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Spike Lee is a stylish man; always brings great eyeglass game, not afraid of color or pattern. But he kind of phoned it in for this year’s Met Gala, right? Maybe he wanted his wife Tonya to be the focus (she looked stunning), or maybe he should’ve gone to the Knicks game since they were clearly (and literally!) on his mind. And maybe we’ll see some sharper suits from Spike when he heads to Cannes to premiere his new film (the festival starts next week). Highest 2 Lowest is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film High and Low, re-set in New York’s music industry. The cast is stacked, headed by longtime collaborator Denzel Washington, along with Jeffrey Wright and A$AP Rocky. Ahead of Cannes, Spike sat down with The Hollywood Reporter for an in-depth interview, and naturally the conversation turned to the state of our country these days:
THR: Donald Trump is making efforts to silence people who are critical of him. As someone who has been an antagonist of Trump’s since the ‘80s, do you worry about your ability to continue to exercise your free speech?
Have you seen what De Niro said about him? I’m a child of the ‘70s, and I think the history of this country is artists. The Vietnam War, the songs, the movies. Black, white, brown people stood up against a war that was wrong. Jackson State. Kent State. The Democratic Convention, Chicago and those cops going crazy cracking heads. And they were saying, “The whole world is watching.” But it is a shock. We haven’t seen this exactly. I mean before, I mean not even Nixon did the stuff this guy is doing.I’m a teacher, and NYU tenured professor; I’ve got a lot of students. Before spring break, the [school] administration sent an email, “Don’t go away for spring break.” It’s scary. I mean, if you are an international student, clean record, and you see what’s happening in the world. This is the year of living dangerously.
You’ve made a movie and a career out of asking, “What does it mean to do the right thing?” So what does it mean to do the right thing in the United States in 2025?
That’s a great question. And there’s the thing, if you ask people that question, everybody’s not going to give you the same answer. It is personal and everybody’s different. I read the papers and even the people who voted for him are like, “WTF.” When I travel all over the world, people I don’t even know will come up to me in an airport and say, “Spike, what’s happened to the United States, the so-called leader of the free world?” They’re like, “How did this happen?”What’s happening with your Viagra musical?
That’s something I still want to do. I grew up on musicals. My mother took me to Broadway plays and movies, and that’s something I’ve got to get made. Got to get made.
Obviously that last question and answer was off topic. But you can’t expect me to read “What’s happening with your Viagra musical?” and then NOT excerpt it for you fine folks! Let’s get that show on the road! In all seriousness, I highly recommend reading the full article. Spike shares a lot, everything from his working relationship with Denzel, to his father playing bass with Bob Dylan but then refusing to go electric with him, plus a lot more about his family, particularly his mother. And then there’s this section, the whole watching America become an authoritarian country. What he said about NYU telling its international students not to leave for spring break, that was downright chilling. And like the world travelers stalking Spike in airports, I too want to know what has happened to the US. I liked the way Spike gave room and grace in his answer to “what does it mean to do the right thing?” today, because it is different for everyone. Hopefully, our combined and varied efforts collectively will wrest this country back from its baby-fisted captors.
As for Highest 2 Lowest, it comes out in theaters August 22 before being available to stream on Apple TV+ September 5. Plenty of time to brush up on the Kurosawa original, as prep.
photos credit: Instar and Getty
So good of Spike to tell it like it is — awfully bad.
So many European scientist colleagues have canceled their participation in conferences, or attending congresses in the US, canceling airline tickets, hotel bookings. It’s sad, because not everything can be done virtually, especially not the networking part.
My husband and I were looking forward to watching B̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶T̶e̶d̶ Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves in Jamie Lloyd’s version of Waiting for Godot on Broadway this fall, combining that with a congress.
Not going to happen. We’re loudly critical of all the anti-science esoteric quackery happening *over there* — and we’re not going to self-censor.
That said — so looking forward to finally getting another The D/Lee collaboration. The teaser trailer! What took them so long?
When the Tangerine Terrorist was called in 2016, I was enroute to Europe. When I was at customs and pulled out my passport, there was a look of empathy that came across all of their faces and when I was in Amsterdam, there were people apologizing. I cried when a lovely museum security guard was making small talk with me and gave me a comforting pat, and I cried more.
After seeing those final breakdowns in 2024, as a member of the 92%, I feel nothing.
More people who are in positions where their words are heard need to make public statements about what is happening in the US. It’s terrifying. I am Canadian and the US is where I travel to most frequently with my partner. We canceled a long planned vacation to Arizona and will not be going back until this madness is over.
She looks stunning. Love the purple. Afterwards he’s not going to be a “fashion boy”. Great just to see him there and looking forward to seeing him at Cannes.
We were in a few countries over my child’s Feb and April vacations…he’s not wrong, we were asked daily about wtf is happening in this country.
Love Spike, he’s always on the money. And his wife is one beautiful, classy dame. They’ve been married forever.
Spike Lee is a national treasure. Would so like him in the Oval Office to fix all the fuck-ups of the orange one.