Spike Lee threw some shade at Donald Trump during the Cannes Film Festival press conference for his latest joint “Highest 2 Lowest.” When asked about if social media has jeopardized morals in America, Lee replied: “I don’t know how much we can talk about American values considering who is the president.”
He continued: “My wife said, ‘Spike, be very careful what you say!’ But here’s the thing, I don’t think we can condemn social media. People say the same thing about film or whatever. So I’m not going to demonize the form.”
Later on, when asked more directly about Trump’s proposed tariffs on foreign-made films, Lee said he “doesn’t have the answer for that” but acknowledged that “people are hurting.”
“No one’s working,” Lee said. “The guy just said he wanted to put a tariff on every film that shot… I don’t know how that’s going to work.”
Keeping true to his promise to his wife, Lee then pivoted to speaking about how “Do the Right Thing” was originally meant to shoot in Baltimore instead of New York City.
“Like get the fuck out of here, we’re not doing that,” Lee said. “So there’s just some things you can’t replicate. It’s a vibe, it’s a energy. So I’ve been very lucky that I’ve been able to shoot films, especially ones that take place in New York. I have people who worked on ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ who worked on ‘Do the Right Thing.’ I don’t have the answer to your question, but people are definitely hurting.”
The film’s lead stars, Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky, were absent for the press conference, with only Ilfenesh Hadera and Jeffrey Wright joining director Lee on the panel.
“Highest 2 Lowest” premiered on Tuesday night to a 5.5-minute standing ovation and a surprise honorary Palme d’Or for lead Denzel Washington. It also brought Rihanna to Cannes, who sat in the audience to support her partner A$AP Rocky and walked the red carpet in the rain with him after the film’s debut.
“Highest 2 Lowest,” an English-language remake of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film “High and Low,” is set in modern day New York and stars Washington as a music mogul tied up in a life-or-death ransom plot. Rocky plays Yung Felon, an aspiring rapper who will stop at nothing to achieve his dream.
“Highest 2 Lowest” also stars Ice Spice (in her film debut), Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson, LaChanze, Aubrey Joseph, Michael Potts and Wendell Pierce. The screenplay was penned by William Alan Fox. After premiering at Cannes, “Highest 2 Lowest” will get a theatrical release starting Aug. 22 via A24 and will stream on Apple TV+ Sept. 5.
