Spike Lee: ‘Confederate Statues Need to Come the F— Down’

When folks criticize filmmakers’ decisions to take the streaming money for their next feature or TV series, a common argument is that the project will get lost in the tidal wave of originals that are released.

Dominic Patten Senior Editor, Legal & TV CriticComing off a coronavirus pandemic dominated second quarter, Netflix today revealed not just strong subscriber and revenue growth, but also a lot of eyeballs for some key series and films.“In Q2, we notched successes in many of our key content verticals,” the the now Ted Sarandos co-CEO’d streamer circumspectly noted in the letter to shareholders that was released Thursday just after the market closed.While nowhere near breaking any records for

Also Read: Spike Lee, Pedro Almodóvar to Curate Inaugural Academy Museum Exhibitions“We are thrilled to welcome these six remarkable leaders to our board of trustees. Their achievements in their respective fields demonstrate the passion and leadership that they will contribute to the Academy Museum.

The Washington, D.C. NFL team on Friday morning said it would undergo a "thorough review" of the team name amid renewed outcry over its highly offensive brand.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorThe relationship between director Spike Lee and composer Terence Blanchard is rooted in collaboration, counting over 15 films together — most recently, “Da 5 Bloods.”“Terence is a great jazz musician and band player,” says Lee. “He brings that wealth of understanding of what music does with colors, shapes and feeling.”Blanchard, who moonlights as a trumpeter, credits the strength of their 30-year relationship to Lee’s self-assurance as an artist.

Ellise Shafer editorSpike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” will be free to stream online until June 29.The 1989 film is also the American Film Institute‘s pick this week for its Movie Club. It will be accompanied by a live conversation with Lee on AFI’s YouTube channel on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Todd McCarthy The most striking, urgent, up-to-the-minute film I’ve seen this week was directed by Spike Lee. It speaks to the moment, pulses with turbulent emotional and political currents, overflows with vibrant characters and bluntly confronts society’s painful unfinished business.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen several filmmakers work on new shorts while in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Folks like Spike Lee, Michel Gondry, and David F.

In announcing its latest Movie Club selection, the American Film Institute packed in a bit more news. The organization is partnering with Universal Pictures to offer free rentals of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and will feature the filmmaker in conversation on Thursday.

J. Kim Murphy editorAfter last weekend’s influx of movies from big-name directors like Spike Lee and Judd Apatow, the landscape for movies looks to be comparatively calmer this weekend.

Casting close calls are endlessly fascinating. What would have happened if Tom Selleck starred in “Indiana Jones?” Or Will Smith as Neo in “The Matrix?” Film fans love to debate what could have been almost as much as what was.

Queen Latifah has declared she has mixed emotions about the decision by HBO Max executives to reinstate Gone With the Wind.The movie was pulled from the streaming service earlier this month after film critics suggested the racist and slavery undertones of the story were inappropriate following weeks of Black Lives Matter protests.Do the Right Thing filmmaker Spike Lee then urged HBO Max bosses to reconsider, and the film will now return to the site with an introduction from Jacqueline Stewart, a

For a long time, Spike Lee has had his finger on the pulse of America. In 1992, he screened Malcolm X for studio execs on the same day that four white cops who brutally beat unarmed Black construction worker Rodney King were acquitted of assault.

Even with decades of acclaimed features and a recent Oscar win, Spike Lee still has to fight for his creative vision. And that fight extends to folks like Netflix, a studio notorious for spending large amounts of cash to please its filmmakers.

Also Read: 'Da 5 Bloods' Film Review: Spike Lee's Vietnam Epic Finds an Apocalypse Then and NowThe Samuel Goldwyn film, which is released on digital June 19 and on VOD July 3, oddly opens on George Orwell writing “Animal Farm,” something he did in the mid-1940s, a decade after the events depicted in “Mr.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorCinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel was working on Sam Hargrave’s “Extraction” in Asia when Spike Lee called to ask him to work on “Da 5 Bloods.” Sigel, who is known for his work on such diverse films as “Three Kings,” “The Usual Suspects” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and had previously collaborated with Lee only on commercials, was unsure whether he’d have ample time to prep, but he wasn’t going to say no.

David Byrne‘s ‘American Utopia on Broadway’, directed by Spike Lee, is set to premiere on HBO later this year.The Broadway production saw Byrne perform a selection of hits from both his Talking Heads and solo career alongside an 11-person ensemble that danced and carried its instruments around the stage.It toured the world off the back of Byrne’s solo album ‘American Utopia’ before becoming a Broadway production.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage, and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This weekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.