Since it was announced last month, Spike Lee’s Chiraq has been hit by critics who don’t want him to use that title. But Lee defended his decision Thursday while in Chicago and urged those critics to wait to pass judgement until after they see the movie.
“A lot of things have been said about this film by people who know nothing about the film. A lot of people have opinions about the so-called title of the film,” Lee said during the press conference, reports NBC Chicago. “Again, they know nothing about the film.”
The project was first reported on in April, when it was rumored that Amazon Studios would produce the film, with Common, Jeremy Piven and Samuel L. Jackson all starring in it. The moment news broke, critics in Chicago blasted the title, since it is a slang term that compares the city to a war zone.
“I am 100 percent sure that the great city of Chicago can survive a film of conscience, just like it did Transformers,” John Cusack, a Chicago native who will also be in the film, said Thursday. “I love my city of Chicago, all of Chicago, and I would never do anything to hurt it.”
According to ScreenDaily, the new film is a reimagining of the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata and is about a woman’s attempt to end gang warfare in the city. Although there were rumors that Kanye West would actually be in the film, a rep for the rapper told the site that this is not the case.
IM Global is handling international sales for the film at the Cannes film market, but again, Amazon already has U.S. distribution.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com