‘Magic Mike’ was a box offices phenomenon thanks to the man candy that is Channing Tatum and ‘True Blood’s Joe Manganiello. Now indie filmmaker Jean-Claude LaMarre is trying to strike the same cord in the urban community with an African American male themed stripper flick titled ‘Chocolate City’. According to reports:

Michael Jai White and model-turned-actor Tyson Beckford are in negotiations to star in the tale of Devin, a college student struggling to make ends meet who meets the owner of a male strip club (White) who convinces him to give amateur night a whirl. Beckford will play Adrian, the club’s former star attraction who finds his popularity fading as the new kid starts to steal the spotlight.

LaMarre, whose 2006 Jesus biopic Color Of The Cross was released by Fox, wrote and is directing the pic. He’ll also produce for his Nulite banner alongside Gabriel Casseus, Robert Aaronson and Rozina Negusei of Zanar Entertainment. “This movie was in gestation for 2 1/2 years, but after Magic Mike it seemed a natural fit for the African-American female audience,” says the LaMarre.

“I researched the male exotic club scene and it’s massive across the country, with clubs specifically targeting middle-aged African-American women.” The filmmaker has a deal with Eone’s non-theatrical urban features division but is hoping to shop it to a studio that can take Chocolate City to theaters in a strategic rollout to urban markets where women flock to black male strip clubs. Story also has a faith-themed subplot involving the protagonist’s struggle to balance his religious upbringing with his newfound career on the stripper stage. Chocolate City is set to start filming in Los Angeles in June.

No word on who will take the lead role as Devin, do you have any suggestions of who could play the star of the stage??

[Source: Deadline.com]