The inside man

Catherine Gee talks rap artists, actors and future plans with famed director Spike Lee

By Catherine Gee

As far as film directors go Spike Lee is something of a legend. He may be small in stature but his presence is by no means diminutive. When this man talks, people cling to his every word. His films have won accolades around the world and his seminal work Do The Right Thing, back in 1990, had a brief affair with an Oscar nomination.

His latest release is The Inside Man, his first real foray into the action genre and is set during a bank hold-up. Once again Lee teams up with Denzel Washington, their fourth time together, and casts Clive Owen as the bad guy. “With a star like Denzel you don’t dictate what role he plays, so I said ‘look there’s two roles in it, the bank robber and the good guy.’ So he said, ‘Spike I want to be the cop because in the other role the guy’s face is covered up.’ Then it turned out when I gave it to Clive that was first thing he said ‘Spike I wanna do it but my face is going to be covered the whole movie.’” Fortunately Clive agreed to do the part anyway. He’d impressed Spike in a previous role he had played. “When I saw his role in Closer, that’s what cemented it. We needed a man that could stand up to the sort of man that Denzel was.”

Back in his youth, Lee’s films were based around life in ‘the ‘hood’ and the ongoing tension that bubbles within it. He wrote about what he knew and the place he grew up. There’s a scene in The Inside Man where a young black kid is playing an extremely violent, gangster-based PSP game and Clive Owen’s character comments on its brutal nature. “I saw the ability for some social commentary in this film,” he says in his familiar, measured tone. “In reading the script I was looking for ways where I could slip stuff in. There is this boy and it would make sense for this young kid to have a PSP. So I found this young animation company and gave them this scenario of a game as ‘the most violent game ever’. They came up with the one you see in the movie. I love that line that Clive Owen says, ‘I’m going to have to talk to your father about this game’.”

Indeed, though his films have always been accomplished works regardless of their subject matter, Lee seems to have grown up since his days of She’s Gotta Have It, multiple Nike endorsements and rubbing ice cubes over Rosie Perez’s naked breasts. He’s not impressed with the violent nature of much of today’s media. “In San Andreas [the Grand Theft Auto game] you get points for shooting prostitutes and cops, it’s crazy. I think the film is being critical of things like that.”

His view also remains the same when it comes to music. “If my kids must listen to a gangster rap album they listen to a clean version. I don’t think any musician should be talking to them like that. The subject matter never changes; they’re just talking about being on MTV and being from the streets. Ten years ago you were talking about the same stuff so where is your growth as an artist? Before you were wearing gold, now you’re wearing platinum; before you were driving a Benz, now it’s a Bentley. It’s the same thing. That’s why I’m such a big Kanye West fan, there’s some content. I’m not saying he’s perfect, he loves the clothes and the cars and stuff but you can tell he spent some time on his music. How much time does it take to say ‘bitch ho, bitch’?

So, if 50 Cent isn’t his thing, what sort of music does Spike listen to? He’s quick to answer, “I got lots of stuff on my iPod. John Coltrane, Springsteen, Sinatra, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, the Spinners, Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy.”

Yes, Spike Lee certainly is more grown up than he used to be. But fans needn’t fear, he still knows how to get that adrenaline racing.