With Knicks out, Spike Lee roots for anyone but Celtics
I participated in a conference call last week with film director Spike Lee about his new documentary, "Kobe Doin' Work."
It veered off into some non-Kobe directions. Such as . . . What team does Spike believe will win it all this season?
"As long as it’s not the Celtics, I'm happy," he said. "But I’d like to see, along with the networks, a Los Angeles Lakers-Cleveland Cavaliers final, LeBron against Kobe. I think that’s what everyone is hoping for if you don’t live in those other cities, like Houston and Boston and Orlando. I know I'm leaving out a team. Atlanta."
Speaking of Houston, "Ron Artest is from Queens, New York," Lee said. "He's crazy - I'll just put it bluntly. I love my brother, but the brother's off."
Then there was the Brazilian reporter who asked Spike, on the 20th anniversary of "Do the Right Thing," whether he would make that film the same way today.
Click below for his response.
Photo: Getty
"Well, my Brazilian friend, the world is not the same world it was 20 years ago. There's no way we could have had an African-American president 20 years ago. So for me, 'Do the Right Thing' chronicles a very distinct moment in the world, specifically New York City.
"New York City has changed since then. But it still works for me. I think it has stood the test of time, 20 years so far, because the subject matter is still relevant. But at the same time we have advanced as far as race relations.
"Also Bedford-Stuyvesant is not even predominantly black anymore. It's gentrified . . . There will not be a 'Do the Right Thing, Part II."'
Times indeed have changed. I am embarrassed to admit that even though I was living in Queens at the time, I saw the movie in Commack, in part to avoid finding myself in a potentially racially charged atmosphere in a theater within the city limits.
Hard to imagine making that same choice today. So that's progress, right?
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Comments (2)
ROSIEROSIEROSIEROSIE
Ah, the creative uses of an ice cube.