News of February 12, 2014
John Singleton Takes Over the Tupac Biopic
Screenplay, directing, and producing in one hand: John Singleton takes over the Tupac biopic at Morgan Creek in 2014. Filming is set to begin in the summer.
He knew Tupac personally and made Poetic Justice with him in 1993. On February 12, 2014, Rolling Stone reported, citing Variety, that John Singleton (“Boyz n the Hood”) would write, direct, and produce the long-delayed Tupac biopic. “Tupac was the guy who I planned to do a lifetime of films with,” he said.
Summer Filming Start, Still Without a Lead Actor
The film is based at Morgan Creek and was still untitled. Singleton planned to begin work on the script immediately, with a summer production start as the goal. There was still no lead actor.
Dispute with Afeni Shakur Settled, Singleton Exited in 2015
Rolling Stone recapped the backstory once more: the dispute between Morgan Creek and Afeni Shakur, which was settled in 2011. The Guardian recalled that Antoine Fuqua and Singleton himself had previously been attached to the project.
Singleton exited in April 2015, as Rolling Stone reported; Carl Franklin was set to take over. That belongs in a later report.
John SingletonAfeni Shakur: Panther, Mother, Keeper of the Estate