Spike Lee
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, I was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957, the son of William James Edwards Lee and Jaqueline Shelton Lee. My mother nicknamed me Spike. We moved to Brooklyn when I was 2: Crown Heights, then Cobble Hill, then a great Brooklyn brownstone in ‘68. Brooklyn is and always will be home.
I’m the product of New York City public schools—I went to PS 29, 7 and 8, attended junior high school 294 and John Dewey High School on Coney Island, graduating in ‘75.
I’m a third-generation Morehouse man—both my father and grandfather went there, so did Dr. King. My mother and grandmother went to Spellman College. Actually, it was my grandmother Zimmie Reatha Shelton, public school art teacher for 50 years and a diligent saver, who put me through Morehouse, where I earned a BA in Mass Communications, and NYU, where I attended film school.
In 1979, I received my masters in fine arts in film production. My thesis film, “Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barber Shop: We Cut Heads” won the student Academy Award in 1982. It gave me my first taste of notoriety.
Jointography
 Miracle at St. Anna (2008) |
 Inside Man (2006) |
 She Hate Me (2004) |
 25th Hour (2002) |
 Bamboozled (2000) |
 The Original Kings of Comedy (2000) |
 Summer of Sam (1999) |
 He Got Game (1998) |
 Get On The Bus (1998) |
 Girl 6 (1996) |
 Clockers (1995) |
 Crooklyn (1994) |
 Malcolm X (1992) |
 Jungle Fever (1991) |
 Mo' Better Blues (1990) |
 Do The Right Thing (1989) |
 School Daze (1988) |
 She's Gotta Have It (1986) |
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Interests
General
Music:
Bill Lee, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Theodore Bikel, Josh White, Peter Paul & Mary, Broadway. My parents wanted to expose me to th art as a young man, so I went - Kicking and screaming. Now I know that is was a good thing, allowing me to choose my art and make intelligent decisions about what I wanted to do. That's what I try to do with my kids - give them the ability to make their own decisions
Movies:
“Miracle At St. Anna” is the direct descendent of the great Italian post war neorealist films like “The Bicycle Thief, ” “Rome, Open City, ” “Germany Year Zero, ” “Miracle in Milan.” While on location for “Miracle, ” we screened those films [original prints] with the cast and crew to give them a feel for the greats that preceded us. Those films have really influenced me and my career. Of my own films, I see a clear path from “Do The Right Thing” to “Jungle Fever” to “Summer of Sam” and now “Miracle At St. Anna.”
Television:
HBO’s “The Wire.” ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” Sports—lots of sports
Books:
James McBride’s novel “Song Yet Sung.” I’m also reading a book about the 1960 Olympics. And Ronald Mallet’s “Time Traveler,” a book he just optioned that creates a blueprint for a time machine
