Spike Lee, Amazon Studios In Talks To Release 'Chiraq' Movie

By Justin Freeman in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 9, 2015 4:15PM

Spike Lee at a ceremony in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

According to The Verge and sources close to the project who spoke to The Wrap, Spike Lee is reportedly set to direct a movie for Amazon Studios. At this point, not much about the project is known but the film is apparently going to be called Chiraq and Lee is interested in possibly hiring Kanye West, Common, Jeremy Piven and Samuel L. Jackson for various roles.

Nothing about the actual storyline has been released yet, but Chiraq will supposedly align with similar subject matters Lee addresses in his works. That said, it's probably safe to assume that it'll be about Chicago's staggering gun violence, hyper-segregation, school closings and a seemingly unbreakable political machine. We have some reservations, mainly with outsiders fetishizing the struggles of Chicago in a misguided attempt to appear adventurous by continuing to use the word "Chiraq," but that said, we find ourselves interested in seeing what Lee brings to the conversation.

After Transparent won the Golden Globe for Best TV Comedy last year, Amazon Studios announced they'd be getting into original movies. Getting Spike Lee to direct and release his latest film would be a major win for Amazon as they continue their ongoing war of original content with Netflix.