Spike Lee frustrated by lack of diversity in film

[January 24, 2012]  PARK CITY, Utah (AP) -- Spike Lee just premiered the fifth film in his "continuing chronicles of Brooklyn, N.Y.," at the Sundance Film Festival, but the filmmaker is still frustrated at the lack of diversity in the entertainment industry.

Lee said Monday that in the "upper echelons of television and studios, it's 1950. It's Eisenhower."

He says there is much work to be done before the film industry reflects the diversity of the United States. He noted that the U.S. Census shows that "white Americans will be a minority by 2045, maybe sooner," and said it makes "good business sense" for companies, including entertainment companies, to diversify their workforce.

Lee unveiled "Red Hook Summer" on Sunday to a full house that included such guests as Chris Rock, Alfre Woodard and Cuba Gooding Jr.

[Associated Press]

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