The Wrap is reporting that Spike Lee’s next movie is being filmed with Amazon Studios. The film, apparently titled Chiraq, will reportedly feature Kanye West, Jeremy Piven, Samuel L. Jackson and Common, though nothing has been confirmed at this point.
The news represents the latest in an increasingly heated competition between Amazon, Hulu and Netflix to produce original content with top-notch talent. Amazon Studios recently announced plans for an untitled Woody Allen project. Meanwhile, Netflix is churning out its own TV shows at a rapid rate, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Not much is known about Spike Lee’s new film, though the term Chiraq is used to describe Chicago and the city’s increasing gun violence. Lee’s previous film, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, was funded through Kickstarter, but received mostly negative reviews. Lee is still a big draw though, mostly thanks to the massive popularity of his classic movie Do The Right Thing, among others.
It’s unclear if Chiraq will debut in theaters, or exclusively on Amazon’s streaming service. When Netflix announced plans for a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel last year (coming this summer) it revealed the new movie would arrive online and on IMAX screens simultaneously, though that doesn’t necessarily mean Amazon will adopt the same strategy.
Source: The Wrap