Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday he had an “honest, frank conversation” with Spike Lee to let the movie director know that he doesn’t like, “Chiraq,” the working title of Lee’s coming movie on black-on-black violence based in Chicago’s crime-ridden Englewood community. 
 
 Emanuel didn’t say whether he asked Lee to change the name, as South Side Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), former chairman of the City Council’s Police Committee, did last week. Nor did the mayor say whether Lee was open to a title change. 
 
 But the mayor made it clear that he had used the Hollywood pipeline provided by his brother, super-agent Ari Emanuel, to make his feelings known directly to Spike Lee. The face-to-face meeting took place in the mayor’s office prior to Wednesday’s City Council meeting. 
 
 “He said the movie is about the neighborhood of Englewood. I was clear that I was not happy about the title. I told him also that there are very good people who live in Englewood who are raising their family. There’s a lot of positive things happening in Englewood mainly driven by the people that make up Englewood,” the mayor said. 
 
 Emanuel said Lee told him the upcoming movie would confront a sensitive subject that has been swept under the rug for far too long: “black-on-black violence — specifically African-American male to African-American male” and how it’s affecting urban communities. 
 
 In an apparent attempt to soften the blow of the title, “Chiraq,” Lee also noted that gun violence is “not limited” to Chicago. It’s happening in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York, where he’s from. He even talked about the derogatory name used to describe a part of Brooklyn where he’s from. He talked about how similarly insulting names applied to Philadelphia and Baltimore. 
 
 “I said then and I believe that’s an important conversation to have,” the mayor said of black-on-black crime. 
 
 “Given you’re a great artist, while I don’t support the title, and I don’t like the working title, the topic is a conversation that has been ignored for too long and needs to be discussed and hopefully through art, we can have a serious conversation about what is happening in urban America.” 
 
 Last week, Beale accused Lee of “stigmatizing” Chicago and “insulting” its residents by choosing the name “Chiraq” and urged him to find another name for his upcoming Chicago-based movie. 
 
 “It’s very offensive and, hopefully, he rethinks his position on that issue. He definitely needs to change the name. That’s an insult to the city of Chicago. I don’t care what he changes it to, but not that one,” Beale said. 
 
 “People are stigmatizing Chicago unnecessarily. We have a lot of good communities. Yes, we have challenged areas, and we’re attacking those challenging areas. But we don’t need anybody coming in trying to highlight the problems that we’re having. And to stigmatize our city as Chiraq is an insult to me and, I’m sure, to the rest of the residents of Chicago.” 
 
 Even if Lee handles the subject of violence with sensitivity in the film, the name alone would be destructive to the city’s efforts to attract jobs and take its rightful place as an international city, Beale said. 
 
 “We’re trying to attract tourism. We’re bringing jobs in to Chicago. The city is growing. We’re trying to promote the good things in this city every single day. To highlight the problems we’re having with that type of name is an insult,” he said. 
 
 What about that thing called the First Amendment? 
 
 “Freedom of expression still does not mean you can insult the people of this city,” Beale said. 
 
 Even U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he’s “concerned” about Lee’s designated title for the movie, which is expected to be filmed in Chicago, possibly starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Piven, Common and Kanye West, according to the Hollywood news site “The Wrap.” 
 
 “There’s no question that Chicago, as most cities, has its share of violence but the honest answer is we’ve seen a decline in the numbers. . . . So I hope this is not creating an image of the city that is unfair,” Durbin said. 
 
 “It is worrisome. I’d like to know what the message is in the movie. If the message is a positive one about the progress that is made, then perhaps it will be to the benefit of the community. But I hope it’s a fair analysis of the reality of violence, but also the reality of what’s been done at all levels of government to deal with this violence and to reduce it in Chicago.” 
 
 For years, Chicago’s international reputation was marred by the fact that it was the home of Al Capone. The mobster was supplanted as the face of Chicago, only after Michael Jordan arrived on the scene to carry the Bulls to successive, three-peats as NBA champions. 
 
 The Chiraq label gained steam after a particularly bloody 2012 when the number of homicides on Chicago streaks topped the 500-mark. 
 
 The director was accompanied by the actors/Chicago natives John and Joan Cusack at Sunday’s Easter Mass at St. Sabina Catholic Church, led by the Rev. Mike Pfleger, the firebrand peace priest. 
 
 Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mike Sneed reported last week that Lee has made repeated visits to Chicago in recent weeks to scout locations for his upcoming movie and interview victims of Chicago’s senseless violence. 
 
 Father Michael Pfleger even noted in a January Facebook post that Lee visited St. Sabina’s Church and interviewed people and school principals dealing with violence, as well “as Brothers from the Blocks” and “Parents who have lost their children to Violence.” ||||| Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he met with Spike Lee on Wednesday and expressed his displeasure with the director's decision to call a movie he's planning to film "Chiraq," which Emanuel said Lee told him would be about black-on-black violence in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. 
 
 "We had an honest, frank conversation," Emanuel said of his meeting with Lee, which Emanuel's staff said took place at City Hall. "He said that while the movie is about the neighborhood of Englewood, I was clear that I was not happy about the title. I told him also that there are very good people that live in Englewood who are raising their family and there's a lot of positive things that are happening in Englewood mainly driven by the people that make up Englewood." 
 
 The New York-based director drew attention this month when reports surfaced that he was working on a movie titled "Chiraq," a nickname for Chicago often employed by rappers to highlight the extreme violence in parts of the city. 
 
 Emanuel said Lee acknowledged during their meeting that Chicago isn't the only violent city in America. "It's happening in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, where he's from. He talked about a name of a part of Brooklyn where he's from. He talked about how Philadelphia's referred to. He talked about how Baltimore's referred to." 
 
 Emanuel has been dogged by high-profile shooting deaths and periodic spikes in street violence during his time in office, and tried to walk the line during the recent mayoral campaign of touting the strides his administration had made in dealing with the problem while remaining sympathetic to Chicago residents who don't feel safe in their neighborhoods. 
 
 On Wednesday, Emanuel said he hopes some good comes out of Lee's movie. 
 
 "He did say the movie would take on the subject of black-on-black violence, specifically African-American male to African-American male violence, and how it's affecting the community and what goes on," Emanuel said. "I said then, and I believe, that's an important conversation to have. Given you're a great artist, while I don't support the title and I don't like the working title, the topic is a conversation that has been ignored for too long and needs to be discussed." 
 
 Emanuel did not say whether Lee agreed to consider changing the title. 
 
 jebyrne@tribpub.com ||||| Spike Lee is making his next movie for Amazon Studios and the Oscar-nominated filmmaker is courting Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Piven, Common and Kanye West for the ensemble cast of “Chiraq,” multiple individuals familiar with the project have told TheWrap. 
 
 Representatives for Common and West did not respond to multiple requests for comment, while a representative for Amazon declined to comment. 
 
 Plot details are being kept under wraps, but “Chiraq” became synonymous with Chicago as the city became increasingly plagued by gun violence in recent years. 
 
 Also Read: Kanye West Drops Longtime CAA Agent Cara Lewis for UTA (Exclusive) 
 
 Piven and West are both from Chicago, and the duo are in talks for the film, though neither has a deal in place yet. Piven’s involvement will depend on his eschedule, as he’s preparing to shoot another season of “Mr. Selfridge.” 
 
 A longtime collaborator of Lee’s, “Avengers” star Jackson is expected to cameo in “Chiraq.” The duo previously worked together on “Do the Right Thing” and “Jungle Fever,” among other films. Jackson, who is currently filming Quentin Tarantino‘s “The Hateful Eight,” will soon be seen in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” He’s repped by ICM Partners and Anonymous Content. 
 
 West recently moved from CAA to UTA and he has been looking to increase his profile in the feature world. He previously had a cameo in “Anchorman 2” and he’s currently filming a role in Ben Stiller‘s “Zoolander” sequel. 
 
 Also Read: ‘Da Sweet Blood of Jesus’ Review: Spike Lee’s Kickstarted Tribute to a Cult Classic Goes for the Jugular 
 
 Piven next stars in the “Entourage” movie, which hits theaters in June. He’s repped by CAA. 
 
 Common recently won an Oscar for “Selma” and co-starred in “Run All Night.” He’s also repped by CAA. 
 
 Lee turned to Kickstarter to finance his last film, “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus.” He’s represented by ICM Partners. 
 
 “Chiraq” represents a major coup for Amazon, which recently secured Woody Allen to create an original series for the streaming service.
– Rahm Emanuel is not a fan of "Chiraq" as a nickname for Chicago—and he's really not a fan of the idea of Chiraq as the title of a film about black-on-black violence in the city. He told Spike Lee—the director behind Chiraq—as much yesterday, the Chicago Tribune reports. Lee "said that while the movie is about the neighborhood of Englewood, I was clear that I was not happy about the title," the mayor explains. "I told him also that there are very good people that live in Englewood who are raising their family and there's a lot of positive things that are happening in Englewood." The working title has been controversial, the Chicago Sun-Times notes; another city official asked Lee to change it last week, and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin says he's "concerned." As for "Chiraq," a nickname that the Trib notes is "often employed by rappers," Emanuel says he and Lee agreed that Chicago is far from the only violent city. "It's happening in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, where he's from," Emanuel said. "He talked about a name of a part of Brooklyn where he's from. He talked about how Philadelphia's referred to. He talked about how Baltimore's referred to." No word on whether the conversation convinced Lee to change his movie's title, but Emanuel says he told Lee he's fully in favor of the film's topic: "That's an important conversation to have. Given you're a great artist, while I don't support the title and I don't like the working title, the topic is a conversation that has been ignored for too long and needs to be discussed." The cast could include Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Piven, Common, and Kanye West, the Wrap noted last week.