Paramount+ has greenlit a new documentary that will shine a spotlight on the boy bands that dominated pop culture and the music industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Nsync, the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block.
The documentary will feature new interviews and material, along with archival concert footage, unaired interviews and candid clips that feature original members, songwriters, producers, managers, family members and fans.
The project is produced by music manager Johnny Wright and Gunpower & Sky CEO Van Toffler and directed by Tamra Davis.
Gunpowder & Sky is producing in partnership with MTV Entertainment Studios.
“The ’90s boy band era was an extraordinary chapter in music where harmonies and beats came together, along with talented vocal artists who captivated the hearts of millions worldwide,” Wright said in a statement. “Their music spoke to the dreams, aspirations and emotions of the fans, creating a bond that transcended borders and language.
The documentary will feature new interviews and material, along with archival concert footage, unaired interviews and candid clips that feature original members, songwriters, producers, managers, family members and fans.
The project is produced by music manager Johnny Wright and Gunpower & Sky CEO Van Toffler and directed by Tamra Davis.
Gunpowder & Sky is producing in partnership with MTV Entertainment Studios.
“The ’90s boy band era was an extraordinary chapter in music where harmonies and beats came together, along with talented vocal artists who captivated the hearts of millions worldwide,” Wright said in a statement. “Their music spoke to the dreams, aspirations and emotions of the fans, creating a bond that transcended borders and language.
- 10/2/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Updated, 12:14 Pm: A Clark County grand jury handed down a murder indictment today against the man arrested earlier in connection with the killing of Tupac Shakur. Duane “Keefe D” Davis is accused of gunning down the storied rapper on the Las Vegas Strip in 1996. District Judge Jerry Wiese ordered Davis, 60, a reputed gang member, held without bail.
In court, Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc Digiacomo announced the charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He referred to Davis as the “on-ground, on-sight commander” and “shot caller” in a revenge plot against Shakur, Death Row Records founder Suge Knight and the label.
Previously, 10:17 Am: Police in Las Vegas have arrested a man in connection with the 1996 killing of fabled rapper Tupac Shakur, according to the Associated Press.
Citing two officials with firsthand knowledge of the case, the news...
In court, Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc Digiacomo announced the charge of murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang. He referred to Davis as the “on-ground, on-sight commander” and “shot caller” in a revenge plot against Shakur, Death Row Records founder Suge Knight and the label.
Previously, 10:17 Am: Police in Las Vegas have arrested a man in connection with the 1996 killing of fabled rapper Tupac Shakur, according to the Associated Press.
Citing two officials with firsthand knowledge of the case, the news...
- 9/29/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Tupac Shakur’s one-time video director and now biographer has explained why he made a docuseries about the late rapper, despite being previously beaten up by him.
Allen Hughes, whose five-part docuseries Dear Mama is available on Hulu in the US, and will debut on the Disney+ platform in the UK on 1st October, told The Guardian newspaper that the altercation, which occurred three years before Shakur’s death, came from a misunderstanding after the pair clashed on the set of Hughes’s film Menace II Society.
Shakur had been cast in the film, but the pair disagreed over his character’s backstory, and Shakur walked off the production. A few months later, Hughes was beaten by the rapper’s entourage, with Shakur convicted of assault and sentenced to 15 days in jail.
Hughes told The Guardian: “Before I would’ve said [it was] just Tupac, but now I’d say both...
Allen Hughes, whose five-part docuseries Dear Mama is available on Hulu in the US, and will debut on the Disney+ platform in the UK on 1st October, told The Guardian newspaper that the altercation, which occurred three years before Shakur’s death, came from a misunderstanding after the pair clashed on the set of Hughes’s film Menace II Society.
Shakur had been cast in the film, but the pair disagreed over his character’s backstory, and Shakur walked off the production. A few months later, Hughes was beaten by the rapper’s entourage, with Shakur convicted of assault and sentenced to 15 days in jail.
Hughes told The Guardian: “Before I would’ve said [it was] just Tupac, but now I’d say both...
- 9/23/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
Dig through the 120-plus Emmy categories and you’ll discover more than double-digit nominations for Succession and Ted Lasso. You’ll also uncover the indisputable influence of hip-hop.
The ever-growing television medium is keeping the legacies of two of the most important figures in rap — and overall pop culture — alive, and now the projects are competing for Emmys. Dear Mama, the FX documentary series about Tupac Shakur and his activist mother, Afeni, earned nominations for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series and writing for a nonfiction program, while a virtual reality concert that brought Notorious B.I.G. back to life is up for outstanding emerging media program.
To top it off, rap’s ultimate entrepreneur, Jay-Z, is nominated for two Emmys, including a historic one for outstanding directing for a variety series for Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show. And this is all happening during the year that is the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
The ever-growing television medium is keeping the legacies of two of the most important figures in rap — and overall pop culture — alive, and now the projects are competing for Emmys. Dear Mama, the FX documentary series about Tupac Shakur and his activist mother, Afeni, earned nominations for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series and writing for a nonfiction program, while a virtual reality concert that brought Notorious B.I.G. back to life is up for outstanding emerging media program.
To top it off, rap’s ultimate entrepreneur, Jay-Z, is nominated for two Emmys, including a historic one for outstanding directing for a variety series for Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show. And this is all happening during the year that is the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
- 9/13/2023
- by Mesfin Fekadu
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Image Source: Everett Collection
Hip-hop has transformed music, and the world at large, since it was conceived 50 years ago. In a relatively short time, it's made a massive impact on every aspect of pop culture - and fortunately, there are a lot of great documentaries that chronicle the unforgettable, twists, turns, and triumphs that made hip-hop what it is today.
Many of these documentaries offer fascinating insights into hip-hop's exponential growth, such as 1995's "The Show" and 2016's "Hip-Hop Evolution," which both examine exactly how the genre became a worldwide, multibillion-dollar industry. Some of them also focus on individual artists, like 2003's "Tupac: Resurrection," a documentary narrated entirely by Tupac Shakur himself. Others focus on specific music scenes, like Ava DuVernay's "This Is the Life," which centers Los Angeles's alternative rap scene in the 1990s, while others delve into the technical aspects of hip-hop and rap, like Ice-t's...
Hip-hop has transformed music, and the world at large, since it was conceived 50 years ago. In a relatively short time, it's made a massive impact on every aspect of pop culture - and fortunately, there are a lot of great documentaries that chronicle the unforgettable, twists, turns, and triumphs that made hip-hop what it is today.
Many of these documentaries offer fascinating insights into hip-hop's exponential growth, such as 1995's "The Show" and 2016's "Hip-Hop Evolution," which both examine exactly how the genre became a worldwide, multibillion-dollar industry. Some of them also focus on individual artists, like 2003's "Tupac: Resurrection," a documentary narrated entirely by Tupac Shakur himself. Others focus on specific music scenes, like Ava DuVernay's "This Is the Life," which centers Los Angeles's alternative rap scene in the 1990s, while others delve into the technical aspects of hip-hop and rap, like Ice-t's...
- 8/12/2023
- by Eden Arielle Gordon
- Popsugar.com
Just days after what would have been Tupac Shakur’s 52nd birthday, police have announced they issued a search warrant at a home in Henderson, Nevada, a city that sits under 20 miles outside of Las Vegas, where the rapper was gunned down in 1996.
According to Lt. Jason Johansson of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, “The search warrant that we conducted is in connection with the Tupac Shakur case…It has been a while…It’s a case that’s gone unsolved and hopefully one day we can change that.” As per the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the scene of the warrant appeared to be a tense one, with officers approaching the home with guns drawn. No arrests appeared to have been made.
Tupac Shakur was just 25 when he was murdered in a drive-by shooting in September 1996. Following attending the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon bout, Shakur and his driver, Death Row Records...
According to Lt. Jason Johansson of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, “The search warrant that we conducted is in connection with the Tupac Shakur case…It has been a while…It’s a case that’s gone unsolved and hopefully one day we can change that.” As per the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the scene of the warrant appeared to be a tense one, with officers approaching the home with guns drawn. No arrests appeared to have been made.
Tupac Shakur was just 25 when he was murdered in a drive-by shooting in September 1996. Following attending the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon bout, Shakur and his driver, Death Row Records...
- 7/19/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Local authorities have confirmed that Las Vegas Metropolitan Police served a search warrant on Monday in nearby Henderson, Nevada related to the unsolved 1996 shooting of hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur on the Las Vegas Strip. That, according to multiple reports.
“The search warrant that we conducted is in connection with the Tupac Shakur case,” Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Jason Johansson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“It has been a while” since the shooting, Johansson said. “It’s a case that’s gone unsolved and hopefully one day we can change that.”
Shakur was 25 when he was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip. The musician was struck by two rounds in the chest, one in the arm and one in the thigh while sitting in a vehicle on the night of the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight. He died at a hospital six days later.
The events of that evening...
“The search warrant that we conducted is in connection with the Tupac Shakur case,” Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Jason Johansson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“It has been a while” since the shooting, Johansson said. “It’s a case that’s gone unsolved and hopefully one day we can change that.”
Shakur was 25 when he was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip. The musician was struck by two rounds in the chest, one in the arm and one in the thigh while sitting in a vehicle on the night of the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight. He died at a hospital six days later.
The events of that evening...
- 7/18/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Tupac Shakur was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame on Wednesday.
Shakur is remembered as an iconic American rapper. He was just 25 years old when he was shot at a red light while driving in Las Vegas. He spent six days in the hospital before he succumbed to his injuries. It is still unknown who murdered him.
Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa ‘Set’ Shakur, accepted the star on behalf of her brother at the ceremony. Other guests will be there to honor the rapper, including Big Boy, a radio personality on iHeart Radio, Jamal Joseph and Allen Hughes.
Hughes has directed the movies Menace II Society, The Book of Eli, Broken City, Dead Presidents, From Hell, American Pimp and many more. He directed the movie Tupac: Resurrection in 2003, which was about the life of Shakur.
Joseph is an author and director who currently works at Columbia University.
Shakur is remembered as an iconic American rapper. He was just 25 years old when he was shot at a red light while driving in Las Vegas. He spent six days in the hospital before he succumbed to his injuries. It is still unknown who murdered him.
Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa ‘Set’ Shakur, accepted the star on behalf of her brother at the ceremony. Other guests will be there to honor the rapper, including Big Boy, a radio personality on iHeart Radio, Jamal Joseph and Allen Hughes.
Hughes has directed the movies Menace II Society, The Book of Eli, Broken City, Dead Presidents, From Hell, American Pimp and many more. He directed the movie Tupac: Resurrection in 2003, which was about the life of Shakur.
Joseph is an author and director who currently works at Columbia University.
- 6/8/2023
- by Nina Hauswirth
- Uinterview
Exclusive: Former MTV topper Van Toffler is back in a formal relationship with the company where he spent almost three decades as an executive. MTV Entertainment Group has signed a multi-picture deal with independent studio Gunpowder & Sky, co-founded and run by Van Toffler, former CEO of Viacom Media Networks Music & Logo Group. The pact follows Mtve’s collaboration with Gunpowder & Sky on Comedy Central’s Hot Mess Holiday movie, starring Kal Penn, which was recently nominated for two NAACP awards, and signals a push in that area for the ViacomCBS division.
Under the pact, Mtve and Gunpowder & Sky, led by CEO Toffler and fellow MTV alum, EVP Development and Production David Gale, will develop comedic movies for MTV Entertainment’s portfolio of brands and platforms.
This is a familiar territory for Toffler and Gale who built MTV’s movie business with MTV Films, which Toffler launched and oversaw and...
Under the pact, Mtve and Gunpowder & Sky, led by CEO Toffler and fellow MTV alum, EVP Development and Production David Gale, will develop comedic movies for MTV Entertainment’s portfolio of brands and platforms.
This is a familiar territory for Toffler and Gale who built MTV’s movie business with MTV Films, which Toffler launched and oversaw and...
- 2/1/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Eight months ago, Sheila Nevins, the former longtime president of HBO Documentary and Family Programming, took over as head of MTV Documentary Films, a division of MTV Studios. One of the first projects she set up was short documentary St. Louis Superman, which today landed a Oscar nomination in the Documentary (Short Subject) category. It marked MTV’s first Oscar nomination in 15 years.
Nevins is no stranger to Oscars, her projects having won 28 statuettes over the course of her career. St. Louis Superman is MTV’s third Oscar nomination in its 39-year history. The network previously won for Best Original Song in 2005 for Hustle & Flow, and received nominations for 2004’s Tupac: Resurrection and 1999’s Election.
“St. Louis Superman is an underdog story and MTV is an underdog film distributor which makes all of this that much more gratifying and very special,” Nevins told Deadline. “There are so many great...
Nevins is no stranger to Oscars, her projects having won 28 statuettes over the course of her career. St. Louis Superman is MTV’s third Oscar nomination in its 39-year history. The network previously won for Best Original Song in 2005 for Hustle & Flow, and received nominations for 2004’s Tupac: Resurrection and 1999’s Election.
“St. Louis Superman is an underdog story and MTV is an underdog film distributor which makes all of this that much more gratifying and very special,” Nevins told Deadline. “There are so many great...
- 1/13/2020
- by Nellie Andreeva and Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Gunpowder & Sky has hired David Gale as Evp Development and Production, a role that will see the former MTV Films chief lead a team to develop and produce content across all platforms for the millennial-focused digital studio. The move, effective June 1, reunites him with G&S CEO Van Toffler, his former boss at Viacom Media Networks.
Gale most recently co-founded and was CEO for the media brand We Are The Mighty, and before that was Evp of MTV Films, Mtvx and MTV New Media. There, along with Toffler, they released movies including Election, Napoleon Dynamite, Varsity Blues, Hustle & Flow, The Longest Yard, Tupac: Resurrection and The Original Kings of Comedy.
Toffler left Viacom in 2015 and launched Gunpowder & Sky the next year with help from former Endemol Global Strategy chief Floris Bauer and Otter Media. The company operates as a full 360-studio and oversees a library of more than 1,500 titles,...
Gale most recently co-founded and was CEO for the media brand We Are The Mighty, and before that was Evp of MTV Films, Mtvx and MTV New Media. There, along with Toffler, they released movies including Election, Napoleon Dynamite, Varsity Blues, Hustle & Flow, The Longest Yard, Tupac: Resurrection and The Original Kings of Comedy.
Toffler left Viacom in 2015 and launched Gunpowder & Sky the next year with help from former Endemol Global Strategy chief Floris Bauer and Otter Media. The company operates as a full 360-studio and oversees a library of more than 1,500 titles,...
- 5/22/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
MTV Studios unit will develop films, specials for third-party streaming services, premium networks, MTV platforms.
Longtime HBO documentary head Sheila Nevins is joining MTV to launch a documentary films division for the Viacom-owned, youth-oriented cable network and production company.
As part of MTV Studios, MTV Documentary Films will develop films and specials for third-party streaming services, premium networks and MTV platforms. In a statement, the company said the division will “embrace a new generation of filmmakers exploring the social, political and cultural trends and stories important to young people.”
Under its MTV News and Docs and MTV Films banners,...
Longtime HBO documentary head Sheila Nevins is joining MTV to launch a documentary films division for the Viacom-owned, youth-oriented cable network and production company.
As part of MTV Studios, MTV Documentary Films will develop films and specials for third-party streaming services, premium networks and MTV platforms. In a statement, the company said the division will “embrace a new generation of filmmakers exploring the social, political and cultural trends and stories important to young people.”
Under its MTV News and Docs and MTV Films banners,...
- 5/7/2019
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
MTV has hired Sheila Nevins, former President of HBO Documentary Films, as head of its new Documentary Films division. As part of MTV Studios, the new division will develop documentary films and specials for third-party streaming services, premium networks and MTV platforms.
Under Nevins, MTV Documentary Films will explore the social, political and cultural trends and stories important to young people.
“MTV has always been at the forefront of youth culture, and the generation that is growing up now will change the world in ways we can’t even imagine,” said Nevins. “I’m excited to join MTV with electrifying stories that explore the crises and commitments that young people face every day.”
The new MTV Documentary Films is considered a relaunch of MTV News and Docs and MTV Films which produced Emmy-winning series True Life, Oscar-nominated Tupac: Resurrection and Oscar-winning Hustle & Flow.
As President of HBO Documentary Films,...
Under Nevins, MTV Documentary Films will explore the social, political and cultural trends and stories important to young people.
“MTV has always been at the forefront of youth culture, and the generation that is growing up now will change the world in ways we can’t even imagine,” said Nevins. “I’m excited to join MTV with electrifying stories that explore the crises and commitments that young people face every day.”
The new MTV Documentary Films is considered a relaunch of MTV News and Docs and MTV Films which produced Emmy-winning series True Life, Oscar-nominated Tupac: Resurrection and Oscar-winning Hustle & Flow.
As President of HBO Documentary Films,...
- 5/7/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
With the burgeoning Golden Age of documentaries, top non-fiction talent has never been more in demand. After landing a big promotion at A&E that put her charge of series as well as television, Molly Thompson got snapped up by deep-pocketed Apple TV to run their documentary content; one of the Silicon Valley giant’s first big buys was upcoming documentary “Elephant Queen.” And now MTV Studios has hired ex-HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins to launch MTV Documentary Films.
There’s competition for top documentary talent and Nevins knows how to get it. Even in the specialty film world, documentaries are about the only thing working these days as theatrical narrative films are looking less and less commercially viable.
At HBO, Nevins reigned atop of the documentary pyramid for decades, adapting to more and more competition and new technology. Before Nevins’ exit from HBO a year ago, where she...
There’s competition for top documentary talent and Nevins knows how to get it. Even in the specialty film world, documentaries are about the only thing working these days as theatrical narrative films are looking less and less commercially viable.
At HBO, Nevins reigned atop of the documentary pyramid for decades, adapting to more and more competition and new technology. Before Nevins’ exit from HBO a year ago, where she...
- 5/7/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
With the burgeoning Golden Age of documentaries, top non-fiction talent has never been more in demand. After landing a big promotion at A&E that put her charge of series as well as television, Molly Thompson got snapped up by deep-pocketed Apple TV to run their documentary content; one of the Silicon Valley giant’s first big buys was upcoming documentary “Elephant Queen.” And now MTV Studios has hired ex-HBO Documentary Films president Sheila Nevins to launch MTV Documentary Films.
There’s competition for top documentary talent and Nevins knows how to get it. Even in the specialty film world, documentaries are about the only thing working these days as theatrical narrative films are looking less and less commercially viable.
At HBO, Nevins reigned atop of the documentary pyramid for decades, adapting to more and more competition and new technology. Before Nevins’ exit from HBO a year ago, where she...
There’s competition for top documentary talent and Nevins knows how to get it. Even in the specialty film world, documentaries are about the only thing working these days as theatrical narrative films are looking less and less commercially viable.
At HBO, Nevins reigned atop of the documentary pyramid for decades, adapting to more and more competition and new technology. Before Nevins’ exit from HBO a year ago, where she...
- 5/7/2019
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
In the Academy Awards’ 90-year history, just nine black women have won Oscars. But here’s where it gets worse: Only one of those nine won in a non-acting category, Irene Cara, who co-wrote Best Original Song winner “Flashdance… What a Feeling” from “Flashdance” (1983). Cara could get some long overdue company this year from three people — all from the same film, “Black Panther.”
Three of “Black Panther”‘s seven nominations include black women as part of its nominees: Hannah Beachler is up for Best Production Design; Ruth E. Carter earned her third career Best Costume Design bid; and Sza co-wrote Best Original Song contender “All the Stars” with Kendrick Lamar, Sounwave and Anthony Tiffith.
Not only is Beachler the first African-American woman to be nominated for Best Production Design, but she’s the first African-American ever to be shortlisted in the category. Carter broke down that barrier in her category...
Three of “Black Panther”‘s seven nominations include black women as part of its nominees: Hannah Beachler is up for Best Production Design; Ruth E. Carter earned her third career Best Costume Design bid; and Sza co-wrote Best Original Song contender “All the Stars” with Kendrick Lamar, Sounwave and Anthony Tiffith.
Not only is Beachler the first African-American woman to be nominated for Best Production Design, but she’s the first African-American ever to be shortlisted in the category. Carter broke down that barrier in her category...
- 2/17/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Everyone knows Halle Berry is still the only black Best Actress winner, but there’s a more alarming stat in Oscar history: Only one black woman has won a non-acting Oscar. That was Irene Cara, who co-wrote Best Original Song winner “Flashdance… What a Feeling” from “Flashdance” (1983). She could finally be joined by three more this year — two at once — and all for the same film: “Mudbound.”
Of “Mudbound”’s four nominations, three of the nominees are black women: director/co-writer Dee Rees in Best Adapted Screenplay, and “Mighty River” songwriters Taura Stinson and Mary J. Blige, who’s also up for Best Supporting Actress. (Virgil Williams co-wrote the script and Raphael Saddiq also co-wrote the Best Original Song nominee.)
Rees and Blige have already made Oscar history, with the former being the first black woman nominated in Best Adapted Screenplay and the latter being the first black woman to...
Of “Mudbound”’s four nominations, three of the nominees are black women: director/co-writer Dee Rees in Best Adapted Screenplay, and “Mighty River” songwriters Taura Stinson and Mary J. Blige, who’s also up for Best Supporting Actress. (Virgil Williams co-wrote the script and Raphael Saddiq also co-wrote the Best Original Song nominee.)
Rees and Blige have already made Oscar history, with the former being the first black woman nominated in Best Adapted Screenplay and the latter being the first black woman to...
- 2/7/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
This long and solemn hagiography seems concerned only with bolstering the sainthood of the murdered hip-hop star
Demetrius Shipp Jr gives a very accomplished impersonation of Tupac Shakur in this long and solemn hagiography, similar in its piety to the 2003 documentary Tupac: Resurrection. It has similar material – with similar scenes and similar tropes – to F Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton, about Nwa, but with less passion and less energy.
The same old story is rehearsed: the brilliantly talented rapper becomes a very rich and aggressive uber-celebrity obsessed with respect, who then gets involved in a deeply charmless and unedifying bi-coastal feud with rival rapper Biggie Smalls, played here by Jamal Woolard, who also in fact played Biggie in the 2009 film Notorious. Eventually, Tupac is killed, in a shooting that is still unsolved.
Continue reading...
Demetrius Shipp Jr gives a very accomplished impersonation of Tupac Shakur in this long and solemn hagiography, similar in its piety to the 2003 documentary Tupac: Resurrection. It has similar material – with similar scenes and similar tropes – to F Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton, about Nwa, but with less passion and less energy.
The same old story is rehearsed: the brilliantly talented rapper becomes a very rich and aggressive uber-celebrity obsessed with respect, who then gets involved in a deeply charmless and unedifying bi-coastal feud with rival rapper Biggie Smalls, played here by Jamal Woolard, who also in fact played Biggie in the 2009 film Notorious. Eventually, Tupac is killed, in a shooting that is still unsolved.
Continue reading...
- 6/28/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Few artists have entered — and stayed — in the popular imagination over the last few decades like Tupac Shakur, whose 1996 murder only grew his legend further. Two decades later, his story is being told once again in Benny Boom’s “All Eyez on Me,” a biopic starring Demetrius Shipp, Jr. Watch the new trailer below.
Read More: ‘All Eyez on Me’ Trailer: Tupac Shakur Biopic Looks To Be This Year’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Shipp, Jr. bears a striking resemblance to the gone-too-soon rapper, poet and actor, whose lyrics expressed a fixation with his own mortality. 2Pac has been the subject of numerous documentaries — including the Academy Award–nominated “Tupac: Resurrection” and Nick Broomfield’s “Biggie & Tupac” — and been portrayed in other biopics, including “Straight Outta Compton.”
Here we see the highs and lows of his life and career, including the lead-up to his murder in Las Vegas after a boxing...
Read More: ‘All Eyez on Me’ Trailer: Tupac Shakur Biopic Looks To Be This Year’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Shipp, Jr. bears a striking resemblance to the gone-too-soon rapper, poet and actor, whose lyrics expressed a fixation with his own mortality. 2Pac has been the subject of numerous documentaries — including the Academy Award–nominated “Tupac: Resurrection” and Nick Broomfield’s “Biggie & Tupac” — and been portrayed in other biopics, including “Straight Outta Compton.”
Here we see the highs and lows of his life and career, including the lead-up to his murder in Las Vegas after a boxing...
- 4/9/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Ava DuVernay (Courtesy: Kevork Djansezian/Reuters)
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
Let’s talk about race in this year’s Oscar race, shall we? Three of the top films up for best documentary feature this year — 13th (Netflix), I Am Not Your Negro (Magnolia), and O.J.: Made in America (Espn) — all deal with the black experience in the United States through various lenses. These movies, all favorites to make the official list of five nominees that will battle it out for the big win, drive home the fact that this is still a very important and is one of the Academy’s favorite topics to highlight — but has that always been the case?
First, let’s take a more in-depth look at what these three leading docs deal center around. Ava DuVernay’s 13th provides an in-depth look at the prison system and how the nation’s history of racial...
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
Let’s talk about race in this year’s Oscar race, shall we? Three of the top films up for best documentary feature this year — 13th (Netflix), I Am Not Your Negro (Magnolia), and O.J.: Made in America (Espn) — all deal with the black experience in the United States through various lenses. These movies, all favorites to make the official list of five nominees that will battle it out for the big win, drive home the fact that this is still a very important and is one of the Academy’s favorite topics to highlight — but has that always been the case?
First, let’s take a more in-depth look at what these three leading docs deal center around. Ava DuVernay’s 13th provides an in-depth look at the prison system and how the nation’s history of racial...
- 11/16/2016
- by Carson Blackwelder
- Scott Feinberg
The life of rapper Tupac Shakur has come to the big screen before in the Oscar-nominated documentary “Tupac: Resurrection,” but like Biggie Smalls in “Notorious” and N.W.A. in last year’s breakout hit “Straight Outta Compton,” the rapper is finally getting the biopic treatment with the upcoming feature “All Eyez On Me.” A new trailer for the drama hit the web yesterday to mark the 20th anniversary of Tupac’s death, and it features a great ensemble charting the rapper/actor’s rags-to-riches rise and fall.
Read More: Why ‘Straight Outta Compton’ is the Best Movie About American Journalism This Year
Newcomer Demetrius Shipp, Jr. steps into the lead role with uncanny resemblance as the film tracks Shakur’s rise to 1990s rap icon. Money, greedy producers and gang violence all pose threats on his way to the top, and one of the trailer’s most powerful moments comes from Tupac’s mother,...
Read More: Why ‘Straight Outta Compton’ is the Best Movie About American Journalism This Year
Newcomer Demetrius Shipp, Jr. steps into the lead role with uncanny resemblance as the film tracks Shakur’s rise to 1990s rap icon. Money, greedy producers and gang violence all pose threats on his way to the top, and one of the trailer’s most powerful moments comes from Tupac’s mother,...
- 9/14/2016
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
This year’s best documentary feature nominees continues a long trend of music docs being recognized by the Academy, as two music-related films have earned nominations at this year’s Oscars.
Amy, which tells the story of late songstress Amy Winehouse in her own words through never-before-seen archival footage and unreleased tracks and is nominated for best doc this year, earned nominations for the Queer Palm and Golden Eye awards at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for director Asif Kapadia.
Filmmaker Liz Garbus earned the second nomination of her career with the Netflix documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? The film focuses on the life of iconic R&B singer Nina Simone and her life as a singer, mother, and civil rights activist. Garbus earned her first Oscar nomination in 1998 for her documentary The Farm: Angola, USA.
Music-related docs have been a hot topic for the Academy in years past,...
Managing Editor
This year’s best documentary feature nominees continues a long trend of music docs being recognized by the Academy, as two music-related films have earned nominations at this year’s Oscars.
Amy, which tells the story of late songstress Amy Winehouse in her own words through never-before-seen archival footage and unreleased tracks and is nominated for best doc this year, earned nominations for the Queer Palm and Golden Eye awards at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for director Asif Kapadia.
Filmmaker Liz Garbus earned the second nomination of her career with the Netflix documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone? The film focuses on the life of iconic R&B singer Nina Simone and her life as a singer, mother, and civil rights activist. Garbus earned her first Oscar nomination in 1998 for her documentary The Farm: Angola, USA.
Music-related docs have been a hot topic for the Academy in years past,...
- 1/22/2016
- by Patrick Shanley
- Scott Feinberg
Reel-Important People is a monthly column that highlights those individuals in or related to the movies that have left us in recent weeks. Below you'll find names big and small and from all areas of the industry, though each was significant to the movies in his or her own way. Karolyn Ali (c.1945-2015) - Producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Tupac: Resurrection and also prouduced the 1995 movie Klash. She died on August 18. (Deadline) Cilla Black (1943-2015) - Britsh Singer. She performed the Oscar-nominated theme song to Alfie (hear it during the end credits below). She died from a stroke on August 1. (THR) Julian Bond (1940-2015) - Civil Rights Leader, Actor. He appears in Greased...
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- 9/1/2015
- by Christopher Campbell
- Movies.com
Oscar-nominated producer Karolyn Ali has died. Ali, nominated for the 2004 documentary feature Tupac: Resurrection, was 70 and passed away from natural causes August 18 at her home in Los Angeles. Ali was a collaborator on a wide variety of projects encompassing movies, documentaries, music videos and commercials for more than three decades. Since 2013, Ali had served as executive assistant to Motion Picture Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a longtime friend. For…...
- 8/22/2015
- Deadline TV
Oscar-nominated producer Karolyn Ali has died. Ali, nominated for the 2004 documentary feature Tupac: Resurrection, was 70 and passed away from natural causes August 18 at her home in Los Angeles. Ali was a collaborator on a wide variety of projects encompassing movies, documentaries, music videos and commercials for more than three decades. Since 2013, Ali had served as executive assistant to Motion Picture Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a longtime friend. For…...
- 8/22/2015
- Deadline
What Happened, Miss Simone? lands on Netflix this week - a documentary delving deep into the life and achievements of the incomparable Nina Simone.
Drawing on an extensive library of rare footage and interviews, the film executes the impressive feat of allowing the High Priestess of Soul to tell her story in her own words, more than a decade after her death.
Digital Spy sat down with the film's director Liz Garbus and Simone's daughter Lisa Simone Kelly - who served as producer on the movie - to discuss the musical icon's legacy, the state of race relations in 2015, and Zoe Saldana's controversial biopic:
Setting the record straight
Speaking to the filmmakers, it is clear that they feel very strongly about revealing Simone's story to a public that has largely forgotten how influential she was to both music and the Civil Rights Movement in the '60s.
"It needed to be told,...
Drawing on an extensive library of rare footage and interviews, the film executes the impressive feat of allowing the High Priestess of Soul to tell her story in her own words, more than a decade after her death.
Digital Spy sat down with the film's director Liz Garbus and Simone's daughter Lisa Simone Kelly - who served as producer on the movie - to discuss the musical icon's legacy, the state of race relations in 2015, and Zoe Saldana's controversial biopic:
Setting the record straight
Speaking to the filmmakers, it is clear that they feel very strongly about revealing Simone's story to a public that has largely forgotten how influential she was to both music and the Civil Rights Movement in the '60s.
"It needed to be told,...
- 6/26/2015
- Digital Spy
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
Keep on Keepin’ On, director Alan Hicks’ debut film, follows four years of the friendship and mentorship between jazz legend and trumpeter Clark Terry, who played with Count Basie and Duke Ellington and taught a young Quincy Jones how to play, and Justin Kauflin, a talented 23-year-old blind pianist. The two musicians support each other as Terry begins to lose his eyesight due to health issues and as Kauflin deals with stage fright as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. The film is one of 15 films on the Oscar documentary shortlist, five of which will be nominated on Jan. 15.
The Academy is particularly fond of music-related documentaries, nominating 17 since 1942, with eight winning. Keep on Keepin’ On could join the following Oscar-nominated films:
Festival (1967)
Director Murray Lerner’s black-and-white documentary offers a glimpse into three years (1963-1966) of the Newport Folk Festival, which...
Managing Editor
Keep on Keepin’ On, director Alan Hicks’ debut film, follows four years of the friendship and mentorship between jazz legend and trumpeter Clark Terry, who played with Count Basie and Duke Ellington and taught a young Quincy Jones how to play, and Justin Kauflin, a talented 23-year-old blind pianist. The two musicians support each other as Terry begins to lose his eyesight due to health issues and as Kauflin deals with stage fright as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. The film is one of 15 films on the Oscar documentary shortlist, five of which will be nominated on Jan. 15.
The Academy is particularly fond of music-related documentaries, nominating 17 since 1942, with eight winning. Keep on Keepin’ On could join the following Oscar-nominated films:
Festival (1967)
Director Murray Lerner’s black-and-white documentary offers a glimpse into three years (1963-1966) of the Newport Folk Festival, which...
- 1/8/2015
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
This year’s Oscar race could make history with two possible best picture nominees directed by women — Ava DuVernay’s Selma and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. If both women are nominated for best director, that would also be a historical moment. But though these accomplishments in the narrative field are possible, more women directors are breaking into the documentary categories. Four of the 15 shortlisted documentaries feature women at the helm: Jennifer Grausman (co-directed with Sam Cullman and Mark Becker) with Art and Craft, Tia Lessin (co-directed with Carl Deal) with Citizen Koch, Laura Poitras with Citizenfour and Rory Kennedy with Last Days in Vietnam. Additionally, three of the eight shortlisted documentary shorts feature female directors: Ellen Goosenberg Kent with Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Aneta Kopacz with Joanna and Lucy Walker with The Lion’s Mouth Opens. More often than not, women directors tend to...
Managing Editor
This year’s Oscar race could make history with two possible best picture nominees directed by women — Ava DuVernay’s Selma and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. If both women are nominated for best director, that would also be a historical moment. But though these accomplishments in the narrative field are possible, more women directors are breaking into the documentary categories. Four of the 15 shortlisted documentaries feature women at the helm: Jennifer Grausman (co-directed with Sam Cullman and Mark Becker) with Art and Craft, Tia Lessin (co-directed with Carl Deal) with Citizen Koch, Laura Poitras with Citizenfour and Rory Kennedy with Last Days in Vietnam. Additionally, three of the eight shortlisted documentary shorts feature female directors: Ellen Goosenberg Kent with Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Aneta Kopacz with Joanna and Lucy Walker with The Lion’s Mouth Opens. More often than not, women directors tend to...
- 12/16/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
Last year’s Oscar ceremony made history when director Steve McQueen became the first black filmmaker to win for best picture with 12 Years a Slave and Alfonso Cuaron became the first Latin American to win for best director with Gravity. This year’s ceremony could make history as well: Ava DuVernay could become the first black female to be nominated for best director for Selma, and if Angelina Jolie lands a nomination for Unbroken, it will be the first time two women are nominated in the same year.
In 2012, DuVernay became the first black woman to win for best director at the Sundance Film Festival with Middle of Nowhere.
Lee & Low Books found that 99 percent of best director winners are male and 99 percent of best actress winners are white (93 percent of best actor winners are also white).
The lack of diversity at the Oscars does...
Managing Editor
Last year’s Oscar ceremony made history when director Steve McQueen became the first black filmmaker to win for best picture with 12 Years a Slave and Alfonso Cuaron became the first Latin American to win for best director with Gravity. This year’s ceremony could make history as well: Ava DuVernay could become the first black female to be nominated for best director for Selma, and if Angelina Jolie lands a nomination for Unbroken, it will be the first time two women are nominated in the same year.
In 2012, DuVernay became the first black woman to win for best director at the Sundance Film Festival with Middle of Nowhere.
Lee & Low Books found that 99 percent of best director winners are male and 99 percent of best actress winners are white (93 percent of best actor winners are also white).
The lack of diversity at the Oscars does...
- 12/1/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
©A.M.P.A.S.
Cheryl Boone Isaacs was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (August 5) by the organization’s Board of Governors.
Boone Isaacs is beginning her second term as president and her 22nd year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch.
Boone Isaacs currently heads Cbi Enterprises, Inc., where she has consulted on marketing efforts on such films as “The Call,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Tupac: Resurrection.” Boone Isaacs previously served as president of theatrical marketing for New Line Cinema, where she oversaw numerous box office successes, including “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Rush Hour.”
Prior to joining New Line in 1997, she was executive vice president of worldwide publicity for Paramount Pictures, where she orchestrated publicity campaigns for the Best Picture winners “Forrest Gump” and “Braveheart.
Cheryl Boone Isaacs was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (August 5) by the organization’s Board of Governors.
Boone Isaacs is beginning her second term as president and her 22nd year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch.
Boone Isaacs currently heads Cbi Enterprises, Inc., where she has consulted on marketing efforts on such films as “The Call,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Tupac: Resurrection.” Boone Isaacs previously served as president of theatrical marketing for New Line Cinema, where she oversaw numerous box office successes, including “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Rush Hour.”
Prior to joining New Line in 1997, she was executive vice president of worldwide publicity for Paramount Pictures, where she orchestrated publicity campaigns for the Best Picture winners “Forrest Gump” and “Braveheart.
- 8/6/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The Academy has announced the new class of invited members for 2014 and, as is typical, many of which are among last year's nominees, which includes Barkhad Abdi, Michael Fassbender, Sally Hawkins, Mads Mikkelsen, Lupita Nyong'o and June Squibb in the Actors branch not to mention curious additions such as Josh Hutcherson, Rob Riggle and Jason Statham, but, okay. The Directors branch adds Jay and Mark Duplass along with Jean-Marc Vallee, Denis Villeneuve and Thomas Vinterberg. I didn't do an immediate tally of male to female additions or other demographics, but at first glance it seems to be a wide spread batch of new additions on all fronts. The Academy is also clearly attempting to aggressively bump up the demographics as this is the second year in a row where they have added a large number of new members, well over the average of 133 new members from 2004 to 2012. As far as...
- 6/26/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 271 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures.
Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2014.
“This year’s class of invitees represents some of the most talented, creative and passionate filmmakers working in our industry today,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “Their contributions to film have entertained audiences around the world, and we are proud to welcome them to the Academy.”
The 2014 invitees are:
Actors
Barkhad Abdi – “Captain Phillips”
Clancy Brown – “The Hurricane,” “The Shawshank Redeption”
Paul Dano – “12 Years a Slave,” “Prisoners”
Michael Fassbender – “12 Years a Slave,” “Shame”
Ben Foster – “Lone Survivor,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”
Beth Grant – “The Artist,” “No Country for Old Men”
Clark Gregg – “Much Ado about Nothing,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”
Sally Hawkins – “Blue Jasmine,...
Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2014.
“This year’s class of invitees represents some of the most talented, creative and passionate filmmakers working in our industry today,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “Their contributions to film have entertained audiences around the world, and we are proud to welcome them to the Academy.”
The 2014 invitees are:
Actors
Barkhad Abdi – “Captain Phillips”
Clancy Brown – “The Hurricane,” “The Shawshank Redeption”
Paul Dano – “12 Years a Slave,” “Prisoners”
Michael Fassbender – “12 Years a Slave,” “Shame”
Ben Foster – “Lone Survivor,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”
Beth Grant – “The Artist,” “No Country for Old Men”
Clark Gregg – “Much Ado about Nothing,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”
Sally Hawkins – “Blue Jasmine,...
- 6/26/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o of 12 Years a Slave were two of the 271 artists and industry leaders invited to become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which determines nominations and winners at the annual Oscars. The entire list of Academy membership—which numbers about 6,000—isn’t public information so the annual invitation list is often the best indication of the artists involved in the prestigious awards process. It’s worth noting that invitations need to be accepted in order for artists to become members; some artists, like two-time Best Actor winner Sean Penn, have declined membership over the years.
- 6/26/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
Pop quiz: What do Chris Rock, Claire Denis, Eddie Vedder and Josh Hutcherson all have in common? Answer: They could all be Oscar voters very soon. The annual Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences invitation list always makes for interesting reading, shedding light on just how large and far-reaching the group's membership is -- or could be, depending on who accepts their invitations. This year, 271 individuals have been asked to join AMPAS, meaning every one of them could contribute to next year's Academy Awards balloting -- and it's as diverse a list as they've ever assembled. Think the Academy consists entirely of fusty retired white dudes? Not if recent Best Original Song nominee Pharrell Williams takes them up on their offer. Think it's all just a Hollywood insiders' game? Not if French arthouse titans Chantal Akerman and Olivier Assayas join the party. It's a list that subverts expectation at every turn.
- 6/26/2014
- by Guy Lodge
- Hitfix
Showtime will give viewers a look inside the daily struggles of a group of Southern lesbians in the feature documentary, L Word Mississippi: Hate The Sin, which will premiere on the network on Friday, August 8th at 9 Pm Et/Pt. The 90-minute film, executive produced by filmmaker Ilene Chaiken (The L Word, The Real L Word) and the award-winning Magical Elves directing and production team of Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, spotlights the unique challenges of being lesbians in between the "coasts" in the religious, conservative deep South. Directed by Oscar and Emmy nominee Lauren Lazin (Tupac: Resurrection), the documentary will make its world premiere on Wednesday, August 6th...
- 5/28/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Glenn here with the first of three pieces looking at this year’s 15 finalists for Best Documentary. Watch along with us!
Prior to the announcement of the shortlist, I had seen roughly 30 of the 151 contenders. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have managed to catch up with all 15 of the shortlisted titles, which will be the first time that has ever happened. As Team Experience's apparent resident doc expert, I am determined to do it, although I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that I couldn't catch even more of the longlist. 151 is a lot even for me.
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
Synopsis: Filmed over the course of 6 months, this documentary tells the incredible story of three young moments of Pussy Riot, a Russian activist punk band out to disrupt the status quo and bring attention to their homeland's injustices by the hand of Vladimir Putin.
Prior to the announcement of the shortlist, I had seen roughly 30 of the 151 contenders. Hopefully by the end of the week I will have managed to catch up with all 15 of the shortlisted titles, which will be the first time that has ever happened. As Team Experience's apparent resident doc expert, I am determined to do it, although I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that I couldn't catch even more of the longlist. 151 is a lot even for me.
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
Synopsis: Filmed over the course of 6 months, this documentary tells the incredible story of three young moments of Pussy Riot, a Russian activist punk band out to disrupt the status quo and bring attention to their homeland's injustices by the hand of Vladimir Putin.
- 12/12/2013
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Cheryl Boone Isaacs was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (July 30) by the organization’s Board of Governors. Boone Isaacs, who is beginning her 21st year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch, served as Academy first vice president during the past year. She also produced the 2012 Governors Awards. Boone Isaacs succeeds Hawk Koch, who served a one-year term as president. In addition, John Lasseter was elected first vice president; Jeffrey Kurland and Leonard Engelman were elected to vice president posts; Dick Cook was elected treasurer; and Phil Robinson was elected secretary. These will be the first officer stints for Engelman, Kurland and Cook. Lasseter previously served one-year terms as treasurer (2011-2012) and secretary (2009-2010). Robinson served as vice president during the past year, his fourth consecutive term in that office (2009-2013). Boone Isaacs currently heads Cbi Enterprises, Inc., where she has...
- 7/31/2013
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
Cheryl Boone Isaacs was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (July 30) by the organization’s Board of Governors.
Boone Isaacs, who is beginning her 21st year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch, served as Academy first vice president during the past year. She also produced the 2012 Governors Awards.
Boone Isaacs is the first African-American and third woman to be AMPAS President and succeeds Hawk Koch, who served a one-year term.
The other two women who previously headed up the Academy were American screenwriter, playwright and producer Fay Kanin from 1979 to 1983 as well as actress Bette Davis in 1941. She resigned after two months.
Boone Isaacs currently heads Cbi Enterprises, Inc., where she has consulted on such films as “The Call,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Tupac: Resurrection.”Boone Isaacs...
Boone Isaacs, who is beginning her 21st year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch, served as Academy first vice president during the past year. She also produced the 2012 Governors Awards.
Boone Isaacs is the first African-American and third woman to be AMPAS President and succeeds Hawk Koch, who served a one-year term.
The other two women who previously headed up the Academy were American screenwriter, playwright and producer Fay Kanin from 1979 to 1983 as well as actress Bette Davis in 1941. She resigned after two months.
Boone Isaacs currently heads Cbi Enterprises, Inc., where she has consulted on such films as “The Call,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Tupac: Resurrection.”Boone Isaacs...
- 7/31/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Tuesday night the newly elected board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences voted for a new president to replace outgoing Hawk Koch, who had come to the end of his one-year term. The race was between two members of the Academy Public Relations Branch, Lionsgate motion picture chief Rob Friedman, who has a demanding full-time job, and Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a former Paramount and Lionsgate marketing and publicity executive whose firm Cbi Enterprises, Inc. consults on such film campaigns as “The Call,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Tupac: Resurrection.” Boone Isaacs, who is beginning her 21st year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch, served as Academy first vice president during the past year. She also produced the 2012 Governors Awards. In addition, Disney/Pixar animation czar John Lasseter was elected first vice president,...
- 7/31/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
While the 2013 Sundance Film Festival is in full swing this weekend, we thought it would be fun to look back a decade and remember the best films of the 2003 event. The award winners that year include American Splendor, Capturing the Friedmans, All the Real Girls, My Flesh and Blood, The Station Agent, Stevie, Thirteen, A Certain Death and Whale Rider. And other major movies premiering at the fest include The Cooler, The Shape of Things, Tupac: Resurrection, Pieces of April, The Weather Underground, Northfork and the Bob Dylan disaster Masked and Anonymous. The U.S. also got its first look at 28 Days Later, In America, Bus 174, Bend It Like Beckham, Laurel Canyon, The Secret Lives of Dentists and Irreversible. To commemorate such a great Sundance (which spotlighted some filmmakers returning this year, like David Gordon Green and Michael Polish), we’re spotlighting some of our favorite scenes from some of the movies listed above. Not...
- 1/21/2013
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Some of you might remember my May 2011 post, revealing that the multi-talented Tupac Shakur wrote a screenplay - the only one he ever penned - while he was in jail for a weapons charge, written over an 11-month sentence at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., in 1995; and in that post, I mentioned that Preston Holmes and Ivan Juzang's NStar Studios (who collaborated with Shakur's mother to make the documentary Tupac: Resurrection), had acquired rights to the script, with plans to produce a film some time this year. Recapping... Titled, Live 2 Tell, the script was said to center on a...
- 11/21/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Just a mere 15 years after his death, Tupac Shakur’s screenplay is in development at NStar Studios. Written in 1995 while Shakur was serving prison time, Live 2 Tell depicts the life of a teenage drug baron as he tries to leave behind his life of crime. Tupac: Resurrection producer Preston Holmes has been trying to get the film made since prior to Shakur’s death; with the help of Hustle & Flow producer Dwight Williams and Shakur’s mother Afeni Shakur, it looks like the film will finally start production in early 2012. As for casting the lead in the Tupac Shakur movie, Holmes isn’t too concerned with casting any ol’ A-lister. “We think that the name we need is the name we have, which is Tupac Shakur,” he explains. Who do you think would the ideal casting pick for Tupac’s one and only screenplay?
[Photo: WENN]...
[Photo: WENN]...
- 5/6/2011
- by Halle Kiefer
- TheFabLife - Movies
The filming of the Tupac biopic has been dominant in regards to the most important posthumous release in recent years, but it might be taking the backseat now as a screenplay, titled Live 2 Tell, assumed to be written while Pac was in prison serving a sentence due to weapons charges, has been discovered and purchased.
So the report goes, NStar Studios purchased the excavated screenplay for $11 million, and is set put it into production next year. Studio co-head Preston Holmes, who worked with Pac's mother Afeni Shakur on the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, is set to co-produce the screenplay with Hustle and Flow producer Dwight Williams, while Shakur's mother will act as the executive producer.
read more...
So the report goes, NStar Studios purchased the excavated screenplay for $11 million, and is set put it into production next year. Studio co-head Preston Holmes, who worked with Pac's mother Afeni Shakur on the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, is set to co-produce the screenplay with Hustle and Flow producer Dwight Williams, while Shakur's mother will act as the executive producer.
read more...
- 5/6/2011
- by JT Langley
- Filmology
'Live 2 Tell' is story of teenage drug dealer struggling to leave life of crime.
By Gil Kaufman
Tupac Shakur
Photo: Steve Granitz/ Wireimage
During his short life, rapper Tupac Shakur was a notorious double threat, producing platinum albums and singles and earning notices for his acting in films such as "Juice" and "Poetic Justice."
But the thug life Mc, who studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet while performing in Shakespearean plays at the Baltimore School for the Arts as a teenager, not only acted in plays and movies, he also apparently wrote them.
And now the rights to the only full screenplay Shakur wrote while he was in jail, "Live 2 Tell," have been acquired by a production company that plans to start filming the movie next year, according to Variety.
One of the producers is Preston Holmes, who collaborated with Shakur's mother, Afeni, on the 2003 documentary...
By Gil Kaufman
Tupac Shakur
Photo: Steve Granitz/ Wireimage
During his short life, rapper Tupac Shakur was a notorious double threat, producing platinum albums and singles and earning notices for his acting in films such as "Juice" and "Poetic Justice."
But the thug life Mc, who studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet while performing in Shakespearean plays at the Baltimore School for the Arts as a teenager, not only acted in plays and movies, he also apparently wrote them.
And now the rights to the only full screenplay Shakur wrote while he was in jail, "Live 2 Tell," have been acquired by a production company that plans to start filming the movie next year, according to Variety.
One of the producers is Preston Holmes, who collaborated with Shakur's mother, Afeni, on the 2003 documentary...
- 5/6/2011
- MTV Movie News
'Live 2 Tell' is story of teenage drug dealer struggling to leave life of crime.
By Gil Kaufman
Tupac Shakur
Photo: Steve Granitz/ Wireimage
During his short life, rapper Tupac Shakur was a notorious double threat, producing platinum albums and singles and earning notices for his acting in films such as "Juice" and "Poetic Justice."
But the thug life Mc, who studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet while performing in Shakespearean plays at the Baltimore School for the Arts as a teenager, not only acted in plays and movies, he also apparently wrote them.
And now the rights to the only full screenplay Shakur wrote while he was in jail, "Live 2 Tell," have been acquired by a production company that plans to start filming the movie next year, according to Variety.
One of the producers is Preston Holmes, who collaborated with Shakur's mother, Afeni, on the 2003 documentary...
By Gil Kaufman
Tupac Shakur
Photo: Steve Granitz/ Wireimage
During his short life, rapper Tupac Shakur was a notorious double threat, producing platinum albums and singles and earning notices for his acting in films such as "Juice" and "Poetic Justice."
But the thug life Mc, who studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet while performing in Shakespearean plays at the Baltimore School for the Arts as a teenager, not only acted in plays and movies, he also apparently wrote them.
And now the rights to the only full screenplay Shakur wrote while he was in jail, "Live 2 Tell," have been acquired by a production company that plans to start filming the movie next year, according to Variety.
One of the producers is Preston Holmes, who collaborated with Shakur's mother, Afeni, on the 2003 documentary...
- 5/6/2011
- MTV Music News
Apparently the late rapper Tupac Shakur wrote a screenplay, called "Live 2 Tell," while spending eleven months in jail on weapons charges. That screenplay has now been acquired by Preston Holmes and Ivan Juzang's NStar Studios. "Live 2 Tell" revolves around a teenage drug lord and his efforts to leave a life of crime. The production company is planning to begin shooting the film early next year. "This kid was a genius and he was from this community. He knew the struggles these young people were dealing with," said Juzang. "And he's able to talk to young people in 2011, 2012, the same way he was able to talk to young people in 1995." Holmes previously collaborated with Shakur's mother to make the "Tupac: Resurrection" documentary.
- 5/6/2011
- WorstPreviews.com
Before his life was taken by bullets, Tupac Shakur spent some time behind bars which he made use to write a screenplay. "Live 2 Tell" rights have been acquired by Preston Holmes and Ivan Juzang-owned NStar Studios for a production in the first quarter of 2012.
The rapper's only screenplay follows the story of a teenage drug lord and his efforts to leave a life of crime. Shakur at that point of life was serving time for weapon possession charges. He was sentenced to 11 months at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.
"This kid was a genius, and the net of it is, he was from this community, he knew the struggles these young people were dealing with," Juzang told Variety. "And he's able to talk to young people in 2011, 2012, the same ways he was able to talk to young people 1995."
Holmes first approached Shakur for a possible pick-up...
The rapper's only screenplay follows the story of a teenage drug lord and his efforts to leave a life of crime. Shakur at that point of life was serving time for weapon possession charges. He was sentenced to 11 months at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y.
"This kid was a genius, and the net of it is, he was from this community, he knew the struggles these young people were dealing with," Juzang told Variety. "And he's able to talk to young people in 2011, 2012, the same ways he was able to talk to young people 1995."
Holmes first approached Shakur for a possible pick-up...
- 5/6/2011
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
The world has come down with a serious case of Bieber Fever… and with Justin Bieber: Never Say Never out in theaters tomorrow, we figured that this would be the perfect time to talk about some of our favorite Music/Band documentaries. There are so many that a couple have certainly been left out… but that just gives you something to discuss at the end!
Honorable Mention: The Fearless Freaks
If you have ever been to a The Flaming Lips concert, you know the kind of crazy, high energy show that these guys put on. In The Fearless Freaks viewers get to see the makings and evolution of this band from Oklahoma. It is an honest, genuine film that delves much deeper than just showing a band playing a show.
10. The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
The popularity of big hair rock music was at its...
Honorable Mention: The Fearless Freaks
If you have ever been to a The Flaming Lips concert, you know the kind of crazy, high energy show that these guys put on. In The Fearless Freaks viewers get to see the makings and evolution of this band from Oklahoma. It is an honest, genuine film that delves much deeper than just showing a band playing a show.
10. The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
The popularity of big hair rock music was at its...
- 2/11/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The rappers' likenesses will hang out in the same room at Madame Tussauds wax museum in Washington, D.C.
By Mawuse Ziegbe
The Notorious B.I.G. wax figure
Photo: Madame Tussauds
Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. didn't have many chances to work together before they were both killed at the heights of their fame and in the midst of a feud.
But now the hip-hop icons will reunite posthumously — in wax. Wax emporium Madame Tussauds has brought the figures of 'Pac and Notorious B.I.G. together for the first time on what would have been Tupac's 39th birthday, Wednesday (June 16), at its Washington, D.C., gallery. The figures will stand near each other for three months.
Tupac's figure is on loan from Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas, and Biggie's statue, like the actual hip-hop icon, comes from New York. Visitors to the D.C. museum will have the chance to snap...
By Mawuse Ziegbe
The Notorious B.I.G. wax figure
Photo: Madame Tussauds
Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. didn't have many chances to work together before they were both killed at the heights of their fame and in the midst of a feud.
But now the hip-hop icons will reunite posthumously — in wax. Wax emporium Madame Tussauds has brought the figures of 'Pac and Notorious B.I.G. together for the first time on what would have been Tupac's 39th birthday, Wednesday (June 16), at its Washington, D.C., gallery. The figures will stand near each other for three months.
Tupac's figure is on loan from Madame Tussauds in Las Vegas, and Biggie's statue, like the actual hip-hop icon, comes from New York. Visitors to the D.C. museum will have the chance to snap...
- 6/16/2010
- MTV Music News
Director Antoine Fuqua is planning to direct a biopic about former legendary rapper Tupac Shakur.
We could call that a pretty awesome idea, because it’s well known thing that Tupac’s life definitely deserves a big screen adaptation. After all, we all had a chance to see that even a documentary of Shakur’s life, 2003’s Tupac: Resurrection, was nominated for an Oscar.
So, at this moment we have an info that the upcoming Fuqua’s project will be produced by Morgan Creek Productions and is expected to start shooting in September.
It all started when director said: “We’re doing Tupac Shakur’s movie next in September, that’s what I’ve been starting up and working on now with Morgan Creek and Jim Robinson. I just got the green light from him and we’re going in September. I’ve just started to prep that.”
When it...
We could call that a pretty awesome idea, because it’s well known thing that Tupac’s life definitely deserves a big screen adaptation. After all, we all had a chance to see that even a documentary of Shakur’s life, 2003’s Tupac: Resurrection, was nominated for an Oscar.
So, at this moment we have an info that the upcoming Fuqua’s project will be produced by Morgan Creek Productions and is expected to start shooting in September.
It all started when director said: “We’re doing Tupac Shakur’s movie next in September, that’s what I’ve been starting up and working on now with Morgan Creek and Jim Robinson. I just got the green light from him and we’re going in September. I’ve just started to prep that.”
When it...
- 6/3/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
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