Spike Lee Quotes About Film
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'25th Hour,' like a lot of my films, takes place in New York City. I've been very fortunate to make films in the city that I live. I mean, it's great going home at night instead of being on location.
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I didn't dream about being a director. I didn't know I wanted to do something with film until the summer between my sophomore and junior years at Morris College in Atlanta, Georgia.
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I am a hybrid. I do independent films and also do Hollywood films - I love them both.
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I tend to favour films that have multiple plot and story lines, multiple characters and ensemble pieces.
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As a writer I want everybody to get a chance to voice their opinions. If each character thinks that they're telling the truth, then it's valid. Then at the end of the film, I leave it up to the audience to decide who did the right thing.
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I think it would be very boring dramatically to have a film where everybody was a lawyer or doctor and had no faults. To me, the most important thing is to be truthful.
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There’s always been this hocus-pocus or magical, mystical thing associated with the making of film that sort of psyches people out and makes them think that this cannot be done; that this is a craft that cannot be learned.
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This film [Chi-Raq]is a declaration. It's a scream. It's a warning. And I can really break it down to one scene. That's the scene where we have the eulogy and sermon that is given by the great John Cusack.
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I am trying to stay away from this position of me "returning to my roots." As if my roots are that I'm only comfortable working on low-budget, small films. That's not the case at all.
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Do the Right Thing' was my first union film. I looked at the rosters, and for the most part, it was white males. Especially the Teamsters. So we had some conversations.
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If people go to IMDB, they will see that I'm very comfortable with independent cinema, and doing studio films too. For me this is not an either/or situation.
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I mean, I think there's a lot of hope in my work. I don't think I'm a total pessimist, so I think you can find hope in all my films. Some more than others, but there's definitely... I think we want to convey the feeling of hope with the montage at the end.
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I don't think I'm a total pessimist, so I think you can find hope in all my films.
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You know that first of all your films have to make money no matter who you are.
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'Do the Right Thing' was like the first film where I really felt comfortable working with actors.
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There's an unwritten law that you cannot have a Jewish character in a film who isn't 100 percent perfect, or you're labeled anti-Semitic.
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People sometimes forget all the films that we've done. They remember the likes of 'Malcolm X' and 'Do the Right Thing.' But I've been working since 1986. From the beginning, I was determined to not just be a flash in the pan. I've got to keep up with Woody Allen. He's lapping me.
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I don't really analyze my stuff when I write. I write about stuff that I'm interested in, that I'm feeling at that particular time. When I stand back and look at the complete work, I might see themes that run through the whole film, but I'm not really conscious of it when I'm doing it.
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I'm always open. I try not to have a closed mind. In fact the only reason why I'm able to continue to make films since 1986 is I have been adaptable. If I weren't flexible I sure wouldn't be making films this many years as I've been doing it. I've been making a film a year almost since 1986 and that's hard. That ain't easy.
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I think the best actors in the world are here in New York City. And this city is just so vibrant the energy is just phenomenal. Great crews here. All the technicians, all the artists that work in this industry. I've just been very happy with the body that we've been able to do, especially those films we shot here in New York City.
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Making films has got to be one of the hardest endeavors known to humankind.
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I wouldn't be doing motherfu**ing films for almost three decades if every time I did something that someone didn't like I went in a fu**ing cocoon and just hid there and didn't make my art.
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I live in New York City, the stories of my films take place in New York; I'm a New York filmmaker.
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I don't think my films are going to get rid of racism or prejudice. I think the best thing my films can do is provoke discussion.
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I'll be vilified if I shoot a film in Toronto for New York. And rightfully so!
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Any time you talk about the look of the film, it's not just the director and the director of photography. You have to include the costume designer and the production designer.
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I'm very careful about how I portray violence in my films. I do believe that violence, especially violent video games, are not a good thing for young kids.
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I think it is very important that films make people look at what they've forgotten.
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First of all, what in this world does not revolve around money? But money is a big part of film, unlike a lot of other art forms.
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I think black people have to be in control of their own image because film is a powerful medium. We can't just sit back and let other people define our existence.
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