- Spike Lee is the director of many great films, including Malcolm X
- Malcolm X, the two-time Oscar-nominated film, was almost not made because of the budget
- Michael Jordan helped the movie get made by donating money
Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest NBA player of all time. There’s no doubting this claim when you look at MJ’s achievements in the league.
Jordan played 15 years in the NBA, and he averaged a league-best 30.1 points per game, as well as 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. MJ finished his career as a six-time NBA champion, five-time MVP, six-time Finals MVP, and the 1988 Defensive Player of the Year.
When you look at the movie business, you could make the case for Spike Lee as a G.O.A.T. director. Lee has directed some of the best movies ever made, like Do The Right Thing, He Got Game, and Malcolm X.
The latter movie will be the subject of this article. Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, which starred legendary actor Denzel Washington, was a biopic on the late civil rights leader.
The film was nominated for two Oscars, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design. This film, how great it is, almost did not get made.
In fact, if it weren’t for Michael Jordan, Malcolm X may never have come to exist.
Jordan Helps To Get Malcolm X Made
The movie Malcolm X was released back in 1992, and it cost $35 million to get made, which Warner Bros., who distributed the film, felt was too high. When making the film, Warner Bros. offered much less to get it made, despite Lee explaining it would cost over $30 million.
What made things worse is Lee only got paid $1 million to make the film. The remainder of the money came out of his pocket, and things weren’t looking good.
“It was a very rough time,” Lee said. “I got paid $1 million to make the film, and I put that entire salary into the movie. I just didn’t have any more money.”
So, just when the film was in jeopardy of getting made, Lee reached out to a few African American stars in the entertainment and sports world to help him.
Stars like Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, Janet Jackson, and Prince, to name a few, donated. Even NBA legend Magic Johnson donated, but it wasn’t quite enough to get the movie made.
So, Lee turned to his good friend, Michael Jordan, who he starred in commercials with, for help. The way he convinced MJ to donate was by challenging his competitive spirit.
“I called Magic, and he just said, ‘Spike, what do you need?'” Lee said. “Michael doesn’t like to lose tiddlywinks! ‘Johnson gave how much?'”
Lee then explained how Jordan was screaming at him because he wasn’t going to let Magic donate more money to the movie than himself. After Jordan gave money to Lee’s movie, it was enough to finish the film.
As they say, the rest was history.
Malcolm X is truly a great movie, and it would have been a shame if it was not made over the budget not being agreed upon. Michael Jordan (and the other celebrities) came up clutch again with his generous donation.
This just goes to show you, never challenge Jordan to anything… Unless it’s a way to get enough money to make your feature film.
There wouldn’t have been a “Malcolm X” premiere if Magic & Michael (and Oprah) didn’t kick in funds to help Spike Lee finish the movie https://t.co/LZi30i7V6b
— J.A. Adande (@jadande) June 9, 2020
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