News of December 10, 2001
MTV Films and Amaru Plan Theatrical Documentary About Tupac
On December 10, 2001, MTV Films and Afeni Shakur's Amaru announced a theatrical Tupac documentary by Lauren Lazin, later Tupac: Resurrection.
Five years after Tupac’s death, his story was set to come to theaters, told by his own family. Billboard reported on December 11, 2001, that MTV Films was working together with Amaru Entertainment, the company of Afeni Shakur, on a feature-length documentary. It was scheduled to be released in theaters the following year and did not yet have a title. Lauren Lazin, responsible for news and documentaries at MTV, was set to direct.
Film, Soundtrack, and a Book
The package included a soundtrack on Amaru and Interscope as well as the first official biography, planned with Pocket Books and MTV Books. Afeni Shakur stated on December 10 that the past five years had been painful: others had attempted to falsely define who her son really was. Now, at last, “the true story of Tupac” would be told.
Call to Friends and Fans
One week later, on December 18, MTV News asked friends and fans for help. Anyone who possessed photos, videos, audio recordings, documents, or memorabilia from Tupac’s life was invited to send them in. It took longer to reach the screen than announced: it was not until January 2003 that the film screened under the title Tupac: Resurrection at the Sundance Festival.