On this date in 1957, filmmaker, actor and New York Knicks enthusiast Shelton “Spike” Lee was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He moved to Brooklyn as a chid, which became the backdrop of Lee’s most famous movies including Do The Right Thing, He Got Game, Summer Of Sam She’s Gotta Have It and Crooklyn.
With two dozen feature films under his belt, the Academy Award winning director has faced his share of criticism. From his depiction of women to accusations of “blaxploitation” to antisemitism, Lee has always stood in the eye of the storm when it comes to controversy on film.
Lee’s 40 plus years as the eagle eye of the Black experience in America will always be remembered for generations to come. The Northstar Group/The Source Magazine would like to wish Mr. Lee a happy birthday today and wish him many more in the future!
Denzel Washington is someone who typically finds themselves at the Oscars around this time of year. Overall, Washington is one of the best actors in Hollywood. Moreover, his performances are typically good enough to get him nominated. The same can be said of director Spike Lee. Lee is a legend of Hollywood, and he has won some massive awards throughout his career. Last night, one would have expected these two to be at The Oscars. Although, they opted to take their talents somewhere else, understandably so.
Neither Denzel nor Lee were nominated for anything. That said, why bother attending the ceremony? Instead, they decided to combine their interests and head to the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Of course, Spike Lee loves his New York Knicks. Additionally, Denzel Washington is a big Lakers fan. Both of those teams were playing each other last night, so it only makes sense that they would link up. As you can see below, both sat next to each other courtside, and they were all smiles for the cameras.
Overall, it feels as though Denzel Washington and Spike Lee made the right choice. The Lakers and the Knicks ultimately engaged in a fantastic game. In the end, the Knicks won by four points in a final score of 112-108. Although it was a rough night for Washington, it was a joyous night for Spike Lee. His Knicks are currently on a roll, and they seem to have a shot at a playoff run. Moreover, the Oscars were dominated by Everything Everywhere All At Once and bad Will Smith jokes. Simply put, these two men did not miss a single thing.
As for the Lakers, they are still trying to secure a playoff spot right now. Overall, they have been fantastic over the last 10 games. However, they are still in a play-in position which means the postseason is not guaranteed. That said, if LeBron can come back soon, then their fortunes will be overturned. Meanwhile, the Knicks are having a season to remember, and it will be interesting to see how everything plays out.
The surprise came at the end of the night when Harry Styles won Album Of The Year, and many were left flabbergasted that Renaissance became the latest album of Beyoncé’s four albums to be snubbed by the Recording Academy for Album Of The Year.
“I’m not the male president of the Beyhive, but I love and support Beyoncé,” Lee said in a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian. “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 bullsh*t.”
The transcendent filmmaker 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: ‘F*ck it,’ or seek white validation and chase awards? I just want to give a shoutout to my sister Beyoncé. We know what the deal is. It’s straight-up shenanigans, skulduggery, subterfuge. Or as the British say: It’s some poppycock!”
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 once again losing Album Of The Year at this years 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!”
‘I’m on the right side of history’: Spike Lee on speaking truth to power – and why Beyoncé was robbed https://t.co/M4lIIjOdOp
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.
The 2023 Grammy Awards are behind us, but people are still talking about the wins and losses. It was a monumental night for Beyoncé, who became the most-awarded artist in The Recording Academy’s history. The acclaimed singer earned herself several accolades at this year’s Grammys, but her Album of the Year loss still hits hard for her supporters. Spike Lee recently sat down with The Guardian for an interview, and during the conversation, he shared his thoughts on Bey’s loss to Harry Styles.
“I’m not the male president of the Bey Hive, but I love and support Beyoncé,” said the film icon. “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 bullsh*t.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Beyoncé and Jay-Z attend the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Each year, the Grammys are entangled in controversy due to their choices of winners. Both Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z have missed out on coveted awards, but they seem to take it all in stride. That is at least publicly. “There’s a history of great black artists who come up for these awards and don’t win,” Lee said. “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: ‘F*ck it’ – or seek white validation and chase awards? I just want to give a shoutout to my sister Beyoncé. We know what the deal is. It’s straight-up shenanigans, skulduggery, subterfuge. Or as the British say: it’s some poppycock!”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: Beyoncé accepts Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for “Renaissance” onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Ahead of the Grammys, Jay-Z caught up with Elliott Wilson for TIDAL and was asked about Bey’s Album of the Year nomination. At this point in his career, he hopes The Recording Academy doesn’t miss out on awarding artists who spark pivotal movements. “Yeah, I remove myself from the process and hope they just get it right,” said Hov. “It got to the point where I was like, it’s just a marketing thing. You go, you got an album out and it could help the sales go up. It got to that point, but deep down … Again, we grew up idolizing this. It was like one of the pillars for us. It was like, ‘We want to go Gold.’ Yeah, I’ve been in it that long. Haaaaa!”
Iconic director and Morehouse alum Spike Lee partners with Gersh Agency to launch the HBCU Fellowship Program in Atlanta, Georgia. The partnership will create more opportunities for students at historically Black colleges and universities.
“It is with great honor, privilege, and excitement to announce the Spike Fellows in association with my partners The Gersh Agency and the AUCC,” Lee noted in an official statement. “From the jump, from the get-go, I knew when (not if) I opened a crack in the door, I was bringing as many Black and Brown folks with me in front and behind the camera.”
Lee, who has contributed timeless films representative of the Black community from Mo’ Betta Blues and School Daze to She’s Gotta Have It and Do The Right Thing, has teamed up with Gersh for the debut of the Spike Fellows Program, which was created to nurture the innovation of creative talent from four historically Black institutions within the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC): Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and The Morehouse School of Medicine.
The Spike Fellows Program will begin this month with five fellows selected by a panel including Lee, members of the AUCC community, and Gersh management. Led by Gersh’s Head of Culture, Jayson Council, the Spike Fellows Program will provide five graduating students from AUCC academic debt relief, industry mentorship, post-graduate internships, and full-time employment.
“I know firsthand the education one receives at a Historically Black College and University. I am who I am because of my grandmother (Zimmie Jackson) and my mother (Jacquelyn Shelton Lee) who both graduated from Spelman College. I am who I am because of my grandfather (Richard Jackson Shelton) and my father (William Lee) who both graduated from Morehouse. It’s on the campuses of Spelman and Morehouse where they met, fell in love, and got married. As my elders often told me, ‘Deeds not words.’
In November 2022, Lee and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, joined Spelman College President Dr. Helene Gayle to honor their family’s legacy with the renaming of the College’s Admissions Office in honor of Spike’s grandmother, Zimmie Reatha Shelton, and mother, Jacquelyn Shelton Lee, both of whom were Spelman College alumna from the Class of 1929 and Class of 1951, respectively.
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.
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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