Red Hook Summer (2012)

Director:

Spike Lee

Writers:

Spike Lee (screenplay)
James McBride (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 May 2013 (Brazil)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A middle-class boy from Atlanta finds his worldview changed as he spends the summer with his deeply religious grandfather in the housing projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. |

Plot Keywords:

Color In Title | Place Name In Title | Three Word Title | Season In Title | Written And Directed By Cast Member

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Limary Agosto	...	Lourdes
Sumayya Ali	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Turron Kofi Alleyne	...	Butter
De'Adre Aziza	...	Colleen Royale
Jonathan Batiste	...	Da Organist Tk Hazelton
Quincy Tyler Bernstine	...	Hazel
Daniel Breaker	...	Cliff
Jules Brown	...	Flik Royale
Charles Anthony Bryant	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Janinah Burnett	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Thomas Jefferson Byrd	...	Deacon Zee
Courtney D. Carey	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Jim Davis	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Director
Jim Davis	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Director
Colman Domingo	...	Blessing Rowe
Shani Foster	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Arthur French	...	Mr. Curtis
Kimberly Hebert Gregory	...	Sister Sweet
Louanne Harris	...	Donna / Kayak Instructor
Stephen Henderson	...	Deacon Yancy
Samantha Ivers	...	Patty Simmons
Kalon Jackson	...	Husband / Father
Tracy Camilla Johns	...	Mother Darling
Kevin D. Johnson	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Jackson Lee	...	Kayak Kid
Jackson Lee	...	Kayak Kid
Spike Lee	...	Mr. Mookie
Eve Lora	...	Box's Lady
Toni Lysaith	...	Chazz Morningstar
Brian K. Major	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Lillie Marshall	...	Miss Marshall
Sakura Myers	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Al Palagonia	...	Detective Haggerty
Nate Parker	...	Box
Clarke Peters	...	Da Good Bishop Enoch Rouse
Sincere Peters	...	Blessing Rowe - 12 Yrs Old
Mari-Yan L. Pringle	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
James Ransone	...	Kevin
Gregory A. Robinson	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Moriah Scott	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Heather Simms	...	Sister Sharon Morningstar
Charlotte Small	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Nesean Smith	...	Lil' Budda
Tyheim Smith	...	Kayak Kid
Briana Swann	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Fred Tolliver Jr.	...	Born Knowledge
Brandon Waddles	...	Lil' Peace Of Heaven Baptist Church Of Red Hook Choir Member
Isiah Whitlock Jr.	...	Detective Flood

Directed by
Spike Lee

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Spike Lee		screenplay
James McBride		screenplay

Produced by
Spike Lee	....	producer
Tim Stacker	....	line producer

Original Music by
Bruce Hornsby

Cinematography by
Kerwin DeVonish

Film Editing by
Hye Mee Na

Casting by
Winsome Sinclair		(extras casting)

Production Design by
Sarah Frank

Art Direction by
Sila Karakaya

Costume Design by
Emilio Sosa		(costume design)
Emilio Sosa

Makeup Department
Nedjetti Harvey	....	department head hair
Nedjetti Harvey	....	department head hair
Anthony Pepe	....	additional makeup
Anthony Pepe	....	special makeup effects artist
LaWanda M. Pierre	....	hair stylist
LaWanda M. Pierre	....	hair stylist
Joanna Rodriguez	....	makeup department head

Production Management
Angela Quiles	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lionel Cineas Jr.	....	second second assistant director
Mike Ellis	....	first assistant director
Yves Hofer	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Natasha Caraballo	....	art department intern
Tiisetso Dladla	....	art department intern
Floyd Hughes	....	storyboard
Sila Karakaya	....	additional props
Kris Major	....	property master
Zoe Munlyn	....	art department intern
Bora Yuksel	....	additional props

Sound Department
Jamie Baker	....	foley editor
Corey Bishop	....	adr recordist
Alan Blanco	....	sound recordist
David Boulton	....	adr mixer
Marko Constanzo	....	foley artist
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer: New York
Stuart C. Deutsch	....	additional sound recordist
Chris Fielder	....	assistant sound editor
Michael Fowler	....	adr recordist
Ruth Hernandez	....	adr editor
Paul Hsu	....	sound re-recording mixer
George Lara	....	foley recording engineer
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer
Silvan Pinto	....	sound intern
Ric Schnupp	....	adr recordist
Rick Schnupp	....	adr recordist
Philip Stockton	....	supervising sound editor
Luciano Vignola	....	adr mixer
Luciano Vignola	....	sound intern
Josef Wladyka	....	boom operater

Visual Effects by
Joyce Boll	....	visual effects producer: LOOK Effects
Darrell Claunch	....	digital compositor
Kevin Moseley	....	digital supervisor
Joseph Oberle	....	digital compositor
Niko Tavernise	....	digital artist
David Wanger	....	digital effects coordinator

Stunts
Jeff Ward	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Sidney Brisco	....	gaffer
Russell Burger	....	additional grip
Cliff Charles	....	camera operator
Winter Coleman	....	still photographer assistant
Alexa Harris	....	grip
Alexa Mignon Harris	....	grip
Kira Hernandez	....	first assistant camera
Kirsten Heywood	....	electrician
Kirsten Heywood	....	electrician
ManSee Kong	....	camera operator
Brian Lannin	....	second assistant camera
Cinqué Lee	....	camera operator
David Lee	....	still photographer
Thomas Moll-Rocek	....	additional grip
Simeon Moore	....	best boy electric
Rick Morrison	....	key grip
Roy Nowlin	....	electrician
Kimberly Parker	....	first assistant camera
Che Roacher	....	additional best boy grip
Ricardo Sarmiento	....	camera operator
Steve Sterling	....	dolly grip
Travis Tips	....	best boy grip
Spirit Trickey	....	videography assistant
William Wohleb	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Marquita Bradley	....	assistant extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Catalina H. Campuzano	....	costume department intern
Catalina H. Campuzano	....	intern: wardrobe department
Whitney Kyles	....	associate costume design
Ashley Lampkin	....	intern: wardrobe department
Ashley Lampkin	....	costume department intern
Azure McBride	....	intern: wardrobe department
Azure McBride	....	costume department intern
Cathy Parrott	....	associate costume design

Editorial Department
Steve Bono	....	assistant editor
Charles Herzfeld	....	post facility supervisor
Richie Roefaro	....	avid technician
Andrew Still	....	digital intermediate engineer
Tim Stipan	....	digital intermediate colorist
Samantha Uber	....	digital intermediate editor
Kevin Vale	....	digital intermediate producer

Music Department
Larry Pinkston -Marshall	....	tenor
Carl Alexander	....	choir: tenor
Tyler Alexander	....	baritone
Jonathan Batiste	....	all original B-3 Hammond organ music written and performed by
Raymond Bell	....	bass
Elijah Bell-Clarke	....	tenor
Damon Blair	....	baritone
Harold Booker	....	baritone
Alfred Brown	....	bass
Uzee Brown	....	arrangements by
Terrance Buck	....	tenor
LaMarcus Chancellor	....	tenor
David Cherry	....	choir: tenor
Darian Clonts	....	tenor
George Cooper	....	baritone
Andrew Cox	....	bass
Shawn Crosby	....	baritone
Daniel Dalpiaz	....	tenor
Paul Daniels	....	baritone
Rodney Davis Jr.	....	baritone
Melvin Davis	....	bass
Llewellyn Dixon	....	baritone
Derrick Douglas	....	tenor
Xavier Durden	....	choir: tenor
Christian Eddings	....	tenor
Jair Edwards	....	tenor
Ian George	....	baritone
Johnny Gillings	....	tenor
Antoine Griggs	....	baritone
Johnathan Hall	....	tenor
Kaedron Hall	....	tenor
William Harper III	....	bass
Torrance Harvey II	....	bass
Judith Hill	....	songs
Tyler Hill	....	bass
Bruce Hornsby	....	score produced by
Bruce Hornsby	....	score recorded and mixed by
David Horton	....	tenor
Michael Jack	....	bass
Thaddeus 'Thunder' Johnson	....	soloist
Tracy Johnson	....	bass
Cazemebe Kennedy	....	baritone
Jeremy King	....	tenor
Gaelen Lemelle-Brown	....	baritone
James Lockhart	....	tenor
Christopher Love	....	baritone
Keeyen Martin	....	tenor
Christopher McArthur	....	tenor
Jeremy McCants	....	baritone
Elijah McDavid	....	bass
Bryan Merritt	....	choir: tenor
Alphonso Mills	....	baritone
Sherman Modeste	....	tenor
Mitchell Moffett	....	choir: tenor
Myles Moody	....	tenor
Marvin Morris	....	music editor
David Morrow	....	director of the musical ensemble
Wayne Pooley	....	score recorded and mixed by
Bruce Purvis	....	tenor
Markyle Rondon	....	tenor
Tislam Swift	....	choir: tenor
Darrion Swint	....	tenor
Ardis Tate	....	tenor
Cameron Thomas	....	tenor
David Thomas	....	baritone
Jelani Watkins	....	bass
Mario Williams	....	bass
Christian Wilson	....	tenor

Other crew
Laneesha Bacchus	....	set production intern
Randall Balsmeyer	....	title designer
Kecia J. Benson	....	production assistant
Steve Bono	....	media manager
Christopher Bynum	....	parking
Darnell Curry	....	parking
Jonathan Frederick	....	parking
Kayinde J. Harris	....	chaperone: children
Jared Hilliard	....	production assistant
Prezodous Johnson	....	parking
Steven Joyner	....	parking
Barrington G. Kirven	....	set production intern
Jason Lampkin	....	administrative supervisor: 40 Acres
Male Legrand	....	parking
Patrick Lind	....	intern: 40 Acres
Silas Luster	....	set production intern
Mega	....	security provided by
Alisse Nieves	....	intern: 40 Acres
Jamie 'Nico' Pappas	....	set production intern
Heather Parish	....	business manager: 40 Acres
Eden Marie Picazo	....	archivist: 40 Acres
Jimmie Pinckney	....	production assistant
Nicco Quiñones	....	set production intern
A.V. Richardson	....	set production intern
Edwin G. Robinson	....	script editor
Ayanna Saulsberry	....	researcher
Moriah Scott	....	assistant to director
Earl Smith	....	liaison: 40 Acres
Bruce Thierry Cheung	....	script supervisor (as Bruce Cheung)
Wayne Walker	....	parking coordinator
King Williams	....	set production intern
Erena Willis	....	production assistant
Ronica Wynder	....	production assistant
Max B. Young	....	production assistant

Thanks
Joyce Boll	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Distributors

• Variance Films (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
• Black Entertainment Television (BET) (2013) (USA) (TV)
• Image Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• One Village (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Recreation Media (2012) (Non-USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• 11:24 Design Advertising  poster design (uncredited)
• 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks  cameras from
• B/Z Rights and Permissions  music rights
• Big Film Design  titles
• C.M. Meiers Company  insurance services provided by
• Directors' Catering  catering
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Ford Foundation  special thanks
• Grubman Indursky & Shire  business and legal affairs
• Handheld Films  grip/electric equipment
• IndieClear  script clearance
• Kieselstein-Cord International  jewellery provided by
• Moving On Up Enterprises  security
• PES Payroll  accounting services provided by
• Prodigy Public Relations  publicity
• Random Access Films  cameras from
• Technicolor Postworks New York  digital intermediate

MPAA:

Rated R for brief violence, language and a disturbing situation

Runtime:

USA:121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:NC-16

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Movie Connections:

References Do the Right Thing (1989)

A trip back down the hot, human roads of Brooklyn

Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer is a picture on par with his first major release, Do the Right Thing, from 1989, which rewarded him with mainstream attention and acclaim from critics and audiences who felt like they were punched in the face with the fist of raw honesty. Throughout his career, Lee has been dedicated to making films with black characters who collectively evade shallow stereotyping and on-set racism, but ones with true humanity and emotions seemingly bleeding from their cold, unhinged bodies.

If you haven't been properly acquainted with one film by Lee, Red Hook Summer is an efficient place to start, but one should wisely begin the adventure at Do the Right Thing, where his true vision and aptitude for writing and directing come into play. This is the closest thing we'll get to a sequel to that masterpiece and I'll take it with no quibbles. If anything. this is a return to form for Lee, who for years was centered on urban dramas with specific characters and a specific agenda. With this picture, he allows the capabilities and the talents of his actors, young and old, to grab the material and freely run with it, creating a fulfilling, spontaneous atmosphere showing not listlessness but an agenda determined to hit on several emotions and character studies. It may be a tad uneven, but it's a film that is so pleasantly written, wonderfully acted, and expertly placed and choreographed that one forgives these flaws and doesn't really notice them long after.

The story is slender, focusing on a young teenager named Flik, wonderfully portrayed by first-timer Jules Brown, who is forced to spend the summer with his grandfather named Enoch Rouse (Clarke Peters), a renowned bishop at the local church in Brooklyn, famous for his fiery sermons and eventful lectures on the word of God and Jesus. Coming from Atlanta, Flik is a kid who took a lot of his privileges for granted, mostly his private school which raised him better than many others he surrounds himself with in Brooklyn, his friends, his relationships, and his iPad 2, which he flashes around like a kid with a McDonald's happy meal toy. Going to Brooklyn with the limited street knowledge he possesses, he is in for a rude awakening but also a faithful (no pun intended) learning experience.

Flik soon learns that living with his grandfather will require a change from his strictly vegan diet, a change in work ethic, and most importantly, a change in the way he views spirituality. Flik is forced to attend his grandfather's sermons, whether he agrees with them or not, but soon realizes that him and the popular New York gang "the Bloods" are the only ones who reject religious beliefs when a church sits practically right next to their housing district.

Just a forewarning; this is not a story of a boy's discovery of the importance of faith and spirituality, but how one boy deals with the dependence on faith and spirituality in the world around him. How he deals with an abrupt change in ethics when forced to live with his grandfather who just found out he exists. And how he begins to respect and admire walking on the different side of the road; something I've preached about since the beginning of my odyssey reviewing films. What Flik is going through as a character is being exposed to a different lifestyle he was willfully ignorant of. He was confined to his small, spoonfed culture in Atlanta, Georgia, and I can't blame his inherent lack of tolerance towards another way of life. What matters is he goes on to accept it and perhaps even admire it.

Flik too befriends a young girl named Chazz Morningstar (Toni Lysaith), an openly feisty woman who questions faith just like her newfound best friend, but seemingly follows it with very loose direction and or guidance. Her homelife is rough, like many youths in the public housing district, her morals jumbled, and her outlook grim and shallow.

There is a twist in the picture, which the film has sort of become infamous for, as it is introduced abruptly and without a clear purpose. This seems to happen with spontaneous films, and being that Lee appears to have thrown a chockablock of ideas into a huge pot to see what works and what doesn't, it's understandably so that one thing doesn't flow well or fails to remain consistent with the remainder of the picture. The shocking thing is how there's only really one uneven element in the entire two hour excursion.

Just like Lee's debut Do the Right Thing, the film has the bright, vibrant, and luscious cinematography, with eye-popping primary colors, and a seamy, humidity-soaked atmosphere relevant to Brooklyn's summer climate. Mix this in with a plethora of great performances (the highlight being Clarke Peters' multi-layered bishop), a finely tuned script, sensitive and alert direction, and a fantastic score, and you have the work of under-appreciated perfection that is Red Hook Summer. Now stir.

NOTE: Spike Lee's character Mookie, the aimless pizza man from Do the Right Thing, makes a few brief cameo appearances, sure to churn a well-warranted smile from someone who appreciates "Spike Lee joints" and cross-film references.

Starring: Clarke Peters, Jules Brown, and Toni Lysaith. Directed by: Spike Lee.