On June 23, Spike Lee was honored with the inaugural Cannes Lions Creative Maker of the Year award.
The 70-year-old festival bestowed this first-time recognition on a man who, according to a statement from Lions CEO Simon Cook, is “one of the most influential figures in contemporary cinema and culture [who] embodies the spirit of this award as [someone] who strives to make creative stories and show the world what they can only see in their imaginations.”
Creativity is clearly an objective and mandate for all who practice communications and marketing. That realization led to a packed audience attending this very special conversation during which the five-time Oscar nominee – and recipient of the 2019 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman, which he co-wrote and directed – spoke with Chris Foster, CEO of Omnicom PR Group.
How it all began
Foster and Lee start at the very beginning of the latter’s journey in 1977, when he first came to filmmaking at home in New York City during summer break from Morehouse College.
“New York was broke,” he tells Foster. “There were no jobs anywhere. I was at my friend's house and there was a box with a Super 8 camera and film in her living room. She said, ‘You can have that.’ We were just sitting around playing Strat-O-Matic baseball, so it was something to do that summer.”
Lee spent that summer filming his Brooklyn neighborhood during an all-time low for the city. Once back at school, he declared film as a major. Then, at the urging of a professor, Lee created a documentary from the footage he shot during that summer. He went on to NYU Film School and an internship at Columbia Pictures.
“I knew that working with the Hollywood system didn’t work for black folks,” he recalls, “so I knew I had to be in independent filmmaking.”
A packed room listened intently as the legendary director recalled for Foster how Michael Jordan was brought on board for the iconic Nike commercials that put Lee on the map.
Lee’s lift-off in rarified Air
Along with the numerous film classics, Lee is very well-known for his legendary Jordan Brand TV commercials and marketing campaigns with Michael Jordan. As it turns out, this introduction into the commercial world was a “fluke,” he admits.
She’s Gotta Have It, the feature-length film Lee wrote, acted in, produced, edited and directed, put him on the map in 1986.
“We shot that film in 12 days and the budget ended up being $175,000,” explains Lee. In that film, which went on to earn $8.5 million, he played Mars Blackmon. Significantly, Mars wore Air Jordans.
Lee describes how the ad agency approached Jordan about using the Mars character in a commercial directed by Lee.
“There was one hitch, Michael never heard of me nor had he seen She's Gotta Have It,” he continues. “Mike could easily have just chosen the big boys on Madison Avenue, but he chose me.”
Lee never knew why, until a few years ago at an All-Star game in Toronto when he worked up the courage to ask the all-time NBA great why he took that chance on him.
“Mother*#@, you’re wearing my shoes,” Jordan told him.
That commercial “put Nike in the stratosphere,” notes Lee. “For many years people didn’t know me as a filmmaker. They just knew me as the guy who was in the Nike commercial with Michael Jordan.”
Among his many films, Lee cited School Daze and Crooklyn as the ones he feels closest to.
“A lot of people say School Daze is the reason they went to an historically black college,” he proudly shares. Meanwhile, Crooklyn’s autobiographical aspect has particular resonance for Lee, who received an Honorary Oscar in 2015 for his lifetime achievement and contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences.
Dearth of diversity
The conversation between Lee and Foster then moved to the lack of representation of black creatives in the industry. It’s a topic very near to Lee’s heart.
“I would like to see more people of color and women get an opportunity to share their gifts with the world,” he says. “We started out late, so it’s a constant battle when you're not in a position of ownership and not calling the shots.”
There are encouraging signs, adds Lee, including the success that Ryan Coogler has had with the Black Panther films.
“We're getting there,” he notes. “For years there was this false narrative that Black stories don't travel outside the United States of America. Ryan threw that out of the water.”
Still, funding remains a major barrier for new filmmakers, those of color in particular. Digital has made filmmaking more accessible, suggests Lee, although “there's a work ethic you get [operating] with film and digital is a shortcut. That said, digital has brought democracy to film.”
Funding challenges, of course, are something Lee is very familiar with from his early days in the business. He tells the story of having to cobble together funding for movies from cash provided by family and friends.
“The original investors in She’s Gotta Have It still get checks,” he reports. His grandmother was also an early and ardent supporter. “My grandmother put me through college. For 50 years, she taught film and art in Jim Crow South Georgia. And in 50 years, she never had one white student. I did not get here by myself. No way.”
More mentors needed
Mentorship, continues Lee, also remains a barrier – one he is trying to knock down. He worked with talent agent Bart Walker at the Gersh Agency to create a meaningful mentorship program that has already included five students from Morehouse, two from Spelman and one from Clark AU.
It’s important, says Lee, to support people who want to work behind the camera. “This mentorship program is for people filming or managing, stuff that we're not really in,” he explains.
Those students received tuition assistance and — most important — were offered jobs at Gersh after graduation.
“Mentorships are great,” underscores Lee, but those that lead to an actual job really make a difference in the industry. “I would strongly suggest that you start giving these talented people who need a break a shot.”
Learning, he adds, is important for young filmmakers. Doing, though, is even more critical.
Where does Lee find his inspiration? “Everywhere,” he answers. “In sports, music, film.”
A passionate sports fan who has taken on many social issues in his films, Lee is currently working on a multi-part documentary for ESPN on embattled former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
“It's very enlightening,” he says. “This season will be the seventh one he's not playing. All he wants is a legitimate tryout. He’s still determined to play.”
And Lee is still determined to create and inspire.