Hey, Spike.
How are you?
This a first time?
First time you've been here.
First time.
[APPLAUSE]
I don't know why.
Maybe you hang out in New York too much or something.
Do you come to LA a lot?
Yeah, but usually it's-- one day I left JFK 6 AM this morning.
I'm going back on the red-eye tonight.
In and out.
Thank you for being here.
I know you were watching Serena last night.
Yes, I'm going back tomorrow night for the-- tonight
for the--
Tonight for the-- for--
Semi-finals.
Yeah, Jokovic and Millman.
Is that who he's playing?
You don't even know.
I'm with the ladies.
Oh, you're watching Serena?
Yes.
Yeah, she's awesome.
Yes, she is.
She's awesome.
That Being Serena, have you seen the series yet?
Her documentary.
It's good.
Not yet.
I'm going to check it out.
All right, you are an amazing man.
Thank you very much.
Just period.
Number one.
Thank you for being here.
Your film--
Thank you for having me.
Thank you for being here.
Thank you for having me.
Thank you for being here.
[LAUGHTER]
Come back more often.
But this film is the kind of film--
if you haven't seen it--
I've seen it twice.
I know other people who have seen it two and three times.
It's the kind of film that you want
to see over and over again.
So congratulations.
It's an important film--
Thank you very much.
--that everyone should see.
[APPLAUSE]
I mean, it premiered at Cannes.
And you got a six minute standing ovation.
So at that point, you had to know you had something.
I knew before.
I knew that when Charlottesville happened--
because Charlottesville happened before we began the shoot.
When that happened, I knew we had a new ending for the film.
But it had to be respectful for Heather Heyer, who was murdered
and what is clearly American homegrown terrorism, act
of terrorism.
And I called up Mrs. Susan Bro, Heather's mother, I asked--
I gave my condolence the best you can.
It's hard.
I asked, can I please have permission?
Because I was not going to use that footage of the car
unless Mrs. Bro gave me her permission.
And once she gave permission, I knew that with this ending,
it will have an impact.
Yeah.
It would.
Yeah, the ending is powerful.
And you get a Prince song there at the end.
How did you do that?
Well, we have a mutual friend, Troy Carter,
who is an advisor to the Prince of State.
So with the way the ending is, I just couldn't
pick any song for any credits.
And I called up Troy.
I said, Troy, you got to come to New York.
He flew.
I said, I'm going to show you the film.
I said, I need a song.
So once he saw the film I had, he said I had the song.
And it turns out that when our brother died, Prince, the state
has to deal with his work.
There were 10-- this is what Troy told me.
There were 10,000 cassettes at Paisley Park.
And this one cassette comes, pops up,
where it's Prince singing songs on a piano.
No band.
No nothing.
Just him and the piano.
And one of the songs is called Mary Don't You Weep,
which is a Negro spiritual.
And so when I heard that, I said,
we need-- that's the song we need, and we worked it out.
So I believe in my heart that my brother Prince
wanted me to have that song for the movie.
I believe you're right.
[APPLAUSE]
You can hardly tell it's him.
All right, I don't know.
Maybe I'm in a bubble.
But I feel like everybody knows what the movie is about.
But just in case there is someone who doesn't, explain
what the movie is about.
It's a true story.
Ron Stallworth was the first African-American person
to be in the Colorado Springs Police Department in the '70s.
And through a lot of things happening,
he ended up infiltrating the KKK.
And it's one of those things where it's strange but true.
Jordan Peele-- Get Out.
[APPLAUSE]
Jordan called me up and said, I want to pitch it.
And one of the greatest, I mean, pitches.
Six words.
Black man infiltrates Ku Klux Klan.
And automatically I thought of David Chapelle's skit.
He said, nah, this before David.
I said that's true.
That is true.
And so I said, let's go.
I was ready to do it.
I mean, it's so crazy, but it's true.
Yeah, that he was able to fool them.
You'll see.
Because at first you're thinking how did that happen?
But you'll see how it happens and how he got in?
It is such a good film.
And the way you go back and forth with footage
from the '70s to what's happening now in Charleston,
and it is to me heartbreaking and sad.
I would think to you even more so.
And so my question--
I think all-- for me-- let me put is glass of water down.
This is serious business because we live at a time
where this country is on the brink.
And if you have not registered to vote,
please do for these midterm elections.
[APPLAUSE]
We know it's important.
Yes, this is going to be the most important
mid-term election in the history of this country.
And as America, as all Americans, the diverse group
that we are, we got to be on the right side of history
because these other people, they're
going to be on the wrong side.
That's what I believe.
Yep, I agree.
We had Beto O'Rourke on yesterday.
And he is a brilliant man.
Texas, right?
Yeah, yeah.
Yep.
So yes, the most important election.
We're going to take a break.
And more with Spike after this and the actress
in the film who was also brilliant, Laura Harrier,
I think her name is.
We'll be right back.