Just a few years ago, in 2015, Reinaldo Marcus Green was a grad student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, angling for extra time with his professor — Spike Lee. Flash-forward six years: Marcus Green has directed one of the best-reviewed dramas of 2021 — “King Richard,” starring Will Smith as Richard Williams, the father of tennis champs Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton). And Lee is more than happy to set aside some time to talk with...
40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
Spike
Lee
Lee made headlines as president of the Cannes Film Festival jury in June 2021 when he prematurely revealed the Palme d’Or winner to be French filmmaker Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” which saw an October release from Neon, but Lee’s been more surefooted with his creative decisions. His 2020 film “Da 5 Bloods,” about five Black veterans who return to Vietnam, won the AFI award for movie of the year and earned an Academy Award nomination for its score. Two years earlier, he brought home his first competitive Oscar for adapted screenplay with 2018’s “BlacKkKlansman.” On the TV side, docuseries “NYC Epicenters” aired on HBO from August to September 2021, chronicling life in New York during and after 9/11 as well as in the midst of the pandemic.