Jennifer Hudson is set to join the ensemble cast of Spike Lee’s upcoming film Chiraq, according to Screen Daily. Also slated to appear is fellow Illinois natives Common and John Cusack, as well as Jeremy Piven and Samuel L. Jackson. Despite early reports, Kanye West will not appear in the film.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Spike Lee Looking to Cast Kanye West & Common in ‘Chiraq’: Report
The news also comes with updates on the plot — the “musical comedy” is based on Aristophanes’ classic Greek play Lysistrata, where the women of ancient Greece withheld sex from the men to force a peace treaty ending the Peloponnesian War. Lee’s version substitutes Chicago for Athens and gang violence for…city-state violence.
Spike Lee on Finding ’12 Gems’ From Unsigned Artists for His Kickstarter-Funded Film
No word on when shooting is scheduled to begin, but the project, produced by Amazon Studios (yes, that Amazon), is currently being shopped for international distribution at Cannes.