Spike Lee voiced his thoughts about President Trump while at the Cannes Film Festival for his new film, Highest 2 Lowest. A reporter asked if social media had jeopardized America’s…
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A$AP Rocky recently revealed an unexpected revelation about legendary actor Denzel Washington’s musical preferences. According to the rapper, Washington deeply appreciates Memphis rap and contemporary hip-hop. Rocky recounted his surprise…
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Kendrick Lamar is still receiving praise for his Super Bowl halftime performance. This time, the kind words are coming from Spike Lee. “I want to thank my brother Kendrick for…
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Donated items from Spike Lee, Tessa Thompson, Olivia Colman, and more have been added to the Cinema for Gaza auction, raising over $113,000.
Variety reports that the items, iconic to say the least, include a framed “Malcolm X” poster signed by Lee, an “Aftersun” poster signed by Mescal with a personalized video message from Colman are included in the auction lots that launched this past Monday, as well as additional items including a “beer on Zoom” with Tessa Thompson. Memorabilia from “The Marvels,” a “Worst Person in the World” poster signed by Joachim Trier, were also auctioned.
Foreseeably, this won’t be a forever thing, as the auction closes on April 12. All donations will go to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). Cinema for Gaza was set up by U.K.-based filmmakers and film journalists Hanna Flint, Julia Jackman, Leila Latif, Sophie Monks Kaufman, and Helen Simmons. It has been consistently growing since its inception on March 28. More celebrity donations are coming through daily, adding to the original lots from A-list names such as Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor, Ken Loach, and more.
MAP is currently responding to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, where the local health authority claims that more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed after Israel retaliated for Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, which killed more than 1,100 Israelis.
Hollywood for a good cause is never a bad thing.
The post Spike Lee, Tessa Thompson, and More Celebs Donate Items to Cinema for Gaza Auction Fundraising Over $100,000 Since March first appeared on The Source.
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Prayers go out to Spike Lee and his family as his father, Bill Lee, passed away. Bill died at his Brooklyn Home on Wednesday (May 24). He was 94.
Spike Lee confirmed the death of his father on Instagram, sharing images of his father, captured by his brother, David Charles Lee. “DEEDS NOT WORDS,” Spike captioned the photo collection.
Bill Lee was a talented jazz bassist, composer, and actor. His contributions to music, especially jazz, have established him as a notable figure.
Bill Lee was raised in Snow Hill, Alabama, where he was born, and he became enamored with music at a young age. He learned to play the bass by himself and quickly advanced to proficiency. Jazz, blues, and gospel were just a few genres that influenced his musical style. Over the years, Lee’s ability and originality on the bass allowed him to work with various well-known musicians.
Bill Lee rose to prominence as a jazz musician in the 1950s and 1960s by performing and recording with well-known musicians, including Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and Art Blakey. He served on cello, double bass, and electric bass, demonstrating his adaptability and aptitude in various musical contexts.
Bill Lee has contributed to the civil rights struggle and his musical endeavors. He actively took part in racial equality and social justice marches and demonstrations. His son, Spike Lee, who would later include similar themes in his films, was moved by his dedication to these causes.
Bill Lee has artistic abilities outside of music. Including “She’s Gotta Have It” (1986) and “Do the Right Thing” (1989), he wrote the music for several of Spike Lee’s early movies. His music gave his son’s films a unique and heartfelt touch while also showcasing their similar aesthetic sensibility. He was born William James Edward Lee III on July 23, 1928.
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Spike Lee is usually one of the quieter celebrities, which means if something he says makes headlines, it must be really important.
The legendary director was recently interviewed by The Guardian and was asked what he thought about Beyoncé again losing Album Of The Year at this year’s Grammy Awards.
“I’m not the male president of the Bey Hive, but I love and support Beyoncé,” Lee said. “Her album is amazing. I know she’s won multiple Grammys, but four times nominated for Album of the Year and she’s lost every time? No disrespect to those artists like Adele or Harry Styles who won. It’s not their fault, but that’s some straight-up bullshit.”
He continued: “There’s a history of great Black artists who come up for these awards and don’t win. We all know their work is great because art speaks for itself, but then it always comes down to this tricky territory of validation. Do Black artists say, ‘Fuck it,’ or seek white validation and chase awards? It’s straight-up shenanigans, skulduggery, subterfuge. Or as the British say: It’s some poppycock!”
Despite losing to Harry Styles, Beyoncé became the most-awarded musician in Grammy history, having won 32 Grammys throughout her career. However, being nominated for AOTY four times and not winning at least once does seem very suspicious.
That night, Bey won four Grammys: Best R&B Song for “Cuff It,” Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Plastic Off The Sofa,” Best Dance/Electronic Recording for “Break My Soul,” and Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for Renaissance.
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Over the years, Spike Lee has been critical of Tyler Perry’s film and television work, specifically his Madea character.
While sitting with Chris Wallace, Perry is asked about Lee’s 2009 comments stating that the Madea character is “coonery buffoonery.”
“There’s a certain part of our society, especially Black people in the in the culture that, they look down on certain things within the culture,” Perry said. “For me, I love the movies that I’ve done because they are the people that I grew up with that I represent and they, like, my mother would take me in the projects with her on the weekends, she played cards with these women.
“So when someone says, you’re harkening back to a point in our life that we don’t want to talk about or we don’t want the world to see, you’re dismissing the stories of millions and millions of Black people, and that’s why I think it’s been so successful because it resonates with a lot of us who know these women.”
For film fans who wish to see a different style of Tyler Perry’s work. His new film, A Jazzman’s Blues, is now available on Netflix.
Speaking with PEOPLE, Perry reveals it’s the first screenplay he ever penned.
“I wrote it in 1995. It was the first screenplay I ever wrote,” Perry said. “The two characters are just trying to find their own way in the world. Initially, I wanted to play the lead role of Bayou, but that was 1995 — I aged out.”
He added, “I was in Atlanta struggling to make it. I was hungry, sleeping on my cousin’s couch, eventually getting put out and being homeless. I was trying to get my first play off the ground, and this screenplay just poured out of me. I held onto it for all of these years.”
The film’s synopsis reads:
A sweeping tale of forbidden love, A JAZZMAN’S BLUES unspools forty years of secrets and lies soundtracked by juke joint blues in the deep South. Written, directed and produced by Academy Award honoree Tyler Perry, the film stars Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer as star-crossed lovers Bayou and Leanne alongside an ensemble cast that includes Amirah Vann, Austin Scott, Milauna Jemai Jackson, Brent Antonello, Brad Benedict, Kario Marcel, Lana Young and Ryan Eggold. The film features an original song performed by Ruth B., songs arranged and produced by multi-Grammy winner & two-time Academy Award nominee Terence Blanchard, music by Aaron Zigman and choreography by Debbie Allen.
A trailer has not yet bee released.
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Chuck D announced on social media that he would be featured in a Spike Lee documentary about Colin Kaepernick airing on ESPN. The involvement of the Public Enemy frontman indicates the film will lean heavily into Colin’s militant and social justice side. Chuck D posed with legendary film director Spike Lee in celebration of being […]
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Spike Lee is set to direct a multi-part documentary for ESPN about the life and career of Colin Kaepernick.
According to a press release sent to Variety, the documentary will feature never-before-seen footage that will help Kaepernick tell his story from his own perspective. “Kaepernick, who has never given a full, first-person account of his journey, is collaborating closely with Lee, who plans to use extensive new interviews and a vast never-before-seen archive to help Kaepernick tell his story from his perspective.”
Even though a release date for the documentary has not been released yet, production has already begun. The documentary was originally announced in 2020 as a part of Kaepernick’s “first-look-deal” with Disney.
The documentary will be executive produced by ESPN Films and Spike Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. Jemele Hill is also set to be a producer on the show.
However, this is not Kaepernick’s first deal since being blackballed by the NFL. In October, the former 49ers quarterback executive produced and starred in the Netflix series “Colin in Black & White.” Lee also has a relationship with the streaming giant, has announced a 5-year partnership back in December.
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Spike Lee is set to release his upcoming HBO documentary series, New York Epicenters: 9/11-2021½.
The Do The Right Thing director admitted that he doesn’t believe “official explanations” about the terrorist attacks that devastated New York City 20 years ago.
The project features Mayor Bill de Blasio, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Chuck Schumer, front-line workers, and conspiracy theorists who believe that jet fuel can’t melt metal beams.
“I mean, I got questions — and I hope that maybe the legacy of this documentary is that Congress holds a hearing, a congressional hearing about 9/11,” Lee said while speaking to the New York Times.
The revolutionary filmmaker was called out for featuring members of the conspiracy group Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth in his series, who believe that the government was involved.
“The amount of heat that it takes to make steel melt, that temperature’s not reached,” Lee said. “And then the juxtaposition of the way Building 7 fell to the ground — when you put it next to other building collapses that were demolitions, it’s like you’re looking at the same thing.”
He continued, “But people going to make up their own mind. My approach is put the information in the movie and let people decide for themselves. I respect the intelligence of the audience.”
Spike Lee addressed why encourages the public to question 9/11 but not COVID conspiracies or 2020 voter fraud.
“People are going to think what they think, regardless. I’m not dancing around your question. People are going to think what they think,” he said. “People have called me a racist for ‘Do the Right Thing.’ People said in ‘Mo’ Better Blues’ I was anti-Semitic. ‘She’s Gotta Have It,’ that was misogynist. People are going to just think what they think. And you know what? I’m still here, going on four decades of filmmaking.”
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