Spike Lee on Making Films, Denzel Washington, Acting, Race, and America's Birthday at 250

Spike Lee received an honorary Academy award for his “lifetime achievement and significant contribution to cinema recognizing him as a champion of independent film and an inspiration to young filmmakers.”In more than 35 films, he has explored politics, history, sports, music, and culture with a voice that is unique.He rose to prominence in the 1980s as part of the independent film movement, beginning with She’s Gotta Have It and School Daze, and breaking through in 1989 with Do the Right Thing.Among his most notable films are Malcolm X, 25th Hour, Crooklyn, Inside Man, BlacKkKlansman, Da 5 Bloods and his latest, Highest 2 Lowest, released in 2025 and starring Denzel Washington with whom he has made more than 5feature films. Spike has also made important documentaries including “4 Little Girls” about the church bombing in Birmingham Alabama and “When the Levees Broke” about the devastation from hurricane Katrina. Spike Lee became famous to millions of Americans because he appeared in commercials he made with Michael Jordan for Nike shoes. He is also a longtime professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he has helped shape a new generation of filmmakers.This is an important moment in American culture. The country is deeply divided, solutions to questions of race continue to be debated, the role of art in public life is being analyzed and cultural institutions are under attack.We will talk of many things—Spike Lee’s early life in Brooklyn, the origins of his voice as a filmmaker, the evolution of independent film, the intersection of politics and storytelling, his collaboraton with Denzel Washingon, his political differences with President Trump and how he thinks about America as It marks it’s 250 Birthday on July 4, 2026. I am pleased to welcome Spike Lee.