Lee co-wrote the screenplay with Kwame Kwei-Armah, and based it on David Kushner’s Esquire article “All Rise: The Untold Story of The Guys Who Launched Viagra.” Inspired by Pfizer’s discovery and launch of Viagra, originally intended as a heart-related drug, original songs will be written by Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald, creators of the Tony-winning musical “Passing Strange.” Lee directed a filmed version of that stage production that was released in 2009.
Lee’s most recent project was another filmed musical stage production, “David Byrne’s American Utopia,” which was released by HBO last month. He is also working on a movie adaptation of Ron Wimberly’s 2012 graphic novel, “Prince of Cats,” which is a offshoot of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” that focuses on Tybalt, only set in 1980s Brooklyn. Kwei-Armah is a playwright who in 2018 was made artistic director of the Young Vic Theater in London, where he directed “Twelfth Night” and “Tree.” Matt Jackson’s Jackson Pictures will produce with Spike Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks and Entertainment One. One of Lee’s previous movies, “Chi-Raq,” incorporated song and dance elements. Here’s the lengthy quote Lee gave to Deadline explaining the Viagra project. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
