Spike Lee to Claremont Sept. 30 For Free Public Lecture

Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee will make his first area appearance at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 30, with a lecture at Bridges Auditorium. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, the CMC Dean of Students, and Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College. Bridges Auditorium is located at 450 N. College Way. Seating is available on a first-come basis, with a reserved section for CMC with identification card. Bridges Auditorium will open at 6:30 p.m.
His first film, the independently produced She's Gotta Have It, won the Prix de Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Lee received an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay in 1990 for Do The Right Thing, which also won best film and director awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. This was followed in 1992 by Malcolm X, in which he performed, as well as directed, produced, and wrote. His 1998 film He Got Game, starring Denzel Washington, reached number one at the box office, with Jungle Fever and Crooklyn two of his most critically acclaimed films. In addition, Lee has produced and directed music videos for artists including Miles Davis, Michael Jackson, Tracy Chapman, Branford Marsalis, Anita Baker, and Public Enemy. He has produced television commercials, short films, and spots for MTV. His most recent book, Spike Lee: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers Series), was published in May.
Lee, born in Atlanta and raised in Brooklyn, is a graduate of Morehouse College. He earned a master's degree in film production from New York University's Tisch School of Arts, from which he was recently awarded an honorary doctorate degree. While enrolled at NYU, Lee's showcase project won the Student Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
For information, please call the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum at Claremont McKenna College at (909) 621-8244.