Spike Lee's new film stars him and 2021 Escalade
The redesigned 2021 Cadillac Escalade SUV will have its own film and a celebrity reveal next month in Hollywood.
General Motors has tapped Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee to introduce the Escalade on Feb. 4 with the premiere of a three-minute short film he directed called "Anthem." Lee will be at the vehicle's reveal as well.
"The film is almost a poem intended to capture and show the spirit of the Escalade," said Mike Albano, Cadillac spokesman.
The film highlights the new Escalade’s industry-first curved OLED screen technology. It gives the vehicle's cockpit a futuristic feel with bold imagery and wide colors across the display.
The film used Lee's signature "Double-Dolly technique," which heightens the sense of motion to draw viewers closer to the character, Cadillac said in a news release. The film showcases the SUV's innovation and movement and pays tribute to the Escalade being a cultural icon for more than two decades.
“I’m honored to be part of the next generation of the Escalade," said Lee in a statement. "(It) embodies style, luxury and prestige conveyed without pretension."
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The Oscars
After Cadillac shows the film during the reveal, it will be viewable on www.cadillac.com and social media, Albano said. Some of the content will also be used in advertising during the 92nd Academy Awards on Feb. 9, he said.
Cadillac has worked with Lee, who won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his film “BlacKkKlansman," for five years on various marketing projects, said Albano.
Lee is famous for directing such films as “She’s Gotta Have It,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Malcolm X,” “25th Hour” and “Inside Man." In those, he explored provocative themes and honed a distinctive film style.
“As one of the greatest storytellers and most creative filmmakers of his time, Spike Lee’s unique perspective is the perfect conduit for sharing the passion and spirit of the 2021 Escalade,” said Steve Carlisle, Cadillac president. “It is an icon reimagined.”
A sales boost
The Escalade is built at GM's Arlington Assembly plant in Texas, where the first one rolled off the line in 1998.
It's became a preferred ride for rockers and rap stars, a halo vehicle for the brand and its second-best selling vehicle behind the XT5 midsize SUV.
GM's luxury brand could use the Escalade's panache to help lift its sluggish U.S. sales. For 2019, Cadillac sold 35,424 Escalades in the United States, down 3.9% from 2018. It sold 49,879 XT5s down 17.6% from 2018. But thanks to the launch of the XT4 small SUV, Cadillac's total U.S. vehicle sales finished the year up by a slim 1% to 156,246 vehicles sold.
Cadillac's big rival, BMW, sold 324,826 vehicles in North America last year, up 4.4% from 2018.
Building on innovation
The Escalade has been the best-selling full size SUV for 15 years, Cadillac said. Its cumulative U.S. sales have surpassed 806,000, with total global sales of approximately 900,000, Cadillac said.
Here are some of the features that were first introduced on previous Escalade SUVs:
The first full LED headlamps (2009) and first LED high-beam headlamps and taillamps with total internal reflection (2015).
The first fullsize luxury SUV to offer magnetic ride control, the world’s quickest-reacting suspension system (2009).
The first full-size luxury SUV hybrid (2009).
The first front-center air bag in a luxury SUV, along with the first haptic safety alert seat (2015).
The 2021 Escalade's curved OLED display features twice the pixel density of a 4K television and more than 38 total diagonal inches of vibrant resolution.
Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Spike Lee's new film stars him and the 2021 Escalade
