Spike Lee

Started by Ghostboy, June 26, 2003, 01:24:38 AM

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Sleepless

Quote from: MacGuffin on July 26, 2013, 02:38:55 PM
Essential List of Films for Filmmakers


I've Been A Professor At The NYU Graduate Film For The Past 15 Years.The 1st Day Of Every Class I Hand Out My List Of Films That I Feel You Must See If You Want To Make Films. Please Look At This List And See What You Might Have Missed. As I Tell My Students If You Want Your Film "Game" To Be Tight You Must Have Seen Great Movies, World Cinema, It Just Can't Be Hollywood Films. Educate Yourself. Learn. Grow. Evolve. Make Great Films.

Peace, Onward And Upward,

Spike Lee.





He didn't neglect Kubrick. Second page of the list is here. Oh, and what is with people suddenly starting to capitalize every word?

He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

jenkins

oh nice. for the mayhem of los angeles, he lists chinatown. political and social unruliness. that's not my favorite polanski movie, and i think it's funny that it's not polanski's favorite polanski movie, but you can begin to learn about the terrible history of los angeles right there

Jeremy Blackman maybe you are lynch missing. have you seen the los olvidados dream sequence? it's from 1950 and you can't believe how well he nails the dream. i could only find a crazy youtube video. maybe mute it and listen to tegan and sara while watching

MacGuffin

Why I Back Spike Lee By Stephen Soderbergh


The 80s was not a great decade for American cinema; with some exceptions, the filmmakers responsible for the American New Wave that began in the latter part of the sixties had either burned out, self-destructed, or lost their way creatively, and the increasingly corporate-controlled studios weren't really cultivating the kind of bold, idiosyncratic films that made me want to make films. It felt like the sense of what was possible had shrunk, and I worried about my future. Every so often, however, an independent film (or filmmaker) would emerge that felt connected to both those recent, great American films and to great cinema from around the world, and as I was attempting to find my own voice and place in the film world, three independent American filmmakers in particular attracted my attention and expanded my idea of what was possible; David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, and Spike Lee. These were distinctive new voices, and the freedom (and success) they represented was liberating and energizing; these were shoulders I would try to stand on, that I would be proud to stand on.

Certain filmmakers exist outside the traditional parameters of criticism; their point of view and body of work make discussions about individual films interesting but ultimately irrelevant because each project is merely a chapter in a very long book that must (and will) be acknowledged and appreciated for its breadth, ambition, and contributions to the art of cinema. For me, Spike Lee is one of those filmmakers. He is a totally unique figure in American cinema, and he's always gone his own way and spoken his mind (even when the commercial stakes were high), qualities which are in short supply in the film business. I know Spike's films better than I know Spike (maybe the Knicks game with help with that), but we're friendly enough for me to say I respect him as person as well as a filmmaker.

So, in case you haven't figured it out already, this is why I'm supporting Spike on Kickstarter:

1.   Spike's success helped make my success possible.

2.   Spike has earned my attention because of his body of work and its distinct point of view.

3.   You should support your friends.

Now let's light this candle!

Peace

SS
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

jenkins

he's so winning my heart. now i understand that last time, when he won everyone else's heart by targeting production woes, he meant "let's get this done"

Tortuga

Quote from: MacGuffin on July 28, 2013, 03:07:52 PM
Why I Back Spike Lee By Stephen Soderbergh


The 80s was not a great decade for American cinema; with some exceptions, the filmmakers responsible for the American New Wave that began in the latter part of the sixties had either burned out, self-destructed, or lost their way creatively, and the increasingly corporate-controlled studios weren't really cultivating the kind of bold, idiosyncratic films that made me want to make films. It felt like the sense of what was possible had shrunk, and I worried about my future. Every so often, however, an independent film (or filmmaker) would emerge that felt connected to both those recent, great American films and to great cinema from around the world, and as I was attempting to find my own voice and place in the film world, three independent American filmmakers in particular attracted my attention and expanded my idea of what was possible; David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, and Spike Lee. These were distinctive new voices, and the freedom (and success) they represented was liberating and energizing; these were shoulders I would try to stand on, that I would be proud to stand on.

Certain filmmakers exist outside the traditional parameters of criticism; their point of view and body of work make discussions about individual films interesting but ultimately irrelevant because each project is merely a chapter in a very long book that must (and will) be acknowledged and appreciated for its breadth, ambition, and contributions to the art of cinema. For me, Spike Lee is one of those filmmakers. He is a totally unique figure in American cinema, and he's always gone his own way and spoken his mind (even when the commercial stakes were high), qualities which are in short supply in the film business. I know Spike's films better than I know Spike (maybe the Knicks game with help with that), but we're friendly enough for me to say I respect him as person as well as a filmmaker.

So, in case you haven't figured it out already, this is why I'm supporting Spike on Kickstarter:

1.   Spike's success helped make my success possible.

2.   Spike has earned my attention because of his body of work and its distinct point of view.

3.   You should support your friends.

Now let's light this candle!

Peace

SS

Cool story.

tpfkabi

Did anyone else know that he put out Red Hook Summer last August and brought back Mookie from DTRT?

I didn't until I saw it while browsing Redbox. Haven't seen it.

The list has a lot of good stuff. Odd that there are no Westerns and very few films since he started making them himself.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.

MacGuffin

Spike Lee's Kickstarter Campaign Hits $1 Million Mark
Push has raised 80% of goal ahead of Aug. 21 deadline
Source: Variety

Spike Lee's three-week-old fundraising effort has hit the $1 million mark on Kickstarter.

As of 7 a.m. PDT, Lee's campaign had received $1,000,605 from 4,503 pledges — about 80% of the $1.25 million goal for a new film that's known for now as "The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint."

About a quarter of the funds have come from 26 pledges of $10,000 in exchange for dinner and a courtside seat with Lee at a New York Knicks game. The campaign also generated $70,000 via 14 pledges of $5,000 in exchange for being named an associate producer and another $40,000 from four $10,000 pledges for "The Ultimate Filmmaker Fan Award," which includes a day on the set of the film, a master class at Lee's production company and a day on watching Lee edit the film.

He's also been offering memorabilia such as autographed "Malcolm X" patches from the crew jackets for the film for $10, with 200 backers so far.

Lee has only described the film as being focused on human beings who are addicted to blood. He announced last week that he had cast British actress Zaraah Abrahams as the female lead after discovering her while watching "Black Girl in Paris," a short film by one of his students.

For Lee to tap into the Kickstarter funds, the campaign is required to hit the $1.25 million goal by Aug. 21.

The two most notable Kickstarter campaigns for the Veronica Mars movie and Zach Braff's film "Wish I Was Here" reached their campaign goals of $2 million in three and four days, respectively. Both of those campaigns provided more details as to the film plots

Lee has defended the campaign, asserting that he's popularizing the fundraising technique among people who had not been aware of Kickstarter.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Pwaybloe

Well, at least we have confirmation of 4,503 idiots out there.

MacGuffin

Spike Lee in Early Talks to Direct Neil Bogart Biopic 'Spinning Gold' (Exclusive)
The film stars Justin Timberlake as the infamous record executive.
Source: THR

Spike Lee is being courted to direct the Neil Bogart biopic Spinning Gold and is in early talks to take on the gig.

The Foresight Unlimited project stars Justin Timberlake as the infamous record executive who was closely aligned with the rise of disco. Spinning Gold was announced during the Cannes Film Festival in May, with Timberlake turning up to pitch the film to foreign distributors.

Timothy Scott Bogart, Neil Bogart's son, wrote the script and is producing alongside Laurence Mark, Gary A. Randall, Timberlake and Mark Damon.

A poor kid from Brooklyn, Bogart went on to define the pop-music culture of his time. In his day, Bogart, who died in 1982 at age 39, was credited with discovering and launching the careers of a generation of superstars, including Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, Gladys Knight, KISS, Parliament, Donna Summer and The Village People. He was the founder of Casablanca Records.

News of Lee's involvement comes on the eve of the American Film Market, where Foresight will update foreign buyers on the project's status. In May, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions struck a deal to distribute Spinning Gold in numerous markets. CAA is representing domestic rights; CAA also reps Lee.

Lee is next in theaters Nov. 27 with the thriller Oldboy, starring Josh Brolin, Samuel L. Jackson and Elizabeth Olsen.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Pubrick

under the paving stones.

polkablues

My house, my rules, my coffee

jenkins

today i also wrote a city of god thing, like i was talking from the year 1998, because i bit-ago finished rewatching he got game, which like city of god was important to me when i first saw it. and i wondered if it'd still resonant with me. answer: yes

he got game was as emotional as i remembered (i cried again), and now i appreciate the cinema even more. i appreciate how spike lee uses cinema to make his characters dimensional. he uses cinema in a theatrical way but not like everyone is up on a theater stage, but like the stage is a theater screen. so good

of course i appreciate the backdrop of coney island. it's perfectly suited for he got game and its themes of fantasy blending into reality and vice versa. and all that neon (gush)

jenkins

welp. personally mystified again, after watching bamboozled, a joint i'd never seen that has a solid rep, and i've been liking and appreciating movies left and right recently, but i genuinely did not like or even much appreciate bamboozled. my prediction is that'll be the single time i watch it, because i don't think there's much about cinema in there, and i go digging for treasures where i think treasures might be. there could be a long conversation about this, but a good guess is there won't be

the narrative's backdrop is similar to he got game, the movie i right above this post say i much enjoyed, except a sports life is swapped for a media life. fantasy and reality are blended again, and to a degree they're blended to a more severe consequence

and damon wayans and jada pinkett throw down impressive acting chops, behaving like believable(ish) people quite different from who they appear to be irl

i think warning lights come from interesting areas. there's a huge difference in production budgets, which narrows bamboozled's photographic range. they're both emotional/intellectual, but i think bamboozled leans far more into the intellectual side, which decision i think disrupts the emotions. simply, by the end of bamboozled i was tapping my feet and waiting for the end. and common complaints against he got game are that its scenes run too long, which complaint i don't agree with for that movie but i agree with for bamboozled. 2hr15min of what i think woulda been a fine 1hr30min, maybe, maybe a little long there too. there's a closing montage of referential clips on the historical mistreatment and insulting representation of black people through visual media's past, and i felt more emotional during that montage than i did during the entire movie. he got game ends with a testament to the importance of family bonds, obviously appropriate, and bamboozled ends with descents into madness, obviously appropriate as well, but i'm telling you, i was tapping my feet during the latter. it's a thematic cohesion but the emotions seem implanted, the emotions felt like manipulations. its theme is a real problem but i don't think it was handled in a real way (aka a human way). dramatics, theatrics, both movies have them, but like i've recently been saying it's not so much for me about what tools are being used so much as how the tools are used. way more into 2hr+ of earnest emotion than 2hr+ of satire

personal mystification. personal cinematic desires

max from fearless



Mo'ne Davis: Throw Like A Girl - A Spike Lee Joint


An absolute joy to watch.

Spike has been slipping on the fiction front, recently, but his documentaries, most notably "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" are absolutely incredible. This is a sweet little gem.

max from fearless



A modern day adaptation of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, set against the backdrop of gang violence in Chicago. After the murder of a child by a stray bullet, a group of women led by Lysistrata organize against the on-going violence in Chicago's Southside creating a movement that challenges the nature of race, sex and violence in America and around the world.

Director: Spike Lee

Stars: Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Anya Engel-Adams, Samuel L. Jackson, Wesley Snipes, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, Dave Chappelle

I'm there opening day!!!!