Spike Lee is filled with passion and fire as he talks about his latest film Chi-Raq. It’s message is simple. It’s about saving lives. I spoke to the director, who was recently presented with an honorary Oscar for his contribution to film, about bringing the film to the big screen, and how On the Waterfront plays a part in Chi-Raq.
Awards Daily: It’s an honor to speak with you today. I’ve seen Chi-Raq twice now.
Spike Lee: Twice? Tell the truth you missed some stuff the first time.
AD: Absolutely. The eulogy is even more powerful the second time around. What I liked though is that the play was written in 411 BC, and it’s a stroke of genius that you and Kevin Willmott have taken something that was written so long ago and you’ve made it relevant to today’s society. How did that journey happen, and was it always set in Englewood?
SL: Well, six years ago Kevin approached me with this script that he had, the title was called, Gotta Give It Up. It was based on Lysistrata, but it was set in a non distinct urban area. We had several readings for people down in studios and they chose not to do it.
We said, well we’ll come back to it. I’m a firm believer in timing and it wasn’t the right time for this film six years ago. Today it’s very contemporary, it’s right with what’s happening. Today is the right time with it. A big shout out to Amazon for making that possible. I have a friend who’s a graphic artist, his name is Adrian Franks, a beautiful artist and every time there was a Trayvon Martin or Freddy Grey or Sandra Bland, he would send me a portrait of them. I would post it on my social media. I was always getting comments from Chicago saying, “That’s terrible, What about Chicago? What about Chicago? What about Chicago?” That’s when I started to to think about maybe we should try to place this in Chicago, Chi-Raq, and that’s how it happened. Really it was the people of Chicago who would respond and comment, “What about Chi-raq?” I called Kevin and said, “I hope you haven’t sold that script.” He said he had it, and I told him let’s write it together, let it take place on the South Side and we went to Sundance a year ago. Amazon said Yes. We are Amazon’s first theatrical release.
AD: I love that. You’ve always been at the forefront of film-making, with Chi-Raq, here you are with that theatrical release with Amazon. Now that you’ve had the film made. What’s the reaction been from the people of Chicago?
SL: You still have the people that think it should have been a different approach and that it shouldn’t have been a satire and that it should have been a documentary or straight up drama, but that’s not the way Kevin and I chose to make it. We stand behind the film and we think history will be on our side.
AD: What were some of the challenges? You said earlier that the studios said no. What were some other challenges in getting Chi-Raq made?
SL: Either people are going to give you the money or they don’t. [laughs]. Either they say yes, they say they’ll think about it, it’s not for us, come back with something else. Amazon had hope and were our patron saint and we got it done.
AD: Let’s talk about two scenes that are striking in the film; one is the scene with Jennifer Hudson. That scene where her daughter is killed, given everything she went through personally, how did you get her on board?
SL: I wanted Ms. Hudson to be in the film. I knew of her tragic history. I knew of her mother, brother and nephew being killed on the South side of Chicago. I knew it would be dicey — that she’d love to do it, or she’d be: get out of my face with this. [laughs]. But thank God that she wanted to be a part of this.
I think that’s a very powerful scene. A lot of people don’t know that’s her singing in that scene, that’s her song in that scene too.
AD: I recognized her voice.
SL: The scene where she’s scrubbing her daughter’s blood with the soap and the bucket, that’s her song. That’s the song, I Run, which I hope gets nominated for Best Song. Knowing her history, too, I think it was very heroic and brave on Jennifer Hudson’s part to do this. It was not easy.
AD: What about shooting that scene?
SL: Both those scenes were shot the same day. The blood bucket scene was one take and she couldn’t do anymore. She was shook, so that’s why we did the other scene first. That was also her last day on the production too, so what a way to end.
AD: The eulogy scene with John Cusack was the other scene.
SL: Kevin and I wrote that scene. There are some great additions by John Cusack and Father Michael Pfleger. We wanted to talk about the conditions in this country. We put everything we could into it. I haven’t seen every movie this year, but that scene is up there for me.
You can take that scene, break it down and it’s a manifesto about everything that’s wrong with this country.
AD: Absolutely.
SL: We call it eulogy/sermon.
AD: People should watch that scene. It needs to be seen.
SL: Cusack did an amazing job. It’s very powerful. There’s a lot of pressure on him because his character is based on the real life living saint, Father Michael Pfleger.
AD: I was going to ask you about that, how much of Father Corrigan is based on Father Pfleger?
SL: A lot. I combined one of my dear late friends, Budd Schulberg and Father Pfleger, part Karl Malden’s character from On The Waterfront. [laughs].
AD: What a combination of characters.
SL: Yep. On The Waterfront is one of my favorite films. The great great Budd Schulberg was a great friend of mine.
AD: I’m going to have to watch On The Waterfront again now and see elements of the character.
SL: Here’s the thing, look at that scene in Chi-Raq, and look at when Malden is delivering the eulogy in the belly of the ship, that final shot when he comes up on the crane. That’s two good scenes to put together. You know what scene I’m talking about from On the Waterfront?
AD: I vaguely recall it. I haven’t seen it in over twenty years. I need a slap. [laughs].
SL: Woah. You need to watch it every year. You gotta watch On The Waterfront annually. Come on now. [laughs].
AD: [laughs]. OK, I will watch it before the year has ended. Alright, you talked about the research briefly. Did you go out and talk to the gang members and the mothers?
SL: A lot of people think that I just showed up on June 1st, the first day of production, but I was in Chicago at the beginning of the year, in January. I was flying back between New York and Chicago so many times my head was spinning.
My research started six months before the camera started to roll.
AD: Were they helpful to your research?
SL: Oh yes. The same way I had to do the research for the documentary in New Orleans, When the Levees Broke. Research is part of film making, you’ve got to know what you’re talking about.
AD: You are a firm believer with the belief that great art can impact the world. What do you want people to take away from Chi-Raq?
SL: Kevin and I knew from the day we started doing this, this film is about saving lives. It’s going to do that, save lives. Nothing is more precious that the human life, and great art can save lives. I will go to my grave believing that. No one will tell me or show me anything that will change my mind. I’m steadfast.
That’s not to say that every movie has to have the same goal.
AD: But people look to you as inspiration, and this is something that they can see and think.
SL: We can’t continue the course we’re on. We’ve got to do better, especially when we talk about gun violence.
AD: What needs to be done? What is the solution?
SL: We can start with some common sense laws put in to place. The majority of Americans want commonplace laws. They think you should need a background check to buy a gun. Even the most staunch NRA members feel that way, not NRA itself, but their members do.
AD: That’s interesting. I didn’t know that.
SL: The number went up from 88 to 90. 90 Americans die every day due to gun violence. For the people seeing Chi-raq, just don’t think it’s in the hood. It’s in the suburbs. Gun violence affects every American, everywhere.
AD: It’s sad when you see kids getting shot. Even in the film that scene is heartbreaking. It’s going on everywhere. Outside. It’s easier to get a gun these days.
SL: You talk about Cusack’s scene, he has a line in that sermon/eulogy he says, “It’s easier to get a gun than a computer.” That line is from that scene. Also, we get into the NRA too, the gun manufacturers and the politicians, they’re all in cahoots, they’re on the take.
AD: I’ve live in London. You don’t have the right to bear arms and you don’t get those incidents there.
SL: Not just in London, but England. Well, we started filming Chi-Raq on June 1st. Our last day of production was July 9, during that time 331 people were wounded and shot. 65 people were murdered.
AD: That’s just one area?
SL: That’s not all of Chicago, that’s just the South and West Side of Chicago.
AD: How have you changed over the years, you’ve been making films for thirty years?
SL :This is going to be the She’s Gotta Have It. I’m better, bigger and better. [laughs].
AD: Has the industry changed for the better?
SL: The whole world has changed. There was no Internet, no iPhone.
AD: How are the Knicks doing this season? I’ve slacked in keeping up with them.
SL: We’re doing better than we were last year.
AD: Thank you, Spike.
SL: It’s not just me. There’s magnificent cinematography by Matthew Libatuque. The costumes by Ruth Carter. Kevin Willmott co-writing the script with me. The great great Terence Blanchard, his score is wonderful. All the actors. Everybody was committed 100% to saving lives.
Chi-Raq is on wide release
