Tupac Shakur’s official biopic is long overdue, which is exactly why famed film director John Singleton has taken the reins to put the production of the film in motion.
According to Variety, the Boys In The Hood director has inked a deal to re-write, direct, and produce the film, which will chronicle the Makaveli rapper’s humble beginnings and the evolution of his career as one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
The film will also recount the fallen rapper’s untimely death following a Las Vegas boxing match on September 13, 1996.
The publication also reports that Singleton’s next moves toward production will be screenwriting and casting.
The Baby Boy screenwriter, producer and director plans to submerge himself into writing for the film while searching for the right actor to portray the “California Love” rapper. Singleton is making a gratuitous effort to push for production to begin sometime in June.
“Tupac was the guy who I planned to do a lifetime of films with,” Singleton said. “His passing deeply affected my life as well as countless people in this world. His life story is as important to my generation.”
The time has come to tell your story. I promise to keep it real and true to your soul.Bigg JS50 Niggaaz/Thug Life pic.twitter.com/IGFU0LpELR
— JOHN SINGLETON (@SHAFT6816) February 12, 2014
Singleton had initially been associated with the film a few years ago. However, due to a legal battle between Morgan Creek and the rapper’s mother Afeni Shakur over exclusive rights for the film, production was halted indefinitely. Training Day director Antoine Fuqua also made an attempt to bring the film to fruition, but to no avail.
He will most likely have success in bringing the film to life given the personal relationship he and the rapper developed while filming the popular 1993 drama/romance film Poetic Justice. Shakur starred in the Singleton-directed film alongside Janet Jackson.
Other notable film credits by Singleton include Higher Learning, Rosewood, Shaft, Hustle & Flow, and Illegal Tender. Singleton, who is known for his critically acclaimed films that shed light on inner-city violence, also garnered mainstream notoriety when he directed the blockbuster films 2 Fast 2 Furious, Four Brothers and Abduction.
http://youtu.be/yRtBgB1nCaU
Image via Tupac Shakur (All Eyez On Me), Wikimedia Commons
Image via John Singleton, Wikimedia Commons
