There's no sufficient way of explaining what it's like to be around Spike Lee, but his new film, "Highest 2 Lowest" comes pretty close.

The main character, played by Denzel Washington, is a Knicks fan who won't tolerate Celtics green in his house. A framed jersey of Jalen Brunson hangs in his Brooklyn apartment. There are movie references peppered throughout, of "The French Connection," "The Defiant Ones" and "The Sweet Smell of Success." Yankee Stadium plays a pivotal setting. In one scene, Nicholas Turturro even yells directly into the camera: "Boston sucks!"

"We're not counting on Boston for box office!" Lee says with a roaring cackle during an interview on a rooftop terrace in Cannes. "We might as well just write that off."

Some of Lee's most deeply felt passions — filmmaking and the New York Knicks — have collided at the Cannes Film Festival. The premiere of "Highest 2 Lowest," a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa's "High to Low," came shortly before the Knicks begin their Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Indiana Pacers. Everywhere Lee has gone at the French Riviera festival, he's gone in blue and orange, including a pinstripe suit on the red carpet.

"It's a film by a New Yorker who loves New York. But if you're not that, it doesn't detract from you enjoying it. You could be from … (Lee raises an eyebrow) … Indiana," Lee says before letting out a maniacal roar. "Wait a minute, we got to write off another market, too!"

The Denzel fracas on the red carpet
"Highest 2 Lowest," which A24 releases in theaters Aug. 22 before it streams on Apple TV+ on Sept. 5, was one of the most eventful premieres of Cannes. Washington was surprised with a Palme d'Or. ("That wasn't acting," Lee said. "He didn't... Read More