I got a chance to catch Spike Lee in Action tonight. Here's a quick recap of what he said. Some of what he said may be considered bold or controversial, but that's just who Spike is. The theme of the night centered around his masterpiece documentary, "When the Levees Broke". - Said Katrina started long before August 29, 2005 - The 2000 and 2004 Elections were rigged - The federal government dismantled FEMA - He was in Europe when Katrina happened. The American media did what it's known to do, which is misconstrue and not portray the truth. He said BBC showed images of dead bodies throughout Europe, whereas CNN continually fails to do that - "When Levees Broke" started in New York because approximately 1000 evacuees fled there - Hates the word refugee; the people who fled were EVACUEES, not refugees. The mainstream media needs to be right otherwise people will be brainwashed too much - He was also finishing up Inside Man, so he could not go down to New Orleans immediately - He never narrates his documentaries; he believes his subjects should tell stories. - 3rd Ward looked like a bomb went off - it was no man's land, with no insects, no nothing - Originally "When the Levees Broke" was supposed to be 2 hours; he forced HBO to let him make it 4 hours. "I always have the final cut." - "1 year before, there was a tsunami in Sri Lanka. The United States as always helps others first before themselves." - "Nobody in Bush's administration explained why it took five mother****in' days to send help to the devastated areas." - "Where was our National Guard? 1/3 of them were in Iraq, helping fight a war that we shouldn't have ever started." - "Colin Powell is a liar. He's a very smart man, but a liar." - "People are fed up now. Barack Obama has touched people, because people are finally so fed up." - Made jokes about Florida and Michigan and how they are handling the primaries - "The Clintons don't understand that there are 4 quarters in basketball, not 5, and 3 outs in baseball, not 4 (reference to Clinton wanting Florida and Michigan to count)." -"We live in a time where there are no more jokes in life. You kids have a great time at school. Most of the world does not have school." - Our education sucks, people are losing houses, too many people are dying for no good reason. It's time for change. - Next film is a World War II film about "Negro Soldiers"; shot entirely in Italy - Will make a follow-up to "When the Levees Broke" - He's disappointed with the Knicks but thinks they have a promising future if they find the right track Thoughts?
