Requiem for a Nightmare: Spike Lee Awarded for Katrina Documentary
Director Spike Lee, known for his provocative and sociopolitical films, can now add "award-winning journalist" to his plethora of reasons to piss on sleepy, white-collar America. On February 19 Lee was officially named one of the recipients of journalism's annual George Polk Award for his 2006 documentary on life in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.
Lee, the director of Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing, was honored for When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, along with its producer, Sam Pollard.
The pair won the award for documentary television for illustrating evidence of the government's poor performance in the aftermath of the devastating August 2005 hurricane.
When the Levees Broke isn't shy in its attack on the American government's abandonment of the city following the natural disaster. Lee chronicles the city's emotional and physical devastation through nearly 100 heartbreaking interviews he conducted during his many visits, going face-to-face with everyone from local DJs to the elderly to the engineers that worked on the faulty levees themselves.
The New Yorker-with-a-Big Easy-Heart will receive his award in Manhattan on April 12.
Spike Lee Consults Al Sharpton For Help On James Brown Biopic
Unbeknownst to many, acclaimed director Spike Lee was hard at work on a James Brown biopic when the Godfather died suddenly last Christmas. NME ran a story about how Brown's death shook things up a bit for Lee.
According to the magazine, Lee has been chatting with the Godfather's friend, the Reverend Al Sharpton, to make sure details from Brown's life are accurately portrayed. Sharpton represents a curious choice for any sort of accurate information about anything, but I guess we're going to have to trust Spike on this one.
No word on who will play Brown in the film, though Lee recently shot down rumors that he was in talks with Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. Lee confirmed, however, that whoever does play Brown will not be singing the Godfather's tunes themselves.
"Whoever we have is going to be lip-syncing. We're not trying to impersonate Brown - we want to give the essence of the man and how he shaped the time."