With rumours doing the rounds over the past few weeks, it has now officially been announced that Spike Lee’s new film Chi-raq will be the first original movie to debut on Amazon.
The film, which looks at inncer-city gun-violence in Chicago, was shot entirely in Chicago and has recently finished shooting, will be the very first feature to be made exclusively for Amazon and will debut on the website’s subscription service next year
“Spike Lee is one of the most distinct and visionary filmmakers of our time,” said Ted Hope, Head of Motion Picture Production at Amazon Studios. “It would be impossible to find a better filmmaker with whom to launch our studio. 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.”
“I’m honored to be part of the film that will launch Amazon Studios and to tell a story that is so important. Please don’t be fooled by the title of Chi-Raq, this new Spike Lee joint will be something very special. We have assembled a stellar cast,” added Lee.
Chi-Raq stars Teyonah Parris, Wesley Snipes, John Cusack, Jennifer Hudson, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Angela Bassett, Nick Cannon and Samuel L. Jackson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTcdL3-dh2c
Originally published July 15, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
