John Singleton who has directed movies such as Poetic Justice, Higher Learning ,and Baby Boy is no longer directing on the Tupac Shakur biopic. The film is under production with Morgan Creek and had been in development hell for a while. It gained some real traction when John Singleton was announced as the director over a year ago. It eased Tupac fans as Singleton is one of the few directors that would be trusted to tackle such a film. He knew Shakur’s personally and has a deep admiration for him. They worked together in Poetic Justice and the lead role in Baby Boy that was played by Tyrese was written with Tupac in mind. Well when it was announced that John Singleton was no longer going to be involved with the project, Tupac fans became skeptical and curious about what went down.
The director took to his instagram page and went in on the film.
“Real talk! The reason I am not making this picture is because the people involved aren’t really respectful of the legacy of Tupac Amaru Shakur. I won’t say much if you want you can read my articles in Hollywood Reporter on authenticity in Black Storytelling … To Pac’s real fans just know I am still planning a movie on Tupac … It doesn’t matter what they do mines will be better… Tupac was much more than a hip hop artist … He was a black man guided by his passions … Of most importance was his love of black people and culture … Something the people involved in this movie know nothing about… Real talk! How you gonna make a movie about a man when you suing his mother to get the rights to tell his story?! They have no true love 4 Pac so this movie will not be made with love! And that’s why my ass isn’t involved ! If Tupac knew what was going on he’d ride on all these fools and take it to the streets… But I won’t do that … I’ll just make my own project. What Yall think about that?!!”
This news is crushing as it looks like the studio is going to attempt to exploit the life of Tupac Shakur for profit. As if they butcher this film, it will not personally bother them as long as the box office returns are there. In Singleton’s post we also learn about Morgan Creek is suing Afeni Shakur, Tupac’s mother and bearer of his estate. It that is true then the intentions and character of the people involved deserves some strong questioning and criticism.
Carl Franklin who is best known for Devil in a Blue Dress has been commissioned as the replacement. John Singleton has not wavered on making his own Tupac film however. While it is not known what film Morgan Creek Productions plans on making this news is not very positive. The film cannot simply be about a rapper’s rise to fame and untimely death. Tupac Shakur is a cultural icon and there are countless lives that have been impacted by him. This film is too important to be sub-par, especially to the black community. Almost 20 years since his murder all eyes our still on the legendary figure that is Tupac.
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