The Chatham 14 Theaters to eventually reopen under new management

Per comments on Worlee Glover's Concerned Citizens of Chatham and also info he's received from the regional manager at Studio Movie Grill the former Chatham 14 Theaters will soon be under new management. It won't be permanently closed, however, it will be available for a new buyer. 

Studio Movie Grill permanently closed?

 According to the Chicago Crusader:

Chatham’s Studio Movie Grill, the luxury entertainment complex that brought upscale dining, fancy menus and food delivery service to movie goers on the South Side, is closed for good.

Five months after the national chain filed for bankruptcy, a spokesman for the Studio Movie Grill last week confirmed plans not to reopen the Chatham location after it was temporarily closed because of the pandemic.

“All SMG theaters remain under review, but SMG Chatham isn’t currently part of our re-opening plan,” said Lynne McQuaker, senior director of public relations and outreach for Studio Movie Grill. “Whenever possible, it’s our intent to reopen these shuttered theaters. We will share updates publicly as we have them available.”

A former manager of SMG in Chatham told the Crusader that employees last November were given a letter, informing them of the facility’s permanent closure.

The multi-screen movie theater at 210 W. 87th St. temporarily closed in March 2020 days after Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a statewide stay-at-home order during the pandemic. The Chatham location was among many Studio Movie Grill facilities in U.S. cities that imposed similar COVID-19 restrictions to prevent the spread of the disease.

Would be very disappointed if this longtime stable and venue in our community is shuttered longer than this pandemic. Also in general the movie industry is struggling because of this pandemic as we saw recently Arclight which operated a movie theater near North/Clyborn has shuttered along with the rest of the company as noted in the above article.

Here's hoping SMG comes out of bankruptcy and will reopen our longtime movie house. 

CBS Chicago: Regal Cinemas Temporarily Closing Theaters Thursday, Including 8 In Chicago Area

 

[VIDEO] Probably not exactly germane news to the south side, however, one of things I have been keeping on eye on during this pandemic is the movie theater business. From what I can tell the Studio Movie Grill at 210 W. 87th Street remains closed.

Chains such as Regal Cinemas, AMC Theatres, and even the Showplace Icon on Roosevelt have since reopened back in August. Some of you may have seen the latest anticipated release Tenet starring John David Washington - he's the son of the legendary Denzel Washington - and directed by Christopher Nolan who you may know from the The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception to name a few big ticket releases he's made.

Well what's happening to Regal Cinemas who does have two locations within the city limits aren't much different from what other chains are doing. The Logan Theater announced that they were closing after reopening. Another chain with a few locations within the area Classic Cinemas earlier this summer announced that they were closing temporarily. And as of Thursday, yesterday, Regal Cinemas will again shut down operations temporarily.

The concern is that there aren't movies available to get people out of the house as much as it might be the continuing restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. I'm sure there is a reason why the 87th theaters remain close and it's exactly those two factors.

As a matter of fact if you're a James Bond fan you were probably anticipating that release in the near future. Unfortunately it has been pushed back due to this pandemic. Originally it was supposed to have been released in the spring when these stay-at-home orders were in effect, then it was supposed to have been released during this summer, then the fall, and now it has been pushed back into next year.

As I've stated over the past summer and it's true now, people want to get out of the house. Now is the time for entertainment. Thankfully we've finally gotten out of this tumultuous summer and at least so far this week in fall the weather has been nice.

Also stated at some point on this blog, this pandemic is temporary. We should continue to take our precautions with this tricky virus. I shared a video from the state about wearing face masks, my expectation is that we won't be doing that forever. I wish we could flick a switch and this pandemic is over.

As far as the 87th theaters, I'm looking to see what's going on with them. If you have any updates feel free to share. 

SMG Chatham 14 closed #COVID19

SMG Chatham Lobby/Concessions - 2018

This is probably no surprise to you if you paid a visit to the Studio Movie Grill theaters at 210 E. 87th Street as recently as Friday that the theaters are temporarily closed as a result of the coronavirus.

This is probably industry wide as I see that AMC Theatres and Kerasotes (Showplace Icon) have for the moment closed their locations in light of this coronavirus pandemic. At least AMC was speaking of limiting admissions to their screens at 50% capacity to encourage social distancing (which is to help to stem the spread of this virus). Of course authorities around the nation were issuing guidelines limiting how many people can gather in one place right now the government is limiting groups larger than 50 people.

So either way if you enjoy movies too bad about going to the show especially up to 87th Street, however, hopefully many of you are ready to take advantage of any streaming options. Which is especially key if you have to stay-at-home through April 7, 2020.

What is terrible is that many of the people who staff these venues wherever they're employed will be temporarily out of work until Studio Movie Grill, AMC Theatres, Kerasotes, etc will eventually re-open for business. I do hope that this will happen in the near future.

If you're wondering about the Harper Theater in Hyde Park at 5238 S. Harper Ave they're also closed for the time being. You will go to their website and a message regarding COVID-19 will come up explaining their closure.

My birthday last month at Studio Movie Grill Chatham...

SMG Chatham concession stand, bar, lobby

For the first time in years I went to the SMG Chatham theaters. I met up with fellow Sixth Ward blogger JP Paulus (whose birthday also fell on December 14th) to check out the newly renovated theaters. If you know the history the Chatham 14 was opened in 1997 under the ownership of ICE Theaters and managed in the beginning day to day by a company known as Cineplex Odeon. Of course as of 2014 the local cineplex is owned by Studio Movie Grill (SMG) and renovations were completed in 2017.

Usually I'm a matinee guy and always have been. But in meeting with JP Paulus on our respective birthday for the release of Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse I was going to the show later than normal. I had no idea according to JP that the concession stand would be closed by 6:30 PM. If you want food even if it was typical theater treats such as candy, popcorn or soft drinks you'd have to order them through a server in your respective auditorium.

I realized once I got to my auditorium that I needed to change my seat. I'm probably like a lot of theater goers don't like people sitting in front of you or don't want to sit near anyone. It was a seamless process by cashier in the box office area. Of course if you buy your tickets only you can just walk to a kiosk and use a bar code on your phone to get physical tickets.

What's I've also learned is that there will always be people who like to come to the theater at the last minute to buy tickets. Not complaining I'm often the same way and I'd prefer to pay for cash to buy movie tickets of course can't do that online. I was surprised that as I waited to change my seats in box office how gradually the line got longer and longer for those last minute moviegoers.

At least on this Friday evening the business wasn't great, it was a lightly attended night at least for the Spider-man film. I got some sliders to eat and they were great. The film was also great and to be sure it's a great movie to watch with your family or with children. It's a computer animated comic book film that often feels as if it was lifted from the pages of Marvel Comics.

Let's not forget that in the lobby is a full service bar where you could hang out before or after your movie. Perhaps you just want to drop in and not see a movie. It's there and probably a perfect place to watch the Oscars during that particular season of the year. There are big screen TVs at the bar.

If I have to rate this place, I'd give it 4 stars out of 5. I've been a customer of the Chatham 14 for years even through all the changes in the 21 years it has been in operation. I could say something about the seats in front of us in my auditorium that were covered in tarp because the roof leaked. I will also say I like how they stretched out the auditorium so that the servers could do their jobs. It seems as if they took out a row of seats to accommodate the vision of a full service dine-in movie theater.

Also I had no idea that you could pick up a menu where the greeter used to be. Usually a person that rips your tickets would be located in the hallway just before going to your respective auditorium. It was very easy to find your reserved seating as seats are lettered and numbered.

As stated in another post last year and again in our year end round-up. You need not go downtown to either Showplace Icon or AMC Block 37 Dine-In theaters to get the same amenities you get get at 210 W. 87th Street. Unlike at those two downtown theaters with similar amenities you don't have to pay to park on 87th Street.

BTW, shout out to Harlan Falcon Brian who was one of the managers on duty on that evening.

"The American Nurse" at SMG Chatham

Got this e-mail with a flyer to be posted below about an event this coming weekend at Studio Movie Grill Chatham on 87th.

NursingInspired🏾‍ is intentionally hosting an event during National Nurses Week 2018, as an effort to increase interest in the career of Nursing among underrepresented youth in Chicago!

ATTENTION organizations serving urban, underserved & African American youth (age 14-24),

high school students, pre-nursing, traditional & non-traditional college students, professional nurses and community members are all welcome:

Announcing a NursingInspired🏾‍

1st Annual Movie and Educational event Screening the documentary "The American Nurse (2014)"
at the Studio Movie Grill-Chatham, Chicago, IL


Mark your calendar

The event is on Sunday, May 6th
Doors Open at 2pm, Film starts at 2:30pm

NURSES| 1 CE credit for watching the film through Walden University!

Flyer below:

The remodeled SMG Chatham gets a thumbs up...

SMG Chatham 14

The launch of Chatham Center Chicago last Wednesday gave me the opportunity to check out the new SMG Chatham 14 on Wednesday. Didn't get a chance to catch a show there on this day, however, I was there for that program and saw a lot of changes to the lobby since before the many changes that were finally complete last spring.

The last time I came to watch a movie here was in 2014 for the Seth Rogen & Zac Efron comedy Neighbors. At that point there was still no bar in what used to be the lobby and things really look the some from since the theaters ownership under ICE Theatres.

Bar in lobby SMG Chatham

Then I see the changes to the concession stand, a kitchen where the video games used to be, of course the bar and seating in the lobby, a stage where the fabled & often closed Chatham Grill used to be, and also there were more games in the hallway towards the auditoriums those are gone now. Now the theater is truly a great place to come watch a movie.

Hallway to auditoriums

Think about it, for those amenities you can expect to get in downtown Chicago such as AMC Dine-in Block 37 or Kerasotes Theatres Showplace Icon one needs not go that far. Just come to 210 W. 87th Street and you can have those same downtown amenities. Not just the bar, food service in the auditorium during the movie, reserved seating, even purchasing advance tickets online.

Purchasing tickets online is especially key for when the next hot release from the Marvel Cinematic Universe Black Panther hits theaters around the country February 16, 2018.

BTW, I know that with this new Chatham Center moving forward SMG Chatham is poised to be one of the main businesses. And I promise to come here every once in a while to watch a movie. Or perhaps come in and try some of the menu offerings also.

20 years ago ICE Chatham 14 Theaters opened...

ICE on FB

Reading the archived ICE Theaters website their three theaters were open for business on November 24, 1997.  Meanwhile 20 years later we discuss some history and ultimately the future.

In October, Worlee Glover at Concerned Citizens of Chatham marked the occasion in the 1990s when Donzell & Alisa Starks - the couple who owns ICE Theaters - approached the community about opening their facility in Chatham. It's noted that while there have been many changes to the theater since opening in 1997 one aspect of their vision remains - we still need not have to go too far from our neighborhood to catch the latest Hollywood releases.

Wanting to see Tomorrow Never Dies - a James Bond film starring Pierce Brosnan - it was nice to not have to drive to the then General Cinemas and current AMC Theatres at Ford City to catch a movie. Just drive up the Dan Ryan to 87th Street to catch a show. It was something my mother and I had done faithfully for years. The Chatham community has a history of successful Black-owned businesses which included Seaway Bank and it was also cool that this theater was Black owned even if day-to-day management were actually performed by Cineplex-Odeon at the time.

It seems a former owner of ICE Theaters is back with a proposed theater development

I had been a bit hard of Ms. Alisa Starks during this past summer. Back in 2015 Starks - who with her late husband Donzell Starks owned ICE Theaters - proposed a theater, restaurant, and retail to be located at the former main branch of Urban Partnership Bank. Incidentally that branch also contained the facade of the former Jeffrey Theater.

In any case there was nothing but questions with regards to her plan such as whether or not ICE Theaters was involved - since sometime that year that company had filed for bankruptcy. Then recently more news on bringing a development to 71st & Jeffrey:

Alisa Starks, who developed movie theaters in Chatham and Lawndale, said at Tuesday night’s 5th Ward meeting that she plans to demolish the former Urban Partnership Bank at 7054 S. Jeffery Blvd. and build an entertainment center

Starks, who lives in the Jackson Park Highlands area of South Shore, bought the building in 2015 for an estimated $307,500, according to county property records, and she originally planned to maintain the building and build a movie theater and bowling alley.

“When the architects got in they said we couldn’t use the building as is, so we’re going to demolish it,” Starks said.

While I'm disappointed that they won't use the building as is, the proposed new building looks great.

Going further:

The three-story building will be topped with an events venue designed by 555 International, the Chicago firm that designed Girl and the Goat and GT Fish and Oyster. The first two stories of the building will be focused on the theater, which will serve food and beer and wine, and the restaurant, which Starks said already is developing a Creole menu.

If it seems early to be thinking about the menu before any work has begun, it’s a sign of the aggressive pace Starks said she wants to hit after two years of planning the project.

Starks said she wants to open next summer. The next step will be to get zoning approval from the city. If there is a mild winter, demolition will begin sooner, Starks said.

Here's hoping that this concept does get off the ground!

Studio Movie Grill Chatham 14 NOT showing Hidden Figures?

The above ad had an old date -- the Hidden Figures movie website has January 6 as the new official wide release date

From The Sixth Ward writer JP Paulus...

Our local Theater, the Studio Movie Grill Chatham 14 Theaters , according to the website, doesn't seem to be showing the movie Hidden Figures this Sunday.

While Chatham 14 hasn't been black owned in some time  (with Michael Silver essentially taking it from the founders, Donzell and Alicia Starks , and then selling out to the Studio Movie Grill chain) , many of the staff, and more importantly, the audience remains the same.


This is puzzling because Chatham 14 hosted an event in September to celebrate the movie "Queen of Katwe". Now, that event was organized by an outside group, but certainly made my family proud to be there, and to see various African cultures (as well as chess playing) being celebrated all over the theater.

Now, with the renovations for becoming at true Studio Movie Grill facility have now taken over the lobby, I understand they couldn't do much. But surely they could have a flat movie display, with some homemade signs that say thing like "Future genius" or "Junior Mathematician".

Or even simpler -- just have it up on the website's schedule (under "Coming Soon") and allow for some advance ticket purchases. I was going to tell others to buy tickets for a certain show, but nothing was available. Many seats have bene changed over, so seating now is limited, and you have to arrive early in order to get good seating, so simply meeting at the theater for a certain show might not be practical.

If the company did any research, they should know that movies of African-American significance and/or interest are often sold out at opening weekend. Despite the construction, this would have been an excellent public relations opportunity. 

Instead, if the "Coming Soon" is accurate, it might actually be a lighter weekend than usual, with $5 Tuesday possibly being a stronger day.


My family will wind up watching" Hidden Figures" with friends this Sunday at Marcus Theaters - Country Club Hills this Sunday at the 3:15pm show. How about yours?

Fashion Show at the special Queen of Katwe movie night at Chatham 14

Chess Playing at the special Queen of Katwe movie night at Chatham 14

Runway for the fashion show

Obama movie fundraiser THIS Sunday!

This Sunday, both Greater Chatham Alliance and West Chesterfield Community Association are selling tickets for "Southside with you" a movie inspired by Barack and Michelle Obama's first date. Southside with you recounts the eventful summer days of 1989 when a charming law associate named Barack Obama tries to WOO reluctant attorney Michelle Robinson during daylong date that take them from Art Institute of Chicago to a Spike Lee's Screening of Do the Right Thing to a first kiss outside of a Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Parlor.

The movie is showing Sunday, August 28, 2016 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM (CDT) (doors open at 2pm)    at Chatham 14 Theaters - 210 West 87th Street, Chicago, IL 60620

The movie is rated PG-13, and $20 for adults and $15 for kids.

If you wish to purchase for WCCA, then go to http://southsidewithyou-wcca.eventbrite.com/
or for GCA, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/southside-with-you-the-story-about-barack-and-michelle-obama-tickets-27233332631?aff

Movies in the Park "Home" at Abbott Park TONIGHT

One of the last "Movies in the Park" will be showing TONIGHT. Meet us at Abbott Park, 49 E. 95th Street (That's 95th & Michigan).

The movie begins around 8pm (i.e. Dusk). You are welcome to bring blankets, chairs, and food

We hope to see you

there TONIGHT!

Send an e-mail to bloh@thesixthward.us before 7pm today if you'd like to connect with one of the writers of this blog!

This event is sponsored by the Chicago Park District.

Tribune: Spike Lee's 'Chi-Raq' gets Dec. 4 release date

A photo posted by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on Oct 29, 2015 at 2:11pm PDT

How many of us will go to the Studio Movie Grill in Chatham to check this film out. There was lots of publicity generated by certain politicians hate for the film title. Here's hoping it gets the reception it deserves from Chicagoans and the rest of the world when it's released on Dec. 4th.

Spike Lee's controversial "Chi-Raq" movie that's a satirical look at Chicago violence will be released Dec. 4 in some theaters, Lee confirmed on Instagram.

The movie, which is set on the South Side and based on the ancient Greek comedy "Lysistrata," is about women withholding sex to get their men to stop committing violence. Lee drew backlash from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and some aldermen when he announced the title of the movie earlier this year.

Lee shot the movie, which is produced by Amazon Studios, from June 1-July 9. Amazon Studios has partnered with Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate for the theatrical release, according to Deadline, which was the first to report the news of the release date. It's unclear when the film will be available on Amazon's Prime Instant Video service.

REMINDER: "The Sensei" event w/ Diana Lee Inosanto

Last Saturday, I erroneously typed that the event was to take place on Wednesday. It was a mistake this event is to take place this weekend on this coming Saturday. I apologize for the error and had re-edited that post.

This post is regarding more publicity for The Sensei to be screened at the Logan Theater @ 2646 N Milwaukee. You may purchase tickets in advance via the official website for the Flix of Fury Martial Arts film club. As stated Sensei is an anti-bullying film.

The screening will further include martial artist and Sensei star Diana Lee Inosanto who can be seen during a reception and a Q & A at the Logan. She was interviewed for the Chicago Now blog Six Brown Chicks. Inosanto talks about future projects, career in Hollywood, her uncle martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, and of course the bullying theme of Sensei.

Flix of Fury presents "The Sensei"

UPDATED August 5, 2015: Inaccurately entered the wrong day for this event. It will take place on Saturday, August 8, 2015. Will post a reminder then. Apologize for the error. 

[VIDEO] Two years ago I had posted about an event that took place at the now SMG Chatham (then Chatham 14 Theaters) @ 210 W 87th St which celebrated the life and career of the late Jim Kelly. Kelly was a martial artist turned actor who had been in such movies as Black Belt Jones & Enter the Dragon. BTW, I hope you find those movies both were very good and Jones was very fun in a 1970s sense even if it was a bit "campy".

There were a series of movies shown on that day two years ago, those were just two that I had the chance to view. After each film concluded there was a brief program that often included a martial arts demonstration. In addition a brief presentation where a martial artist talks about Jim Kelly's career and how martial arts were important to the Black community.

This leads me to promote this year's similarly themed event promoted by Flix of Fury. It will be held outside of our community at the Logan Theater - located at 2646 N Milwaukee Ave. The Sensei to put simply is a film about bullying a martial artist helps a young bullying victim.

To put this into perspective, over the years many of us have heard many unfortunate stories about young people teenaged comitting suicide because of bullying. It's really sad that a person who really hadn't started their lives have starting thinking their lives are over because peers decided to engage in imtimidating conducts towards another person for whatever reason. Even worse the classic physical intimidation has been replaced by usage of social networking whether YouTube, facebook, instagram, twitter, etc. This is why I hope you'd consider attending this event at the Logan.

That event at the Chatham two years ago and the coming event underscores why martial arts has a role in our communities. For example the speakers at the event honoring Jim Kelly spoke about how it wasn't about teaching a flashy style of fighting, but how martial arts was about life. It's about mentoring and insuring that the young people who were learning martial arts were also doing well in school. It essentially taught them to become better people and this is exactly what we need in our communities.

BTW, also expect a reminder post about this event anytime before next Wednesday' Saturday's event!

So Spike Lee had a press conference outside of St. Sabina #Chiraq

Yesterday famed film director Spike Lee held a press conference outside of St. Sabina - where a casting call was held for extras - to discuss the Chiraq production. Above is a video from our local ABC affiliate and below I quote from Time magazine:

Spike Lee sought on Thursday to squash some rumors that have been swirling about his upcoming film on the violence that plagues parts of Chicago.

“A lot of things have been said about the film by people who know nothing about the film,” the famed director said during a news conference at St. Sabina Catholic Church. “We felt it was appropriate that we say what the narrative is, the filmmakers, the people who are doing this. Not the people that’s judging from afar.”

The film, which is reportedly titled “Chiraq”—though Lee referred to this as the “so-called-title”—has drawn the ire of city officials because it compares the city’s violence to the war zones of Iraq. Mayor Rahm Emanuel reportedly expressed his disdain for the title to Lee himself. According to NBC Chicago, Alderman Will Burns also called for the city council to cut Lee’s tax break unless he changes the film’s title. The moniker Chiraq was popularized by Chicago rappers Chief Keef and later used by stars like Kanye West, who was also raised in the Windy City.

Where this comes from I have no idea, but my eyes kind of glazed over when I saw this...

However, earlier this week ScreenDaily reported that the script is a modern-day re-imagining of the ancient Greek comedy “Lysistrata.” In the bawdy original by Aristophanes, the women of Greece band together and withhold sex until their men put an end to war. The play is no escapist jape, but rather a savvy use of comedy to address serious themes about the extreme toll violence has on the men who fight and their families at home.

Lee’s version (which is being co-written by Kevin Willmott, a filmmaker out of the University of Kansas) would purportedly update the action and set it in Chicago. If you're familiar with the original play, this concept doesn't seem outlandish. Or irresponsible in its treatment of violence. But how many people are indeed familiar with this Aristophanes work? It's far from obscure but it's not necessarily widely known and hasn't been produced in Chicago for at least 10 years, if not longer.

And you know I'm hoping this is some rumor or just some smokescreen. Although at the same time if this could be another message movie could set it apart. I'd be interested to see how this would work.

Lee is right when he says that if you don't like it you don't like it, but give the film a chance!

WBEZ: Thousands try for role in #Chiraq

Chiraq is know more for it's controversial title at this point however there were a number of people who attended an open call to be an extra in this production:

More than 2,500 people had gone through the audition process by about 2 p.m., standing for pictures and leaving their contact information.

“I knew there’d be a lot,” said Rev. Michael Pfleger, the pastor at St. Sabina. “But I didn’t know there’d be this many.”

Pfleger said by the end of the day, he expected to see more than 4,000 people.

The casting call had asked for people of all ethnicities from age 7 to 75.

“Grandmas and gang members, all the same, in line,” Pfleger said.

“It’s been great. It’s been a very powerful, very positive thing here at 78th and Racine. I mean, when’s the last time we ever heard a casting call for a movie being held in the
heart of the black community?”

Yeah, there just had to be a quote of Father Pfleger in there and he has little problem with the film title unlike some Aldermen and the Mayor: “I think Spike is a good brother, I think he’s a conscientious brother, and I think people that are here say they want to be connected with Spike Lee.”

Did you attend this open call? Are you hoping to be in this film and be connected with Spike Lee?

Monroe Anderson: Spike Lee’s #Chiraq could be KKK

Spike Lee via RAGE ig

So the new Spike Lee "joint" expected to be filmed in Englewood that's causing some controversy among some in Chicago - for it's title primarily - is the subject of a column from Monroe Anderson.

You can see why Chiraq is not the best title for what’s really happening here. So, I’ve got a better suggestion. I think Spike should look at the artwork of visual artist James Pate and either beg, borrow or buy his cutting edge artistic vision. A couple of years ago, Pate had a three-month exhibition at the DuSable Museum. Its title was KKK--Kin Killin Kin.

The detailed black and white drawings, beautiful yet powerful, were of boys from the hood, wearing Ku Klux Klan-like headgear with their black faces exposed or basketball jerseys with the initials KKK on them while pointing guns at each other’s heads. The bullets they fired were artistically frozen just before they entered each other’s heads.

That unnerving reality would make a much more powerful movie than a sequel to the Hughes brothers 1993 hit.

I was thinking this could be another one of those message movies which seemed very popular in the 1990s.  This time at least a movie will be set on the south side of Chicago instead of South Central Los Angeles.

Also if you read the another issue is at play, gentrification. Violence is an important issue of course but not the only one. Neighborhoods like Bronzeville is changing and in the future the eye is on Englewood - where this movie will be set.

Since it seems we're following the #Chiraq movie...

Well I want to know what this coming movie is all about. We know very little about other than some of Chicago's politicians aren't very happy with the title of this film. The man who wants to put this film on screen appears to be saying very little about the story other than the subject matter.

When Spike Lee took the stage late Saturday at City Winery for the second of his two appearances that night, a question hung in the air. Would he open up about “Chiraq”? Slated to begin work in Chicago several weeks from now, the film project has become polarizing for its title alone, before even a single frame of the movie has been shot.

The answer was both yes and no — but mostly no. The event (booked before the news about “Chiraq” broke earlier this month) wasn’t designed as anything more than a backstage glimpse at Lee's nearly 30-year career in the movies, combining behind-the-scenes anecdotes and a flight of six wines paired with six extended film clips.

Any comment about “Chiraq” would have meant going off-script and probably allowing for some audience interaction — a tantalizing proposition from a wine-loosened man of the hour. But Lee, dressed in silver metallic sneakers and a dark grey sport coat with a small Nike logo, wasn’t going there.

That kind of reticence isn't unusual. Plenty of filmmakers would rather not elaborate on a project that’s still in the early stages. (And we’ve all seen the lengths directors of certain blockbuster movies go to in order to keep any information — even details that aren't actually spoilers — under wraps.)

Lee isn't obligated to reveal his plans for the movie, which he recently told Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be about black-on-black violence in the Englewood neighborhood. At the same time, I can't help but think his reluctance was a missed opportunity. This is a man who knows his mind and has never been one to avoid controversy. (His Wikipedia page has an entire section devoted to “controversial remarks,” which is longer than the section on his career.)

Perhaps this controversy is good for Spike's new movie. Perhaps Chicago will come out and see the movie in droves.

Mitchell: 'Chiraq' critics should let Spike Lee do his thing

Spike Lee at Morehouse College's 2009 commencement - ajc

Mary Mitchell takes on the Chiraq controversy. It's the Spike Lee "Joint" that we've been hearing about and  re-elected Mayor Emanuel isn't happy about the title:

The flak that Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee is getting over his plan to title a movie “Chiraq” is proof that many of us are in denial.

When innocent people are getting shot while sitting in their homes, survivors must feel like they are living in a war zone.

Indeed, when Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, said “we drive faster” through the black community — a comment that was described by pundits as a “gaffe” — he was speaking the truth.

It’s not just white people who speed through some neighborhoods because of the high crime rates associated with black areas.
African-Americans have fled Chicago in droves in search of a safer environment.

But if Chicagoans are good at anything, they are good at putting a positive spin on conditions that other cities would label deplorable.

For instance, outsiders describe Chicago as one of the most segregated cities in America. Yet we describe it as a city of neighborhoods.

BTW, she got some quotes in from other Chicago politicians especially two alderman. One of those Alderman was quoted in an article linked above from Politico:

“To highlight the problems we are having with that type of name is an insult,” railed Ald. Anthony Beale (9th).

Ald. Will Burns (4th) has hinted that the city could use a $3 million tax break that Lee is seeking as leverage in the dispute.

That’s just going to make Chicago look worse on the national stage.

Frankly, if aldermen want to be outraged over something, they ought to be concerned that Chicago is becoming a place where hip-hop wannabes like Lil JoJo are gunned down.

Is this the first movie Spike Lee has made in Chicago. I wonder if this is the one time he's expanded out of New York. Regardless I'd just as soon reserve judgement until the movie finally comes out. Lee's movies are often pretty good.

BTW, what do you think of the title? Does it bother you? Are you ready to start the conversation on violence and crime in Chicago?