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.

CapitolFax: #Chiraq attack rebuffed

We still see how politicians in Chicago are still having an issue with Chiraq. A Spike Lee "joint" currently in production here on the south side. One Alderman - Will Burns who threatened to take action as far as the films tax credit - has decided to delay any hearings on this film. Then we see state Senators in Springfield pass a resolution in support of this film. And of course another Alderman - freshman David Moore - sign a permit for a "Chiraq" block party at St. Sabina after discussing this with constituents. Something we shared an article on over the weekend.

So it seems the issue over the title isn't black & white there's some opposition and perhaps a lot more support. And as always we would like to know your thoughts on this movie.

DNA Info: Spike Lee's '#Chiraq' Block Party Gets City Permit After Alderman Relents

There was supposed to be a block party near St. Sabina on Memorial Day weekend to mark the start of filming for Spike Lee's Chiraq. It was cancelled due to the weather, but we also learned that the newly inaugurated 17th ward alderman had held up a permit for this event expected to be held today at 2 PM:

Ald. David Moore (17th), who had blocked a city permit for Spike Lee's block party in a dispute over the director's choice of "Chiraq" as the title of a film he's making in Chicago, has dropped his objection to the Saturday event.

Moore signed the block party permit on Fox32's "Good Day Chicago" Friday morning. He said that he chose to wait until he had heard from the community.

"I spoke to the residents yesterday; they gave me their concerns," he said on Fox32. "Some of them strongly objected to the name, but said, 'David Moore, we want you to proceed with the block club party.' And that's why I'm here today to sign off on that."

St. Sabina Church, 1210 W. 78th Place, had plans to host the block party even if Moore didn't approve. On Thursday, the Rev. Michael Pfleger wrote on Facebook that "the block party will go on. With homicides up and shootings up, who is coming to a block party is the issue [?] Give me a break!"

A request for comment from Pleger wasn't immediately returned.

The title of this film really has a number of people up in arms still. Either way I heard that the noisiest Alderman - Will Burns - his ward had some scenes in Lee's latest joint:

More than 500 extras all dressed in white were sworn to secrecy and packed into the General Jones Armory, 5200 S. Cottage Grove Ave., on Monday morning for filming.

The exact plot of Lee’s film remains a mystery — some speculate it’s a musical comedy about women withholding sex to try to stop violence on the South Side, a modern “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes.

Now I really can't wait for this movie. :)

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?

#Chiraq and the film production tax credit

Via RAGE ig

I'm very ecstatic that Englewood will have its time in the limelight thanks the famed director Spike Lee. Although knowing the basic premise of that film - which is regarding inner city gang violence - it's probably not always in the best light. We do hope that this sheds light on a problem that occurs in many neighborhoods in the city.


Since news broke about the opposition to Lee's "joint" expected to be titled Chiraq, we've learned there are many who aren't happy with that title. One of those people who isn't happy is Mayor Rahm Emanuel another person who isn't happy is 4th ward Alderman Will Burns who is seeking to keep Lee's production from receiving a tax credit.

To be sure this isn't recent news exactly and it appears to have been reported in the local press in recent months. It was something worth posting, however, it was also important not to overwhelm this blog with posts about movie coming to this part of town. Still I saw that Rich Miller talked about this news on Thursday with the following comment:

I’m not sure what I think of this. I don’t like government interference in the arts, but when you take the money, I suppose you sometimes have to pay the piper, or however that saying goes…

One way to look at it is that yeah Ald. Burns wants to say don't make a movie that puts Chicago in a bad light. Especially if the belief that this term "Chiraq" could be legitimized by this movie.

Personally Lee should make the movie he wants to make which hopefully will bring gang violence in Chicago to light. It seems people want to smack Lee around because he's from New York and he's doing a movie about Chicago. What does it matter perhaps we need an "outsider" to take a look at what's wrong here.

Also not that I totally understand the idea behind tax credits, but we all know Lee can raise funds for his productions. Just look at what he did for those people who helped finance his more well known "joint" Malcolm X. If Ald. Burns is successful in holding back that tax credit, it would be expected that Lee won't be hurting for long.

BTW, if you want to be an extra in Chiraq here's an FB page for more information. There is an open call expected to take place at St. Sabina @ 7801 S. Throop.

Furthermore, Resident Association of Greater Englewood (RAGE) President Ay-Sha Butler wrote her 2¢ on Lee's Chiraq. The film will affect her community so therefore it's important to see how an Englewood resident views this coming production.

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.

Chicago Tonight: Spike Lee Film #Chiraq Triggers Black-On-Black Violence Debate

[VIDEO] Little did I know when I posted excerpts of Mary Mitchell's column this morning that Chicago Tonight took on this subject on this past Thursday's program. BTW, if you're unable to watch the embedded video on this blog please click the "VIDEO" link within the brackets above.

Here's the description of the program you see above:

A new Spike Lee film about black-on-black violence that is still in early production has already stirred up controversy just with its title: Chiraq. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he doesn't like it because it stigmatizes communities and gives the whole city a bad name. We talk with a local filmmaker with an anti-violence message, as well as experts on black-on-black violence to get their take on the controversy.

Joining us are Anthony Sturdivant, a man from the west side of Chicago who is trying to combat the gun violence in his community with a series of short films on YouTube called "Think Before You Shoot", Waldo Johnson, Associate Professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, and Eddie Bocanegra, a former gang member who’s committed to preventing violence and Co-Executive Director of YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago’s Youth Safety and Violence Prevention programs.

A lot of focus is on the term "chiraq" what was it's origins and the responses to this title. For example, how many veterans of the Iraq War would challenge the "chiraq" designation.

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?