Spike Lee is an unyielding son of Brooklyn but for his next movie, he’s engrossing himself with all the turmoil Chicago has become infamous for to create a project titled Chiraq.
The Wrap has jumped out in front of Amazon Studios’ secret announcement which looks to bring some tremendous star power to the film. It’s being speculated that Lee is trying to enlist Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Piven, Common and a one Kanye West to join the cast.
Although nothing is set in stone as of yet, several factors work in Lee’s favor to make his Midwest dreams a reality. Piven, who is slated to star in HBO’s Entourage movie this summer, hails from Chicago and the chance to work on a passion project that speaks to his city’s current climate could prove vital to get him to sign on. The same can be said for Common, who just came off an Oscar win for his Selma song, “Glory,” and his last studio album in Nobody’s Smiling was strictly dedicated to the black cloud that perceivably looms over his hometown’s head.
As for Mr. West, his recent move over to UTA was due to his yearning to get in front of the camera more often and the Chiraq film could be the ideal launching pad to get him taken more serious as an actor. (His previous credits only include slapstick comedies such as Anchorman 2, The Love Guru and now, the upcoming Zoolander 2.)
Samuel L. Jackson has a reputation for seemingly never turning down work and his reuniting with his early director would be a Hollywood headline story for he’s been working heavily with Lee’s rival Quentin Tarantino on the upcoming The Hateful Eight after he starred in the financially successful Django Unchained.
Lee’s journey inside Chicago’s crime-stricken streets will likely be an original one but some could say he’s fairly late to the party.
Both Moguldom Studios and Noisey extensively tackled the violence epidemic in the Windy City in early 2014.
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Photo: WENN
