It’s the most wonderful time of the year… Awards season has arrived in Hollywood! A surefire bet to score a nod for Best Director is none other than the legend himself, Spike Lee–for his latest Spike Lee Joint, Blackkklansman.
In BlackkKlansman, Lee recounts the true story of the first African-American detective in Colorado, Ron Stallworth. He’s played by a mesmerizing John David Washington, as he attempts to infiltrate the highest ranks of the KKK in the early 1970s.
Check out our BlackkKlansman theatrical review!
Stallworth even got as far as communicating directly with the white supremacist organization’s leader, all by using a Caucasian colleague (played by Adam Driver), pretending to be him.
Before a recent Guild screening, The Movie Mensch got the chance to meet with legendary director and a few of the film’s lead actors. We gained some fascinating insight on the film and Lee’s next endeavor.
When Lee was asked what he would tackle next as a director, he said would like to direct the next “James Bond movie.” We doubt anyone in Hollywood is going to turn down a Spike Lee directed Bond movie.
Unfortunately, Lee couldn’t stay long because he had to take a red-eye back to New York to teach a class. But he did share one final thought before the screening. “Normally, I would stay and watch with you, but I have to go.” “But,” he told the audience, “remember, even though the movie is based on a serious topic, it’s okay to laugh at some parts. Because some parts are meant to be funny.”
Topher Grace, who plays infamous former Grand Wizard, David Duke, told us before the screening that he “plays a really bad guy” and that we were “probably not going to like him.”
Grace continued to recount the first time he watched the film with an audience. “I remember the first time it screened at a film festival earlier this year. When my name came up in the credits the applause for me was lower than the rest of the cast,” the former That 70’s Show star said and laughted.
“That just means you played your part well,” we replied.
“We’ll see,” Grace responded.
While it may be hard to clap for some of the performances in this film because they are actual representations of real people that may disgust us; ultimately film’s like Blackkklansman force viewers to realize that systematic racism is still alive a well here in America today.
Lee makes sure to reiterate that by choosing to use live footage from the fatal “Unite the Right” Nazi protests in Charlottesville, VA last year as the film’s closing scenes.
Dynamic performances and superior story-telling aside, Blackkklansman brilliantly reminds us that there is still work to be done when it comes to equality and systematic racism today and powerfully moves us to make a change.
It’s not every day that you spend an evening casually speaking with the creative forces behind remarkable films that help shift societal conscientious and raise awareness about real issues that still plague our nation. But during awards season in Hollywood, you just might.