People sometimes forget all the films that we've done. They remember the likes of 'Malcolm X' and 'Do the Right Thing.' But I've been working since 1986. From the beginning, I was determined to not just be a flash in the pan. I've got to keep up with Woody Allen. He's lapping me.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the dedication of an artist to their craft and the desire for lasting recognition rather than fleeting fame.
Spike Lee reflects on the transient nature of fame in the film industry, expressing that while some works are memorable, true success comes from consistent effort and longevity in one's career. He acknowledges the challenge of keeping up with influential figures like Woody Allen, illustrating the continuous pursuit of excellence in art.
In practice
During a film festival panel discussion on the importance of legacy in filmmaking.
I think that anyone who lives in New York, who's lived here, who's spent any time here, knows that it's basically a love-hate relationship, you might say. Even though I still think it's the greatest city in the world and I wouldn't live anywhere else, there're still things about it one doesn't like. The love far outweighs the negative.
There's an unwritten law that you cannot have a Jewish character in a film who isn't 100 percent perfect, or you're labeled anti-Semitic.
The truth is I've been doing Kickstarter before there was Kickstarter; there was no Internet. Social Media was writing letters, making phone calls, beating the bushes.
It gets dangerous when you start allowing people to validate your work.
All directors are storytellers, so the motivation was to tell the story I wanted to tell. That's what I love.
Because many advances have happened, we've lost the urgency (and that's just human nature) that we had before, when we couldn't vote, couldn't use mass transportation, or drink from the fountains.
Originality is not seen in single words or even in sentences. Originality is the sum total of a man's thinking or his writing.
Music has no effect on research work, but both are born of the same source and complement each other through the satisfaction they bestow
The painter constructs, the photographer discloses.
Here's what happens in a play. You get involved in a situation where something is unbalanced. If nothing's unbalanced, there's no reason to have a play. If Hamlet comes home from school, and his dad's not dead and asks him if he's had a good time, it's boring. But if something's unbalanced, it must be returned to order.
Be natural my children. For the writer that is natural has fulfilled all the rules of art.
I hope to live all my life for my art, without abandoning my principles one iota.
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