Thursday
19Jun2008
Spike Talks Docs, Plans to Revisit Hurricane Katrina
Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 9:32PM 
In the past couple of weeks,
Spike Lee has come under fire for his
statements about Clint Eastwood, Flags of Our Fathers, and the African-American
experience in World War II. We've certainly called into question Lee's tactics
her at The Big Picture. The dust-up doesn't diminish Lee's record as a
filmmaker, and he even has a golden opportunity to fit both of those things
together later this year when
Miracle at St. Anna is released.
But there's one avenue where Lee has a distinct advantage
over many of his contemporaries: He can direct both mainstream features and
documentaries equally well. His most recent venture into non-fiction filmmaking,
the HBO miniseries
When the Levees Broke won Emmy Awards and the
Peabody. But
Spike says that story is still unfolding, and
he plans to revisit it again soon.
Speaking today at Silverdocs, the AFI/Discovery Channel
documentary festival, Spike insisted, "I'm going to go back, not just to New
Orleans but to other areas affected, because it's not over."
"What the press is not really talking about is the mental
state -- suicide, self-medication," he added. "It's horrible."
Levees is indeed powerful, and as one of the
signature moments in American history, as well as compelling evidence of another
in a long line of governmental failures in the U.S., Katrina and her effects
certain warrant more than a few hours on cable.
Lee hinted that there might be a drama about post-Katrina
New Orleans that
David Simon, creator of The Wire, might
be working on.
Before he gets to his next Katrina documentary, Spike has
two basketball films in the works; a day-in-the-life of Kobe Bryant, which Lee
filmed during the Lakers' playoff run but before they got the holy living hell
kicked out of them in game six of the NBA Finals, will debut this fall on ABC
and/or ESPN. His long-gestating
Michael Jordan documentary may debut at Cannes
next May.
As for other parts of the African-American experience that
Lee has not yet touched on, he quipped, "I'd love to see a great film on Martin
Luther King, but I don't think I can do it. I can't do everything. I've got to
leave something for
Tyler Perry."
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Documentary, Spike Lee | Print Article | Email Article | Post a Comment | Share Article
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