Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq Wrapped Shooting; Will Be Amazon’s First Original Film Release
Amazon Studios announced today that Spike Lee’s next joint, Chi-Raq, is going to be released as an Amazon original, and is in fact, the first-ever Amazon Original Movie produced. The plan is to release Chi-Raq in theaters with an early opportunity for Amazon Prime subscribers to see the film.
Spike said he’s honored to launch the new arm of Amazon. He added, “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.”
Chi-Raq stars Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, Teyonah Parris, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix, Steve Harris, Angela Bassett with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. In what will be her breakout-starring role, Teyonah Parris will play the central lead character. Chi-Raq was shot entirely in Chicago and wrapped last week. Written by both the critically acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee with Kevin Willmott and directed by Lee, Chi-Raq will examine the troubling problem of inner city violence in Chicago.
“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.”
Bob Berney, Head of Marketing and Distribution at Amazon Studios, explained how it will work. He said that for Chi-Raq and future projects, Amazon will collaborate with big theater distributor. “We will work together to craft bold and distinctive marketing and distribution approaches for all our films,” he said.
First announced in January, Amazon Original Movies is an initiative by Amazon to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release and early window distribution exclusively for Prime members. Amazon Original Movies will join Amazon Original Series such as Catastrophe, Bosch, Mozart in the Jungle, Alpha House and multi-Golden Globe winner Transparent, all available exclusively on Amazon for Prime members. Also premiering this fall are new Amazon Original series Hand of God, Red Oaks, and The Man in the High Castle.
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