Spike Lee: My Spat With Eastwood May Have Cost Me Oscar

Spike Lee told King magazine that he fears his public war of words with Clint Eastwood may have cost him an Oscar nomination.

Earlier this year, at Cannes, Lee criticized Eastwood for not having African-Americans in Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima, Eastwood then said Lee should "shut his face" and Lee responded "we're not on a plantation."
Now Lee thinks the controversy that followed his remarks may have ruined his Academy Award chances for new movie "Miracle at St. Anna."

Lee tells King magazine:

"My wife Tonya told me I may have hurt my chances with the Clint Eastwood stuff... They (Oscar voters and Academy bosses) take everything into account with me. They take into account that I like the Knicks or that I'm in New York."

Lee is adamant the fact he's a Big Apple guy has cost him an Oscar Best Director nomination in the past: "If you did a survey, the bulk of the people who vote in the Academy are in Los Angeles. There's definite bias, considering that my films are typically New York-based." He's still upset that his Do The Right Thing movie wasn't even considered for an Oscar the year Driving Miss Daisy claimed Best Film.

He adds, "Nobody is watching motherfucking Driving Miss Daisy today. Do The Right Thing is being taught in classes at major universities and high schools all over the world. That's how you're supposed to test art. Does the work stand up?"

Comments

[gluvox12]

The Oscars favor corny, dew-eyed "feel good" movies. That's all.

[awcbuddy8]

When I wanna feel good I watch "No Country For Old Men". Good call.

[GeneralJones]

and "Schindler's List"

[ElectricEye]

boo hoo

The best way to avoid trouble is not to be there when it starts.

Since the trouble usually starts with your mouth, Spike, maybe you should take notes.

P.S. Buy your wife something nice and listen to her BEFORE you say something stupid or attack the wrong person for the wrong reasons. You just might win that golden phall-, er, statuette yet.

P.P.S. X rocked. Too bad you act like such a goober.

[honeydiva]

if you didn't get one stop worrying about it...is your art about awards? crapola lee...stop whining about where you don't live. make the art and make the money...please.

[psh1016]

Like many of his peers, the self-absorbed and self-pitying Mr. Lee cannot fathom that Academy members may have simply found other motion pictures were more compelling than his. I would submit that it is as simple as that. He is talented to be sure, but his insatiable ego sometimes interferes with his artistic product and compromises what could truly be a wonderful piece of work. But, when one exists in a world whereby you are coddled by a constellation of cronies and sycophants who will only tell you what you want to hear, it would become very easy to rationalize one's failures. My advice? Put out a better product Mr. Lee.

[klandish]

The Oscars are in no way demonstrative of greatness in cinema. They are just what Spike's wife perceive them to be: a giant political publicity machine. Unless you want to make even more money and bath in the kind of monumental falseness that often turns a real artists creativity to mush I wouldn't worry about it Spike.

[MoeSart]

Spike Lee is a perpetual victim just like Obama.

Oh, woe is me. Everyone is against me. The man is holding me down. wah wah wah

[edbermac]

Boo-hoo, Spike.

And by the way Hitchcock never won a directing Oscar, either.

[mebble]

If the AMPAS (the people who hand out Oscars) are unfair and have got it all wrong, then why does Mr. Lee want one of their plated trophies anyway?

Art for art's sake, dude.

[wndrwrthg]

Poor little spikey, always the victim, never the man to accept responsibility. Remember when the Spike tv stole his name for their channel (did he get his from Spike Jones)? He has only himself to blame.

[hypnotoad72]

So if he kept his mouth shut, he'd have won a shiny award?

Hmmm. Seems fair to me.

[Politiking]

No, it is not Clint. You just make bad film. In addition, you are a pea brain with a mouth that can't shut off.

[Plus15]

Love your movies, love your Knicks hate your whine.
Grow up. You're not the victim of bias you have a huge
career. Plenty of other people black and white have
never been given the opportunity the money or the
acclaim you have and yet you keep whining and
complaining about how the world is against you.

Spike I have a suggestion for you that will help put
you in good stead with many of your supposed detractors:
Be a man and publicly, correctly and honorably admit
that you were running your big fat mouth about Eastwood
and he didn't deserve you whining attack. Let's face it
you, yourself made you the fool not some other white
guy or black guy. We all screw up it's just that your ego
needs to be realigned - yeah like a car - you need to turn
yourself in for service.

By the way making everything into a black vs. white issue is
by now an old, failed public policy (Check current Q Ratings
of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton). Sometimes
it is and sometimes it isn't a black vs. white issue and by
making your every comment on that basis you diminish the
value and power of your legitimate important comments on
public and personal issues.

[RobertAndropolis]

Lee's point that the Oscars reveal a West Coast bias is supported by the evidence beyond race: Look how long it took Scorsese to be recognized. (I spelled Scorsese incorrectly and spellcheck actually caught it).

Having said that, Lee is a divisive entity who is not moving beyond the past strained race relations in America. He's still hanging back with Rev. Jesse Jackson, living in a horrible past. If we actually do do the right thing and elect Obama/Biden, perhaps he might then adopt the Obama doctrine and be able to move on with the rest of us and--critically--use the past injustices as a bridge to our 21 century multi-racial future. You know, Rodney King had it right all along: "Can't we all just get along together?"

[bbc3341]

In my opinion, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, Clockers, and Inside Man were all worthy of at least a nomination and in the case of Malcolm X the oscar...

I'm looking forward to his latest.

I think all of his movies have been above average with the exception of He Got Game and Summer of Sam.

[psh1016]

You're joking, right?

[pizzmoe]

No, he's right

[KickerBoard]

Clint's not the enemy. He told the story he told in his Iwo Jima films, with no deliberate intention of slighting anyone. Ironically, his other films, including the Dirty Harry movies, are notable for diversity in its casting - long before it became the thing to do. Clint's a libertarian-minded Republican - but he's not a bigot (just thoroughly disappointing in his endorsement of John McCain). Spike should chill - and direct his fire elsewhere. I agree with most things he says - but I wish he'd find a way to do it with less self-absorption and whine.