Barry alexander brown biography

by Kevin Lewis

Although he was only in his 20s, Barry Alexander Brown edited the early films of Spike Lee and Mira Nair, two of the small circle of independent filmmakers who were courted and signed by the mainstream studios in the mid-1980s.

The editor was invaluable to them because he thought like a filmmaker and anticipated their decisions.

He has gone on to work with both directors throughout his career, especially Lee, for whom he has edited most of the feature films, television films, MTV videos and commercials from the director’s own production studio, 40 Acres and a Mule, located in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Currently, Brown is editing Lee’s Inside Man, a police drama starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster, which is due for release next year.

Brown has been a great friend to Lee ever since they met in the summer of 1981 in Altanta, where Lee’s alma mater Morehouse College is located.

Later, Lee, a native Brooklynite, was enrolled in the graduate filmma