Spike Lee
Spike Lee Addresses Cannes Film Festival Announcement Snafu
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Spike Lee’s historic stint as the first Black president of the jury at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival included a shocking snafu as he announced the final winner early. On Saturday (July 17th), the acclaimed director was asked by the host of the awards ceremony, French actress Toria Diller to announce the “first prize” of the festival. Apparently, Lee took the question to mean “first place” and prematurely announced that Titane, was the winner of the Palme d’Or. The slip-up caused quite a commotion, as seen on French network Canal Plus’ coverage of the moment. The 74-year old director is taking it all in stride, saying that he “messed up, simple as that” when talking about the gaffe in a press conference after the cere...
Spike Lee Partners With HBO On 9/11 Documentary For 20th Anniversary
Source: Cinzia Camela/WENN.com / WENN Spike Lee is taking on one of the most infamous moments in United States history for his next project. The creative will be chronicling the effects of the terrorist attacks that changed our country forever. As spotted on Variety, the Academy Award winner will be manning a new project regarding the events of September 11, 2001. According to the article, he has been contracted by HBO to develop NYC Epicenters 9/11→ 2021½. The movie is slated to paint an “unprecedented, sweeping portrait of New Yorkers as they rebuild and rebound, from a devastating terrorist attack through the ongoing global pandemic.” “As a New Yawker who bleeds orange and blue (the colors of New York City), I’m proud to have a ‘Spike Lee Joint’ about how our/my city dealt with bei...
Eddie Murphy and Spike Lee in Conversation: Our 1990 Cover Story
This article originally appeared in the October 1990 issue of SPIN. In the five years I’ve known Eddie Murphy, this interview was our first opportunity to site down and talk for any real length of time. Whose fault is it? Both of ours—we were too busy, too far apart, and too, too different (so we thought). After finishing, we were two young African-American males from Brooklyn. SPIKE: This is gonna be painless. Some of these questions I know the answers to already, but we’re just not going to assume anything. So the first question is: Why do you think we haven’t worked together yet? People always come up to me and ask me, “When are you and Eddy gonna hook up?” EDDIE: I don’t know. This weird thing happened, and I don’t even know if it’s somet...
Spike Lee is Directing a Musical Film About… Viagra
2020 might just be the horniest year on record. Ariana Grande has been singing about 69ing, and now Spike Lee is set to direct a new musical film about the origins of Viagra. Yeah, that drug. According to Deadline, the screenplay for the upcoming project will be co-written by Lee… Please click the link below to read the full article. Spike Lee is Directing a Musical Film About… Viagra Lake Schatz You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Spike Lee Celebrates America Firing Donald Trump With Brooklyn Block Party, Tells Everyone To Mask-Up
Source: Michael Loccisano / Getty America has spoken, Donald Trump was fired, and Spike Lee celebrated the momentous occasion in the most Brooklyn way possible. Election day pretty much turned into election week thanks to the meticulous counting of those glorious mail-in ballots. Americans were on pins and needles as they waited for news outlets to finally call the election for Joe Biden, who was obviously winning in the states he needed. The official call came on Saturday (Nov.7) when it was finally decided that Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral college votes will be awarded to the former vice president, Joe Biden, making him President-Elect and Kamala Harris, the first woman of Black and South Asian descent to become vice president. If you live in NYC, you more than likely heard the cheers, co...
Spike Lee Recounts Filming with Chadwick Boseman: “I Didn’t Know Chad Was Sick”
Spike Lee has discussed one of Chadwick Boseman’s final film shoots, and the moment in which he knew the actor was a blessed by God’s “heavenly light”, in a new interview with Variety. Boseman passed away this August at the age of 43 following a secret four-year battle with colon cancer. The lengthy profile includes a Q&A with Lee where the legendary director talked politics, coronavirus, and the ways in which Black and Brown people have steered New York City. Eventually the conversation turned to Da 5 Bloods, his Vietnam war film released earlier this year, and his experience working with the late Boseman. The film marked Boseman’s second to last role. “I didn’t know Chad was sick,” Lee commented. “He did not look well, but my mind never took that he had cancer. It was a very str...
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Who Acted In Spike Lee Films, Shot & Killed In Atlanta
Source: Mireya Acierto / Getty Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a veteran of Spike Lee films among other roles, was shot and killed over the weekend in Atlanta. Lee offered condolences to the character actor via his Instagram page while authorities are still investigating the case. Via Lee’s Instagram page: I’m So Sad To Announce The Tragic Murder Of Our Beloved Brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd Last Night In Atlanta,Georgia. Tom Is My Guy,Here Below You See Him As The Frightening Character Errol Barnes In CLOCKERS. Brother Byrd Also Did His Thang In My Joints- CHI-RAQ,SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS, RED HOOK SUMMER,BAMBOOZLED,HE GOT GAME,GET ON THE BUS,GIRL 6 And CLOCKERS. May We All Wish Condolences And Blessings To His Family. Details surrounding Byrd’s death are scant but what has been widely reported is that...
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Actor and Spike Lee Collaborator, Shot and Killed in Atlanta
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a longtime collaborator of Spike Lee, was shot and killed in Atlanta on Saturday. The Georgia native appeared in eight of Lee’s films, beginning with 1995’s Clockers. He also had roles in Girl 6, Get On the Bus, He Got Game, Bamboozled, Red Hook Summer, Sweet Blood of Jesus, and Chi-Raq. Aside from his work with Lee, Byrd also appeared in such films as Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest, Jamie Foxx’s Ray Charles biopic Ray, and F. Gary Gray’s Set It Off. In 2003, he received a Tony Award nomination for for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In an Instagram post, Lee wrote, “I’m so sad to announce the tragic murder of our beloved brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd last night in Atlanta, Georgia. Tom is my guy.” He proceeded to sha...
Nigerian doctor named one of TIME’s Most Influential People in the world
TIME named Nigerian physician Tunji Funsho to the 2020 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The full list and related tributes are available now at time.com/time100, and Mr Funsho’s TIME100 profile is available here. The list, now in its seventeenth year, recognizes the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals. Mr Funsho, a cardiologist based in Lagos, Nigeria, is the first Rotary member to receive this honour for the organisation’s work to eradicate polio, having played an essential role in ensuring Africa’s certification as wild polio-free in August of 2020. “I’m honored to be recognized by TIME for my part in ensuring that no child in Africa will ever again be paralyzed by wild polio, a disease that once disabl...
Watch the First Full Trailer for David Byrne’s American Utopia
A few weeks ago, a snippet of a trailer dropped for the upcoming film that chronicles David Byrne’s American Utopia Broadway show that ran from October 2019 through February of this year. As you can see below, the slightly longer trailer gives a closer look at the performance, including glimpses of the 11 musicians in action. [embedded content] Spike Lee directed a version of the performance for HBO Max that will be released on Oct. 17. “It is my honor and privilege that my art brother, Mr. David Byrne, asked me to join him in concert, to invite me into his magnificent world of American Utopia,” Lee said in a statement. Byrne added in a statement of his own: “Spike and I have crossed paths many times over the years, obviously I’m a huge fan, and now final...
Spike Lee Captures a Celebration and Calls for Action With David Byrne’s American Utopia: TIFF Review
This review is part of our coverage of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival . The Pitch: With American Utopia, director Spike Lee brings his eye to David Byrne’s critically-acclaimed Broadway show. Part concert documentary, part contemporary dance performance, and part social commentary, Lee’s latest feature is a call to action about embracing human connections, social responsibilities, and change across the world. Uniform-ity: Unlike conventional concert documentaries — and not too dissimilar from Jonathan Demme’s iconic Talking Heads feature Stop Making Sense — the stage of the Hudson Theatre is kept almost completely bare. Byrne remains under the spotlights for nearly the whole runtime, decked out in a visually bland grey suit and bare feet. Over the course of the first few song...
Spike Lee Shares First Teaser for David Byrne’s American Utopia: Watch
Spike Lee has revealed the first teaser trailer for David Byrne’s American Utopia. The HBO production premieres Saturday, October 17th. Lee’s latest joint is based on Byrne’s 2019 Broadway show of the same name, which is itself inspire by Byrne’s most recent album American Utopia. The trailer shows off Lee’s kinetic camera work, capturing the movement of the 11 singers, dancers, and musicians accompanying Byrne. Choreography was provided by Annie-B Parson, and Lee portrays her movements from every angle — front, sides, above, and even behind, taking in the rears of the cast and the faces of the live audience. Check out the trailer below. Byrne had hoped to get in a second run of shows on Brodaway, but that’s been pushed back since the Great White Way went dark in response to the ongoi...
