According to a studio spokesman, the film, which deals with racial tensions, played ‘equally well in the black and white neighborhoods.'” The film eventually took in $27 million at the domestic box office, not adjusted for inflation. 8, Spike Lee’s controversial new feature Do The Right Thing - contrary to doomsayers’ predictions, incited nothing but good business at its 353 outings - took in $3.6 million, for $10,095 a screen. The racial drama opened over the July 4 holiday corridor in 1989, and, as THR‘s box office reporter noted days later, “At No. and, in particular NYC, which was the hotbed of racially motivated hate crimes.” They weren’t taking into account that art imitated life, that the film was representational of the sociopolitical and racial climate of the U.S. Meanwhile, adds Joie, “back at the ranch, you had white film critics fear mongering about the violence it might incite. “The reception, the ovation.” (In a review from Cannes on May 23, 1989, THR columnist Robert Osborne wrote that the film would trigger intense debate about “whether or not it’s a dangerous flick” and praised the director, saying that the drama “reaffirms Lee’s position as a filmmaker with audacity, courage and ideas.” Osborne also predicted, “Business will be best in the big cities, and Europe will also like it, judging from the reaction here at Cannes.”) “We all went, and it blew my mind,” she says. She knew the film was special when it was screened in May 1989 at the Cannes Film Festival. Joie, the filmmaker’s younger sister, who plays the sibling of Spike’s character Mookie, agrees with her brother. ‘Spike Lee is playing with dynamite.’ The film would spark riots,” the filmmaker says. “The atmosphere was sparked by the racist reviews of David Denby, Joe Klein and Jack Kroll. Several New York film critics, Lee claims, fanned the flames of racial divide with their first takes. Carter and actors Joie Lee, Richard Edson and Steve Park, about Do The Right Thing’s visceral relevance to political debate in 2019 and the fearmongering that met the film before its release. Tom Pollock was not scared at all.”Īs the drama hits its three-decade anniversary, The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Lee, as well as editor Barry Alexander Brown, cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, costume designer Ruth E. So, he could have easily said to me, ‘Spike, I can’t put my family through this again.’ He didn’t do that. We can't wait.Adds Lee, “People forget that Tom Pollock had just went through hell with Scorsese’s Last Temptation of Christ when he received death threats. Seriously, 2046 is going to be full of colorful nerdy glasses and sculptural hats worn over a Knicks jersey. And he's not about to stop predicting fashion's future anytime soon. But it's hard to ignore the man's unique mix of New York intellect and edge crossed with his extremely chill Los Angeles style-something we are coincidentally witnessing these days more and more as LA becomes a serious style destination. His boundary pushing films provided Americans with a language to discuss issues of race, class, and gender relationships. The director was, of course, ahead of his time in more than just style. Neither of these shirts is a revelation on its own, but when worn the way Lee did in the glorious '90s they surpass their original purpose-i.e. This summer we're seeing two major shirt trends ( soccer jerseys and Hawaiian shirts), but in a move that should surprise no one, it seems Spike Lee saw them both first-like thirty years ago. Why: Part of our job here at GQ is to look out for seasonal trends and share the deets with you.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |