Credit: Ali Goldstein
Chris Rock’s latest film project, Top Five, is off to a great start with some serious backing from hip-hop moguls Jay Z, Kanye West and Questlove.
The film managed to pick up a record-breaking distribution deal with Paramount at the Toronto International Film Festival.
With West and Jay Z serving as co-producers on the project and Questlove as the film’s executive music producer, the deal is worth a staggering $12.5 million.
According Deadline, that gives the film the title of having the largest distribution deal of the festival’s history.
The Rolling Stone reports that the film is about “a standup comic who has become a Hollywood actor who comes to reconsider his comedy career and his past after a chance encounter with a journalist, played by Rosario Dawson.”
In addition to writing and directing the film, Rock also took on the role as the lead character, Andre Allen.
Rock talked to Variety about the film and explained that the character was inspired by some of comedy’s greatest figures.
According to the publication, Andre Allen was essentially the combination of Eddie Murphy, Kevin Hart and Rock himself.
He added that his good friend Louis C.K. also served as inspiration for the character.
Rock said he is excited about this project because it will do something that hasn’t been done before in the world of film.
“No one has done a movie like this,” he told Variety. “Just a movie about a comedian, a day in the life.”
For now, an official release date has not been confirmed, but Rock will be busy on the road starting this fall.
Rock is kicking off his Black Plague Tour in the end of October and revealed that he got the name of the tour from West.
“We were hanging out, we were listening to records or whatever and he said, ‘Black Plague,’ ” Rock recalled of his conversation with West. “I said, ‘Ooh, can I use that?’ He said, ‘OK.’ Now that’s mine. Gonna spread the ‘black plague.’ ”
Other big names that are allegedly connected to the upcoming film include comedian and actor Cedric the Entertainer, former The View co-host Sherri Shepherd, Saturday Night Live star Jay Pharoah, comedian and actor J.B. Smoove, 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan, comedian and actor Adam Sandler and The Informant actor Tom Papa.
