In case you’re unaware, and just to briefly summarize the crux of the matter, “Driving Miss Daisy” is Spike Lee’s Vietnam, and in 2019 “Green Book” gave him flashbacks.
In a recent chat with The Realest Podcast Ever, Lee was asked about awards, and what it means to win awards; that’s when Lee went on a small tangent about how the Academy has done him wrong, numerous times:
The Academy has overlooked some great films and great performances. Speaking for myself, no one’s watching mothaf*cking “Driving Miss Daisy.” “Do The Right Thing” wasn’t even nominated [that year]. No one’s watching “Green Book” now. “BlacKKKlansman” got nominated but didn’t win.
I should mention that plenty of people still watch “Green Book” which has almost 600k votes logged in on IMDB, and an 8.2 rating. Meanwhile, “BlacKKKlansman” has a little less than 300k votes logged in, with a 7.5 rating.
I won’t lie that “Do The Right Thing,” one of the very best films of the ‘80s, was egregiously snubbed by the Academy; it shouldn’t have just been nominated, but also won best picture that year. With that said, and as entertaining as the film might be, there were far better efforts than “BlacKKKlansman” released in 2018.
Lee previously slammed “Green Book” as racist, calling it a “white savior” and “magical negro” movie. The NAACP’s president agreed with Lee’s sentiments. It came to a point where ‘Green Book’ lead Viggo Mortensen had to step in to warn that accusations of racism against the film were “unfair’” and “dangerous.”
At the 2019 Oscars, Lee threw a temper tantrum right after “Green Book” won best picture by immediately trying to exit the Kodak Theater before being told to go back to his seat. In protest, he ended up turning his back to the stage when “Green Book” filmmaker Peter Farrelly accepted the night’s top honors.
According to Deadline’s Pete Hammond, Lee was “clearly furious, got up and walked toward the back of the auditorium in a huff […] He then turned back and appeared to get into an intense conversation with Jordan Peele, who was behind him. He was pacing the aisle and stormed to the back of the auditorium. When he came back, he turned his back to the stage during the speech.”
Afterwards, Lee told a reporter, “Whether this film won best picture or not, we’re on the right side of history.” A few years later, Lee commented that Oscar voters who flat out oppose plans for a more inclusive voting body within the Academy “probably voted for ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ and ‘Green Book.'”
The 8 best picture nominees that year were “BlacKKKlansman,” “Green Book,” “ROMA,” “The Favourite,” “Vice,” “A Star is Born,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Black Panther.”