TV Critics Tour: Spike Lee Plans ‘Levee’ Sequel for HBO

Director Wants To Revisit Post-Katrina New Orleans Again

By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 7/11/2008 8:38:00 AM

Beverly Hills, Calif.—Filmmaker Spike Lee says he wants to revisit the city of New Orleans for a sequel to his highly acclaimed Home Box Office documentary When The Levees Broke.

Lee, who appeared at ESPN’s TCA session to discuss his upcoming documentary on NBA star Kobe Bryant, told several reporters he will look to revisit the devastated areas portrayed in the award-winning, four-hour documentary, but did not give a specific time frame.

HBO executives could not be reached for comment on a possible timeline for the sequel.

Lee’s ESPN documentary, Game Day with Kobe, takes a look at a regular game day experience for the Los Angeles Lakers star with unprecedented access and more than 30 cameras focused on the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.

Lee will also be one of 30 filmmakers who will develop documentaries for ESPN’s “30 For 30” documentary project chronicling sports subjects over the last three decades, although he said he has yet to settle on a subject for his documentary.

Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash will make his directorial debut as part of the project, telling the story of Canadian athlete and cancer survivor Terry Fox. Other directors include two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple, Oscar nominee Mike Tollin and the production team of Alfred Spellman and Billy Corben.

Keith Clinkscales, ESPN’s senior vice president, content development and enterprises, also announced several new original movies set for launch later this year, including Kicking It, which examines the personal struggles and triumphs of seven soccer players from six countries participating in the 4th Annual Homeless World Cup; Greatest Game Ever Played, which recounts the Dec. 28, 1958 NFL Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants at Yankee Stadium; and A Woman Among Boys which highlights Ruth Lovelace, a woman coaching the boys’ basketball team at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.

For more TCA coverage, click here.