Exclusive: Spike Lee reveals he was rejected from USC, AFI

Spike Lee reveals he was rejected from AFI, USC

Accredited writer and filmmaker Spike Lee revealed on Good Day LA that before his career took off, he was rejected from AFI and USC. He now teaches at NYU.

LOS ANGELES - Academy Award-winning filmmaker, diehard New York sports fan, and actor Spike Lee can now add "professor" to his resume.

The tenured Professor of Film and Artistic Director at the prestigious New York University Tisch School of the Arts joined Good Day LA Thursday, wearing a Yankees hat, to celebrate the 35-year anniversary of "School Daze."

Lee still remembers some of the lines from the film but joked he "wasn’t going to say them on public television."

The film has stood the test of time as it remains relevant.

"I know colorism is still an issue in the Black community," he said.

The film stars iconic actors such as Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Tisha Campbell and Giancarlo Esposito. Decades later, Lee says he stays in touch with most of the cast and said the film served as a launching pad for some of them.

The two-time Academy Award winner played coy when asked about where he keeps his award statues he worked so hard for.

Rejected from USC? Professor Lee recalls his college application experience

Lee opened up to FOX 11's Amanda Salas and spoke about his experience during the college application process, which he remembers vividly.

"So, they rejected me. I applied. I applied to three schools, NYU, AFI, and USC. And to get into USC and AFI, you had to get an astronomical score on the GRE and I didn't get that score," he said. "It has been proven those tests are biased, so luckily for me, you didn't have to take a test to get into NYU, so it worked out."

Most recently, Lee directed "NYC Epicenters 9/11-> 2021 1/2," and directed and co-wrote "Da 5 Bloods" for Netflix. Prior to "Da 5 Bloods," Lee co-wrote and directed the Academy Award-nominated and critically acclaimed hit film "BlacKkKlansman," winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Lee, one of the best filmmakers of our generation, said he's currently working on a multi-series documentary on Colin Kaepernick for ESPN that will air "hopefully soon."

He is a graduate of Morehouse College and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

As expected, he ended the interview with "Go Knicks!"