Film director Spike Lee slammed the Oscars’ “Selma” snub on Thursday.
In an interview with The Daily Beast’s Marlow Stern after the nominees for the Academy Awards were announced, Lee offered some advice for Ava DuVernay, the director of the civil rights movie.
“If I saw Ava today I’d say, ‘You know what? Fuck ’em,” Lee told The Daily Beast. “You made a very good film, so feel good about that and start working on the next one.”
“Selma” was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song, but was overlooked in all the other major categories. This year’s crop of nominees have been widely criticized for being overwhelmingly white.
Lee is no stranger to Oscar snubs, Stern noted. His 1989 classic “Do The Right Thing” wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. That year’s winner was “Driving Miss Daisy.”
The snub “doesn’t diminish the film,” Lee said. “Nobody’s talking about motherfuckin’ ‘Driving Miss Daisy.’ That film is not being taught in film schools all across the world like ‘Do the Right Thing’ is.”
Lee said he sees history repeating.
“With ‘Selma,’ it’s not the first time it’s happened,” Lee said. “And every time it does I say, ‘You can’t go to awards like the Oscars or the Grammys for validation. The validation is if your work still stands 25 years later.”
