Movies News

Spike Lee to Direct ‘Prince of Cats,’ A Hip-Hop Spin on

Spike Lee has signed on with Legendary Pictures to direct “Prince of Cats,” based mostly on a graphic novel by Ron Wimberly that transports “Romeo & Juliet” to a 1980s hip-hop setting.

Set in Brooklyn, the violent feud between the Capulets and Montagues is waged with katanas and amid graffiti-stained partitions. Along with the backdrop, “Prince of Cats” additionally modifications the story’s focus from the 2 doomed lovers to Tybalt, Juliet’s rage-fueled cousin who leads the Capulets of their battles and whose bloodthirst results in his demise.

Also Read: Spike Lee Says Hollywood Should ‘Shut It Down’ and Boycott Georgia

Lee will rewrite the script with Wimberly and authentic screenwriter Selwyn Seyfu Hinds. Janet and Kate Zucker of Zucker Productions will produce the movie with Legendary’s Jon Silk and Ali Mendes overseeing the venture.

Lee gained his first Oscar this yr for Best Adapted Screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman,” which was additionally nominated for Best Picture. In addition to “Prince of Cats,” his future slate contains the Netflix conflict drama “Da 5 Bloods,” which stars Chadwick Boseman, Paul Walter Hauser, and Jonathan Majors and filmed in Vietnam earlier this yr.

Lee is repped by ICM Partners, and the signing was first reported by THR.

Every Black Director Nominated for an Oscar, From John Singleton to Spike Lee (Photos)

Spike Lee grew to become solely the sixth black director to obtain an Oscar nomination within the Academy’s historical past for his work on “BlackKklansman.” But to date, no black filmmaker has gained in that class.

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John Singleton, “Boyz N the Hood” (1991) • Two years after Spike Lee was handed over for a nomination for “Do the Right Thing,” John Singleton grew to become the primary African American to earn a Best Director nomination for his star-studded drama set in South Central L.A. That yr, Jonathan Demme gained the award for “The Silence of the Lambs.”

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Lee Daniels, “Precious” (2009) • Eighteen years handed earlier than a second African American filmmaker was acknowledged: Lee Daniels, for his gritty portrait of a younger lady searching for to beat a childhood of poverty and abuse. In one other Oscar first, Kathryn Bigelow grew to become the primary feminine director to win the Oscar, for “The Hurt Locker.”

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Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave” (2013) • British director Steve McQueen gritty drama about American slavery picked up 9 nominations, together with one for his directing. While the movie gained Best Picture (and McQueen earned a statuette as a producer), he misplaced the directing prize to “Gravity” filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón.

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Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight” (2016) • Jenkins’ underdog indie pulled off a serious upset, beating front-runner “La La Land” for Best Picture. But Damien Chazelle claimed the directing prize for the modern-day musical. (Jenkins did take house the statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay.)

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Jordan Peele, “Get Out” (2017) • Peele grew to become the most recent actor-turned-filmmaker to earn a Best Director nod, for his function filmmaking debut. Peele gained an Oscar for his authentic screenplay however Guillermo del Toro gained Best Director for “The Shape of Water.”

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Spike Lee, “BlackKklansman” (2018) • Despite huge approval for such movies as 1989’s “Do the Right Thing” and 1992’s “Malcolm X,” the pioneering filmmaker earned his first nomination many years into his profession for this fact-based story of a black undercover cop who infiltrated the Ku…