At the Oscars, only six black filmmakers have been nominated for Best Director (John Singleton, Lee Daniels, Steve McQueen, Barry Jenkins, Jordan Peele, Spike Lee), and they all lost. Only four black actors (Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker) have won Best Actor, and only one black actress (Halle Berry). And in 2019, “the number [of movies] directed by filmmakers of color fell to 18 percent in 2019,” according to IndieWire. It’s obvious — at least it should be obvious — that something needs to change, and according to Spike Lee, that change needs to come from the top.
When asked by CinemaBlend how the industry can provide more opportunities for filmmakers of color, the Da 5 Bloods director replied, “The answer is very simple. We need to have black and brown people in those lofty positions of the gatekeepers. These are the people who have the green-light votes. And very rarely do any of these studios have people of color in a position where they have a say in what gets made, and what doesn’t get made. I’ve been saying this for years. And that has not happened yet.”
In a separate interview to promote his Netflix movie, this time with British GQ, Lee discussed what would happen if “Agent Orange,” as he calls Donald Trump, served a second term as president. “If this guy wins, the world is in peril. Not just the United States of America. The world,” he said, later calling him the “worst president of the United States of America.” Congratulations to James Buchanan, and no one else.
Da 5 Bloods premieres on Netflix this Friday, June 12.
