The Cannes Film Festival, the world’s biggest celebration of film, was set to kick off from May 12 to May 23; however, it was pushed back due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Now, movie director Spike Lee, who was selected as the first black president of the festival’s jury, is speaking out on the postponement, Director of the festival Thierry Fremaux does everything he can to schedule the festival for June or July.
“I agree 100% with Thierry and the Cannes Film Festival,” Lee said in an interview with Variety. “The world has changed, and it’s changing every day. People are dying, and France’s president has said, several times — I’m paraphrasing — ‘We are at war.’ We are in a war-like time.”
“The stuff that we love has to take a back seat: movies, TV, sports, the NBA is a global sport, baseball. So many things have been postponed, and I agree with this move,” Lee added.
Though he isn’t thrilled about the postponement, Lee is still ready to take on his role as jury president when the time presents itself. However, he insists we must overcome the problem our nation is currently facing, first.
“Let’s not forget this is the world’s biggest film festival, the world’s biggest stage for cinema, and I’ll be the first black president of the jury,” he continued. “So look, I can’t pretend [to know] what’s going to happen tomorrow. Everybody has to pray, get on bended knee, pray, we get out of this, find a vaccine, get back on our feet — physically, emotionally, and financially worldwide. This is no joke. It’s not some movie. People are dying.”
Lee also spoke on the lack of readiness by the government in such an important time.
“We’re doing whatever everybody else is trying to do – come together, love each other and just try to ride it out,” he said. “People are being laid off. People are being fired. People don’t know where their next check is going to come from, how they are going to see their children. When the schools close, who is going to take care of their children? This shit is crazy. This shit is bananas.”
Lee also spoke on Donald Trump calling the coronavirus the Chinese virus stating: “I would like to say this: I wish he would stop saying ‘the Chinese virus. The president of the United States needs to stop calling this the Chinese virus. Please stop doing that.”
“He’s putting Asian Americans in this country in danger,” Lee added. “Stop saying Chinese virus. There’s nobody around him to say, ‘You can’t say this anymore’? That isn’t helping at all. Hopefully, his base will understand. You just can’t say that.”
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