The streamer declined comment on those plans, but Amazon Studios head Roy Price and his movie production chief, Ted Hope, say “Chi-Raq” will play first in theaters, then be made available relatively quickly to Amazon Prime customers (that’s the plan for all of its movies). Parris plays the main character, who decides to protest black-on-black gun violence by abstaining from sex. The film will hit the silver screen just in time for next year’s Oscars, and Lee and Amazon executives are hopeful the film will be considered in the 2016 awards race. It was filmed on location from June 1 through to July 9, during which time, Lee notes in a recent Instagram post, the city saw 331 people shot and wounded and 69 murdered. Please don’t be fooled by the title of Chi-Raq, this new Spike Lee joint will be something very special.
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The film, with the working title “Chi-Raq“, features a cast including Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson and Teyonah Parris, as well as D.B. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he was less than pleased of the movie’s title and expressed his thoughts to Lee.
Written by both the critically acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing), and writer/director Kevin Willmott (C.S.A.: Confederate States Of America), and directed by Lee, Chi-Raq will shed light on the serious, but often overlooked issue of violence in inner city Chicago.
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“We couldn’t have come up with a better film to launch our division in every which way”. The film will also be released in time for next year’s Oscars. After wrapping up filming last week, the demand for the flick convinced Lee to move up its release date.
