Few Americans in the arts are able to boast the exhaustive list of achievements that Spike Lee has accomplished before his fortieth birthday. Since the mid-1980s, the Brooklyn-bred, New York University-trained filmmaker has written, directed, and acted in several successful movies--creations all the more remarkable for their unique look at African American life, in settings on the streets of and in the mental landscapes of Brooklyn. Though sometimes provocative and controversial in their themes or characterizations, Lee's films transcend color lines. Almost singlehandedly, he has changed the relationship between the Hollywood film industry and African American audiences. Without Spike Lee, it is hard to imagine that such films as Waiting to Exhale, or even Pulp Fiction, would have found commercial success.

Not surprisingly, Lee is an iconoclastic, outspoken, and articulate public figure. But he is also a media-savvy one with a trenchant sense of humor. Lee is...