writing scripts, though.
That V for Vendetta marketing campaign is just a straight up ripoff of all the bolshevik soviet propaganda posters. You can go to broadway and lafayette or prince streets and look at all the street vendors who sell those tshirts. It's like they totally copied the tshirt and modified it with V for Vendetta and all of a sudden it's GENIUS!!!. It's like if you go to Hong Kong and you see a Sonry Ipod and it's a total ripoff of apple's ipod and if you never saw an Ipod before you'd think it was the best thing ever not knowing that it was a cheap imitation
I think Spike Lee has an original, distinct filmmaking style that works more often than it doesn't. Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever are excellent, atmospheric, and really sensitive movies about race AND class. He really creates a sense of space and time in his movies, even in his weaker ones (like Summer of Sam).
I really enjoy Spike's earlier work: Mo' Betta Blues, Jungle Fever (especially Samuel Jackson rocked it!), and Do the Right Thing.
His eye for talent is not to be overlooked either. The Turturo brothers, Danny Aiello, Giancarlo Esposito, and others got major exposure to the business based on their involvement with Spike in the early days.
Don't forget 4 Little Girls, his gorgeous documentary.
His fims really range all over the map. There's very clean & well-structured (do the right thing), sprawling/messy but deeply captivating at some points (Bamboozled), and more traditional/not as captivating IMHO (mo' betta blues). I haven't seen malcolm x so I don't know where it fits in.
I absolutely love his scene in Bamboozled of the minstrel show pilot's taping -- which I believe I read was REAL reaction (the audience knew they were there in order to be extras in a movie, but did not know what they were about to see onstage).
I'm a hardcore jazz fan, and I've seen all the major jazz movies. I have yet to see a film about jazz that I thoroughly enjoyed more than "Mo' Better Blues". I still think it's one of Denzel Washington's best roles ever.
And here's a crazy bit of trivia for you: the assistant director for his first film, "Joe's Bed Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads" was another Lee -- his NYU colleague, Ang Lee!!!!!