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Spike Lee

As a writer-director, producer, author and educator, Spike Lee has revolutionized the role of black talent in cinema. He is a forerunner in the do-it-yourself school of independent film. Lee's most recent work, When The Levees Broke, a groundbreaking documentary focusing on the plight of Americans stranded in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, has garnered rave critical review and is considered by many to be the definitive account of that catastrophic event.

In 2006, Lee premiered his 19th feature film Inside Man, receiving acclaim from critics and audiences alike. His recent critical and box-office successes have also included such films as She Hate Me, 25th Hour, The Original Kings of Comedy, Bamboozled and Summer of Sam. Lee's films Girl 6, Get on the Bus, Do the Right Thing and Clockers display his ability to showcase a series of outspoken and provocative sociopolitical critiques that challenge cultural assumptions not only about race, but also class and gender identity.

His debut film, the independently produced comedy She's Gotta Have It, earned him the Prix de Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film festival in 1986 and set him at the forefront of the Black New Wave in American Cinema. His second feature, the hit School Daze, helped to launch the careers of several young black actors. Lee's timely 1989 film Do the Right Thing garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film and Director awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Lee's Jungle Fever, Mo' Better Blues, Clockers and Crooklyn were also critically well received.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Brooklyn, Lee returned south to attend Morehouse College. After graduation, he went back to Brooklyn to continue his education at New York University's Tisch School of Arts, where he received his Master of Fine Arts Degree in film production. He founded 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, which is based in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, New York. Lee is a Professor at the Tisch School of the Arts—NYU Graduate Film, where he is also the Artistic Director.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2008.
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Spike Lee Facts

Birth NameShelton Jackson Lee
OccupationDirector, Producer
BirthdayMarch 20, 1957 (66)
SignPisces
BirthplaceAtlanta, Georgia, USA
Height5' 5" (1m65)  How tall is Spike Lee compared to you?

Selected Filmography

CHI-RAQ
Katt Williams: Priceless
4 Little Girls
Do the Right Thing
Crooklyn
Inside Man
The Original Kings of Comedy
Malcolm X
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
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