The UCA Distinguished Lecture series continues Monday, Feb. 7, with two-time Emmy Award-winning writer, director, actor, producer and author Spike Lee.
Lee will speak at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m. on the University of Central Arkansas campus.
“It’s exciting to have somebody who has done as many different things in the film industry and done them all well,” Jerry Biebesheimer, director of UCA Public Appearances, said.
Lee is regarded as a premier African-American filmmaker and might be best known for his drama, Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington, who received two Academy Award nominations for his performance. Lee has been involved in documentaries, sports programs and projects for cable and network television.
“He can talk on so many different things,” Biebesheimer said. “He’s as likely to talk about African-American history, contributions to the country, filmmaking or any of the other things he’s done or parts of the life he’s led.”
Lee was nominated for two Academy Awards for Do the Right Thing and 4 Little Girls, and his recent documentary, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, received two Emmy Awards. Lee has been in the film industry since his time as a student at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1978.
“Because he’s sort of the been-there-done-that poster child of the film business and has fought his way into that as an African-American, he’ll have an interesting perspective on that whole part of our cultural world,” Biebesheimer said.
Lee’s appearance will be the third of four Distinguished Lectures of the 2010-11 Public Appearances season. Journalist Deborah Norville and humorist and best-selling author Dave Barry visited campus in the fall. Author Nicholas Sparks will speak on March 15.
Tickets, available at the UCA Ticket Central Box Office, are $10 for adults, $5 for students and children, $5 for UCA faculty and staff, and free for UCA students with a current student I.D. (limit of two tickets). For tickets, call (501) 450-3265 or toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at 1-866-810-0012 or visit www.uca.edu/tickets .– Rachel McAdams
