Spike Lee isn't finished with Hurricane Katrina

Director Spike Lee confirmed last week that he intends to pursue Katrina, potentially following up his Peabody Award-winning HBO documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts with a visit to other areas hit by the storm in the next 24 months.

Lee spoke about his plans at SilverDocs, the AFI/Discovery Channel documentary festival in Silver Springs, Md., where he was honored at the festival's Charles Guggenheim Symposium. "I'm going to go back, not just to New Orleans but to other areas affected, because it's not over," he said.

Although subject matter specifics went unconfirmed, Lee stressed the need to address mental health issues in the storm's wake. "What the press is not really talking about is the mental state -- suicide, self-medication," he said. "It's horrible."

Lee also mentioned the possibility of a script-based feature film centering on New Orleans, post-Katrina, saying that David Simon, creator of The Wire, may be tackling such a project.

As far as Lee's on current projects go, his Kobe Bryant documentary is slated to coincide with NBA season on ABC/ESPN this fall, and his Michael Jordan doc should be ready in 2009.

Related links:
Spike Lee on IMDb
When the Levees Broke - HBO.com
News: Spike Lee to make Michael Jordan doc

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