notorious b.i.g. Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Tupac Biopic Heads to Court
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Deals », Paramount », Celebrities and Controversy », Fox Searchlight »
I'm sure that if Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur were still alive today, they would have loved to brag over which one got their life story on the big screen first. Tupac wins if you count the doc in 2003, though Notorious made Biggie the first to receive a biopic -- so I'm not sure who wins, exactly. Nevertheless, Tupac's family wants a biopic now and The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur, and her production company, Amaru Entertainment, are suing Morgan's Creek Entertainment over their deal for a biopic of the murdered rapper, leaving the hip-hop flick in legal limbo.There have been rumblings regarding a film for almost a year now, and with the success of the B.I.G. flick, Notorious, it would seem to be the perfect time for Shakur. But Morgan's Creek's deal first started going south when they filed a lawsuit "claiming that Amaru, which controls the Tupac estate, backed out of a done deal to sell life rights for a biopic about the slain rapper-actor." Now Amaru is countersuing, and according to their complaint, "Morgan Creek allegedly was one of several suitors for the project, including Paramount, Fox Searchlight, Kennedy/Marshall and Brett Ratner's Rat Entertainment. The cross-complaint says key details of a deal, including an executive producer credit and backend participation for Afeni Shakur, were not worked out with Morgan's Creek and that she hadn't even seen the proposed contract."
Unauthorized Run DMC Biopic Hires a 'Notorious' Screenwriter
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Deals », Scripts »
Picture this: the year is 1985; a little girl is in her pajamas and seated in front of the TV entranced by the awesomeness that is Krush Groove. I've listened to a lot of music over the years, but I always came back to hip-hop. Come to think of it, I've listened to it, read about it -- heck, I've even watched every junky documentary that came my way. Not to mention that, to this day, when I hear It's Tricky, I make sure the volume is maxed out. So you would think that a Run DMC biopic would be good news, right? I don't want to sound like a pessimist, but I'm not keeping my fingers crossed, and here's why: The Hollywood Reporter announced that Notorious screenwriter, Cheo Hodari Coker, has signed to adapt Bill Adler's (the group's former publicist), Tougher Than Leather: The Rise of Run-DMC -- The Authorized Biography. So what has me so worried? Well, if Coker managed to gloss over one of the biggest mysteries in pop music history, just what exactly does he have planned for Run DMC? But that's not all: an even bigger problem is that the film has yet to receive an 'all clear' from any of its subjects (Run, DMC or Russell Simmons). But of course that might have a lot to do with a competing biopic that Simmons and Reverend Run were shopping around last year.
Review: Notorious
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », New in Theaters », Fox Searchlight »
It seems kind of gruesome, but if you're a celebrity, the length of your life and how recently you lived can have a direct effect on your biopic. In the case of the great rap star The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. Christopher Wallace) his all-too-brief 24 years of life on this earth do not require too much editing and compressing to fit into a two-hour movie. Unfortunately, since he died as recently as 1997, most of the people involved in his life are still around to offer -- or require -- input into the movie. Hence, the first half of Notorious is a vibrant tribute to its subject and the second half is a kind of housecleaning, making sure that Biggie is laid to rest, cinematically speaking, with a clean slate.
Newcomer Jamal Woolard plays Biggie as an adult, and it's as if he were born to the part. It's almost possible to forget you're watching an actor and to believe that this is the real man playing his own life, as Eminem and 50 Cent played theirs. Biggie lives in Brooklyn under the wing of his overprotective, Jamaican-born mom (Angela Bassett). He's smart but a bad student and eventually moves into the neighborhood drug trade (though he never partakes of his product). He impregnates his girlfriend, goes to jail and fills several notebooks with his unique brand of literate, jovial, fast-paced rhymes. He meets Puff Daddy (Derek Luke), an up-and-coming producer who has an idea for a record called "Juicy." Meanwhile, he discovers -- and sleeps with -- the sexy Lil Kim (Naturi Naughton) and meets and marries his true love, Faith (Antonique Smith).
Another 'Notorious' Poster for Biggie Smalls Biopic
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Fox Searchlight », Images », Posters »
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It really was about time that Christopher 'Notorious B.I.G.' Wallace received his own biopic. Unfortunately, judging by what I've seen so far, Notorious has been flirting with being one step up from a movie of the week -- and for someone so influential in music history, that's a shame. The latest poster for the biopic has just been released, and like most of the marketing for this film, it leaves you feeling a tad underwhelmed.
Before being crowned "the savior of East Coast hip-hop", Christopher Wallace could have been just another statistic. But, during his short career, he created some of the most influential sounds in hip-hop -- along with launching his producer, Sean 'Diddy' Combs into the spotlight. Notorious was directed by George Tillman Jr. (Barber Shop) and stars Jamal Woolard as Wallace, Angela Basset as his mother, Violetta, and Antonique Smith (RENT) as his ex-wife, Faith Evans.
A few posters have already been released, but in most cases they looked like rejected covers from Source magazine (if you don't believe me, take a gander at some of the previous one-sheets). By the looks of it, this latest poster is going for a decidedly more 'dignified' look -- and in this case, dignified seems to mean ripping off of the Ray poster. Luckily, no matter what the posters or the trailers may look like, at least this movie is going to have one hell of a soundtrack. Check out the full version of this poster after the jump.
Notorious arrives in theaters on January 16, 2009.
Jamal Woolard is 'Notorious'
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Casting »
No, that's not the Notorious B.I.G. That's Jamal Woolard, who has just been cast by Fox Searchlight to play him, Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls, in the upcoming biopic Notorious. Man, the only possible critique I could come up with is that his eyebrows are a little dark. That's some spot-on casting. They're definitely not Dead Wrong.
Voletta Wallace, Smalls' mom, is happy with the casting as well: "it was Jamal's charming personality, warm spirit, wonderful sense of humor and beautiful smile that won my heart. He is a talented and charismatic actor and I am excited that he will bring Christopher's character to the big screen." Topping that off, Woolard also has the real-life experience to make this pop. THR adds to the press release, explaining that Jamal is a drug-dealer-turned-rapper just like Wallace was.
Under the directorial eye of George Tillman Jr., we've got Woolard as Wallace, Angela Bassett as Voletta, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur. Production begins March 24 in New York.
Tillman to Direct Biggie Smalls Pic with Diddy Producing
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Fox Searchlight »
I'm really glad the biopic about Biggie Smalls (aka the Notorious B.I.G., aka Christopher Wallace) is moving forward. I've never been very familiar with his music, but I am a fan of Nick Broomfield's documentary Biggie and Tupac, and because of that film I am in love with Biggie's mom, Voletta Wallace. Miss Wallace is producing her son's biopic, which so far is untitled, and hopefully she'll get to play herself, because I can't imagine an actress doing her justice. Another person I think could maybe play himself is Sean "Diddy" Combs, who Variety reports has hopped on as executive producer. I'm really surprised that Diddy wasn't already involved in the project from the beginning -- it's been in development for seven years -- but the fact that he is now overseeing the production is reassuring that it is in good hands. His only real producing experience is with TV projects like the show Making the Band and the upcoming ABC adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun, but Combs was with Biggie throughout the rapper's career and he'll certainly be able to provide a lot of input.In addition to Wallace and Combs, Notorious will be produced by Biggie's managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts and Robert Teitel (Barbershop). Supposedly the project's previous director, Antoine Fuqua, had problems with the film being produced by people more knowledgeable about music than film, but new helmer George Tillman Jr. (Soul Food) shouldn't have the same issues. Aside from the fact that Tillman's experienced producing partner (Teitel) is on board, the director hopefully understands the importance and benefit of working with so many people who knew Biggie. The actual script, written by Cheo Hodari Coker and Reggie Bock Bythewood (Get on the Bus), is based on Coker's book Unbelievable: The LIfe, Death and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. And as we learned last week, the part of Biggie will be cast with an unknown. According to the IMDb, other Biggie projects in the works include a made-for-cable movie titled Notorious, about the deaths of Biggie and Tupac, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone (!) and a new documentary titled Notorious B.I.G. Bigger Than Life.
Who Wants to Play the Notorious B.I.G.?
Filed under: Drama », Music & Musicals », Casting »
Way, way back in July of 2005, we posted about Biggie Smalls getting his own feature biopic. Voletta Wallace, his mother, was producing, Cheo Hodari Coker was writing the script and Antoine Fuqua was in talks to direct. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the director wasn't sure about the project because of the amount of control the producers were having in the script -- Wallace, as well as former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts. Now Antoine is out, and Men of Honor helmer George Tillman is in.And that's not all -- they're gearing up to hunt for an unknown to star. Starting this Sunday at 3 am EDT, hopefuls can submit audition videos to Fox Searchlight and Biggie Casting. Barrow says: "As it relates to the individual Christopher Wallace -- his looks, his stature, what he represented, the swagger, the sensibility of the man -- all those elements are very difficult to find, no matter where you go. In the typical Hollywood world, no one came to mind outside of Forest Whitaker who could capture that essence genuinely." Yeah, he's a bit too old -- being in his mid-40's -- since Smalls was killed at the age of 24. So instead, some lucky person out there is going to take on the part.
They're really pushing the real person or "humanity within" Notorious B.I.G. -- and it's obviously a passion project for the film's producers. Now, only time will tell if they're a little too involved, like Fuqua suggests. It's great to get the inner view from trusted people close to the rapper, but do you think they're too close to translate the story to the big screen?
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