Spike Lee Teams Up With Michael B. Jordan on New Short Film
By Tim Chan
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Newly minted Oscar winner Spike Lee is teaming up with ” Black Panther ” star Michael B. Jordan on a new short film for Coach that explores the way we hold words and objects close to our hearts – and how they can impact the way we live our lives.
Titled “Words Matter,” the 90-second spot was released this week and features Jordan, the current global face of Coach menswear , riding his motorcycle through the scenic landscape of the Southern California desert. The actor pulls up to a dusty clearing, where he soon spots rocks scrawled with negative words hidden among the cracked desert floor. Taking action into his own hands — literally — he casts the bad stones aside and replaces them with rocks engraved with more positive words. “Bigotry” becomes “Love”; “Lies” becomes “Truth”; and “Evil” becomes “Dream.”
Lee directed and co-wrote the film with his children Satchel and Jackson Lee, while Coach says both the director and Jordan hand-picked the words seen on the rocks. The two shot the film in Southern California this past fall, just before the busy awards season which saw Lee garner multiple nominations and awards for “BlacKkKlansman” ( get the film here ), while Jordan campaigned for “Black Panther” ( get the film here ).
Working together for the first time, both men said they were excited to collaborate on a project that spoke to their shared values of inclusion, optimism, and storytelling.
“I’m honored to get to collaborate with giants in their respective fields, and Coach,” Lee says in a press release. “It was truly a magical day working and shooting in the desert.”
“Collaborating with the iconic on this short film for Coach was an inspirational experience,” adds Jordan. “Spike’s art has moved the cultural dial for decades. I’m proud of the powerful messaging of this film and to be working alongside a brand that cares about putting that narrative into the world as much as I do.”
You can see Lee and Jordan’s full campaign over at Coach.com . In addition to the short film, Coach also tapped Lee’s children to direct a series of shorts that will be released on the brand’s social media channels in the coming weeks. Subjects in those shorts include the artist Whisbe and Brooklyn Nets basketball player Spencer Dinwiddie, among others. They’ll be sharing their personal stories on why “words matter.”
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