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SPIKE SAYS CLINT COMMENTS MAY KILL OSCAR HOPES': Plus, director continues Babelgum gig for second year.
*Spike Lee tells King magazine that his chances of ever receiving an Oscar nomination may have been ruined by his public feud with Clint Eastwood earlier this year.
At the Cannes Film Festival in May, Lee called Eastwood on the carpet for the lack of African-American soldiers depicted in his World War II films "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima." In the war of words that ensued, Eastwood said Lee should "shut his face" – to which Lee responded "we're not on a plantation."
Lee thinks the controversy will taint some members of the Academy when it's time to cast ballots for his new WW II movie "Miracle at St. Anna."
He tells King magazine: "My wife Tonya told me I may have hurt my chances with the Clint Eastwood stuff... They (Oscar voters and Academy bosses) take everything into account with me. They take into account that I like the Knicks or that I'm in New York."
"If you did a survey, the bulk of the people who vote in the Academy are in Los Angeles," he continued. "There's definite bias, considering that my films are typically New York-based."
The director says he still doesn't understand how 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy" could win an Oscar for Best Film over his movie "Do the Right Thing," which was released the same year, but not nominated.
"Nobody is watching motherf**king 'Driving Miss Daisy' today. 'Do The Right Thing' is being taught in classes at major universities and high schools all over the world. That's how you're supposed to test art. Does the work stand up?"
Meanwhile, Lee begins his second year heading the jury of the Babelgum Online Film Festival, which calls for independent filmmakers who upload their entries onto Babelgum's platform for a nationwide vote among Web users.
Last year's inaugural festival included 1,000 entries from 86 countries, according to Babelgum, an Internet company that streams videos online for free. More than 1.5 million viewers voted to select the final cut for the jury.
Babelgum is accepting uploads of independent short- and medium-length films through the end of the year. Viewers will select the top 10 films in each of the four categories: including short films up to 20 minutes, documentary and animation. From those, Lee will then choose a winner in each category for the Spike Lee Award, worth $28,400.
A four-member jury also will choose a winner in each category, with prizes still to be determined. Another prize of $28,400 will be given to an emerging talent from any of the four categories.
The winners will be announced early next year at a time and place still to be determined.
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