When drug manufacturer Pfizer isn't making significant advancements in creating its potential breakthrough COVID-19 vaccine, they're busy pressing pills that make men's private parts ready and raring for a bit of action in the bedroom. I'm talking about Viagra, of course, and now we're hearing that Spike Lee and Studio Entertainment One are developing an untitled musical film based on the relationship-saving miracle drug. Lee is set to direct the feature from a screenplay he's written alongside Kwame Kwei Armah.
The original songs for this intriguing and titillating idea will be written by the famed songwriting team of Stew Stewart and Heidi Rodewald, who previously created the Tony-winning musical Passing Strange. Based on the David Kushner Esquire article All Rise: The Untold Story of The Guys Who Launched Viagra, Deadline reports that the musical will is inspired by true events surrounding Pfizer’s discovery and launch of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra (Sildenafil), which was hatched as a treatment for heart-related chest pain only for researchers to find its game-changing qualities occurred below the belt. The little blue pill had immediate staying power in the global marketplace, perking up sex lives around the world.
Like the genitalia that Viagra helps invigorate, Lee is very excited about bringing his first musical to the masses. Below you'll find the quote he sent Deadline about this new venture:
First And Foremost, I Thank Ms. Jacquelyn Shelton Lee. I Thank My Late Mother For As She Would Say Taking “My Narrow,Rusty Behind” Dragging, Kickin’ And Screamin’ To The Movies When I Wuz A Nappy Headed Kid Growing Up In Da Streets Of Da People’s Republic Of Brooklyn. I Did Not Want To See Corny People Singin’ And Dancin’. I Instead Wanted To Play With My Friends On Da Block, Stoop Ball, Stick Ball, Punch Ball, Soft Ball, Basketball, 2 Hand Touch, Tackle Football, Coco Leevio, Johnny On Da Pony, Hot Peas And Butter, Crack Top, Down Da Sewer And Of Course-Booty’s Up. All The Great New York City Street Games That Might Be Sadly Lost Forever. My Father, Bill Lee, Jazz/Folk Bassist,Composer HATED HollyWeird Movies, Henceforth And What Not, Me Being The Eldest Of 5 Children I Became Mommy’s Movie Date. She Was A Cinefile. Thank You Lawdy She Didn’t Listen To My Ongoing Complaints About Musicals. So Finally Going Into My 4th Decade As A Filmmaker I Will Be Directing A DANCIN’,ALL SINGIN’ MUSICAL Spike Lee Joint And I Can’t Wait. My Moms Has Been Waiting TOO!!! And Dats Da Rodgers And Hammerstein Truth, Ruth.
Producing the musical will be Matt Jackson’s Jackson Pictures with Spike Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. The upcoming film will also be Lee's first joint since completing Da 5 Bloods for Netflix and HBO Max's David Byrne's American Utopia.
Dick jokes aside, Viagra is much more than just a little blue pill that reinvigorates men's bits and pieces, it's also an effective way to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (high blood pressure affecting the lungs and heart). Additionally, the drug continues to be explored for opportunities to treat other conditions as well. In other words, Viagra is far more than something that makes sexual intercourse a tad more manageable, which is something that I'm sure will be explored in Lee's next joint. Man, I can't wait to hear the songs for this project.