Spike Lee gets candid regarding his Oscar losses, throwing some shade at awarded movies. Lee is best known as the director behind films such as Do The Right Thing (1989), Malcolm X (1992), Inside Man (2006), BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Da Five Bloods (2020). Though Lee is one of the most respected filmmakers in Hollywood, he's only won one Oscar in his career, taking home the Best Adapted Screenplay statue for co-writing BlacKkKlansman.
During a recent appearance on The Realest Podcast Ever, Lee speaks about his history with the Academy Awards, sharing some candid thoughts regarding both Do the Right Thing and BlacKkKlansman not winning Best Picture (the former wasn't even nominated). The director explains that, historically, some films that didn't win Best Picture end up being the films that are most remembered, and he uses Green Book as an example of a film that "no one's watching" now. Check out Lee's honest thoughts below:
Well, here¡¯s the thing. There are awards, and then there¡¯s the Academy Awards where there¡¯s five nominees for each, unless you get the honorary thing, which I have done. [¡]
In history ¨C and I say this respectfully ¨C it is in the history of the Academy of Arts and Sciences where some great, great films, some great, great performances get overlooked, and you just gotta¡ But then, over the years, that omission looms bigger and bigger and bigger than you see what won.
Speaking for me, myself, and I, no one¡¯s watching motherf---ing Driving Miss Daisy now. Do The Right Thing didn¡¯t even get nominated. No one¡¯s looking at Green Book now. We got nominated for BlacKkKlansman but didn¡¯t win.
In 2022 , Sight and Sound magazine ranked Do the Right Thing as the 24th greatest movie of all time.
What Lee's Upcoming Movies Mean For His Awards Potential
Lee's Next Movie Is Another Denzel Washington Collaboration
Generally speaking, titles that are capital "M" movies tend to be the ones that get recognized at the Oscars, especially in the Best Picture category. Lee has made many such movies that deal with social issues or otherwise make a bold statement, with BlacKkKlansman being the most recent example. This Oscars trend, however, means his next movie is unlikely to be the one that wins him Best Picture or Best Director.
New Denzel Washington Movie Can Redeem Spike Lee 11 Years After 39% Disappointment
Denzel Washington's new movie High and Low gives Spike Lee an opportunity to redeem himself over a decade after he delivered a major disappointment.
Next on the calendar for Lee is High and Low, a remake of the Akira Kurosawa film of the same name from 1963. Though frequent collaborator Denzel Washington is set to star, the original plays as a more straightforward crime thriller, a genre that doesn't often excel in the Best Picture category. Lee is also, however, attached to some other projects that could be more awards-worthy, such as Prince of Cats, a 1980s hip-hop take on Romeo & Juliet, and Da Understudy, a drama about a Broadway production's understudy of a lead role.
Our Take On Lee's Oscars Comments
Is It For The Best That BlacKkKlansman Lost?
There's a lot of truth to some of Lee's comments. Often, movies that lose the Best Picture Oscar do stand the test of time more effectively than the movies that did. Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998) is perhaps the most obvious example of this, infamously losing Best Picture to Shakespeare in Love (1998).
2019 was an interesting year for the Oscars, and Green Book's Best Picture win wasn't without its detractors. For many, the movie's exploration of racial dynamics in the 1960s was told from the wrong perspective (that of a white, Italian American). There's certainly an argument to be made that BlacKkKlansman was the more interesting, thought-provoking and boundary-pushing movie, but losing to Green Book may actually have helped the film's reputation and audience reach. Still, though, Lee is certainly deserving of a win.
Source: The Realest Podcast Ever
Spike Lee
Discover the latest news and filmography for Spike Lee, known for Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X.
- Birthdate
- March 20, 1957
- Birthplace
- Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Notable Projects
- BlacKkKlansman , Inside Man , The 25th Hour
- Professions
- Director , Producer , Screenwriter , Actor , Professor
