Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Spike Lee On Relevance Of ‘Do The Right Thing’ 32 Years Later: ‘When You See King George Floyd, Murdered, Lynched, I Think Of Radio Raheem’

Spike Lee made history at the Cannes Film Festival jury press conference Tuesday.

The actor, who is the first Black competition jury president in the event’s 74-year history, responded to questions as he was joined by other jury members, including Mati Diop, Mylene Farmer, Kleber Mendonca Filho, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hausner, Song Kang Ho, Melanie Laurent, and Tahar Rahim.

Jury members Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hausner, Mati Diop, jury president Spike Lee, jury members Mélanie Laurent and Mylène Farmer attend the Jury photocall during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 06, 2021, in Cannes, France. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images)
Jury members Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hausner, Mati Diop, jury president Spike Lee, jury members Mélanie Laurent and Mylène Farmer attend the Jury photocall during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 06, 2021, in Cannes, France. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images)

Lee was asked by one Georgian journalist about Russian oppression in her country, to which he replied: “This world is run by gangsters — Agent Orange [Donald Trump], the guy in Brazil [President Jair Bolsinaro] and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.

“They’re gangsters, and they’re gonna do what they want to do. They have no morals and no scruples. And we have to speak out against gangsters like that,” he added, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

RELATED: Spike Lee Praises Glenn Close For ‘Getting Down’ To ‘Da Butt’ At The Oscars

Lee also spoke about the relevance of his 1989 film “Do The Right Thing”, in which a Black character dies at the hands of police officers.

“When you see brother Eric Gardner, when you see king George Floyd, murdered, lynched, I think of Radio Raheem. You would think and hope that 30-something mothaf**kin’ years later, Black people would stop being hunted down like animals. So I’m glad to be here though.”

Several of Lee’s films premiered at Cannes, including “Do The Right Thing”. In 2018, his film “BlacKkKlansman” won one of the festival’s top prizes, the Grand Prix.

During Tuesday’s event, Gyllenhaal was also asked about the jury being mainly made up of females for the first time ever, to which she responded: “I think it’s important. I think when women are listening to themselves and really expressing themselves, even inside of a very, very male culture, we make movies differently, we tell stories differently.”

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Spotted At Cannes 2021


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