2Pac’s music signposts what is, in retrospect, the most embarrassing time period of my entire life. A time when I was 15, angry for no particular reason and able to earnestly recite lyrics about blacks overcrowding jail cells like I was black instead of a skinny Asian teen whose only knowledge of incarceration came from watching The Shawshank Redemption. That’s his appeal I guess. The transformative nature of his lyrics. The malleable subject matter which can so easily voice your own struggles. The thug life bravado. All that.
Anyway, if you’re as big a fan as I you’ll be pleased to know that Training Day Director Antoine Fuqua is currently casting for an as yet untitled Tupac Shakur biopic that will film in September.
Says Fuqua: “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.”
We’re leaning towards Thug Life or All Eyes On Me for a title but when it comes to casting for the role we’re drawing a blank. Fuqua, who’s taking a casting tip from the biopic of 2Pac’s East Coast rival Biggie Smalls, wants to discover a completely new talent for the role.
“That’s the goal, I want to discover someone new,” he explained. “I want to discover a lot of new people if I can. Obviously I’m going to have to put some people in it that you know, just because actors have different skills. I want to go to the streets and find him anywhere he might be in the world.”
If there’s a scene involving the “California Love” music video Chris Tucker should totally play Chris Tucker.
