Blogging the TCA

Game Changer Spike Lee said that if Sen. Barack Obama is elected president, “It changes everything”—including the entertainment industry.

Spike Lee said that if Sen. Barack Obama is elected president, “It changes everything”—including the entertainment industry.

The industry’s gatekeepers—the people who decide which TV series and movies get made—are now not African Americans, and that’s going to change, he said.

Mr. Lee was at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Los Angeles to talk about projects he’s doing for ESPN.

One of them, “Game Day With Kobe,” trains 30 cameras on NBA MVP Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers.

He hasn’t yet honed in on the second project, which will be part of ESPN’s “30 for 30” initiative to create 30 films to mark the network’s 30th anniversary.

Mr. Lee said, “I need to have more discussions” with the individuals under consideration as the focus of his film. He said ESPN has been pressing him to make a decision.

“It’s going to be good,” he said.

Also directing films for “30 for 30” initiative are Barbara Kopple, Mike Tollin, basketball star Steve Nash and the team of Alfred Spelman and Billy Corbin.

—Jon Lafayette