Category: Upcoming Films

Release Date:  6/16/17
Genre:  Drama/Biography
Studio:  Morgan Creek Productions, Open Road Films
Director:  Benny Boom

Cast:  Demetrius Shipp, Jr. (Tupac Shakur), Danai Gurira (Afeni Shakur), Jamal Woolard (Biggie Smalls), Kat Graham (Jada Pinkett), Annie Ilonzeh (Kidada Jones), Cory Hardrict (Hatian Jack), Grace Gibson (Faith Evans), Dominic L. Santana (Suge Knight).

Story:  Chronicles the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur.

Trailer 2:

Trailer 1:

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Update:  Cinema Blend stated on 4/25/16, that the death and murder of Tupac Shakur on September 7, 1996, was obviously going to play a major part in his impending biopic. As it turns out, the production crew for All Eyez On Me returned to this exact location on the Las Vegas strip to recreate Tupac’s death. TMZ, was on hand to collect an array of images of the shoot, which show actors Demetrius Shipp, Jr. and Dominic L. Santana, who are playing Tupac and Suge Knight, respectively, covered in blood and in character.

All Eyez On Me has been in development over at Morgan Creek Productions since 2011. Over the last five years it has had many different iterations, with the likes of Antoine Fuqua, Carl Franlkin, and John Singleton working on the project. But in November 2015, after a legal kerfuffle, it was reported that music video director Benny Boom would instead oversee All Eyez On Me.  As well as Demetrius Shipp, Jr. and Dominic L. Santana, the likes of Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead), Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead), Jamie Hector (The Wire), and Jamal Woolard, who will be reprising his role as The Notorious B.I.G. from the 2009 biopic of the musician, are part of the cast. The film is also going to feature incarnations of Puff Daddy, Jada Pinkett, Faith Evans, Kidada Jones, Ray Luv, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre, in a similar style to Straight Outta Compton. Source:  Cinema Blend; Photo Source:  Shadow and Act.

Update:  On 12/24/15 Deadline reported that the long-gestating Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez On Me is finally filming with the lead cast in place, as newcomer Demetrius Shipp, Jr. has landed the job of portraying the legendary rapper.  Shipp, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Shakur, is joined by an unexpected costar, as Jamal Woolard has been cast as Shakur’s former friend turned bitter rival, rapper Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G.  Woolard notably made his own screen debut playing B.I.G. in the 2009 biopic Notorious.

In addition, Deadline announced on 1/16/16 that Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira will play Tupac’s mom Afeni Shakur.  In Afeni Shakur (who is an exec producer on the film and the keeper of the flame on her son’s estate), Gurira plays a complex woman.  A political activist and member of the Black Panthers, Afeni raised her son to be a voracious reader with a political awareness that informed his development as a street poet. The film reported covers Tupac’s rise to stardom as a hip-hop artist and actor, as well as his imprisonment and prolific, controversial stint at Death Row Records, where he was steeped in the East Coast/West Coast rap war.

All Eyez On Me has had a troubled road to production. In-development since 2011, John Singleton was brought on board to direct in 2014, but left the project because of differences with the studio over how the story of Shakur’s life would be told.  Music video director Benny Boom was ultimately hired to replace Singleton.  Although it took a long time for the film to make it to the start line, the timing seems fortuitous after the out-sized grosses of another hip-hop origin story, Straight Outta Compton.  Source:  Deadline.

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Details:  The life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, including his rise to superstardom as a hip hop artist and actor, as well as his imprisonment and prolific, controversial time at Death Row Records, where he was steeped in the East coast/West coast rap war.

John Singleton has closed a deal to rewrite, direct and produce the biopic about the iconic rapper, which would follow his rise to being one of the most popular hip-hop artists as well as his murder following a boxing match in 1996 in Las Vegas.

Director/producer John Singleton had firsthand experience with Shakur, who starred in Singleton’s Poetic Justice opposite Janet Jackson.

The next move is to find the actor to play Shakur. Singelton will soon dive into rewriting the script, with hopes of beginning production sometime this June. Source(s): Variety; Movie Insider).