Director Spike Lee is scouting locations in Italy for his upcoming movie on African American soldiers fighting in World War II.The movie is based on the book “Miracle at St. Anna” by James McBride. Lee expects to begin shooting next year at Rome’s Cinecitta Studios with locations in the United States and Tuscany, Italy.
Roberto Cicutto and Luigi Musini, executive producers on Hotel Rwanda, are slated to produce and the film is estimated to cost $45 million.
“This is a wonderful story and what makes it even more wonderful is that it is based upon true incidents,'' Lee told media. “If you look at the history of Hollywood, the black soldiers who fought World War II are invisible”
McBride’s book tells the story of an all-black infantry division trapped in a small Italian village behind enemy lines. The soldiers teamed with locals to fight. Nearly a quarter of the 15,000 African American soldiers died in Italy during the war.
Lee’s movies generally focus on racial themes. Among his most famous are Malcom X and Do The Right Thing.
Casting has not been settled, but there are lead parts for four African American actors, plus German and Italians. Lee said the crew will be largely Italian.
