'Mo' Better Blues': Backstage with Spike Lee and the Cast

`MO' BETTER BLUES'

BACKSTAGE WITH SPIKE LEE AND THE CAST

Multitalented filmmaker is back on the silver screen with his fourth summer hit

WITH all his classic signature components--good music, steamy love scenes, a great script and talented actors--Spike Lee is back on the silver screen with Mo' Better Blues, his fourth film in five years.

The movie is yet another showcase for the prolific filmmaker's multiple talents as a writer, director and actor. And for this one, which appears destined to be a summer hit, he's starring Denzel Washington in his first film role since winning the 1990 Academy Award for best supporting actor.

Mo' Better Blues is the story of how a young New York jazz musician, played by Washington, handles the joys, pains and frustrations of trying to balance his love of music with his love of two women. One of his romantic interests is played by Lee's sister, Joie Lee. The other is portrayed by Cynda Williams, who makes her film debut in Mo' Better Blues.

To the dismay of some and the delight of others, this film does not focus on the urban racism highlighted in Do The Right Thing. Nor does it focus on the poignant social issues explored in School Daze. But like Lee's 1986 debut film, She's Gotta Have It, Mo' Better Blues focuses on romance.

"Mo' Better Blues is about relationships," says the …