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| Spike Lee full of the joys at the Cannes Film Festival: 'We don’t do our work for awards, which are nice, but it’s the work that is going to stand above all awards' Photo: Richard Mowe |
The last time Highest 2 Lowest director Spike Lee was in the media room before the world’s Press at the Cannes Film Festival he had to apologise for accidentally revealing the winner of the Palme d’Or (Julie Ducournau for Titane) ahead of schedule at the festival’s closing ceremony, which is broadcast live.
As president of the jury at the time, he admits he was a tad shamefaced but blamed the faux-pas on his lack of French. “There will be no fuck-ups today,” he announced, beaming to the assembled throng, who were there to hear him talk about his crime thriller.
The filmmaker wa resplendent throughout the festival in the orange and blue colours of his favourite basketball team the Knicks including a natty suit for the opening night of the New York-set Highest 2 Lowest, which marks the fifth time he has worked with Denzel Washington but the first time they have collaborated in 18 years, since Inside Man in 2006. Washington, who received a surpries honorary Palme d’Or ahead of the premiere, had to leave the Riviera almost right away to resume Broadway performances of Othello and missed out on the press encounter.
Lee, 68, said: “We were surprised how long it had been because it seemed like yesterday. We didn’t lose a step. This may be the last because Denzel has been talking about retirement even though I believe he has just done another deal. Those five films together stand up. And for Malcolm X Denzel should have won the best actor Oscar in 1993 [it was won by Al Pacino for Scent Of A Woman].
“With these awards, it’s like basketball, where the ref blows a call and you have to make a call. But we don’t do our work for awards, which are nice, but it’s the work that is going to stand above all awards.” For this edition of Cannes he should have no awards concerns: the film Highest 2 Lowest is screening Out of Competition.
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| Denzel Washington rides the New York subway in search of kidnappers in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival |
He did recall, however, that when Do The Right Thing played in Cannes in 1989 it was controversially passed over for the top accolade. "People were saying that Do The Right Thing would cause riots. It was pure, blatant racism that Black people could not make a distinction about what’s on screen. And all those people have been proved wrong over the years. And none of them has ever admitted that they fucked up.”
Lee relished being able to shoot on his home turf but he has shown concern for those less fortunate. “People are hurting. No one’s working. There’s this guy [Donald Trump] who wants to put a tariff on every film that shoots outside the US. I don’t know how that’s going to work. I love to shoot in New York. There’s just some things you cannot replicate elsewhere. The city has a vibe and an energy. I’m very lucky to have been able to shoot films in New York that take place in New York.”
In Highest 2 Lowest Washington plays a wealthy record label executive whose son (Aubrey Joseph) along with the son of his friend and driver (played by Jeffrey Wright) is kidnapped for a ransom. The kidnapper releases the wrong young man, leaving Washington’s character with the dilemma of paying out another ransom for someone who is not his son. The film is inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s High And Low which Lee saw when he was film student in New York. (Kurosawa’s film itself was adapted from Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom.) And the Japanese master’s Rashomon also became a Lee inspiration – for She’s Gotta Have It.
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| 'The Knicks are going to win …' their greatest fan pronounces in Cannes Photo: Richard Mowe |
Lee has now gone back to teach at this old film school. His message to all budding filmmakers is: “Never say try, only do. Words are very important. Try is a bad word, especially for young filmmakers. You have to bust your ass. So in my classes I emphasise the work ethic. You have to work and be dedicated. I stress that it is a tough industry and I can tell who is serious. In my own class at NYU was [director] Ang Lee and [cinematographer] Ernest Dickerson who has shot all my films, and we were determined. All we wanted was equipment. We shot on film then – super 16mm. I worked in the equipment room and I even gave out equipment to Jim Jarmusch, who was two years ahead of us. He showed us the way…”
He cannot help himself when prompted for a quote about the Knicks. “We’re going to win,” he shouts out with conviction as he stands up and rips open his jerkin to reveal his fandom T-shirt. His enthusiasm even extends to ensuring that filming schedules revolve around the matches.
Highest 2 Lowest is released in US cinemas on August 22 via A24 and will stream on Apple TV+ from September 5.
