Spike Lee
General Lee
Miracle at St. Anna
160 Minutes
Written by James McBride
Directed by Spike Lee
Starring John Turturro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Matteo Sciabordi, John Leguizamo
Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna, from a screenplay by James McBride (in English, Italian, German and Spanish, with English subtitles), is based on Mr. McBride’s heavily researched novel. Before launching into my very mixed review of Mr. Lee’s 20th feature film in an over-20-year largely self-promoted career in the industry, I must note that Mr. Lee once insulted me on an ABC Nightline panel after I had expressed my reservations about what I perceived as the excessive artiness of some of his projects. read more »
Lee Readies Inside Man Sequel
As we gear up to see Miracle at St. Anna, Spike Lee's 166-minute (166!!) WWII-mystery being released at the end of the month, news comes that Mr. Lee has signed up to direct a sequel to his biggest hit, the excellent faux-70s bank heist Inside Man.
Of course, there's no immediately apparent reason to continue the story of a cop (Denzel Washington) and a bank robber (Clive Owen) when the bank robbery is over. Will the sequel be mawkish and forced like the last twenty-minutes of Catch Me If You Can, when Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio go from enemies to co-workers? Ick! read more »
Late Night Tequila Tasting With Susan Sarandon!
Last night the much-discussed Hollywood contingent here in Denver, who have been lending their "visibility" to myriad events and causes all over town, congregated in the V.I.P. section of the Black Eyed Peas concert. Members of the Creative Coalition's hard-working band of entertainers—Alan Cumming, Tim Daly, Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Barry Levinson, Josh Lucas, Matthew Modine, Susan Sarandon—were joined by various showbiz colleagues including Jessica Alba and Hayden Panettiere in the balcony area at the Fillmore Auditorium, as Fergie & Co. shook their rumps on stage below.
Meanwhile, local nightclub impresario Jesse Morreale wondered if the glamorous crowd would have enough energy to return for another after after party at the Rockbar. read more »
Spike Lee in Denver: 'Double Nickels, Baby!'
DENVER—Spike Lee really liked Wednesday night’s speeches.
“Fired up! Fired up!” said the director walking down the main aisle of the Pepsi Center last night. He wore a white T-shirt with Obama’s face on it and a baseball cap. He gave a high five to Newark Mayor Cory Booker, sitting in the front row of the Jersey delegation. “We going to drop double nickels tomorrow night," Lee told Booker, who laughed and nodded his head. "Obama’s going Jordan in the Mile High Invesco field. Double nickels! Double nickels, baby!”
Booker gave his approving reviews. Waving a Biden sign, topped with an American flag, he said the vice presidential nominee had done an exceptional job of showing that John McCain’s “longevity doesn’t equal expertise. read more »
Keeping Tabs on the Celebrities in Denver
at the DNC Monday night.
Now that we're into the second day of the Democratic National Convention, it's time for a poll of all that "celebrity power" that was supposed to follow Barack Obama to Denver.
While Paris Hilton has not shown up yet (much to the disappointment of John McCain supporters), here are some noteworthy names that attended events during the first day of the convention as put together by Associated Press, with a little additional research by the Daily Transom:
Danny Glover showed up at the Creative Coalition event wearing a Martin Luther King Jr. T-shirt under his blazer. read more »
Morning Memo: Martha Stewart's Bad Luck; Kirsten Dunst Spotted Snogging Drew's Ex; Spike Lee Defends Barack Obama
Palm Springs International Shortfest.
Martha Stewart has been the victim of natural disasters this summer. First, Ms. Stewart's farm in Bedford, N.Y. was struck by lightning earlier this summer, and now her East Hampton home on Lily Pond Lane was also struck with a bolt, which fried her stereo system and her electronic driveway gate. [P6]
Kirsten Dunst was spotted making out with Drew Barrymore's ex Justin Long at Sunset Junction in LA, where she seems to have returned after a summer spent hanging around New York. [NY Daily News]
Chloe Sevigny took a seaplane to Atlantic City to celebrate the opening of the new nightclub The Chelsea, which is owned by her brother Paul. Once there, the Sevigny siblings danced until dawn. [P6] read more »
Nike Throws a Block Party; Maria Sharapova Says She's Not Watching the U.S. Open
To celebrate the opening of its new stand-alone store at 21 Mercer Street, Nike threw a raucous block party on Mercer Street on Thursday, Aug. 21. The sportswear brand closed off the entire block between Grand and Howard streets and--much to the frustration of the block's residents--installed giant stadium screens, a clock that counted down the opening of doors at 9:21 p.m., and stadium food carts to serve corn dogs, cotton candy and French fries to the guests.
And of course Nike invited some of its old friends, including tennis stars Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, to help open the doors. read more »
Spike Lee Predicts 'Chocolate City' Under Obama
"It's going to be before Obama, 'B.B.,' and after Obama—'A.B.'—and some folks need to get used to this," director Spike Lee told Reuters at the Silverdocs film festival outside Washington, D.C., last night. "And I'm going to be at the inauguration—getting my hotel reservation now."
Mr. Lee is predicting that not only will Barack Obama take the White House, but the nation will be a decidedly different place under his leadership.
"It's not an if ... he changes the world. He changes how the world looks at the United States," he said. "It's going to be a new day. read more »
Spike Lee to Make Time Travel Movie
Variety reports that Spike Lee has acquired the film rights to Time Traveler: A Scientists’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality, a 2006 memoir by the 63-year-old theoretical physicist Ronald Mallett. In his book, Mallet, one of the country’s first black PhDs in theoretical physics and a professor at the University of Connecticut, recalls his attempt to construct a time machine he hoped to use to undo the death of his father, who died of a heart attack when he was 10. Lee will co-write and direct the adaptation. The director, who was previously attached to the Fox’s Selling Time, another project about time travel, called the chronicle a "fantastic story on many levels (and) also a father and son saga of loss and love."
Fascist Fighters Rage Over Spike Lee's New Movie
Italians who fought Mussolini's Fascists and Nazis are complaining about their depiction in Spike Lee's new movie Miracle at St. Anna.
The Hollywood Reporter writes:
The $45 million film, based on the best-seller by James McBride, is set in the Tuscan countryside during World War II.
... read more »
Luxury Lap: Cartier Love with Sarah Jessica Parker and Spike Lee
The new Cartier Love bracelets.
And then there was Sarah Jessica Parker, who arrived with golden hair a-flowing on feet that barely touched the floor. "They are fabulous," whispered a French reporter in awe of Ms. Parker's gravity-defying Christian Louboutin shoes, even though it looked as if the delicate star might break free at any moment and float off to join the cast of a pre-Raphaelite painting—which is quite possibly where she'd just come from. "I want to thank NASDAQ for this lovely and hospitable welcome," said Ms. Parker, as she was breaking poor NASDAQ's heart. She would ring in the opening of the exchange with Monsieur de Narp and Spike Lee, but she would not, as is tradition, sign the opening book. read more »
Inside Man’s Not So Lousy; Plus: Spike and Me on TV
Spike’s Pique
Spike's Pique
Why Hate Freedomland? Roth’s Film Honest About Race
