• Spike Lee's first showing of "Malcolm X" happened to be during the 1992 LA Riots. • Lee praised Warner Bros. execs for staying through the screening amid the city's chaos. • "I could never forget that day," Lee told Business Insider.

Spike Lee's 1992 epic, "Malcolm X," a biopic starring Denzel Washington as the controversial Black Nationalist leader, is known around Hollywood for the battles Lee had with the movie's studio, Warner Bros. The movie was even temporarily shut down over budgetary concerns, leading celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Prince, and Michael Jordan to make donations to resolve the issue.

But despite Lee's contentious relationship with the studio during the production process, there's one moment he'll always be grateful to them for.

In a recent interview with Bus

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