That big box office take for the super fun Inside Man (2006) sure does seem to have rejuvenated interest or opportunities in Spike Lee's career. Buzz is strong, as we've discussed, on Miracle at St. Anna and his next project is going to be the adaptation of a memoir, i.e. a biopic. It's called Time Traveler and it's about the scientist Ronald Mallett (pictured left) who was obsessed with building a time machine. Perhaps Oscar will be forced into loving Spike even if they ignore Miracle since the lure of 'Biopic With Juicy Lead Actor Role' trumps most other Oscar biases. Not all the time I know. Spike Lee's Malcolm X (2002) for instance only landed 2 Oscar nominations in its day (what was that about? Not even technical stuff?) and it's quite handsomely made.
I hope that Lee gives the lead role to someone who could really benefit from a breakout part --perhaps Chiwetel Ejiofor? Nothing against Cheadle or Denzel (who seem like the most likely headliners) but they get plenty of leads. I'd love to see Chiwetel in larger parts. And barring that, maybe Jeffrey Wright? He was so stellar in Angels in America but that didn't seem to change his supporting only status.[warning: political rant]
P.S.ssst, I got this news from Coming Soon and you really must click over to read the comments. One of the commenters would like to see Spike Lee direct a movie that "empowers caucasions for once". Ha! Oh dear. White people (a group to which I belong) really don't get it. It's like when you hear Christians or anyone who voted for Bush constantly bemoaning their put-upon lives or the state of things. Wake up: YOU CONTROL EVERYTHING. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and enjoy the entitlement. And for god's sake, please stop whining. It's unbecoming. Is there anything more disheartening / confusing / frustrating than majority groups (christians, conservatives, heterosexuals, men, whatever) who constantly think that any attention paid or equal rights extended to someone else is somehow an affront to them? Where does this paranoia / lack of empathy come from? It's like the gay marriage thing. How the hell does that affect Mr. and Mrs. Whomever? Shut up! Sorry. It pisses me off. But I guess I'm lucky. I have the white privilege but I'm also gay and that's been a blessing. It saved me from being clueless about hierarchies of power, privilege, discrimination and so much else. [/rant]
