Apple's Beats makes documentary celebrating 25th anniversary of film 'Do the Right Thing'
Beats Music on Thursday published a short 22-minute documentary on Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing," a landmark film dealing with race in America celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
The video, titled "Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary: A Beats Music Experience," follows writer, director and star Lee as he tours the two-block area where most of the film was shot. Accompanying the filmmaker is actor Danny Aiello, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of pizza shop owner "Sal."
As Lee, Aiello and production designer Wynn Thomas make their way through Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, they stop at a number of spots featured in the 1989 film, offering behind-the-scenes commentary interposed with cutscenes shot at each location. The result yields an interesting look at what has changed, and what has stayed the same, over the intervening 25 years.
Being a Beats Music production, the documentary wraps up with a block party featuring a performance of "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy. The song is closely associated with the film as a full version plays over the opening credits, while snippets are used as a recurring plot device.
A number of celebrities also came out for the bash, including Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Dave Chappelle and Wesley Snipes, among others. As noted by Variety, the video is not merely a celebration of "Do the Right Thing," but is also a vehicle for Beats Music to expand its brand after being purchased by Apple in May.
The video, titled "Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary: A Beats Music Experience," follows writer, director and star Lee as he tours the two-block area where most of the film was shot. Accompanying the filmmaker is actor Danny Aiello, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of pizza shop owner "Sal."
As Lee, Aiello and production designer Wynn Thomas make their way through Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, they stop at a number of spots featured in the 1989 film, offering behind-the-scenes commentary interposed with cutscenes shot at each location. The result yields an interesting look at what has changed, and what has stayed the same, over the intervening 25 years.
Being a Beats Music production, the documentary wraps up with a block party featuring a performance of "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy. The song is closely associated with the film as a full version plays over the opening credits, while snippets are used as a recurring plot device.
A number of celebrities also came out for the bash, including Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Dave Chappelle and Wesley Snipes, among others. As noted by Variety, the video is not merely a celebration of "Do the Right Thing," but is also a vehicle for Beats Music to expand its brand after being purchased by Apple in May.
Comments
What to say?
What does Apple's Beats have to do with a movie made by Spike Lee and why would they make a documentary about that?
I question Apple's motives here and I don't like Apple supporting the likes of Spike Lee and his agenda. He's one of the biggest hypocrites and racists around that walks in two shoes. I don't give two craps if he's black or whatever, he doesn't get any damn pass from me for his past comments and his actions.
Most recently he was complaining about how white people were moving into his old Brooklyn neighborhood.
http://time.com/10666/spike-lees-racism-isnt-cute-m-f-hipster-is-the-new-honkey/
Apple seems to be getting more and more political, pandering to leftist racist groups, kowtowing to wacky environmental groups, submitting to anti-golobalization lunatics and now they're making documentaries celebrating a movie made by a hateful little man with a constant chip on his shoulder.
Spike Lee is also the ignorant genius who tweeted out the address of George Zimmerman during the whole Trayvon Martin circus. It turned out that the address was false. Spike Lee put innocent lives in danger with his irrational hatred and his stupid actions.
I guess that it's ok for Apple to associate with and to celebrate movies made by such despicable characters, but we all know damn well that if it were anybody else who was equally as controversial who belonged to the "other" side, then Apple would probably have nothing to do with them at all.
I call BS on all of Apple's diversity talk. It seems to be an empty, meaningless slogan, as Apple is truly becoming more and more politically extreme.
I've said it before, but Apple should stay the hell out of politics, in my humble opinion.
I am not liking this new side to Apple that I have been seeing lately at all. This is just terrible.
Staying the he'll out of politics is of course highly political. There's always a 'side'. Apple is doing a great balancing act.
I guess I don't understand what this film has to do with Apple. Most likely it was in the works before Apple bought Beats. Not sure what exactly it's signaling.
Guys/gals like you and Apple][ will never get that embracing ethnic diversity and globalization (including China and the 'third world') is simply the future of any large, successful business.
You'll either come to grips with it some day, or just grow old embittered and left behind. " src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />
Or, you know, cater to a specific country or group thereof rather than the entire world. Nothing wrong with that at all.
Steve had it right when he ran Apple. Apple's MO is making great products. That's all the company should about.
Time changes and companies often need to adapt.
IBM has its roots in two 19th century commercial scale companies. Nintendo made playing cards. General Electric made lightbulbs.
Steve has been dead for years and over half of Apple's revenues come from a product that didn't even exist eight years ago, a product that has made the company with the largest market capitalization on the planet and the biggest cash hoard.
Look at BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion): they are making the same type of handsets that they made eight years ago and their marketshare has dwindled to almost nothing.
Ignoring changing conditions sent high-flying companies like Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics to the grave.
Based on your history of postings, I'm not convinced that you are qualified to tell Apple how to run their business. Sure, you are free to express your opinion, but whether or not anyone takes you seriously is something you have to consider when you post. If you don't care what others think about you, then go for it.
This documentary is more proof the 5.5" iPhone is coming.
IBM? I think Apple is adapting, but the core is about great products, no more no less.
As if nobody else here ever expresses how Apple should run their business. I know my politics don't match the politics of most people here but I could give a shit less. It's a free country and everyone is free to express their opinions as they wish. Personally I think people are reading way too much in this film being released. Most likely it was in the works before Apple purchased Beats. I don't think it's any sort of commentary on the future of Apple. As far as time changing and Apple needing to adapt, what was WWDC? What was the partnership with
IBM? I think Apple is adapting, but the core is about great products, no more no less.
Well, it may be the case that the documentary was started before the merger, however Apple did approve of the release of the documentary. They could have sh!t-canned the project and let it die. Instead, they let it proceed to its conclusion, then green-lighted it for publication.
Yes, Apple is about great products, but how it gets people to buy those products has evolved. Remember, six years ago the iOS App Store had a handful of titles. When Apple debuted the iPod, there was no iTunes Store.
Content is a big driver for Apple product sales, so much so that iTunes/App Store revenue now is mentioned in the quarterly analyst conference calls. A few years ago, the iTunes/App Store revenue did not merit a dollar figure.
The Beats "Do The Right Thing" documentary reflects Apple's interest in creating in-house exclusive content. The ongoing UK-based iTunes Festival is another example of Apple creating exclusive content. Apple is no longer relying on third-party content creators to provide special material for Apple customers, they are doing it themselves.
I expect Beats management (Dr. Dre & Jimmy Iovine) to take full control over the iTunes Festival next year.
Oh, it was a larger, more broad-brush statement about the two of you, whose proclivities are fairly obvious (to a fair number of people) on this forum.