Universal’s Straight Outta Compton was such a huge success, Hollywood seeks to do the same with one of the greatest rappers in hip-hop history. Morgan Creek’s Tupac Shakur movie now has a new director in the driver’s seat.
It’s reported that Benny Boom is in to replace Carl Franklin. This is a very intriguing choice, as Benny Boom is known for directing numerous music videos and commercials. The company has worked for years now, trying to bring the late rapper’s life to the big screen. There’s more drama behind the scenes though. If the company doesn’t begin production by the end of this year, they’ll run into a snag with over the Tupac’s music rights. The rights will revert back to Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur.
They had chosen John Singleton to take the director’s chair initially. However, Singleton dropped out of the project back in April, while trashing the company for disrespect. Singelton went on Instagram to state, “The people involved aren’t really respectful of the legacy of Tupac.”
No one can really blame the established director as there has been more drama trying to bring this film into play. In late October, the producers had filed a $10 million lawsuit against Morgan Creek, claiming they had breached the co-production agreement by selecting a lead actor and setting a budget and production schedule without their approval. Things kept getting messier as the studio went on to sue Afeni Shakur over music rights to the film.
There seems to be no end to this drama, as artist’s integrity battles big studio cash grabbers.
