While Denzel Washington has been talking about his retirement from acting, director Spike Lee has stated their upcoming hostage thriller “Highest 2 Lowest” was going to be potentially their final feature together. However, the director isn’t as open to the idea of slowing down or retirement while speaking with the Los Angeles Times and is backtracking on closing the door for a future reunion with Washington.
“I’m just getting started,” Lee responded when asked about his plans for retirement. “As an individual and an artist, when you’re doing what you love, you win. I don’t see the finish line, the tape.” Going on to reiterate his desire to get his “Save Us, Joe Louis” script he co-wrote with the late veteran screenwriter Budd Schulberg of “On The Waterfront” fame, made, calling it a “priority.”
“I promised Budd on his deathbed that I would get this made,” Lee declared about the biopic about the legendary American boxer and iconic civil rights activist, known for his humble and quiet nature, which would be a counter to the provocative and boisterous fighters that would come after, like the great Muhammad Ali.
At the top, we mention that Spike Lee had been talking about his working relationship with Washington winding down, as said during the Cannes Film Festival, but is starting to regret that, and is open to doing one more, calling it a “blessing” if that came together.
“I’ve stopped saying that this would be our last film,” Lee admits, sort of reversing some of his Cannes comments but being aware it might not come together. “It would be a blessing to do another one. We’ll see. But you know what? There’s ‘Mo Better Blues,’ ‘Malcolm X,’ ‘He Got Game,’ ‘Inside Man,’ and ‘Highest 2 Lowest.’ We got those for the world to see forever.”
When and where would Spike Lee and Washington link up? That remains to be seen, yet something like “Save Us, Joe Louis” could easily be a project that Washington might find a role to play. Although the Oscar-winner might be a little too old to play Louis himself, it would depend on when the biopic would be set and how much it would explore his youth.
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