Outside Man

By John Colapinto
Issue: Sept 22


Any conversation about Spike Lee's new movie "Miracle at St. Anna" could use a reference or two to this recent New Yorker profile. Lee comes out with a film almost every year, a pace matched only by Woody Allen. Of course Lee, fresh out of NYU film school, was dubbed the "black Woody Allen." With the release of "Do the Right Thing," the public came to view him more as the Malcolm X of American cinema. But Lee complains about his reputation.

"People think I'm this angry black man walking around in a constant state of rage."

Angry, maybe. But not unfriendly. As he walks around Midtown Manhattan, he's recognized constantly. Autograph? Sure. Photo? No problem. M&M's to support my high school football team? You on the straight and narrow? $5.

Passing by the Niketown store, he spots several teens,"Sneakerheads," and asks them "what's about to drop."

Since the late 1980's, Lee has been heavily involved in Nike's marketing campaign. Obama's campaign is a whole other story.

"Look, if they need me, they know where I am," he says. "You know, that shit could be used against them, too...Sometimes you might just be a liability."