Spike Lee
Academy Award-Award Nominated Director; Producer; Writer; Social Change Advocate
Spike Lee is an award-winning writer, director, actor, producer and author who revolutionized the role of Black talent in cinema. Widely regarded as a premiere African-American filmmaker, Lee is a forerunner in the “do it yourself” school of independent film. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Brooklyn, Lee returned south to attend Morehouse College.…
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Full Bio
Spike Lee is an award-winning writer, director, actor, producer and author who revolutionized the role of Black talent in cinema. Widely regarded as a premiere African-American filmmaker, Lee is a forerunner in the “do it yourself” school of independent film.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Brooklyn, Lee returned south to attend Morehouse College. After graduation, he returned to Brooklyn to continue his education at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts in Manhattan, where he received his Master of Fine Arts Degree in film production. He founded the production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, which has produced over 35 films since 1983.
His debut film, the independently produced comedy She’s Gotta Have It, earned him the Prix de Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film festival in 1986 and set him at the forefront of the Black New Wave in American Cinema. Lee’s 1989 film, Do the Right Thing, garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film. His epic drama Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington, received two Academy Award nominations.
Other critical and box office successes have included such films as Red Hook Summer, Inside Man, 25th Hour, The Original Kings of Comedy, Bamboozled, and School Daze. Lee’s films Get On the Bus, Do the Right Thing, and Clockers display his ability to showcase a series of outspoken and provocative socio-political critiques that challenge cultural assumptions, not only about race, but class and gender identity as well.
Lee is also involved in documentaries and sports programs. He completed the Emmy and Academy Award-nominated documentary 4 Little Girls for HBO and received an Emmy Award for his piece on Georgetown’s John Thompson for HBO/Real Sports. He earned two Primetime Emmys for his documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, an examination of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And in 2011, he earned a Peabody Award for his HBO documentary, If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise, revisiting New Orleans five years later to see the continued effects of the hurricane.
Lee’s commercial work began in 1988 with his Nike Air Jordan campaign. Collaborating with basketball great Michael Jordan on several commercials, Lee resurrected his popular character, Mars Blackmon from She’s Gotta Have It. Lee is also well known for his Levi’s Button-Fly 501, AT&T and ESPN television commercials. His commercial success prompted Lee to combine his creative experience with DDB Needham founding Spike/DDB, a full-service advertising agency in New York.
Lee has also published six titles on his filmmaking career, including Five For Five, a pictorial reflection of his first five features and That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It a retrospective book about his film career. Most recently Lee has co-authored three children’s books with his wife Tonya Lewis Lee, including Giant Steps to Change the World; Please, Baby, Please; and Please, Puppy, Please.
Lee currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Testimonials
Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
That’s My Story & I’m Sticking to It: An Evening with Spike Lee
A Conversation With Spike Lee
Videos
Spike Lee at the Johns Hopkins University Commencement 2016
Books
News
Testimonials
He was quite engaging and the crowd was thrilled to have him.
General Mills
Spike Lee was a huge success. We sold over 1100 tickets. He was very gracious…our students were thrilled with him. Thank you.
Syracuse University
Things went very well, actually. He was personable and very easy to get a long with. He spoke for about 30 minutes but took questions for 45 minutes. He had a question for a 10 year old boy who asked him how to become an actor – after the lecture Spike met with him, signed and autograph and took a picture. It was great. He was we’ll received by our audience. Thanks for everything – he was a great choice for us.
Mark Twain House & Museum, CT
The event went really well. He was very easy to work with and was great with everyone. The content of the speech was very interesting and the Q&A worked out well. Overall, we had about 1,600 in attendance.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Town Hall 2008 had a great experience having Spike Lee here in Sarasota! Although we have a pretty grueling schedule for our speakers to handle, (doing two lectures in one day with extended exposure at our luncheon and evening reception), Spike Lee was well received and I think he enjoyed the visit here.
Helen R. McBean, Town Hall Chair, Sarasota, FLA
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