Profile of Spike Lee on Famous Like Me

Shelton Jackson Lee (born March 20, 1957), better known as Spike Lee, is a film director, producer, writer, and actor noted for his many films dealing with social and political issues. In addition he is a distinguished documentarian and teaches film at New York University.

Biography

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, his family moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was very young. He developed his film skills at Morehouse College, Atlanta and the New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1982.

His distinctive filming style is energetic, powerful, colorful, and engaging. At his best, his films are penetrating and energetic portraits of people and places, brilliantly interweaving psychology and context, time and place. Lee's movies have examined diverse and complex issues, ranging from race relations, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and political issues. Many of his films include a distinctive and powerful use of music. Spike Lee's father, Bill Lee, is a jazz bassist and responsible for the music in some of Spike's films, including Mo' Better Blues starring Denzel Washington.

Lee's films have garnered considerable critical acclaim. Noted film critic Roger Ebert has described Spike Lee as one of the greatest filmmakers working in America today. Lee's film Do the Right Thing was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1989. His moving documentary 4 Little Girls was nominated for the Best Feature Documentary Academy Award in 1997.

Trivia

In Paris, France, in 2003, Lee received an honorary Cesar Award for Lifetime Achievement in the film industry.

In 2003 Lee sued the Spike TV television network claiming that they were capitalizing on his fame by using his name for their network. The claim was settled out of court.

Lee also appeared in the documentary Hoop Dreams, giving a lecture to young black kids getting a college sponsorship for their basketball talents.

His production company is 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, named after the "40 acres and a mule," the colloquial term for compensation that was to be awarded to freed American slaves after the Civil War.

Lee is also famous for directing a series of Nike commercials featuring Michael Jordan, which helped establish Jordan as a highly successful commercial pitchman. In several of the commercials, Lee also played his alter ego of Mars Blackmon, a character he created for his first major film, She's Gotta Have It.

Lee received death threats, allegedly from the Nation of Islam over his 1992 biopic Malcolm X. The threats prompted Lee to remove scenes in which the NOI is depicted as plotting the murder of Malcolm X.

He is a well-known and highly visible fan of the NBA's New York Knicks, a team he has supported since childhood. Lee has courtside seats, and had several famous verbal run-ins with Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller. On April 6, 2005 after Miller's last game at the Knicks home court Madison Square Garden, Miller and Lee hugged each other.

Lee's sports interests are not limited to basketball. In 2005, he became a season ticketholder for Inter Milan, one of the strongest football (soccer) clubs in Italy and Europe. He has also publicly stated an affection for Arsenal Football Club in London.

Selected filmography (as director)

• She's Gotta Have It (1986) (also acted)
• School Daze (1988)(also acted)
• Do the Right Thing (1989) (also acted)
• Mo' Better Blues (1990)
• Jungle Fever (1991) (also acted)
• Malcolm X (1992) (also acted)
• Crooklyn (1994) (also acted)
• Clockers (1995)
• Girl 6 (1996)
• Get on the Bus (1996)
• 4 Little Girls (1997)
• He Got Game (1998)
• Summer of Sam (1999) (also acted)
• The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
• Bamboozled (2000)
• 25th Hour (2002)
• Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) (segment "We Wuz Robbed") (Short)
• She Hate Me (2004)
• Sucker Free City (2004)
• All the Invisible Children (2006)
• The Inside Man (2006)

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Spike Lee