Spike Lee, siblings, share behind-the-scenes stories about ‘Crooklyn’ during celebration naming theater after filmmaker

NEW YORK — Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee had a semi-family reunion this month at New York City’s Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Brooklyn for a celebration to dedicate the cineplex to him. The movie theater that also serves food, cocktails, and beer has been unofficially renamed Spike Lee Cinema and is also celebrating an expansion and remodeling. Lee took part in a traditional champagne sabering ceremony at the event hosted by Alamo Drafthouse co-founder Tim League.& After the ceremony, the theater hosted a screening of Lee’s 1994 comedy/drama film “Crooklyn” (loosely based on his family’s story) in one of the remodeled screening rooms followed by a Q&A with the Brooklyn-raised filmmaker, younger sister Joie Lee, and younger brother Cinqué Lee, who co-wrote “Crooklyn” with Spike, the movie’s director. They shared behind-the-scenes stories of filming “Crooklyn,” a movie that follows the ups and downs of a lively and complex Brooklyn household based on the Lees’ own younger years. Filmmaker Spike Lee, center, shoots a selfie with the crowd at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Brooklyn earlier this month for a ceremony naming the theater after him. Photo credit: Randall Bellows III, RB3 Photography The event was one of several recent public outings by Spike,...