Spike Lee Movies

[Kelen]

What do you guys think about Spike Lee joints? lol. And is it good enough to warrant an episode?

[Derrick]

Mar 5, 2009 11:47:36 GMT -5 Kelen said:

What do you guys think about Spike Lee joints? lol. And is it good enough to warrant an episode?

I'd love to do an episode about Spike Lee movies. I don't know how Tom feels about them or Spike Lee and so I can't speak for him. Trying to get Tom to do an episode about a topic he doesn't know is like trying to get free food out of a Chinese restaurant ;D

I actually have talked to Spike Lee a couple of times on the street when he lived in Brooklyn. Once was about two weeks after SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT opened and the second time was about a week after DO THE RIGHT THING opened. He's an okay guy. Both times we talked for about twenty minutes about his movies. If you ever come to Brooklyn I can take you right over to where his production company, 40 Acres and A Mule has their offices. It's about a 10 minute walk from my house.

My favorite Spike Lee movies are:

SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT
SCHOOL DAZE
DO THE RIGHT THING
MALCOLM X
GET ON THE BUS
BAMBOOZLED
A HUEY P. NEWTON STORY

[james]

When The Levees Broke is also a must-see Spike Lee film. It's four hours, although divided into two parts.

The scene where a man tells the story of not telling his father that the insurance company won't pay out for his house (which had been destroyed), out of fear that the father will attack the insurance comapny representative, is heartbreaking.

[tombitd]

Mar 5, 2009 11:47:36 GMT -5 Kelen said:

What do you guys think about Spike Lee joints? lol. And is it good enough to warrant an episode?

My only worry would be that it would nowhere be as good as the one the late, lamented Hollywood Salon did back in 2006.

Go to www.hollywoodsaloon.com/podcastEP18.html and share the knowledge.

[tombitd]

Mar 5, 2009 13:39:54 GMT -5 Derrick said:

I actually have talked to Spike Lee a couple of times on the street when he lived in Brooklyn. Once was about two weeks after SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT opened and the second time was about a week after DO THE RIGHT THING opened.

One of my favorite indy movie memories is sitting in the Film Forum waiting for a short film program to start and catching the trailer for SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT, the one that told almost nothing about the film but saw Spike dressed as Mars in Washington Sqauare Park selling socks to finance the film. Made me laugh for days.

(And I tried, but I couldn't find a version of the trailer on the web)

[Kelen]

Mar 5, 2009 20:58:33 GMT -5 tombitd said:

My only worry would be that it would nowhere be as good as the one the late, lamented Hollywood Salon did back in 2006.

Go to www.hollywoodsaloon.com/podcastEP18.html and share the knowledge.

1. I'm sure it will be awesome in the BITD way. Stop hating on yourself Tom.
2. I'm gonna download this hollywoodsaloon one to hold me over.

[james]

Man, I miss Hollywood Saloon already (uh, no offense, Derrick and Tom). I'm disappointed that they never released their long-threatened Kubrick "master class" episode.

[tombitd]

Mar 6, 2009 11:58:45 GMT -5 james said:

Man, I miss Hollywood Saloon already (uh, no offense, Derrick and Tom). I'm disappointed that they never released their long-threatened Kubrick "master class" episode.

I've listened to Andy Seims' new podcast, Apocalypse Hollywood, but it is certainly lacking the great interplay that made the Saloon work.

[james]

I didn't know about Apocalypse Hollywood. I have to check it out.

Not only was the interplay between them great, but the amount of care they spent on the sound for each episode - the sounbed from film scores, the clips of dialogue from the films, etc. It must have taken them a considerable amount of time to edit each episode, but they always sounded professional without being slick and superficial.

Not to mention they were crazy enough to record a 2-hour plus episode on the history of the Star Wars films on home video. I don't even like Star Wars that much anymore (loved it as a kid), and I was riveted.

(oh, yeah, that Better in the Dark podcast is awesome, too )

[tombitd]

Mar 6, 2009 17:43:57 GMT -5 james said:

I didn't know about Apocalypse Hollywood. I have to check it out.

Apparently, Andy has taken over the board, given John the rights to the name 'Hollywood Saloon' and started AH. He's started it up as a blog and has so far released two Rough Cuts (on the Oscars and trends in this summer's movie slate) and a SIBs where he discusses why the Saloon shut down. Still, you can see something's missing--the Seims/Jensen chemistry is gone (even the one with a co-host sounded like it was coming from an alternate reality).

Not only was the interplay between them great, but the amount of care they spent on the sound for each episode - the sounbed from film scores, the clips of dialogue from the films, etc. It must have taken them a considerable amount of time to edit each episode, but they always sounded professional without being slick and superficial.

From what I can glean from that SIBs episode, the production time was a big part of the fall-out. Andy did the bulk of the editing, and he wanted to do more down and dirty stuff so he could talk more and stay in the production suite less.

Not to mention they were crazy enough to record a 2-hour plus episode on the history of the Star Wars films on home video. I don't even like Star Wars that much anymore (loved it as a kid), and I was riveted.

Oh, I loathe Star Wars (I think it is my undying hatred of that series that Derrick refers to when he says trying to get me to do something I don't like/really am unfamiliar with)--but I listened to that episode. Hell, I just re-listened to it this past weekend, as I've been re-downloading all the episodes and experiencing them one more time before the Saloon is gone for good. I will listen to anything these two put out because what these two say are the true crux of the entertainment, not the subjec matter.

(oh, yeah, that Better in the Dark podcast is awesome, too )

Ahhhhhhh, I don't need your pity reacharound...;p