Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American filmmaker and actor. Lee's work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. He has won numerous accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, a Student Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Peabody Awards. He has also been honored with an Honorary BAFTA Award in 2002, an Honorary César in 2003, the Academy Honorary Award in 2019, and a Gala Tribute from the Film Society of Lincoln Center as well as the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize.
Netflix Inc. is an American media company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it operates the over-the-top subscription video on-demand service Netflix brand, which includes original films and television series commissioned or acquired by the company, and third-party content licensed from other distributors. Netflix is a member of the Motion Picture Association—having become the first streaming company to become a member.
She's Gotta Have It is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Spike Lee. Filmed on a small budget and Lee's first feature-length film to be released, it earned positive reviews and launched Lee's career.
Mars Blackmon is a fictional character in the film She's Gotta Have It (1986), played by the film's writer/director, Spike Lee. In the film, he is a "Brooklyn-loving" fan of the New York Knicks, sports, and Air Jordans. This led to late 1980s and early 1990s appearances in Nike Air Jordan commercials alongside Jordan and Mars becoming well known for his use of the phrase, "It's gotta be da shoes." The ad campaign with Lee as Mars has been credited as a landmark in the evolution of sneakers into massively profitable items of fashion. When Lee was first approached to co-star with Michael Jordan for Nike, Lee thought the offer was a prank from his friends. The Jordan Mars shoe line is named in honor of the Mars Blackmon character, with Spike Lee's son, Jackson Lewis Lee, being the designer of the Jordan Mars 270.
Nelson George is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
4 Little Girls is a 1997 American historical documentary film about the murder of four African-American girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963. The film was directed by Spike Lee and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Good Fences is a 2003 American comedy-drama television film directed by Ernest Dickerson and written by Trey Ellis, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by his wife Erika Ellis. The film is about the stresses of prejudice on an upwardly mobile black family in 1970s Greenwich, Connecticut. Danny Glover plays the overworked, stressed husband and Whoopi Goldberg plays his steadfast wife.
Whiteness theory is a field under Whiteness studies, that studies what White identity means in terms of social, political, racial, economic, culture, etc. Whiteness Theory also looks at how Whiteness is centric in society and culture, and in creating a potential blindness to privileges associated with White identity that excludes and harms the racial other.
New Jersey Drive is a 1995 crime drama film written and directed by Nick Gomez and executive produced by Spike Lee. The film is about joyriding teenagers in 1990s Newark, New Jersey, then known as the "car theft capital of the world". The film was an official selection at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival.
Spike Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor, known for films that deal with controversial social and political issues. Each of Lee's films is typically referred to as "A Spike Lee Joint" and the closing credits always end with the phrases "By Any Means Necessary," "Ya Dig," and "Sho Nuff."
Drop Squad is a 1994 American drama film directed by David C. Johnson and executive produced by Spike Lee via his production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. The plot depicts a team of African Americans who kidnap fellow black people who they feel have betrayed their community and seek to "deprogram" them so that they will change their ways. The acronym DROP stands for "Deprogramming and Restoration of Pride". The film has been described as "[p]art thriller, part social satire".
Red Hook Summer is a 2012 American film co-written and directed by Spike Lee. It is Lee's sixth film in his "Chronicles of Brooklyn" series following She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Crooklyn, Clockers, and He Got Game.
42 is a 2013 American biographical sports film about baseball player Jackie Robinson, the first black athlete to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the modern era. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland, the film stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson, alongside Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, André Holland, Lucas Black, Hamish Linklater and Ryan Merriman in supporting roles. The title of the film is a reference to Robinson's jersey number, which was universally retired across all MLB teams in 1997.
Monty Ross is an American filmmaker. He is most recognized from his work with Spike Lee including, She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X.
Anthony Ramos Martinez is an American actor and singer. After graduating in musical theatre from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, he began working in stage musicals. In 2015, he originated the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Broadway musical Hamilton. He received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance in the 2020 stage recording of the play.
Vertigo Entertainment is an American film and television production company based in Los Angeles, founded in 2001 by Roy Lee and Doug Davison.
She's Gotta Have It is an American comedy-drama television series created by Spike Lee. It is based on his 1986 film of the same name. Ten 30-minute episodes were ordered by Netflix, all of which were directed by Lee. The show premiered on November 23, 2017. On January 1, 2018, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on May 24, 2019. On July 17, 2019, Netflix canceled the series after two seasons.
Mercury Filmworks is a Canadian independent animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario. The studio was originally founded in Vancouver by Clint Eland, the current CEO, in 1997. Mercury Filmworks has produced animated television series and feature films for a variety of companies, including Disney, Netflix, Amazon Studios, and Warner Bros. Its recent projects include Kid Cosmic, Centaurworld, Hilda, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, and The Ghost and Molly McGee. The studio has won Emmy Awards for its work in several categories, most recently for Hilda.
NYC Epicenters 9/11→2021½ is an American documentary miniseries. The series follows the chronicle of life and survival in New York City, ranging from the September 11 attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic. It consists of four episodes and premiered on August 22, 2021, on HBO.
Lang Fisher is an American comedy writer and director. She co-created and executive produced the Netflix coming-of-age comedy-drama series, Never Have I Ever.
