It’s been 20 years since the tragic death of gangster rapper Tupac Shakur. After numerous publications, interviews and documentaries that were made of his life and death, Tupac Shakur’s long awaited movie is finally here.
Steve Emmett, the producer of Tupac’s movie, spoke candidly of his passion for hiphop music and his approach to the film’s plot.
Emmett said that the untitled movie is set to commence production on the month of June this year.
“That project is being put together for a June start date. We’re still worth Morgan Creek and co-financing with them. Open Road is our U.S. distributor, still, for domestic. The script is great and we’re ready to make the movie. We’re just prepping the logistics,” said Emmett.
When speaking of the legacy the musical icon left behind, Emmett stated the focus of the movie will be to ‘honour’ his efforts in defining the hiphop genre.
“We want to be real and raw, about the things and the gangster life that he was involved in, growing up in the way that he grew up, but we also want to honour the talent that he had because he really was, in my opinion for sure, one of the greatest talents that ever lived in music and hip-hop.”
Late Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, has also agreed to be an executive producer of the movie and the plot, which Emmett reassured will cover all the major events from his short life including his acting career.
“I think our story, especially like a lot of biopics in the hip-hop space, will at least tease the beginning of his life, kind of tease his beginnings and kind of the people around him, then go into the key years leading up to the pinnacle of his success—those three or four key years of his rise, and the empire he built,” said Emmett.
Emmett also said the film project has already secured the rights to Tupac’s extensive musical legacy.
“Morgan Creek bought the rights to the music, and we share 50% of the rights with Morgan Creek. So Morgan Creek acquired all the music rights from the estate when they partnered with Tupac’s mother, who has executive control of the estate,” he said.
As Tupac’s life story is an extraordinary tale of success against all odds that ended with hi tragic death, Emmett’s biggest challenge will be telling the story of what really happened and not what people thought happened with the ‘East Coast West Coast Rivalry’.
“I don’t think it’s about being careful, I think we want be true to what was going on his life…with the movie that we’re telling, at the piers that we’re telling we’re addressing whatever was going on,” he said.
