Spike Lee recalls screening ‘Malcolm X’ for execs during the LA riots: ‘I could never forget that day’

Spike Lee’s 1992 epic, “Malcolm X,” a biopic starring Denzel Washington as the controversial Black Nationalist leader, is known around Hollywood for the battles Lee had with the movie’s studio, Warner Bros. The movie was even temporarily shut down over budgetary concerns, leading celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Prince, and Michael Jordan to make donations to resolve the issue.

But despite Lee’s contentious relationship with the studio during the production process, there’s one moment he’ll always be grateful to them for.

In a recent interview with Business Insider, Lee recalled screening a cut of “Malcolm X” for the then-heads of Warner Bros., Terry Semel and Bob Daly, on the day the LA Riots began.

“The day we flew out to LA to screen the four-hour cut, it turned out, while we were screening the film, the uprising happened,” Lee said.

In March 1991, the country was in shock when a video surfaced showing four Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King, a Black man, during his arrest. The officers went to trial and on April 29, 1992, were acquitted, sparking six days of rioting throughout Los Angeles that led to looting, fires, thousands of injuries, and 63 people dead.

“I could never forget that day,” Lee said of showing the movie on the day the riots broke out.

“And to Terry and Bob’s credit, they stayed throughout the whole four-hour screening. They could have easily said, ‘Spike, I’m sorry, the city is in flames, and we gotta get home.’ So, no matter what our differences were, making that movie, I have to give respect to both of them because they stayed throughout the full four-hour cut. I thank them for that.”

“Malcolm X” will always be linked to the horrific incident that led to the riots, as Lee put the camcorder footage of King being beaten over the film’s opening credits.

“We recorded one of Malcolm’s speeches, and we brought Denzel in, and he recorded the speech, and we put that over the savage beating of Rodney King and then used the score from the great Terence Blanchard,” Lee said of how he changed the opening during post-production to include the King footage.

Seven months after the riots, Warner Bros. released “Malcolm X,” which would go on to earn two Oscar nominations (best actor for Washington and best costume design). Out of the five times Lee has worked with Washington, the legendary director calls Washington’s performance in “Malcolm X” the peak of their collaborations.

“That’s the one,” he said.

Lee’s latest movie, “Highest 2 Lowest,” starring Washington, is available now on Apple TV+.

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