Whenever a talented, promising artist has a noted and accomplished relative, comparisons are destined. Such has been the case with Malcolm D. Lee, the cousin of renowned film director Spike Lee. In spite of the familial relationship, Malcolm D. Lee has been able to stand upon his exceptional talents and forge his own unique identity.
Need proof? Lee's directorial debut, The Best Man, was the box office champ during its opening weekend (October 22-24, 1999), and to date his movies have grossed $145,092,482 in domestic box office receipts.
On November 7, 2008, Dimension Films released Lee's fifth project, Soul Men, which chronicles the reunion of two estranged soul-singing legends at the Apollo Theater. The film instantly became a cult classic upon release due to the deaths of the film's stars, comedian Bernie Mac and musician Isaac Hayes, in August 2008, three months before the release date. Soul Men, as a consequence, stands as a lasting tribute to the lives of Mac and Hayes as well as the tremendous body of work that these artists left behind.
In preparation for the DVD release of Soul Men, Malcolm D. Lee managed to squeeze some time out of his busy schedule and settle down for an interview, reflecting on Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes, and the legacy of Stax Records.
Nearly a decade after its release, The Best Man is still considered to be the prototype for contemporary African-American films. After all these years, how do you feel about its overwhelmingly positive reception?
It's great, you know? The only unfortunate thing about that is it's one of the few films that people always reference. I think that it's great that I wrote a movie that really resonates with people across the board. That's great, but I've worked on other movies since then, like Soul Men, so I want to be able to achieve that again. Part of the Best Man's success was due to the fact that I was really hungry then. Really, really hungry, like living-with-my-parents hungry.
With The Best Man, you wrote the screenplay and directed the film, unlike Soul Men, in which you only wore your director's hat. So how did you approach Soul Men differently, since you were directing another writer's work?
In my career, I've actually directed more films than I have written. It's always a little bit different, because I'm not as intimate with the details of the project as I would if I had written it. Every movie is different and has its particular challenges. The approach is always the same: you want to tell a story. You get the best crew to help you tell that story. You communicate with the actors to tell them what my vision is. You cast the right people, making sure that everybody can do what I'm attempting to do with the movie – to always keep it funny. In my work I like to have it as grounded as possible, have it be authentic whether it's the dialogue or the prose or the make-up and hair – just make sure it's grounded in reality. In the case of Soul Men, it's a buddy comedy, with a lot of onscreen performances and a lot of dance performances. So that's another layer of challenge for me. There's going to be some outlandish and silly things that happen because it's a comedy. But, hopefully, it's grounded in reality, with people and places that the audience can relate to.
Article comments