The Top 100 Greatest New Yorkers — #38

Spike Lee (b. 1957)

New York is driven, passionate, colorful, talented, hardworking, and controversial. The same six words could be used to describe filmmaker Spike Lee, whose debut film She’s Gotta Have It showcased his home neighborhood of Fort Greene in the brilliant light of its mid-1980’s transition. Since then, Lee has maintained an intense relationship with the city, directing many films that heighten New York’s socio-political volatility, and producing them in his Brooklyn-based studio 40Acres and a Mule Productions. His vivid cinematic portraits of the city include Malcolm X, Jungle Fever, Crooklyn, Clockers, Summer of Sam, 25^th Hour, Inside Man, and of course his most widely loved work, Do the Right Thing. During his stellar career, he has won three Black Reel Awards, an honorary Cesar Award, the BAFTA Award, the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, and most recently an Academy Award for Contribution to Film.

• Posted in: 10 Best List