Twenty years ago future President Obama and First Lady Michelle had their first date at a showing of “Do The Right Thing.” I was at UCLA at the time and saw Spike Lee’s third feature at a sneak preview screening, the week before it opened in theaters, at The Academy’s theater on Wilshire Blvd. I distinctinly remember the intensity of that screening. A fan of Spike’s previous films, I was blown away by his latest and shaken by the emotions it stirred. I was challenged by the shocking conclusion and moved by the reactions of the people around me. On the way to the car after the showing, a couple were arguing, yelling at each other. Wow. I went back to see it again on the 4th of July and was even more shaken the second time.
“Not only was it an incredibly made film, but politically, it really made you confront a lot of shit,” filmmaker Jim McKay told Anthony Kaufman in an article just published at indieWIRE about the 20th anniversary of “Do The Right Thing,” “I don’t think I ever left a film with more—more questions, more thoughts, more energy.”
I completely agree and the movie remains and all-time favorite.
Where were you in June of 1989? Do you remember the first time you saw “Do The Right Thing”?
Today’s news that David Hudson’s essential film blog is shutting down is a terrible blow for film culture.
Inside word was that the traffic for the site wasn’t up to IFC TV’s expectations. Well, I haven’t said this to any of my friends over there, but why can’t corporate sibling IFC Films take it on? It would be a great asset for their (eventual) new site and a wonderful way to harness attention not only for their own films but to provide crucial insights within the broader context of international cinema. Argh, a guy can dream…
David Hudson, first at GreenCine and then briefly at IFC, was simply the best filter of news, perspectives and insights on cinema. No questions asked. And, he vows to return:
That doesn’t mean I’ll stop doing what I do; I’ve been dreaming up a new format and, if all goes according to plan, it’ll be rolling out slowly in two phases at an entity that’ll be named when that entity’s good and ready.
I hope he keeps that promise.
In the meantime, what can or should be done to try and fill the gap??
On the 6 line, headed downown this afternoon, a mother and son read an article about Michael Jackson in today’s New York Times.
[iphone photo by eugene hernandez]
An homage to Farrah, on Facebook today, from amigo Mike Potter, keeper of the wig of John Cameron Mitchell’s film and play, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
“People always say it’s Farrah Fawcett, but to me it looks more like a George Washington powdered wig,” Potter said back in 2001. “John says that the wings on her wig are her lungs. I look at it as her defense mechanism—like the horns on a battering ram. When she’s onstage, she’s wearing her big wig and her face is like a mask to protect her. But everyone has their own take on it.”
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