← All Of It with Alison Stewart
All Of It with Alison Stewart
Spike Lee on Heading Back to NYC in 'Highest 2 Lowest'
00:25:50
"Highest 2 Lowest," stars Denzel Washington as a high-powered NYC music executive who finds himself caught in a ransom plot.
Loading summary
Transcript88 lines
- [00:09]
Alison Stewart
You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Director Spike Lee is my guest. His latest film hooks him up with some fine actors. Jeffrey Wright, Wendell Pierce Lachanze and Denzel Washington. Plus some newcomers, ice Spice and A$AP Rocky. Highest to Lowest is the story of a wealthy man who believes that his kid has been taken, only to discover that the kidnapper took the boy's best friend, who was also the son of his driver. The music mogul David King must decide to pay the ransom for his kid's driver, the driver's kid, which is like a big chunk of change. Or use the cash to save his business because money is tight. Here's a clip of David King, played by Denzel Washington, hearing the plea of his driver, played by Jeffrey Wright.
- [00:58]
Spike Lee
Listen, listen, beloved, I see all you do. And I can never stop thanking you for what you did for me. But I never really asked you for anything. You never had to. That's right. That's right. You gave to me freely. I love you for that. Right now, I'm asking you for everything. I'm asking you for my life now. You ain't asking me for life right now. You're asking me for $17.5 million. That's all people do is ask me for stuff. Can you give me my son? Can you give me. They just want me to pay stack hits. Pay for this, give me that, give me this, put this on top of that, on top of this, on top of that, on top of this, on top of that, and this and that.
- [01:38]
Alison Stewart
The story is based loosely on a Kurosawa film and a subsequent Ed Bain book. Highest to Lowest is a WCP film. Wealth, Class and Privilege with a little extra Spike Spice. It was filmed right here in New York City and as one review said, no one shoots New York like life, like Spike. Spike Levy, welcome to the show.
- [01:59]
Spike Lee
Good morning. How are you?
- [02:01]
Alison Stewart
I'm doing well. How are you?
- [02:03]
Spike Lee
Good. I'm here in la. Be back to Brooklyn couple days.
- [02:07]
Alison Stewart
All right. We will welcome you back to New York City when you show up. Alan Fox's script was given to you by Denzel Washington. What do you trust about Denzel's instincts?
- [02:22]
Spike Lee
Well, Dents and I have been working together since Mo Better Blues. I can't remember exactly what the year is and we've done after that. Malcolm X. He Got Game. Inside Man. I even know Inside Man. The last we worked together before this film was 1890 years ago, some journalists told me. But our relationship is not just meant on being Each other's presence. You know, we got, we had a bond. We have a love. Our families, you know, are close. So it's just a gift that I get to work with the. I feel the greatest living actor today Now Mars Corsace is definitely the same. He didn't hear it. It's sidling met was alive. He would say Al Pacino. You know, all these guys that I met. I know and France would say Brando. So but I'm now I've not had the pleasure of any of those actors. And I've done five with Denzel. And so it was a blessing when Denzel called me and said I'm sending you a script. I knew I was doing it even before FedEx arrived with the script. And now we're just plugging the film get people to come out.
- [03:35]
Alison Stewart
What appealed to you about the script?
- [03:39]
Spike Lee
Well, number one, before the great master Akira Gosawa did adaptation, he adapted it from a book by Ed McBain and book was called King's Ransom Kurosawa High and Low. That came out Post War Japan 1963. So I took the approach that many great job musicians have taken where they. There's a standard and then they make it their own. For example, Roger Hammerstein, you look at Sound of Music and Julie Andrew's first song and you know John Coltrane did a different thing and you know, Miles Davis done standard. So I again, I'm repeating myself. I took the approach of jazz musician who's doing a reinterpretation of a standard classic.
- [04:31]
Alison Stewart
The script deals with a man who must choose between paying ransom for someone else's child or saving his business. What decisions did you and Denzel want your character to struggle with in making this decision? And how did you get that struggle on screen?
- [04:50]
Spike Lee
Well, it was there in the, in the novel. I mean, is there Ed McMaine model that the Curacao adapted? So it's not something that we had to reconstruct. I mean we just, we've worked together so long and, and we really. In the, in the Kurosawa film, the kid is little. I think we had a lot more room to work with with teenage kids. And the whole differences with, with a father's son and the son is a teenager, you know, that that's a whole different thing. And in a lot of ways they look at it, this is a father son film. Denzel's character, David King his own, his biological son. But in many ways when you we get the end of the film, you see that the character played by Acer Rocky is looking for a father and he's. And he said that Denzel's character is that person. So it's his. Denzel's character dealing with two sons. This film.
- [06:00]
Alison Stewart
David King, he's a music industry titan. Kind of like Quincy Jones meets Jay Z.
- [06:06]
Spike Lee
But he has the. No, I wouldn't know Jay. He's in it, but just someone who has.
- [06:11]
Alison Stewart
He's got the best years.
- [06:12]
Spike Lee
He's known for having the best ears in the business.
- [06:15]
Alison Stewart
Right. What about that industry did you find interesting? He could have been a movie titan or he could have been a tech titan. But you made him a. A music industry titan.
- [06:27]
Spike Lee
Well, he was a music. He was a. A music mogul in, in the script I got. So it was there already. And. And then, I mean, habit. Denzel played a giant of a shoemaking company. Unless it was Nike.
- [06:47]
Alison Stewart
Not that exciting.
- [06:48]
Spike Lee
Jordans. Anyway, now the music was, I think, the right. The right thing to do. Again, it's a reinterpretation. So we don't have to do everything that was done in the book or the Kurosawa film.
- [07:07]
Alison Stewart
Did it give you any sort of creative ideas, him being a music industry titan?
- [07:15]
Spike Lee
Well, it just made. Open up a whole nother land to play with. I love music. Music been very important part of my filmmaking. I don't know how you've done that if we're making shoes. So it just opened up a whole different world.
- [07:36]
Alison Stewart
You know, part of the story is that David King isn't so sure about technology, about social media, about streaming and AI.
- [07:44]
Spike Lee
He's old head. He's old head like me. I mean, I have. I listen to this. I have to have my children, my grown children turn on the TV for me. Is this. This too?
- [07:58]
Alison Stewart
Where's the remote?
- [07:59]
Spike Lee
Where's.
- [08:00]
Alison Stewart
Where's the clicker?
- [08:00]
Spike Lee
I know the remote is. I just don't know which buttons are pushed.
- [08:05]
Alison Stewart
Well, do you think about those kind of things when you think about a. About your industry? About the music industry? I mean, about the movie industry?
- [08:13]
Spike Lee
Oh, yes. I mean, just several scenes.
- [08:16]
Alison Stewart
This is all of it on wnyc. My guest is Spike.
- [08:20]
Spike Lee
I repeat it. This whole AI bs and Denzel's character said, you know, these computers don't have a soul, they don't have a heart. He's against it, like me.
- [08:38]
Alison Stewart
Can you be against it for. For how long?
- [08:46]
Spike Lee
Look, here's the thing. I mean, the world moves on. And I don't think that, in my opinion, that a machine can have souls. I'm not against technology. Just the fact you Have a phone is technology. But. And this is serious business. I mean, the WGA rising good of America, you know, they're. They're making. They're really putting into some things where studios can have machines writing scripts. But it's even worse education. I mean, if you're a teacher, you don't know if your student. If this paper was written by a student or machine. So. And I think it's cheating, too. How can you learn from machine writing your thesis paper? Mm. Well, I don't think you can, but that's my opinion.
- [10:02]
Alison Stewart
David King lives in fancy Brooklyn. They have money. They're wealthy. The wealth buys them a certain privilege. How does his privilege affect his interactions in the film? Higher to Lowest. Higher. Lowest.
- [10:20]
Spike Lee
I don't know how to answer that question. I mean, he's. He's made a lot of money over the years. He worked hard for it. And I think that. I know that the stakes are higher. We have more to lose. I mean, that, to me, that's just basic, man. Just look at it. Look at. Look at the building list, what we see in an open shot. Look at artwork.
- [10:49]
Alison Stewart
That's next. That's my next question.
- [10:51]
Spike Lee
Everywhere, you know, so Avedon photograph. So I don't want him. Just talk about the money. I mean, you want to see the money where he lives and on the walls. It's the shortcut that, you know, you. That this guy got. He got bank.
- [11:11]
Alison Stewart
Who is your art consultant? Risk was your art consultant on the film.
- [11:15]
Spike Lee
Me.
- [11:16]
Alison Stewart
Was you is. That's your art?
- [11:19]
Spike Lee
My wife and I have great, great art. I. I know you know about it, but last year had an exhibition in the Brooklyn Museum with all the.
- [11:26]
Alison Stewart
All the stuff that's your work in the. In the film.
- [11:30]
Spike Lee
A lot of it was. It's not the real thing. It's copies of the real thing. And after the last day of filming, we destroyed those copies.
- [11:42]
Alison Stewart
What did you want art to say to people about this couple?
- [11:47]
Spike Lee
That very good taste, and they got the money to buy the best artwork they can. It's shorthand. It's shorthand, you know.
- [12:00]
Alison Stewart
My guest is Spike Lee. We're talking to him about his film Highest to Lowest. It's opening in theaters tomorrow. We'll have a quick break. We'll be back. You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. I'm speaking with Spike Lee, the director of Highest to Lowest. It opens in theaters tomorrow. So this film has like a 92, 93% on rotten tomatoes. Two thumbs up. And I Looked at the critics pictures next to their names and sort of the one black journalist I saw, he said unabashedly, epic, fearlessly funny and proudly black. Highest to lowest might derive from a Japanese filmmaker, but its soul clearly resides in Lee. How did you want black excellence to be represented in this film?
- [12:57]
Spike Lee
I've never been asked that question before. Well, I. For me just hearing this right now and trying to think what I'm going to say. I'm black, so I do excellent work. That's black excellence. I don't. You know what? Maybe that's a stupid answer, but I can't get deeper than that. I'm black. One black, gonna die black. I've done excellent work. Doesn't make me. Doesn't make it black excellence. Okay, I'm cool. I'm cool with that.
- [13:28]
Alison Stewart
You work with some young actors asap. Rocky. What did working with him remind you about being a director?
- [13:38]
Spike Lee
How young I was when I started the, the enthusiasms. And here's. I told we, you know, we, we're in la, have several screenings. And I told, I told my brother last night, you're a great actor, but your next film, do not play a rapper. Expand your. Your gift. He said, yeah, I know, Spike, I know, I know. But his, his work is brilliant in this film. And let's not forget, he asked, in this film, it's like a, A boxing ring, one of those scenes, you know, a heavyweight like Denzel and know, a lightweight. But they were trading blows, which are lyrical bars, a rap. I mean, it was, it was amazing. A lot of that stuff that ends up in the film was. Was ad libs. It was not on script. And they were going blow for, for blow, except knockout, drag out. Fisticuffs were being thrown, bombs, left hooks, straights, uppercuts. And it just elevated the scene, which at the same time as, you know, elevate the whole movie asap.
- [15:10]
Alison Stewart
Cross asap. Rocky has charisma.
- [15:14]
Spike Lee
Yes.
- [15:14]
Alison Stewart
And it just comes right off the screen is charisma.
- [15:17]
Spike Lee
I'm glad you noticed that, my sister, because charisma just oozes out of his. Is his pores. I mean, he, he got it. And everybody not born did, but he got it. The smile, the swagger. Hey, he got Rihanna right.
- [15:37]
Alison Stewart
Exactly right. I saw him, I saw him the other day. I saw him at this, at the premiere on Monday night, and I was like, rihanna, I see you. I get you now. I understand.
- [15:47]
Spike Lee
Yeah.
- [15:50]
Alison Stewart
I also wanted to ask you about working with Dean Winters. He's a really, really good actor. People remember from Law and Order. And he plays mayhem in the insurance companies. He takes a lot of.
- [16:02]
Spike Lee
I just. I just felt there are people in production who said, why are we doing this? But I'm running this. And I knew that it's an inside joke and let's go with it. And the set piece, you know, he's driving the whole thing. You know, he's. He becomes Gene Hackman for me, for. From the French Connection.
- [16:22]
Alison Stewart
He's really. He's a good actor.
- [16:27]
Spike Lee
Yes. You know, I. I'm. I will be working again. And if people want to, you know, think about the TV commercial that's on them. But he's a fine actor.
- [16:37]
Alison Stewart
As you said, you and Denzel have worked together many times. It's been several years. What's remained the same about him as an actor?
- [16:49]
Spike Lee
He's open, open. And here's the thing, though, and I know you have to do your job, but sometimes it's kind of hard, you know, describing people you don't want to hear. You know, how to be on the radio for 20 minutes. So, you know, that break it down to one or two words, and sometimes that just is not. It does a disservice to people like Denzel Washington. Well, I'm just glad that we're brothers and, you know, we've done great work together and God willing, Allah with them. We'll get to another one. Make it six. Make it six for six. We're batting 1,000.
- [17:32]
Alison Stewart
Jeffrey Wrighton's in the film as well. He's often been on the show.
- [17:36]
Spike Lee
Great, great, great, great. Another. I mean, we. The cast we. We have is phenomenal. Gotta shout out to Kim Coleman, who's a casting director on this. So we. Here's the thing, though. As I said many times, I'm like a general manager of a sports team and you do have a star. But we've seen many times sports where the team is just one guy and that's not it. You guys have supported or support around them, and that just lifts everybody up because the acting around Denzel makes him lift up his performance, too. So that's. I look at it as a. A team. In front of and behind the camera, shout out the great Maddy La, My brother. His cinematography in this film is through the Roof. Howard Dren his orchestral score, you know, so you got to have a team in front of behind the camera.
- [18:37]
Alison Stewart
You shot in New York a million times. What is something you did on this film that you haven't gotten to do before.
- [18:45]
Spike Lee
As far as New York City? Yeah, well, never. I never Had a set piece like we have in this film where death of characters dropping the black Michael Jordan Jumpman knapsack deal with 17.5 million Swiss francs on a Sunday afternoon which happens to be crowd on the subway fan Yankee fans going to Yankee Stadium to see them beat the hated Boston Red Sox. And it's also the same day as a Puerto Rican Day parade. I like to say this though, since the film has come out with these premieres. We all get so choked up when we see that great scene with the great late, great Eddie Palmeri. And also I'd like to say everyone, that was not done to playback. We did seven takes each time. It was recorded live and at the premiere at BAM in Brooklyn, New York, Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Eddie II spoke some words about his father and everybody was deeply moved.
- [19:58]
Alison Stewart
I wanted to ask you about being in Fort Greene on Saturday at your place. You had a little bit of a party. The segment that I was doing before, I was walking by, I was going to the theater, was going to see this play. Well, look it go. And I saw this line, line all the way around the corner. How would you describe the event?
- [20:27]
Spike Lee
Well, it was a pop up, a stoop sale pop up shop at the world headquarters of 40 acres of mule, which is in Fort Green. And we, we went down into the basement and pulled up vintage posters from the 40 years that I've been making film and books. I was taking pictures. So it was, you know, people disappointed that we do a regular block part, regular Prince Michael Jackson block party. She'll do it next year. But. And you know, look at that. We had a, a stoop sale and I was signing and taking pictures from 12 noon to 10:30 at night. Did not take a break. The line went from the corner South Elliot and Lafayette to up the block to round. Went down Decal B Park and came around and I would ask people how long they wait in line. People were saying three and four hours. And that meant a lot to me. These people willing to spend money, have a picture of me and you know, have supported me over the years. They're really. And it was hot too. People standing three or four hours. And I, I really appreciate that. Yeah, I'm from the neighborhood from Green before my parents bought a brownstone in 1967 or 8. I can't remember exactly a brownstone face of Fort Green park between Myrtle Avenue Willoughby for $45,000. Oh, and that was pre gentrification for Green.
- [22:12]
Alison Stewart
How has gentrification changed Fort Greene?
- [22:16]
Spike Lee
That is another show. You know what you do you can go Google and do the night. I gave a speech at Pratt one day. You could Google it. And I went berserk.
- [22:29]
Alison Stewart
Why? Tell me, tell me. I got. I got three minutes. Fill me in.
- [22:33]
Spike Lee
I don't. I'm not getting to that now, but there's pros and cons of gentrification. But this is not the, the show for that.
- [22:42]
Alison Stewart
Well, it could be the show for that.
- [22:45]
Spike Lee
Not at this moment in time and space.
- [22:52]
Alison Stewart
Tell me one thing about Eddie Palmieri before we go.
- [22:57]
Spike Lee
A great, great loss. And he had to stand a weak stand at WEK at the Blue Note Theater. So I came by, went his dresser, and we were talking and I said, ed, I need you to do this. He said, I'm with you, Spike. And then in post production, I said, I need another song. And those meetings I was meeting with Eddie, I did not want to get out to the public. I kept saying, this has to be on the low. The low. The lowdown has been a low. And so the song he sent me, the title is the Lowdown. Big, big, big loss for not just salsa music, not for just Puerto Rico, for the world.
- [23:46]
Alison Stewart
And people get to see him in the film.
- [23:48]
Spike Lee
Yes. Joyous Puerto Rican Day parade in the film performance.
- [23:57]
Alison Stewart
The name of the film is highest to lowest. I have been speaking with Spike Lee. It opens in theaters tomorrow and it's important for people to see it in theaters because.
- [24:10]
Spike Lee
No one has a theater size TV in our house. Most people don't come out. People come out, come out. New York City. We need to support opening day weekend. Let's go. Let's keep it going. Thank you very much.
- [24:30]
Alison Stewart
Thank you, Spike.
- [24:31]
Spike Lee
Oh, one other thing.
- [24:32]
Alison Stewart
Yes.
- [24:33]
Spike Lee
The Knicks are winning this year. You know, I had to get that in. Go to your. Go to your goat, Spike.
- [24:48]
Alison Stewart
You funny Spike. Thank you so much.
- [24:51]
Spike Lee
Thank you. Bye bye.
- [24:53]
Alison Stewart
And that is all of it. All of it is produced by Andrea Duncan Mao, Kate Hines, Jordan Loft, Simon Close, El Malik Anderson and Luke Green. Megan Ryan is the head of Live Radio. Our engineers are Juliana Fonda, Jason Isaac and Shayna Sengstock. With help this week from Amber Bruce and Bill o'. Neill. To say goodbye to our two summer interns, Francesca Bazzi and Sam Schmia. Their time with all of it is up. We appreciate all of your work and your good attitude. Best luck to all of you at back at school. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening. I appreciate you and I will meet you back here next time. Maybe I'll meet you back. Yeah, I'll come back. I'LL come back. It'll be all right.
- [25:50]
C
I'm Ira Flato, host of Science Friday. For over 30 years, our team has been reporting high quality news about science, technology and medicine. News you won't get anywhere else. And now that political news is 24 7, our audience is turning to us to know about the really important stuff in their lives. Cancer, Climate change. Genetic engineering. Childhood diseases. Our sponsors know the value of science and health news. For more sponsorship information, visit sponsorship. Wnyc. Org.