Spike Lee
Spike Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker and actor. He was born Shelton Lee in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. His father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a school teacher. His mother dubbed him Spike, due to his tough nature. He attended school in Morehouse College in Atlanta and developed his film making skills at Clark Atlanta University. After graduating, he went to the Tisch School of Arts graduate film program. He made a controversial short, The Answer (1980), a reworking of D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) -- a ten-minute film. Lee went on to produce a 45-minute film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), which won a student academy award. Lee's next film, "The Messenger," in 1984, was somewhat biographical. In 1986, Spike Lee made the film, She's Gotta Have It (1986), a comedy about sexual relationships. The movie was made for 175,000 dollars, and made seven million. Since then, Lee has become a well-known, intelligent, and talented film maker. His next movie was School Daze (1988), which was set in a historically black school and focused mostly on the conflict between the school and the Fraternities, of which he was a strong critic, portraying them as materialistic, irresponsible, and uncaring. Lee went on to do his landmark film, Do the Right Thing (1989), a movie specifically about his own town in Brooklyn, New York. The movie garnered an Oscar nomination, for Danny Aiello, for supporting actor. It also sparked a debate on racial relations. Lee went on to produce the jazz biopic Mo' Better Blues (1990) which showed his talent for directing and acting, and was the first of many Spike Lee films to feature Denzel Washington. His next film, Jungle Fever (1991), was about interracial dating. Lee's handling of the subject proved yet again highly controversial. Lee's next film was the self-titled biography of Malcolm X (1992), which had Denzel Washington portraying the civil rights leader. The movie was a success, and resulted in an Oscar nomination for Washington. His next films were the comparatively light, Crooklyn (1994), and the intense crime drama, Clockers (1995). In 1996, Lee directed two movies: the badly received comedy, Girl 6 (1996), and the politically pointed, Get on the Bus (1996), about a group of men going to the Million Man March. His next film, He Got Game (1998), proved to be another excursion into the collegiate world as he shows the darker side of recruiting college athletes. The movie, in limited release, yet again featured Denzel Washington. In 2000 came Bamboozled which made a mockery out of television and the way African-Americans are perceived by white America and the way African-Americans perceive themselves. The movie, however, was a resounding critical success. Lee also has produced films like New Jersey Drive (1995), Tales from the Hood (1995), and Drop Squad (1994). He also has produced and or directed movies about Huey P. Newton, Jim Brown, and has commented in many documentaries about varied subjects. Lee is an obsessive New York Knicks fan. He and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, have two children.
Do the Right Thing
(Mookie)
Jungle Fever
(Cyrus)
When We Were Kings
(Self)
Malcolm X
(Shorty)
Lonely in America
(Spike Lee)
Crooklyn
(Snuffy)
She's Gotta Have It
(Mars Blackmon)
Street Fight
(Self)
Mo' Better Blues
(Giant)
Girl 6
(Jimmy)
Brooklyn Boheme
(Self)
Bad 25
(Self)
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
(Self)
New York at the Movies
(Self)
Seen It All
(Mars Blackmon)
A Daughter's Tribute to Her Father: Souleymane Cissé
(Self)
Be Truly Free
(Narrator (voice))
Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks
(Self)
Sidney
(Self)
Guest
(Self)
Axé: Music of a People
(Self (archive footage))
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
(Self)
School Daze
(Darrell 'Half-Pint' Dunlap)
The Last Party
(Self)
MTV's 10th Anniversary Special
(Self)
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
(Self)
40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight
(Self)
Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience
(Spike Lee)
Sous les marches du palais
(Self)
Denzel Washington : Un modèle américain
(Self)
Plankton Salesmen
(Self (archive footage))
Champs
(Self)
Be A Part of It
(Self)
Red Hook Summer
(Mr. Mookie)
Michael Jordan to the Max
(Self)
French Cinema Mon Amour
(Self)
3 A.M.
(Filmmaker)
4 Little Girls
(Interviewer (voice) (uncredited))
How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
Making 'Do the Right Thing'
(Self)
Number 4
(Self)
Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn
(Self (archive footage))
Birth of a Movement
(Self)
Life O' The Party: On the Road with Prince and the New Power Generation
(Self)
Lisa Picard Is Famous
(Spike Lee)
The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money
(Self)
Clockers
(Chucky)
Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
(Self)
Pixote In Memoriam
(Self)
Seven Songs for Malcolm X
A Man's Story
(Self)
First Works
(Self)
Summer of Sam
(John Jeffries)
Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists
(Self)
PoliWood
(Self)
It's Black Entertainment
(Self)
Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later
(Self)
No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
(Self)
The Making of 'Bamboozled'
(Self)
Kobe Doin' Work
(Self)
Decade
(Self)
Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella
(Self)
Farewell, Babylon!
(Self)
Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1
(Self)
Below the Rim
We the People: From Crispus Attucks to President Barack Obama
Director Spike Lee's New York City
(Self)
Through the Fire
Lights, Action, Music
(Self)
Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
(Self)
On the Shoulders of Giants
A Century of Cinema
(Self)
Branford Marsalis: Steep
(Self)
The Universal Story
(Self (archive footage))
Our Hollywood Education
(Self)
Hoop Dreams
(Self)
Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth
The Making and Meaning of 'We Are Family'
(Self)
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
(Self)
A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks
(Self)
Public Enemy: Fight the Power... Live!
Five Directors On The Battle of Algiers
(Self)
Four Days in October
(Self (archive footage))
Samuel L. Jackson: Did I Stutter?
(self)
Megadoc
(Self)
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
(Self)
Inside the Actors Studio
(Self)
Pretend It's a City
(Self)
The View
(Self)
Ghostwriter
(Special Agent Pete (archive footage))
Tamron Hall
(Self - Guest)
Ghostwriter
(Special Agent Pete)
The Early Show
(Self)
Real Time with Bill Maher
(Self)
In Living Color
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
(Self)
Dear...
(Self)
Johnny Vaughan Tonight
(Self)
Basketball: A Love Story
(Self (archive footage))
Who Do You Think You Are?
(Self)
This Is Pop
(Self (archive footage))
Saturday Night Live
(Mars Blackmon)
The Daily Show
(Self)
Saturday Night Live
(Self (uncredited))
The Chris Rock Show
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
(Self)
They Call Me Magic
(Self)
Yo! MTV Raps
(Self)
It's the Shoes
(Self)
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
(Self)
Desus & Mero
(Self - Illustrious Guest)
She's Gotta Have It
(Drum Major)
The Oscars
(Self)
Great Performances
(Self)
Variety Studio: Directors on Directors
(Self)
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
(Self)
Inside Man
(Director)
Be Truly Free
(Director)
25th Hour
(Producer)
25th Hour
(Director)
Summer of Sam
(Director)
Jungle Fever
(Producer)
Jungle Fever
(Director)
Malcolm X
(Director)
Malcolm X
(Screenplay)
Do the Right Thing
(Screenplay)
Do the Right Thing
(Producer)
Boner
(Writer)
Boner
(Director)
She Hate Me
(Director)
Kobe Doin' Work
(Producer)
Kobe Doin' Work
(Director)
Clockers
(Director)
HIStory on Film, Volume II
(Director)
Clockers
(Screenplay)
The Original Kings of Comedy
(Director)
Passing Strange
(Director)
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet
(Director)
A Huey P. Newton Story
(Director)
All the Invisible Children
(Director)
Bamboozled
(Director)
Miracle at St. Anna
(Director)
He Got Game
(Screenplay)
He Got Game
(Producer)
He Got Game
(Director)
Jim Brown: All-American
(Director)
Jim Brown: All-American
(Producer)
4 Little Girls
(Director)
4 Little Girls
(Producer)
Crooklyn
(Director)
She's Gotta Have It
(Director)
She's Gotta Have It
(Writer)
Mo' Better Blues
(Writer)
Mo' Better Blues
(Director)
School Daze
(Writer)
School Daze
(Director)
John Leguizamo: Freak
(Director)
Girl 6
(Director)
Sucker Free City
(Director)
Lumière & Company
(Director)
Genesis | Come Rain or Shine
(Camera Operator)
Get on the Bus
(Director)
Red Hook Summer
(Director)
Da 5 Bloods
(Writer)
Oldboy
(Director)
Boner
(Producer)
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads
(Director)
Bad 25
(Director)
You're Nobody 'til Somebody Kills You
(Executive Producer)
BlacKkKlansman
(Writer)
Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth
(Director)
Seen It All
(Director)
You Resemble Me
(Executive Producer)
In Freedom
(Executive Producer)
Dirty Hands
(Executive Producer)
Miracle at St. Anna
(Producer)
Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth
(Executive Producer)
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
(Screenplay)
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
(Director)
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
(Producer)
Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store
(Director)
Throw Like A Girl
(Director)
Drop Squad
(Executive Producer)
Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife
(Director)
School Daze
(Producer)
Tales from the Hood
(Executive Producer)
The Girl Is in Trouble
(Executive Producer)
Chi-Raq
(Writer)
Chi-Raq
(Director)
Stop
(Thanks)
Summer of Sam
(Writer)
Summer of Sam
(Producer)
Malcolm X
(Producer)
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
(Director)
Love & Basketball
(Producer)
Red Hook Summer
(Screenplay)
3 A.M.
(Producer)
Suspect
(Thanks)
All the Invisible Children
(Producer)
Highest 2 Lowest
(Executive Producer)
Highest 2 Lowest
(Director)
Highest 2 Lowest
(Screenplay)
3 A.M.
(Co-Executive Producer)
Red Hook Summer
(Producer)
Pass Over
(Producer)
She's Gotta Have It
(Producer)
She's Gotta Have It
(Editor)
Chi-Raq
(Producer)
F*ck That Guy
(Executive Producer)
Prince and the N.P.G.: Diamonds and Pearls Video Collection
(Director)
Bamboozled
(Screenplay)
Rodney King
(Director)
Rodney King
(Producer)
Bamboozled
(Producer)
Da Understudy
(Director)
Da Understudy
(Executive Producer)
Mo' Better Blues
(Producer)
I Can't Breathe
(Director)
BlacKkKlansman
(Director)
She Hate Me
(Screenplay)
Pass Over
(Director)
One Morning All Over the World
(Director)
Clockers
(Producer)
I Can't Breathe
(Writer)
Pariah
(Executive Producer)
BlacKkKlansman
(Producer)
2 Fists Up
(Director)
2 Fists Up
(Producer)
Come Rain or Come Shine
(Director of Photography)
Crooklyn
(Producer)
Crooklyn
(Screenplay)
Tales from the Hood 2
(Executive Producer)
The Black 14
(Executive Producer)
The Concert for New York City
(Director)
PUNTER
(Executive Producer)
Bernie Mac: Live from Charlotte
(Director)
Spike Lee Presents Mike Tyson
(Director)
Land of the Free
(Director)
Da 5 Bloods
(Producer)
Da 5 Bloods
(Director)
4 Little Girls
(Writer)
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet
(Producer)
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads
(Writer)
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads
(Editor)
See You Yesterday
(Producer)
Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads
(Producer)
The Original Kings of Comedy
(Producer)
Girl 6
(Producer)
Amazing Grace
(Producer)
Do the Right Thing: 20 Years Later
(Director)
Prince of Cats
(Director)
Prince of Cats
(Screenplay)
Saint John of Las Vegas
(Executive Producer)
Come Rain or Come Shine
(Director)
David Byrne's American Utopia
(Director)
David Byrne's American Utopia
(Executive Producer)
Pavarotti & Friends - For the Children of Liberia
(Director)
Pavarotti & Friends 99 for Guatemala and Kosovo
(Director)
Do the Right Thing
(Director)
New York New York
(Director)
She Hate Me
(Producer)
Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife
(Producer)
Sarah
(Director)
Horn of Plenty
(Director)
The Answer
(Director)
Horn of Plenty
(Writer)
Time 2 Surrender
(Executive Producer)
Amex Unstaged Pharrell Williams Live at the Apollo
(Director)
Jesus Children of America
(Director)
The Making of 'Bamboozled'
(Director)
Cherish
(Executive Producer)
Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth
(Director)
Touched with Fire
(Executive Producer)
Evolution of a Criminal
(Executive Producer)
Doubles with Slight Pepper
(Executive Producer)
Cronies
(Executive Producer)
Nigerian Prince
(Executive Producer)
Good Fences
(Executive Producer)
Home Invaders
(Executive Producer)
One Night
(Presenter)
New Jersey Drive
(Executive Producer)
The Best Man
(Producer)
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
(Presenter)
Get on the Bus
(Executive Producer)
Jungle Fever
(Writer)
Son of the South
(Executive Producer)
Tales from the Hood 3
(Executive Producer)
3 Brothers - Radio Raheem, Eric Garner and George Floyd
(Director)
Gordon Hemingway & the Realm of Cthulhu
(Producer)
Shark
(Director)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
(Producer)
Miracle's Boys
(Director)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
(Director)
If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise
(Director)
She's Gotta Have It
(Director)
She's Gotta Have It
(Creator)
If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise
(Producer)
NYC Epicenters 9/11➔2021½
(Director)
NYC Epicenters 9/11➔2021½
(Producer)
The Captain
(Executive Producer)
She's Gotta Have It
(Creator)
If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise
(Creator)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
(Creator)