After months of speculation, Amazon has finally confirmed that it is backing Spike Lee’s already-controversial Chi-Raq as the first Amazon Original Movie. The film features an all-star cast with Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack, Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson.
Chi-Raq was written by Lee with Kevin Willmott (CSA: Confederate States of America) and centers on violence in the city of Chicago. It was shot entirely on location and filming just wrapped last week.
Even when the project was just a rumor in April, Lee was widely criticized by Chicago officials for the title. In May, Lee stood by the title during a press conference before filming started.
“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. “Again, they know nothing about the film.”
Amazon confirmed that the cast will include Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Hudson, Teyonah Parris, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Bassett, Cusack and Jackson. Other actors in the film include Common and Dave Chappelle.
While Amazon didn’t say when the film would be released, Amazon Studios told The Hollywood Reporter that they hope to get the film in theaters briefly in December so it can qualify for the Oscars. The original plan was to hold it back for the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, but Lee and Amazon like the movie too much to do that.
“It would be impossible to find a better filmmaker with whom to launch our studio,” Amazon Studios production chief Ted Hope said in a statement. “He has a unique voice, a distinct eye, and he tackles important subjects with humor and heart, pointing to solutions and not exploiting the problems. Chi-Raq may be his greatest, and definitely his boldest film yet—everything about it is distinctive.”
image of Spike Lee courtesy of INFphoto.com