Tupac Shakur Biopic to be directed by Antoine Fuqua

[Dr. Evil]

http://www.collider.com/2010/06/01/antoine-fuqua-tupac-shakur-biopic-direct/

Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) will take on a biopic of slain rapper Tupac Shakur as his next project. Speaking to the Digital Spy, Fuqua said:

“It looks like we’re doing Tupac Shakur’s movie next in September, that’s what I’ve been starting up and working on now. I’ve been working on that for a while with Morgan Creek and Jim Robinson. I just got the greenlight from him and we’re going in September. I’ve just started to prep that.”

It will be interesting to see how Fuqua approaches Tupac’s feud with Notorious BIG in comparison to how George Tillman Jr. told it from BIG’s perspective in last year’s Notorious. As to the rumor that Fuqua would be re-teaming with his Tears of the Sun star Bruce Willis for the prison break drama The Tomb, the director said, “That’s a conversation I’ve been having with Bruce.” Fuqua is also attached to direct an adaptation of the spy thriller novel Consent to Kill. A documentary of Shakur’s life, 2003’s Tupac: Resurrection, was nominated for an Oscar.

Hmm...Romany Malco for Tupac?

 

[Figs]

What the hell?

He already got a movie in the early 2000s I thought? I remember because I was chuckling since they were trying to treat him or show him as some kind of saint.

 

[PyroChamber]

I haven't seen Notorious, how did they portray the whole situation between Biggie and Pac?

 

[venom892]

What the hell?

He already got a movie in the early 2000s I thought? I remember because I was chuckling since they were trying to treat him or show him as some kind of saint.

That was documentary.I loved Training day so I might check it out.

 

[Figs]

That was documentary.I loved Training day so I might check it out.

I just figured one film about an ex gangbanger was enough. Not so sure if I should say "ex" though considering he died over some gang related ******** since most of those rapper's songs are talking **** about rivals and whatnot.

 

[Nightmare]

I wanna know who's playing tupac. Will they go the route of Notorious, looking for a rapper first who can also act?

Is that even important here? Do the real songs with lip synching and it should work no?

Will the guy they get have to sound like 2pac? That casting is gonna be tough.

 

[The Apatow Crew]

SPOILER ALERT!

Spoiler

He dies at the end.




and before anyone gets pissed its a joke relax. If i hadn't made the joke someone else would have.

 

[Crook]

I just figured one film about an ex gangbanger was enough. Not so sure if I should say "ex" though considering he died over some gang related ******** since most of those rapper's songs are talking **** about rivals and whatnot.

Tupac could hardly be defined as a gangbanger. There's a reason why his name and music will forever be ingrained within the hip-hop culture. He was an artist who had unparalleled influence as a result of his material, personality, and convictions. There were some that hated him, but there were many more that respected him. He absolutely had very off-putting aspects in his lifestyle, but that's just a drop in the bucket as to how intriguing and poetic the man was.

I wanna know who's playing tupac. Will they go the route of Notorious, looking for a rapper first who can also act?

Is that even important here? Do the real songs with lip synching and it should work no?

Will the guy they get have to sound like 2pac? That casting is gonna be tough.

Yeah, this is one of the few biopics where it's going to be extremely tough to cast. I'd personally wait for that right unknown to emerge in a breakout role, before even attempting moving forward with this project.

 

[The Phantom]

Will the guy they get have to sound like 2pac? That casting is gonna be tough.

I hope they seriously take that into consideration, seeing is this biopic is based on a music artist, and Tupac had one of the most recognizable voices in hip-hop.

As far as the portrayal of the relationship between Biggie & Pac in Notorious, I think they chose an actor to portray Pac simply to serve the needs of the movie. Its kinda like with Malcolm X, trying to compare Mario Van Peeble's performance in "Ali" to Denzel Washington's.

If they were to go with a known which is unlikely, I guess Derek Luke. I don't know. Tupac was one of a kind, so yeah they're gonna have a pretty tough time.

 

[Figs]

Tupac could hardly be defined as a gangbanger. There's a reason why his name and music will forever be ingrained within the hip-hop culture. He was an artist who had unparalleled influence as a result of his material, personality, and convictions. There were some that hated him, but there were many more that respected him. He absolutely had very off-putting aspects in his lifestyle, but that's just a drop in the bucket as to how intriguing and poetic the man was.

Thanks for the info.

All I can say is thank god no one has decided to make a movie about Suge Knight...I wish someone would take him out. Honestly, talk about a piece of ****.

 

[dude stannis]

I'd rather he did The Tomb first. I was never a big Tupac fan, but I love escape from prison movies.

 

[xwolverine2]

antoine fuqua is just goin downhill isnt he...

 

[dude stannis]

antoine fuqua is just goin downhill isnt he...

Not really, he's had a pretty solid career so far and The Tomb sounds really good.

 

[Project862006]

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/08/tupac_shakur_biopic.html

According to a report, Oscar-nominated screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson (Ali, Nixon) have joined the crew of the planned Tupac Shakur biographical film, being directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day).

The film is said to stray from the usual biopic route, which is a big change from the original Steven Bagatourian screenplay which was said to be "largely documentary in style, simply laying out the facts of the slain rapper-poet-actor's brief 25-year life." Instead it will focus on the last day of the slain rapper's life, f;ashing back to various points in the four years leading up to it.

Rivele compares Tupac with a "19th century Romantic poet … This is the story of an artist whose character is at odds with his medium. He was a really sensitive, very romantic, talented young poet who also could sing, dance, and act. But the realities [of the hip-hop record business] were that he had to create this persona of the gangster."

The film is not meant to resolve or lay blame for Tupac's murder. Instead it wants to identify why he was killed. "He was not a gangster, but the people around him were," the writers explain. "They saw he was going to leave, that they were going to lose him, and so I think they decided to kill him."

The film could start shooting as early as this November.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Wasn't one of Tupac's good friends, Actress Jada Pinkett Smith? I recall that Jada started dating Will Smith in like 1995 or something.

 

[MAN O STEEL]

Rivele compares Tupac with a "19th century Romantic poet … This is the story of an artist whose character is at odds with his medium. He was a really sensitive, very romantic, talented young poet who also could sing, dance, and act. But the realities [of the hip-hop record business] were that he had to create this persona of the gangster."

Another one of those movies where they make the gangster the good guy with a heart of gold who pretended to be a bad boy because it was what was expected of him. Pa-lease, why do people do this?. He was a thug, plain & simple. If he was such a good bloke he could have chose another medium to sing in, like Pop, Country, Romance. Makes me laugh that people glorify violence by pretending that rappers are just miss understood. I'll be passing on this one.


Steve

 

[Ghostvirus]

Tupac & Kurt Cobain are two artists, had they not died at their peak. Would be not considered so highly. Tupac was good, but really nothing special, or original for that time.

& if he truly did sell out his personality to make money in the rap game. Then he would have kept being a tool. & by now would have been a shadow of what he once was. He would have been looking like lil wayne right now.

 

[blueblazer2]

Tupac & Kurt Cobain are two artists, had they not died at their peak. Would be not considered so highly. Tupac was good, but really nothing special, or original for that time.



You could say the same thing about Heath Ledger as a actor .

 

[Ghostvirus]

Actually if you look at Ledgers work before he died. He did many different types of roles. He was always experimenting. Whether or not that would have kept him on the map. I have no idea.

But we are talking about Music. Not Movies. So please next time to at least keep it in the same area.

 

[Project862006]

tupac influenced so many rappers today he was'nt just good

 

[PyroChamber]

You know that when the casting for this movie start almost every rapper is going to try and get that role.

 

[DarKush]

Another one of those movies where they make the gangster the good guy with a heart of gold who pretended to be a bad boy because it was what was expected of him. Pa-lease, why do people do this?. He was a thug, plain & simple. If he was such a good bloke he could have chose another medium to sing in, like Pop, Country, Romance. Makes me laugh that people glorify violence by pretending that rappers are just miss understood. I'll be passing on this one.


Steve

Is Anthony Hopkins a serial killer because he portrayed one in the films? Or Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, or Robert DeNiro gangsters? What about all the country singers who sing about being outlaws or rockers who used demonic references, etc, are they actually doing the things they are singing about?

To be fair, many rappers, since the late 80s/early 90s and the predominance of the gangsta strain of rap have put a premium on 'keeping it real' and either having a real hardcore background or participating in stuff even while making records, that's still not the total reality for many of the gangsta rappers today (ex. Rick Ross). So, why should rappers be held to a standard other entertainers are not?

That's not to say that I don't have problems with the imagery and language with a lot of gangsta rap today, not to mention the quality, I'm more old school hip hop (including old school gangsta).

Tupac wasn't a thug. He was a brilliant, conflicted, and complex individual, whose music to me spoke of the duality between the light and the dark that grips all of us in some form or fashion. Unfortunately, the pendulum swung too far to the dark for him and his life ended before it could swing back. Listen to "Dear Mama", "Keep Your Head Up", "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Changes", "My Block", "Unconditional Love", "I Ain't Mad at 'Cha" or "It Ain't Easy" for example and see if Tupac was a 'thug'. In many ways he represented all of the promise and frustrations of young black men of my generation, the post-Civil Rights generation, and to some extent Generation X entire in a way similar to Kurt Cobain. And that's why Tupac left behind an amazing legacy and is still admired and referenced by many of his peers over a decade after his death.

As for the film Notorious, I thought Anthony Mackie sucked as Tupac. He was jumping around too much, smiling, laughing or giggling too much for my taste. He didn't convey any gravitas. He couldn't really get Tupac's presence or his charisma.

I think Fuqua could do a good job with a Tupac film. But finding the right person to play him is critical. I think the Notorious filmmakers got a good find with Jamal Woolard (If I remembered his name correctly). Plus, Naturi Naughton was smoking as Lil'Kim, and the actress who played Faith was hot too.

 

[terry78]

Is Anthony Hopkins a serial killer because he portrayed one in the films? Or Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, or Robert DeNiro gangsters? What about all the country singers who sing about being outlaws or rockers who used demonic references, etc, are they actually doing the things they are singing about?

To be fair, many rappers, since the late 80s/early 90s and the predominance of the gangsta strain of rap have put a premium on 'keeping it real' and either having a real hardcore background or participating in stuff even while making records, that's still not the total reality for many of the gangsta rappers today (ex. Rick Ross). So, why should rappers be held to a standard other entertainers are not?

That's not to say that I don't have problems with the imagery and language with a lot of gangsta rap today, not to mention the quality, I'm more old school hip hop (including old school gangsta).

Tupac wasn't a thug. He was a brilliant, conflicted, and complex individual, whose music to me spoke of the duality between the light and the dark that grips all of us in some form or fashion. Unfortunately, the pendulum swung too far to the dark for him and his life ended before it could swing back. Listen to "Dear Mama", "Keep Your Head Up", "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Changes", "My Block", "Unconditional Love", "I Ain't Mad at 'Cha" or "It Ain't Easy" for example and see if Tupac was a 'thug'. In many ways he represented all of the promise and frustrations of young black men of my generation, the post-Civil Rights generation, and to some extent Generation X entire in a way similar to Kurt Cobain. And that's why Tupac left behind an amazing legacy and is still admired and referenced by many of his peers over a decade after his death.

As for the film Notorious, I thought Anthony Mackie sucked as Tupac. He was jumping around too much, smiling, laughing or giggling too much for my taste. He didn't convey any gravitas. He couldn't really get Tupac's presence or his charisma.

I think Fuqua could do a good job with a Tupac film. But finding the right person to play him is critical. I think the Notorious filmmakers got a good find with Jamal Woolard (If I remembered his name correctly). Plus, Naturi Naughton was smoking as Lil'Kim, and the actress who played Faith was hot too.

Game. Set. Match.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

As a Californian, I won't be missing this. California Love is still played at every party I've gone to.

 

[bullets]

Wasn't one of Tupac's good friends, Actress Jada Pinkett Smith? I recall that Jada started dating Will Smith in like 1995 or something.

They went to school together and kept in touch over the years.


The best movie about Tupac was Tupac: Ressurection, it's a documentary but stands above most. I reccomend that to even the casual fan.
The Biggie &Tupac documentary was horrid , stay away from that.