Spike Lee’s Tirade At Sundance

Spike Lee has only been to Sundance once before. The iconic indie director is back again with his self-financed film RED HOOK SUMMER. Based in his native Brooklyn, the film tells the story of an African American family who live in a housing project during one particularly revelatory summer. Lee comes to Sundance without a distributor, hoping that a strong reaction to the film will generate sufficient buyer interest so that he leaves with a deal in hand. He may have hurt his chances with an unexpectedly gruff tirade at the question and answer segment of his world premiere. He was not present to introduce the film, but finished the screening with a bang. In an expletive-laced Q&A, the veteran filmmaker said that Hollywood executives know nothing about black people and that he wanted the audience to spread the word that the film “is not a motherfucking sequel to DO THE RIGHT THING. We never went to the studios with this film.  I didn’t want to hear no motherfucking notes from the studio telling me … about what a young 13-year-old boy and girl would do in Red Hook. Fuck no. They know nothing about black people. Nothing!” The tirade may have been more colorful than the film which got very mixed reviews from critics and industry insiders. However, there certainly will be at least one company who wants to have the new Spike Lee film in their roster.

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