I wanted to poke a little fun at him and myself, because in the same scene I say, you know, the character played by Michæl Rappaport, “I don’t care what Spike Lee says, Tarantino was right!”
I’ve read a few reviews of Bamboozled that have criticized the shot-on-digital film look – I think it adds to the film’s realism, was that your intention?
We thought that too. Plus, we didn’t have the money to shoot 35mm.
Could you imagine the very same film, same script, same actors shot in glorious 35mm, looking pretty? Wouldn’t it have diluted the message? It (the digital image) made it a lot harsher, that’s for sure. (LAUGHS) I think that’s right, it would have softened the message and taken some of its power away.
With regard to Black culture, I want to applaud you for the following quote you said on television, “Appreciation, not appropriation.” I personally find it irritating to see white kids going around trying to be Black.
I’d like to say this: It’s a thin line, because I think culture is there for everyone to enjoy, (and) to embrace. But this is just me thinking, if young white kids want to embrace black culture, I don’t think the best thing to take from us is walking around with your pants down below your a*s and calling each other n****r. We got better things that they can embrace.
“This whole country is in an identity crisis. That’s what it is.”
Right. I think it would be as ridiculous as if young African American kids were dressing in green and speaking with Irish accents.
(BIG LAUGH!) This whole country is in an identity crisis. That’s what it is.
I met Spike Lee three years ago at Tribeca Film Festival I was working for the fest at the time. I actually had a Film Threat hat on and he was walking by me I saw him looking at my hat. He actually gave me a head now and stuck his hand out and shook my hand. I told him seeing School Case as a kid was one of the reasons I got into film. He’s a super cool humble guy.