ROTTEN TOMATOES: Producers of Notorious B.I.G. Biopic Seek Unknown Star

Producers of Notorious B.I.G. Biopic Seek Unknown Star

Got the flow down phizat, platinum plus like thizat.

by Jeff Giles | August 10, 2007

Discuss Article | Blog Article | Email To A Friend

Think you look like Christopher Wallace, A.K.A. the Notorious B.I.G.? Want to be a movie star? We've got the news you've been waiting for. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the producers of the upcoming Biggie biopic will fill the film's lead role through an open casting call.

Translation: Starting this Sunday at 3 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, anyone and everyone who thinks they're right for the part is encouraged to submit an audition video, via a process outlined at the link below. As the article quotes Notorious producer Wayne Barrow:

"As it relates to the individual Christopher Wallace -- his looks, his stature, what he represented, the swagger, the sensibility of the man -- all those elements are very difficult to find, no matter where you go," Barrow said Thursday. "In the typical Hollywood world, no one came to mind outside of Forest Whitaker who could capture that essence genuinely."

Whitaker does have the requisite laid-back charm, but as the article notes, he's creeping up on 50 years old, and Wallace was only 24 when he was murdered in 1997. If a film about the rapper's life is ever to be made -- and this one has been gestating for the better part of a decade -- casting an unknown might really be the only way to go. George Tillman, whose previous credits include Men of Honor and Soul Food, will direct.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Related Items

Movie:	Soul Food
	Men of Honor
Celeb:	Forest Whitaker
	Notorious B.I.G.
	George Tillman Jr.

(1-15 of 15 posts) | Reply

ClericPreston writes:
on Aug 10 2007 06:42 AM

Shoot I'll do it. White Chicks in reverse style

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on Aug 10 2007 07:32 AM

I'm tall, thin and white. But they can do wonders with computers these days.

(Reply to this)

Elixor writes:
on Aug 10 2007 08:30 AM

I still say Whitaker would do a great job at this portrayal, despite his age. Getting a no-name would be risky, good luck with this one.

(Reply to this)

KubrickIsG-d writes:
on Aug 10 2007 08:46 AM

I'd rather see a movie about 2Pac. Although he got too excessive, over-the-top, and became an all around a**hole in his last years, 2Pac is still by far the more talented rapper of the two. Sometimes being a complete a**hole also makes for a more interesting character.

If they do decide though to make a 2Pac biopic, just don't release them both in the same year. Though the rivalries seem long dead(literally), lets not revive them.

(Reply to this)

dg8672 writes:
on Aug 10 2007 10:00 AM

"Unknown Star?" Isn't that an oxymoron?

(Reply to this)

Product_of_You writes:
on Aug 10 2007 10:49 AM

This is a movie I would like to see. But with musican biopics, a large part of it relies on the star. Ray and Walk the Line are still two of the best movies I've ever seen. Joaquin was robbed of the oscar.

(Reply to this)

Novastar. writes:
on Aug 10 2007 11:24 AM

Now all they have to do is look for some fat kid that hates 2 pac That's all.

(Reply to this)

Crenshaw writes:
on Aug 10 2007 12:18 PM

"Unknown Star" is an oxymoron. :-)

(Reply to this)

IMAmoose24 writes:
on Aug 10 2007 03:46 PM

In reply to this comment (#1026814)
RIP BIGGIE.

THE BEST THAT EVER DID IT.

(Reply to this)

CoUcH ToMaToE DoUgIe writes:
on Aug 10 2007 07:14 PM

love notrious b.i.g. because he had it all he was fat, from brooklyn and oh

yeah was the beethoven of rap. for all you tupac, not 2pac, fans, i'm sorry he just

wasn't better and hey i guess he be what of rap, mozart? Now, hey call me the worst

blashmer ever, but i got an idea for both roles: kenan thomson as biggie and kel mitchel

as tupac! As coolio says in the opening theme, "aww here it goes!" it, means all the

hatin i'm goin to get for such a suggestion but hey they are looking for unknowns,right?

so, kel's career has been dead for awhile and Keanan has gotten "the black guy"

treatment on Saturday Night Live by which i mean his talent has gone to waste and he's

just there to fill out a roster. hey, these two guys filled my childhood with laughs

during the initial run on all that and of course keanan and kel! Thanks to kel, i love

orange soda and hate all dairy products cause superdude well he can't have any! And

to think about are those guys friends anymore? i don't know but i would think i would

see kel hang around a little more if they were but i guess after Good Burger the movie

i could understand, why! So, maybe their's a little animosity between the two and thus,

bringing my point all the way back, establishing a natural rivarly and brewing feud

between the stars of comedy to playing stars of rap. R.I.P. Biggie and Tupac.

oh, and r.i.p. elvis and johnny cash and ray charles and james brown too!

(Reply to this)

dc00777 writes:
on Aug 10 2007 07:19 PM

I just hope the producers( i.e. his mother, from what I've heard she's producing) show the real Biggie and not try to make him into some type of teddy bear. I wonder who'll play Diddy and Kim.

(Reply to this)

carlitooo writes:
on Aug 10 2007 09:38 PM

Good move I think. Forrest Whitaker is a great actor but no. I've always thought that when casting people for roles portraying those who have actually existed, lesser known actors (sometimes) work better than stars do. As good as Jamie Foxx was in Ray, all I saw was Jamie Foxx and not Ray Charles.

(Reply to this)

medicineman writes:
on Aug 12 2007 04:51 PM

Go down any street corner, find the first so called teenage gansta with a grade 4 education waving a gun dressed in bling mouthing off with 'tude and there you have it; an instant rap star and hero of today's wasted black youth. Racist? No, just telling it the way it is.

(Reply to this)

crudebob writes:
on Aug 13 2007 06:48 AM

In reply to this comment (#1032858)
Being black, I know that for the most part while your remarks are to a degree oversimplified, there is a lot of truth in what you say. We are our own worst enemy and unless we in the black community stop blaming the rest of society for our ills, we will always be looked on that way. It's time for our people to stop looking up to not only the B.I.G's within our community, but the Al Sharptons as well for using our troubles to lash out at the white community for personal gain.

(Reply to this)

Tn.Finest writes:
on Aug 13 2007 11:43 PM

I think Academy Award Winning Frayser Boy with Hypnotized Minds should do it. He has already written an Oscar winning song for the movie Hustle and Flow called, It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp.....He has the skills and he also looks like Biggie. Check out the footage from the 2006 Oscars when they won. He's the one with the shades on that looks just like Christopher Wallace a.k.a. NORTORIOUS B.I.G..................

(Reply to this)