Spike Lee is still passionate about filmmaking.
Speaking with E! News, the Oscar winner shared why he still loves his craft.
”Look at the work,” he said, “Look at them joints. And look at them Spike Lee joints.”
Lee made his 1986 feature film debut with She’s Gotta Have It. A landmark of independent cinema that redefined, the film centers Black female agency and urban romance. It follows Nola Darling, a free-spirited Brooklyn artist who juggles three very different suitors at the same time
“My community’s been honoring me by going to my films since She’s Gotta Have It way back in 1986,” he explained. “Next year’s gonna be the 40th anniversary.”
After directing 25 feature films and 12 documentaries, Lee says he still has more to do.
“There are a lot of films I have not made yet,” he continued, “but it’ll get done.”
Lee recently received the Career Achievement Award at the Critics’ Choice Association’s 8th annual Celebration of Black Cinema and Television.
Lee praised Ryan Coogler for his directorial work on Sinners during his speech.
“They’re never going to invite me to another screening because I was acting like I was courtside at The Garden,” Lee said.
Lee then showed his displeasure with the Academy for snubbing Delroy Lindo over the years.
”F**k the Academy, they can kiss my Black ass two times,” Lee said.
Lee’s latest film, Highest 2 Lowest, reunited him with long-time collaborator Denzel Washington. A modern “reinterpretation” of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic High and Low, the story centers on David King (Washington), a powerhouse New York City music mogul at the height of his career. The plot ignites when a kidnapper, played by A$AP Rocky, abducts a child in a case of mistaken identity. Instead of King’s own son, they take the son of King’s loyal chauffeur (Jeffrey Wright).