'Bad 52' Earns Lee Big Deal Honor

Some may think that reporting on an award doesn't necessarily qualify as movie news.  In my opinion, it SO does.  Especially when we're talking about the powerful film creator Spike Lee, a man who artistically projects onto the big screen issues that others may steer away from: interracial dating and hate crimes to name a couple of them.

And now, it's his documentary on the creation of the 1987 album Bad from Michael Jackson, that has caught the attention of the Venice Film Fesivals' committee.  So much so they are giving him the Glory to the Filmmaker award, a film honor presented to one that represents “...great innovation to contemporary cinema".

Lee is set to join some famous folks in this category of honorees such as Al Pacino, Agnes Varda (The Beach of Agnes) and Mani Ratname (Raavan), which isn't a bad eclectic group to be apart of.  Sure this may be a different kind of category to celebrate, but it reminds us that film is still an artistic expression and a personal interpretation of an idea.  Film isn't about the money, but about what a filmmaker must share.  And to future artists, tell your story how YOU want to tell it.