Exclusive: Spike Lee Says He Hopes Pres. Trump Will Show “BlackKKlansman” In The White House
“BlackKKlansman” In Theaters August 10
Spike Lee said he hopes that none other than President Donald Trump takes heed by watching his new movie “BlackKKlansman.”
“I think BlackkKlansman should be shown in the White House,” the acclaimed film director told BOSSIP. “And you gotta put (U.S. Attorney General) Jeff Sessions in the front row! Cause there’s certain things that people are wearing (in the movie) that he might be in possession of!”
Although set in the 1970s, the movie shows viewers parallels with today’s society, like police misconduct – and the klan’s use of phrases like “America First,” and “Make America great again.”
And in the event that Trump decides to see the film – which tells the story of a black cop who infiltrates the hate group and stars John David Washington, Laura Harrier, Corey Hawkins and Topher Grace – it won’t be the first time a movie about the klan was shown on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Then-president Woodrow Wilson screened the shockingly racist 1915 film “The Birth of A Nation” in the White House commenting that it was if “history had been written with lightning.”
Lee admitted that he first thought of David Chapelle’s “Black Klansman” skit when producer Jordan Peele called him up and pitched the project. But he said he quickly fell in love with the period drama and was so confident in actor John David Washington’s ability to carry the movie that he offered him the lead role without an audition.
“I know talent when I see it, and it was very evident,” he said, adding that many well-respected actors got their breakout roles on his projects, like Halle Berry and Rosie Perez. “I just offered him the part. He didn’t have to read for it or have to audition. I said ‘I want you to do this.’”
