Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League presented the filmmaker with the honor in the cinema’s lobby, sharing why Lee was the perfect person to represent the movie theater chain’s location in the borough. “Since the dawn of film — since the workers left the factory in France and [made the] very first film — no human being has celebrated this beloved borough more than this gentleman,” said League.
Lee then had the founder read the newly-installed plaque that read: “Like many of the greatest films over the past 40 years, this theater is a Spike Lee Joint. From his nuanced portrayals of Brooklyn life in Do the Right Thing and Crooklyn to his towering portrait of Malcolm X , his vision has shaped our culture and left an indelible mark on this city. For that reason, as of Thursday, September 12th 2024, this Alamo Drafthouse shall hereby be known as the Spike Lee Cinema.”
The director admitted that he “never saw this coming.” He looked back at the “old Brooklyn” he knew growing up, recalling since-shuttered theaters which once stood in the neighborhood where the newly-named Spike Lee Cinema is located. “I love Brooklyn, and I think that’s reflected in the films I’ve made,” he said.
To commemorate the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s honor, the theater showed a screening of his semi-autobiographical film, Crooklyn . The 1994 classic was co-written with his siblings Joie and Cinqué, who were also in attendance at the ceremony. “When I got this honor, I knew right away that I wanted to show Crooklyn ,” the director told the crowd. “It’s a very special film.” He mentioned that it’s the one that people comment on the most about being their favorite of his — even more than Do the Right Thing .
Following the screening of Crooklyn , League moderated a panel with Lee and his siblings, delving into the making of the film.
Joie shared that the film, which is based on their experience losing their mother to cancer during their childhood, is still hard to watch 30 years later. Lee was surprised to learn that Joie had only watched the film in its entirety once — during its premiere — and had walked out of the theater during this screening after the scene in which Troy (the character inspired by herself) returns home from staying with her aunt in the South and finds out that her mother has been sick in the hospital. Joie also confirmed that the scene in which RuPaul’s sassy Connie sultrily salsa dances with a romantic partner at a bodega was a true memory from her childhood.
The night closed with a brief Q&A and a reception at the theater’s House of Wax Bar.
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