This year, Spike Lee is one of only a few American filmmakers that’s getting a chance to premiere a film at the Cannes Film Festival. His new film, “BlacKkKlansman,” is about the true story of an African-American police officer in Colorado that goes undercover to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. As you might imagine, the film has a lot of hype, particularly because Lee is behind the camera. And as we know, Lee has a bit of a rocky relationship with the prestigious French film festival.
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Back in 1989, Lee was at Cannes to premiere his film “Do the Right Thing.” Many predicted that the incredible film would walk away with the coveted Palme d’Or prize. However, that wasn’t to be, as a 26-year-old Steven Soderbergh captured the award with his debut film, “sex, lies, and videotape.” There was a lot of talk back and forth between Lee and Cannes at the time, and even almost three decades later, the loss doesn’t sit well with the filmmaker.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lee talks about the loss in 1989. “Look, me and Steven are cool, have always been cool. But that thing was commandeered by Wim Wenders,” Lee says. “He said Mookie was not a heroic character.” As you may know, Mookie was played by Spike Lee in the film, which might lead to the extra bit of soreness to the loss.
But Wim Wenders, the man at the center of the controversy (at least in Lee’s eyes), doesn’t see it that way, at all. In fact, Wenders’ response to the drama is that it was a jury decision. “He said he’d be waiting for me in an alley with a baseball bat,” said Wenders. “Well, he should have been waiting for the whole jury because it wasn’t my decision. The film simply didn’t have the support of the jury…. He just had the bad luck to be in such a great year.”
He continues, “I had sleepless nights over our decision. With Spike, I’m still sad that he took it so personally.”
Now, with years of distance between his infamous loss and the premiere of “BlacKkKlansman,” there’s a lot of people wondering if this is now Lee’s year. We’ll see soon enough, as the Cannes Film Festival begins May 8.