Inspired by quite possibly the most outrageous true story ever turned into a movie, Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman is one of the greatest cinematic achievements of the past decade. Instantly acclaimed by critics, the movie was showered with Oscar nominations (including the first of Adam Driver’s career) and is destined to be remembered as a contemporary classic.
Producer Jordan Peele brought the story to the attention of Spike Lee, who agreed to direct (with a couple of conditions), and the rest is history. But some of the details of that history are truly fascinating. Here are 10 interesting facts from the making of BlacKkKlansman.
Spike Lee Didn’t Believe The Story When Producer Jordan Peele Pitched It To Him
When producer Jordan Peele first approached Spike Lee with a film project about a black man infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan, Lee couldn’t believe that it was a true story. He said it sounded more like a Dave Chappelle sketch than historical fact.
After Peele assured Lee that the story was true, he had two conditions for directing the movie: he wanted the script to have elements of comedy, and he wanted to use the ‘70s-set story to explore contemporary racial issues.
Ron Stallworth Wanted Denzel Washington To Play Him – And Instead Got His Son
The real Ron Stallworth initially wanted Denzel Washington to play him if a movie was made out of his life. Washington didn’t get the part, but his son John David Washington did, and that was close enough.
Although the younger Washington wasn’t particularly close with Spike Lee before they made this movie together, Lee did direct Washington’s first on-screen appearance when he cameoed as a six-year-old alongside his dad in Malcolm X.
Topher Grace Re-Edited The Hobbit Trilogy To Combat The Depression Of Playing David Duke
While filming BlacKkKlansman, Topher Grace found playing the unabashedly racist David Duke was depressing. So, to cheer himself up, he gave himself the task of re-editing Peter Jackson’s absurdly long Hobbit trilogy into a streamlined two-hour movie.
Spike Lee’s Hatred Of Birth Of A Nation Played An Important Role In His Film Education
In an integral scene in BlacKkKlansman, the KKK hosts a screening of D.W. Griffith’s groundbreaking, but very racially insensitive 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. This film played a significant role in Spike Lee’s film education at NYU Film School. Lee was horrified when his professors taught all about the technical achievements of the film without mentioning its blatant racism or real-life impact on the Klan.
So, in 1980, Lee made a short film called The Answer as a response to his professors’ praise of The Birth of a Nation. The short was insanely controversial among Lee’s professors and almost got him kicked out of school.
According To The Film’s Editor, There Were No Deleted Scenes
According to Barry Alexander Brown, the editor of BlacKkKlansman, the movie had no deleted scenes. This is virtually unheard of in the film industry.
BlacKkKlansman went on to be nominated for several major awards, including Best Picture at the Oscars. Spike Lee took home the statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Shooting Targets Weren’t Props — The Filmmakers Found Them Being Sold Online
In one scene, the Klansmen take Flip out to a shooting range for some target practice. The metal targets depict black men running in fear. The filmmakers didn’t have these disgusting targets made up as props just for the film; they found a vendor selling them online.
Spike Lee told this to John David Washington right before shooting the scene in which he examines the firing range, and that knowledge affected how Washington performed the scene.
The Banquet Scene Was The Hardest For John David Washington To Shoot
According to John David Washington, the hardest scene to shoot was the banquet in which Stallworth has to sit quietly through a fervent racist discussion by KKK members.
After shooting the scene, Washington called the real Stallworth to ask how he kept it together in the face of such blatant racism.
Jasper Pääkkönen Came To His Audition In Character And Spike Lee Had No Idea He Wasn’t American
In BlacKkKlansman, Jasper Pääkkönen plays an American KKK member called Felix, but in real life, he’s Finnish. Since he was determined to land the part, Pääkkönen came to his audition in character, speaking with an American accent from the offset.
Spike Lee was 100% convinced that Pääkkönen was American, and was stunned to discover that he was putting on the accent the whole time. This helped him get the role.
Topher Grace Studied David Duke For A Month To Prepare For The Film
After being cast as David Duke in BlacKkKlansman, Topher Grace spent a month researching the infamous KKK leader. He read Duke’s autobiography and watched all the footage of Duke that he could get his hands on.
During this research stage, Grace said he found Duke to be even more of a racist than he thought. But what really disturbed him about Duke’s personality was his ability to charm an audience, despite the hatefulness of what he’s saying.
John David Washington Was Skeptical When Spike Lee Offered Him The Role In A Text
When John David Washington received a text message from an unknown number claiming to be Spike Lee with an offer for a starring role in his new movie, he was skeptical.
Despite his father Denzel Washington’s longstanding working relationship with Lee, the younger Washington didn’t have Lee’s number, and hadn’t had a lot of contact with him at all. Of course, the text turned out to be authentic, and Lee really was offering Washington the lead role in his next movie.
