What was Malcolm X about? Spike Lee says his 1992 movie could not have been made in Trump era's Hollywood climate
Film Director Spike Lee sat for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which was published on May 6, 2025. During the conversation, Spike was asked if his 1992 movie Malcolm X would be "doable in the current political and economic environment." The director immediately implied that it would be a difficult scenario. Lee said:
"I don’t like to get into what-ifs, but a lot of these people [who own movie studios] were at the [Trump] inauguration. I’m not naming names, but it is not an exaggeration to say that [Malcolm X] cannot be made today with where we are in this world."
For the unversed, the 1992 movie was basically a biography of African-American activist Malcolm X. The movie was reportedly based on the autobiography of an activist who collaborated with journalist Alex Haley to write it. IMDB had described this film as the "biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader."
Denzel Washington played the titular character. The rest of the cast included actors like Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Spike Lee, Ernest Lee Thomas, and Al Freeman Jr. For context, Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little) was a Muslim minister and a human rights activist.
Born in 1925, he reportedly became quite significant during the civil rights movement. In February 1965, at the age of 39, he was assassinated by being shot several times in Manhattan. Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Khalil Islam, and Thomas Hagan, who were also members of the Nation of Islam, were found guilty of his murder.
Spike Lee recalled the difficulties he faced while shooting the 1992 movie Malcolm X
While director Spike Lee believed that Malcolm X could not be made now, under Trump's administration, he also recalled the issues he had faced during the filming. Lee first mentioned that Warner Bros. let the bond company step in and stop the project while it was at the post-production stage. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the director had a disagreement with the studio about the running time and budget for the film.
Further highlighting the situation, Spike Lee stated that he had spent a lot on the film, and he was broke at the moment. The filmmaker then went about sharing a list of people he approached for money at the time. The list included some wealthy African-Americans like Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Tracy Chapman, Janet Jackson, Bill Cosby, Prince, and Oprah Winfrey. According to Lee, the last people on his list were Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.
He continued:
"We had a press conference in Harlem to let the world know these prominent African Americans gave gifts, no strings attached, so I could finish this film. The next day, Warner Bros. took the film back from the bond company and started to finance it again."
Spike Lee's upcoming movie Highest 2 Lowest is set to premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on May 19. It will be available in the theaters across the US on August 22, 2025. The film cast includes Denzel Washington, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice, A$AP Rocky, and others.
