Wednesday, October 16, 1996
LEE:
While ignoring critics who label him ‘controversial,’ director
Spike Lee continues to raise universal issuesBy Michael
Nazarinia
Daily Bruin Contributor
Public figures are held up to scrutiny in the media’s eyes
everyday because of the nature of their public position. If they
are film directors, they usually get the most criticism or public
reaction when their movies incite strong emotions in the
viewer.
Spike Lee ("Do the Right Thing," "Malcom X") is a director whose
work, and often his words, have been misconstrued or twisted beyond
recognition by the film critics of contemporary publications.
"I get people coming to me in ball parks or on the street and
asking me why I got to make it worse between the races," says Lee.
"Now, they may not be people who have necessarily seen my movies,
but who have walked by the newsstand in the airport, and seen my
face on the cover of Esquire with the header ‘Spike Lee hates your
cracker-ass,’ which I never ever said, just to sell more
copies."
The 39-year-old director/actor made his mark with the 1986
surprise hit "She’s Gotta Have It," a film about a promiscuous
woman’s plight to find herself. Since then he has made many more
movies that tackle issues that most people in Hollywood shy away
from. His 1989 film "Do the Right Thing" was mistakingly criticized
as a pro-violence movie and the label "controversial" has followed
him ever since.
"Controversial is a loose term; I don’t pay much attention to
that word," says Lee. "I’ve always wanted to do movies that were
interesting to me, not some dumb shit piece. (I want) to do films
that discuss issues that affect all people, and that’s how people
label it, as controversial. How can you do a movie about race
relations in America without it attracting the controversial
label?"
That stereotype made it hard initially for Lee to get funding
for his upcoming movie, "Get on the Bus."
"We approached a lot of black folks in movies, business and
sports for financial support and more said ‘no’ than ‘yes’" says
Lee. Some of the financial backers for "Get On The Bus," which cost
$2.4 million, included Danny Glover, Wesley Snipes and Will Smith.
Just last week, each of the 15 investors received a check for their
investment plus interest because Columbia Pictures bought the
picture for $3.6 million.
Lee, who wants to consistently make groundbreaking films, has a
specific criteria for his projects, and he feels "Get on the Bus"
easily fulfilled it.
"(I want to make) intelligent movies that are entertaining, and
I think we did that with this movie," says Lee. "We all know what
happened at the March. As an artistic decision, I kept Minister
Farakhan out of the picture because I wanted him to be this ominous
presence that everyone kept talking about and referring to, and the
movie to be focused on the journey and what happens to the
characters on their way to the March."
It may be hard filming a movie in 18 days, 75% of which was shot
while the bus was moving, but Lee used Super 16 film, changed the
stock three times and had color inversion at certain points
throughout the movie to give it a grainy quality.
To add richness to the roughly filmed movie, Lee pulled together
an interesting ensemble cast. Particularly impressive is Ossie
Davis who plays the grandfather figure who missed the 1963 march on
Washington.
One of the most captivating performers was Isaiah Woods, whose
work with Lee in "Clockers" and "Crooklyn" is as realistic as his
acting in "Get on the Bus." His character is a gay man and an
ex-Marine who wants to go on the March with his lover and also
wants to be part of something greater than himself.
"Spike Lee is a man of great character," says Woods of the
director. "He would take a bullet for what he believes in. We were
hanging out one night and I asked him how he felt about doing a
movie about his people and the next thing you know, he’s on the
table jumping up and down thumping his chest."
But it is not just his admiration for Lee that convinced Woods
to take the role. He was impressed by the character he played.
"Most movies portray gay men as effeminate or stereotype them as
weak," says Woods. "I wanted to do the role because it portrayed a
gay African American in a better way, like in the fight scene you
find yourself rooting for the gay man. Hell, I would have played
the dust on the ground to be part of this film."
About 13 years ago, while Lee was still at film school, he was
quoted as saying that it would be hard for anyone to do a movie
encompassing a wide cross-section of a particular society. But over
the years, both Lee’s directorial expertise and the historic
March’s tradition have matured, and Lee found it possible to do
what he considered so challenging a little over a decade ago.
And today Lee is fiercely proud of his cinematic
achievement.
"This is a story that needed to be told for the African-American
community, and the message is for all people."
FILM: "Get on the Bus" will be screened at 7:30 p.m. in Melnitz
Theater. Free tickets are available beginning at 10:30 a.m. with a
valid student I.D. at Melnitz Box Office.
Columbia Pictures
While in film school, ‘Bus’ director Spike Lee imagined the
challenge of creating a "movie encompassing a wide cross-section of
a particular society."