Last week’s news about director Antoine Fuqua ditching his Tupac Shakur biopic for a boxing film involving living rapper Eminem must’ve rung loud and clear to the suits at Morgan Creek. The company has issued a new “pay-or-play” deal to the TRAINING DAY director to stay on board the project, possibly even making it his next film once again.
For those of you wondering what that exactly means, “pay-or-play” is an industry contract term that’s basically a guarantee of payment. So in this case, it’s saying Fuqua would get paid even if Morgan Creek doesn’t make the film with him. This would essentially make the project’s producers further commit to insuring Fuqua’s involvement (important because he’s already been approved by Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur), making it more likely that the film will actually get made.
Depending on what Fuqua decides to do and if things go smoothly from here on out, TUPAC and the Eminem boxing film SOUTHPAW could both wind up getting made, with TUPAC perhaps starting first since pre-production has already been in the works for some time.
Assuming all that goes to plan, who’s being looked at for the role of Tupac? LA Times’ 24 Frames says, “While the company has looked at several veteran actors, a person familiar with the production who asked anonymity because of the sensitive nature of casting discussions said producers are leaning toward an unknown who has a similar look and background to the Harlem-born, California-raised star. They would then coach him on the acting skills.”
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