Sat, Oct 11, 2008
EURweb |
THE FILM STRIP: Robbed of an Oscar Denzel Washington and Spike Lee are back together again in a heist film, Halle hound Clive Owen and Jodie Foster sing Spike’s praises
(March 23, 2006)
Although written by Russell Gewirtz, “Inside Man” has Spike Lee written all over it. I asked Lee if he chose this project because he knew he could add his stamp to this particular cinematic project? “Well, I definitely saw the potential. For me to direct a script that I hadn’t conceived depends on whether I can add something to it. But I think we should give credit to Russell Gewitz. It’s a very well written script and it was very kind that Denzel, Clive and Jodie did the film because of me. But also, let’s not negate the fact that it’s the script, the material.
“These guys didn’t have to do it, especially Jodie. She just did ‘Flight Plan.’ She might do a film every four or five years. So it was the material that attracted this strong cast. And I think that in closing you can tell the people they were having a good time and enjoying being a part of this film.”
In addition to Lee’s social commentary, it was evident Washington was getting off on adding some of his own adlibs, that Lee encouraged. It just seemed so natural when he said to Foster’s character, “Miss white, kiss my black a**.” Washington also admitted he added, “I bet you can get a cab” when interrogating one of the subject who was complaining about the way he was treated because of his race. One of my favorite lines was when Clive Owen told Washington, “You’re too smart to be a cop.” It says volumes about a lot of Blacks in positions they are not respected for or taken for granted.
Washington, who expressed a desire to be back east, admitted the folks on the west coast might not get some of the humor because of it being germane to New York City. Laughing, he said, “I did most of my research listening to my driver, who is from Brooklyn. It’s just a feeling or vibe. Living in California I just don’t get that [vibe].”
Owen, who had the hots so badly for Halle Berry in “The Rich Man’s Wife, had her husband murdered. He has had a burning desire for sometime now to work with Lee. The Film Strip asked him if it was because of Lee’s subject matter or technique? “It’s both of those things,” he replied. “Right from his early films, I think he sort of exploded into movies really, because there was no one doing what he was doing, and I love the fact that every time you see a Spike Lee film, Spike’s trying to make a really serious movie.
“…He’s a proper filmmaker. He goes in there and he’s making films about subjects, and you know, he’s unusual in that way. He’s always been true to that, and there’s something very special about that. And I love his attitude and I love what he’s done. He’s opened up a lot for other filmmakers as well. I mean, Spike’s been around a long time now, but when Spike first exploded on the scene, he really opened up a huge amount of doors for a lot of filmmakers, and he still seems very true to that same ethic that he started when he started making movies. He hasn’t changed in that way.”
Jodie Foster, another member of the Spike Lee admiration society, chimed in with:
“I love working with Spike and that was the foremost reason why I wanted to make the movie. I’ve never been right for any of his films and here was an opportunity to do something that I’d be right for, and mostly just to stand behind his shoulder and see how he sees it, you know. I just wanna know how he does it and why he thinks the way he does and why he would set up the shot the way he does and that kind of stuff. For me that’s the impulse now to make films as an actress, it’s to really watch the directors and see what they’re doing, and why they do what they do when they shoot the pictures.
“He was different than I thought he was going to be. He was, first of all, he’s such an adorable sweet guy. I mean, you know, big kisses everyday before shooting and you know just a sweet, really nice guy and he really had the courage to kind of just turn the camera on, shoot two takes for six pages and just walk away and that’s not what I thought. I really thought it was going to be a much more manicured experience, a much more technical experience and it wasn’t at all. It was a very free form, a very free Spike and I didn’t anticipate that at all.”
That says it all. Foster, a director herself, looking to Spike for direction.
Speak Out
Currently, 0 comments have been made on this story.
.jpg)
