By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner staff
SALT LAKE CITY -- "Uncle Tom." "Shuck and jive.” "Nigger."
When Spike Lee opens his mouth, these words tend to tumble out. They are not the words of pretense, of artifice. Nor are they the words of confrontation. Rather, they are the language of truth when discussing cultural bias and racism, he says.
Lee, the foremost African-American filmmaker in America, was at the University of Utah Wednesday night, doing the Spike Lee Thing in a sold-out Kingsbury Hall. His audience consisted primarily of disciples, in one form or another, who gave him a standing ovation when he appeared on stage and again, 90 minutes later, when he left.
In between ovations, they listened to him relate anecdotes from the making of his many films, including "She's Gotta Have It," "School Daze," "Do the Right Thing," "Jungle Fever," "Mo' Better Blues" and "Malcolm X."
By DONALD PORTER
Standard-Examiner staff
PARK CITY -- Denzel Washington said he was tired. And he had reason: He worked until 5:30 a.m. Saturday on an all-night shoot in Philadelphia, then he hopped a plane to Utah for a full-day's slate of activities at the Sundance Film Festival.
Washington was at the festival to receive the second annual Piper-Heidsieck Tribute to Independent Vision award. Last year's recipient was actor John Turturro.
"I'm not really an award person," Washington said. "But I wanted to come up here and see what it's like. And I wanted to talk to Robert (Redford, the Sundance Institute's founder) about some ideas I have."
Washington spent the evening in Park City when he could have attended the Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. He had been nominated as best actor for his work in "Malcolm X." Washington is a familiar face at the movies, having been seen in films such as "A Soldier's Story," "The Mighty Quinn," "Mo' Better Blues" and "Mississippi Masala." He's received Oscar nominations for "Cry Freedom" and "Glory," and won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for the latter.
