Spike Lee’s ambition to make ‘BlacKkKlansman’ was sparked by Jordan Peele.
The 61-year-old moviemaker has helmed the new drama film, which tells the story of the first African-American police officer who worked undercover to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan, and Spike has revealed it was the ‘Get Out’ director who made him aware of the story.
Spike confessed: "I never heard of any of that. I never heard of Ron [Stallworth, who penned the memoir on which the film is based], never heard of the book."
Many of Spike’s movies, such as ‘Do the Right Thing’ and ‘Get on the Bus’, have looked at the issue of race relations in America.
And despite efforts made to tackle racism in the country, the New York-born filmmaker insists that the problem has never truly gone away.
Asked whether he sees a solution to the "undercurrent" of racism in America, Spike told The Hollywood Reporter: "Undercurrent? It never went away. Racism is woven into the fabric of this country. The foundation of this country is the genocide of the native people. And my ancestors were stolen from Mother Africa and brought here to work from can’t-see-in-the-morning to can’t-see-at-night and built this country. That’s the source.
"Genocide and slavery is the source, the foundation of this country. That’s a fact. That’s how I feel. The foundation of this country is faulty, is false."
Spike Lee says Jordan Peele convinced him to make BlacKkKlansman
