Spike Lee and Netflix form creative partnership

By Jared Alexander

·December 17, 2021

Spike Lee/ ICM Partners

It looks like Netflix is not letting go of Spike Lee anytime soon. The massive streamer has officially formed a creative partnership with Lee, which will see the creator producing and directing narrative films under the multi-year deal.

Lee and Netflix have previously worked on four projects predating the deal; he wrote and directed Da 5 Bloods film and the series She’s Gotta Have It. He also directed Rodney King and produced See You Yesterday.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 30: American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and professor Spike Lee is seen at a NBA game between the New York Knicks and the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on October 30, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

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In addition to producing and directing content for the streamer, the partnership will also make an impact in the industry at large, something that Lee himself is passionate about. Through the deal, “Netflix will also invest in and provide financial support for Lee’s ongoing mission to develop new talent and increase representation in the entertainment industry,” per the press release.

Lee shared an official statement regarding the multi-year deal. The BlacKKKlansman director shared in the statement, “There Is No Better Way For Me And My Company 40Acres And A Mule Filmworks To Begin The New Year Than Renew Our Partnership With Ted,Scott And Tendo-Da Fearless Leaders Of NETFLIX. Besides My Joints,We Together Will Focus On The New Diverse Storytellers,YOUTH MUST BE SERVED. And Dat’s Da Truth,Ruth. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF.”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 25: Spike Lee attends The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Opening Gala at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on September 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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Scott Stuber, Head of Global Film at Netflix, shared excitement about the collaboration. “Throughout Spike’s incredible career, his writing and directing have remained searing and insightful about our times, while still being incredibly entertaining,” he said. “We’re privileged to enter this new partnership with Spike and look forward to bringing the next chapter of films from Brooklyn’s very own to the world.”

As theGrio previously reported, Lee has had a busy year in the film industry. He was recently appointed the head of the Cannes Film Festival jury, making him the first Black person to ever hold the title. He also released a 9/11 documentary with HBO, entitled NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½.

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