(Photo Credit: PR Photos)
Spike Lee has opened up on how he came to team with rock band The Killers, directing the video for their “Land of the Free” single, which he described as “a great protest song.”
Lee says lead singer Brandon Flowers called him up personally to ask if he would collaborate with the band.
“He saw BlacKkKlansman, said he loved it,” Lee told The Hollywood Reporter. He said, ‘What can you do with this?’
The Las Vegas band released the single on Monday and it serves as a response to Donald Trump’s presidency as well as racism and gun violence in America.
As reported by NME, the video was shot by Lee on location as he traveled along the border between the USA and Mexico late last year to capture footage of migrants and the location of Trump’s proposed border wall.
You can watch the video for “Land of the Free” below.
Meanwhile, Spike discussed the timeliness of “BlacKkKlansman” and the government shutdown with THR during a lunch reception for the Producers Guild Awards. The film is up for the top prize at Saturday’s ceremony, but the filmmaker says “The goal is not to be nominated. The goal is to make films of impact, and this film definitely has,” Lee told The Hollywood Reporter.
“I’m not trying to be some grandiose motherf*cker like, ‘Oh, I don’t need awards.’ I’m not saying that. But what I’m saying is that, there are things more important.”
“BlacKkKlansman” centers on the real-life black detective Ron Stallworth, who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. Spike believes the timeliness of the film is what made it a hit with critics and audiences.
“I think it really deals with the world we live in today. I keep saying this, but it’s true — ‘The stars were in alignment.’ Everything is timing, really,” he said. “You could do anything — a great song, movie, play, novel — and one little thing in there, it’s not gonna hit. It’s not gonna have impact. It’s timing.”
To illustrate his point, Lee cited The Killers’ new single, “Land of the Free” and pointed out that the song was released during the longest U.S. government shutdown in history.
“Again, it’s about what’s happening. Over 800,000 Americans are on their fourth week of not receiving a check,” Lee said. “People are hurting.”
