Spike Lee Side-Steps Hollywood Inertia to Self-Finance Red Hook Summer
January 18, 2012 by Desiree Washington
Filed under Entertainment, Film & TV, News
In light of George Lucas’ announcement in recent weeks that he self-financed the production of soon to be released epic film Red Tails, whose cast is predominately African-American, but then struggled to get distribution because studios claimed they lacked the skill to effectively market what is little more than a World War II film, a highly popular genre that markets itself in America and overseas, Spike Lee’s announcement that he has self-financed his latest project comes as no surprise.
Lee’s film Red Hook Summer, which chronicles the gentrification of Brooklyn New York, was also written by Lee and James McBride. “It had been too long since I’d done a film, and I couldn’t wait on Hollywood anymore . . .,” Lee explained to reporters. “…[T]oo many meetings, too many false starts, too many stuck projects.”
But lest anyone think Lee self-financed Red Hook Summer because he somehow lost studio confidence, he firmly disputes the notion. “I never took this movie to studios, and I wanted complete freedom to make the movie I wanted to make,” Spike Lee explained.
Red Hook Summer screens at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival before its nation-wide release.
Related posts:
