Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Leeis an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth20 March 1957
CityAtlanta, GA
CountryUnited States of America
tears criticism down-and
Critics like to build you up, tear you down, and then, if you're lucky, build you up again.
greatness matter talent
Our greatness, our talent has never been the question. It's been a matter of grappling for control over what we do.
surprise trailers understood
I never understood the concept of showing everything in the trailer. Why go to a movie if there's no surprise? I can't do it like that.
night yesterday may
I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night.
law white america
Racism is when you have laws set up, systematically put in a way to keep people from advancing, to stop the advancement of a people. Black people have never had the power to enforce racism, and so this is something that white America is going to have to work out themselves. If they decide they want to stop it, curtail it, or to do the right thing... then it will be done, but not until then.
past knowing experience
Power is knowing your past.
guy trying stories
I'm not the go-to guy. Everybody is trying to tell their story and have different ways of telling it.
men drug black
If we became students of Malcolm X, we would not have young black men out there killing each other like they're killing each other now. Young black men would not be impregnating young black women at the rate going on now. We'd not have the drugs we have now, or the alcoholism.
brother cat missing
I miss my brother. Prince was a funny cat. Great sence of humor.
dream parent observation
It has been my observation that parents kill more dreams than anybody.
people approval needs
As a people we do not need anyone else's stamp of approval.
finals cost bottles
I used the principles of Kickstarter to make 'She's Gotta Have It.' We filmed that in 1985 to 1986. The final cost was $175,000. I didn't have that money. It was friends, grants, donations. We saved our bottles for the nickel deposit.
thinking interesting people
I think people who have faults are a lot more interesting than people who are perfect.
names people african-american
We’ve gone through the names—Negro, African American, African, Black. For me that’s an indication of a people still trying to find their identity. Who determines what is black?