Spike Lee, Roger Guenveur Smith To Be Honored At 2017 Cannes Film FestivalPosted by Wilson Morales
May 8, 2017
WanderLuxxe, the luxury concierge service, will play host to a special charity benefit Black Tie Gala in honor of Spike Lee and his long-time collaborator, award-winning actor, writer and director (A Huey P Newton Story, School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, Chi-Raq) at The American Pavilion on May 22, 2017.
The special event will feature a number of notable guests, special performances and tributes to their award-winning collaborations. The event’s media partner is Screen International. Lee, the iconic filmmaker will also deliver a special keynote conversation with Roger Guenveur Smith at the American Pavilion on May 22nd.
Lee and Smith’s most recent collaboration is the Netflix Original Film Rodney King, a powerful history-infused one-man show film that is currently streaming worldwide.
Rodney King producers and Smith’s partners at his production company, Luna Ray Media, Steven Adams and Bob L. Johnson, will also be in Cannes participating at the events.
“We are so thrilled to be able to partner with such respected filmmakers such as Spike Lee and Smith along with Luna Ray Media for an incredible gala and panel discussion at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival which is celebrating 70 years. We are looking forward to creating a magical gala to celebrate these great talents, and to honor their impactful film work at this year’s festival.” – Wanderluxxe co-founders Hines and Wood.
Smith and Lee previously adapted Smith’s Obie Award-winning solo performance of A Huey P. Newton Story into a Peabody Award-winning telefilm, also Directed by Spike Lee. They continue to collaborate in a relationship which is unparalleled in the American cinema., after his debut as fraternity pledge Yoda in Lee’s first studio film, School Daze. For Lee’s Oscar-nominated Do The Right Thing, Smith improvised the stuttering hero, Smiley The eclectic range of characters expanded with a Russian roulette-playing gangster in Malcolm X, a guitar-playing cop in Get On The Bus , the street philosopher Big Time Willie in He Got Game, a hard-nose detective in Summer Of Sam, and an opportunistic insurance salesman in Chi-Raq.
