November 12, 1998
November 12, 1998Leslie Hitchcock
News Editor
| Film-maker Spike Lee filled Appalachian State University’s
Farthing Auditorium to capacity Monday night, forcing spectators to be
turned away at the door.
Lee addressed his entrance into a career in film-making and, later, answered questions from the audience. Lee began by discussing his initial naivete toward film-making. “I had no idea people made films,” he said. When Lee was a child growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., he thought that he was going to be a professional athlete. “Genetics conspired against that happening,” he said. While at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., Lee decided to become a film-maker. Majoring in mass communication, he said he knew he was not where he wanted to be. To become a film-maker, Lee said that he wanted
to apply to the best film making graduate schools. He chose UCLA,
USC and NYU.
“I believe that standardized tests are culturally
biased,” Lee said.
Upon being admitted, Lee began a comprehensive three-year program at NYU and won the student academy award with his thesis. After graduation in 1986, Lee had a degree and an agent, but no offers for him to make films. He said he knew someone would call him to give him a job, but no one called. “Then a funny thing happened: the phone got cut off,” he said. “I was forced to get off my ass and generate
something,” Lee said.
He said he was about to quit film-making after his failed attempt, but instead, he made an assessment of what he had done wrong. He came to the conclusion that he was overly ambitious and did not have the money to do what he wanted. After realizing his mistakes, he began work again. He started a film titled, “She’s Gotta Have It.” “People think there is such an animal called
overnight success. It does not exist,” Lee said.
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Lee said that he put “every penny” he had into “She’s Gotta Have It.” The
film cost $175,000 to produce, and it grossed $8.5 million in theaters.
He then decided he could be more ambitious now that he had the money.
“The richness of African-American culture was not reflected in the films...it was important to put that stuff on screen. To me, that meant truthful depictions,” he said. Lee feels that he began to make those depictions come alive in films he directed such as “Jungle Fever” and “He Got Game.” Lee concluded by stressing the importance of deciding what one wants to do as soon as possible. “Find out what you want to do and apply yourself; it is much more competitive out there,” he said. For approximately 30 minutes, Lee fielded audience questions. However, he prefaced the session by requesting that they not ask “how to stop racism, homelessness or to save the rain forest.” “Because I do not know,” he said. Audience members posed questions such as specific inquiries about Lee’s films and his opinion of the American Film Institute’s recent ratings of films. Farthing Auditorium holds 1,736 people. Those not able to be seated inside could listen to the speech in the Farthing lobby or from a live feed in the Attic Window Room in Plemmons Student Union. A representative from Farthing Auditorium said that around 6 p.m. Monday, approximately 50 people had lined up for the 8 p.m. speech. Around 7:45 p.m. was when spectators were turned away because of the firecode law. Visiting Appalachian for Lee’s speech were spectators from Mars Hill College, UNC-Asheville, Eastern Tennessee State University, Wilkes Community College, Caldwell Community College and others from the western end of North Carolina. |