Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq to Mark First-Ever Amazon Original Movie

SEATTLE: Spike Lee's upcoming movie Chi-Raq (working title) has been slated as the first-ever original movie to come from Amazon Studios. 

The movie will feature newcomer Teyonah Parris starring alongside Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, D.B. Sweeney and Angela Bassett with John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. The film is being written by both Lee (Do The Right Thing) and writer/director Kevin Willmott (C.S.A.: Confederate States Of America), and is directed by Lee. Chi-Raq will shed light on the serious, but often overlooked, issue of violence in inner city Chicago.

“Spike Lee is one of the most distinct and visionary filmmakers of our time,” said Ted Hope, the 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.”

Lee commented, “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.”

Bob Berney, the head of marketing and distribution at Amazon Studios, explained, “For Chi-Raq, and for future projects, we will collaborate with a top-tier theatrical distributor who shares our vision and passion. We will work together to craft bold and distinctive marketing and distribution approaches for all our films.”