Spike Lee’s new film, “Highest 2 Lowest,” is scheduled to premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, though it will screen out of competition—a decision that reportedly disappointed Lee.
Lee’s return to Cannes brings back memories of a pivotal moment from 36 years ago. In 1989, his acclaimed film “Do the Right Thing” captivated audiences at the festival but ultimately lost the Palme d’Or to Steven Soderbergh’s “Sex, Lies and Videotape.”
In a new conversation with THR, Lee still places the blame for that loss on the Cannes jury president at the time, filmmaker Wim Wenders:
“Look, me and Steven [Soderbergh] are cool, have always been cool. The thing was commandeered by Wim Wenders,” Lee says. “The thing that gets me mad is that [Wenders] said Mookie was not a heroic character.”
Lee continued: “Sally Field and the late great Héctor Babenco told me about what was going on with the jury. The word was coming from the president of the jury, Do the Right Thing cannot win. That’s when I really got mad. That’s when I made that statement, “I got a Louisville Slugger baseball bat.”
Lee’s film won nothing, while “Sex Lies and videotap” took not just the top prize but also the best actor for James Spader. “Wim Wenders had better watch out cause I’m waiting for his ass,” Lee said after the snub. “Somewhere deep in my closet I have a Louisville Slugger bat with Wenders’ name on it.”
Wenders, however, has consistently denied the accusation thrown at him by Lee, insisting that the jury’s decision was collective and not his alone.
“He said he’d be waiting for me in an alley with a baseball bat,” Wenders recalled. “Well, he should have been waiting for the whole jury because it wasn’t my decision. The film simply didn’t have the support of the jury…. He just had the bad luck to be in such a great year.”
“I had sleepless nights over our decision. With Spike, I’m still sad that he took it so personally.”
As for “Do the Right Thing,” it’s aged very well over the decades. A recent critics’ poll named it the best film of the 1980s, appearing on nearly half of the submitted lists. Even today, the film still delivers powerfully emotional impact and remains the best work Lee has ever created.