Spike Lee
Known For: Directing
Gender: Male
Date of Birth: March 20, 1957 (68 years old)
Place of Birth: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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.
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Actor Self (archive footage)
Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn
Writer
Da 5 Bloods
Producer
Da 5 Bloods
Director
Da 5 Bloods
Director
David Byrne's American Utopia
Executive Producer
David Byrne's American Utopia
Director
New York New York
Executive Producer
Tales from the Hood 3
Director
3 Brothers - Radio Raheem, Eric Garner and George Floyd
2019
2018
Actor Self
Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists
Actor Self
Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1
Writer
BlacKkKlansman
Producer
Pass Over
Director
BlacKkKlansman
Director
Pass Over
Producer
BlacKkKlansman
Executive Producer
Tales from the Hood 2
Executive Producer
The Black 14
Producer
Amazing Grace
Executive Producer
Time 2 Surrender
Executive Producer
Cherish
Executive Producer
Nigerian Prince
2017
2016
2015
Actor Self
Champs
Actor Self
French Cinema Mon Amour
Actor Self
Director Spike Lee's New York City
Actor
Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth
Screenplay
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Director
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Producer
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus
Executive Producer
The Girl Is in Trouble
Writer
Chi-Raq
Director
Chi-Raq
Thanks
Stop
Producer
Chi-Raq
Director
Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth
Executive Producer
Cronies
2014
Actor
We the People: From Crispus Attucks to President Barack Obama
Actor Self
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Executive Producer
Dirty Hands
Director
Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store
Director
Throw Like A Girl
Director
Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife
Director
I Can't Breathe
Writer
I Can't Breathe
Producer
Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife
Director
Amex Unstaged Pharrell Williams Live at the Apollo
Executive Producer
Evolution of a Criminal
2013
2012
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2005
Actor Self
Street Fight
Actor Self
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
Actor
How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It)
Actor Self
Life O' The Party: On the Road with Prince and the New Power Generation
Actor
Through the Fire
Director
All the Invisible Children
Producer
All the Invisible Children
Director
Jesus Children of America
Presenter
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
2004
2003
2002
2001
Actor Filmmaker
3 A.M.
Actor Self
The Making of 'Bamboozled'
Director
A Huey P. Newton Story
Producer
3 A.M.
Co-Executive Producer
3 A.M.
Director of Photography
Come Rain or Come Shine
Director
The Concert for New York City
Director
Come Rain or Come Shine
Director
The Making of 'Bamboozled'
Executive Producer
Home Invaders
2000
Actor Self
Michael Jordan to the Max
Actor Spike Lee
Lisa Picard Is Famous
Director
The Original Kings of Comedy
Director
Bamboozled
Producer
Love & Basketball
Screenplay
Bamboozled
Producer
Bamboozled
Director
One Morning All Over the World
Director
Bernie Mac: Live from Charlotte
Producer
The Original Kings of Comedy
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
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1991
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1989
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1983
1981
1980
Others
Actor Spike Lee
Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience
Actor Self
Number 4
Actor Self
Megadoc
Writer
Boner
Director
Boner
Producer
Boner
Executive Producer
Highest 2 Lowest
Director
Highest 2 Lowest
Screenplay
Highest 2 Lowest
Director
Da Understudy
Executive Producer
Da Understudy
Director
Prince of Cats
Screenplay
Prince of Cats
Producer
Gordon Hemingway & the Realm of Cthulhu
Producer
Liberty
Executive Producer
Entre Tormentas