via SOHH
Iconic rap group N.W.A. (N*ggaz With Attitude) are reportedly headed to the big screen with a film called Straight Outta Compton.
The film will offer fans an in-depth look into the careers of each member.
New Line is developing Straight Outta Compton, an urban drama about N.W.A. The project will chronicle the rise and fall of the rap quartet, founded by Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and MC Ren, whose songs were so incendiary (i.e. “F— tha Police”) they were banned from radio playlists but still sold millions of albums. The film’s producers, which include Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Tomica Wright (Eazy-E’s widow), and Circle of Confusion entertainment, are now actively searching for a director along the lines of Curtis Hanson (8 Mile). (Entertainment Weekly)
Hip-Hop pioneers Run-DMC are also slated to hit the big screen in the near future.
Notorious screenwriter Cheo Hodari Coker will adapt Bill Adler‘s “Tougher Than Leather: The Rise of Run-DMC — The Authorized Biography” for DJ Classicz president Dallas Jackson. The filmmakers will explore the history of hip-hop’s first superstars: Joseph “Run” Simmons, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell, who was shot to death in his Queens studio in 2002. (Reuters)
The latest rap biopic to hit theaters was last January’s Notorious, based on the uprising of late rapper Biggie Smalls.
Notorious, a biopic of slain rap artist Christopher Wallace grossed an estimated $21.5 million from 1,638 theaters to post the best per-location average, $13,126, of the weekend. The film was distributed by Fox but produced and marketed by Fox Searchlight. Opening is the biggest ever for the specialty unit. (Variety)
N.W.A. was recently featured on VH1’s “Rock Doc: N.W.A.: The World’s Most Dangerous Group” last fall.
Taking an inside examination of hip-hop’s most gangster rap group, “VH1 Rock Doc: N.W.A.” will show the West Coast pact’s origin by using interviews from former group members Ice Cube, MC Ren, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella plus Eazy-E’s widow Tomica Woods-Wright, Ice-T and director John Singleton. Written and directed by Mark Ford, the show will be narrated by comedian Chris Rock.
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