IFWT_John_Singleton_Tupac_Biopic

John Singleton wants the real Tupac fans to know that he’s pulling out of the Tupac biopic, and it’s for a good cause. It has everything to do with the person the Tupac Amaru Shakur was, and obviously the people involved are not portraying him in the way he lived. “Tupac was much more than a hip hop artist … He was a black man guided by his passions,” Singleton mentioned in his paragraph-length Instagram caption. He adds, “Of most importance was his love of black people and culture,” which is a major fact to point out in the days of the #BlackLivesMatter campaigning.

Singleton plans to still do a Tupac movie, but better. Right now, Carl Franklin [Out of Time, Homeland, House of Cards] will be taking his place.


JaaiR (JR)
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Real talk! The reason I am not making this picture is because the people involved aren’t really respectful of the legacy of Tupac Amaru Shakur. I won’t say much if you want you can read my articles in Hollywood Reporter on authenticity in Black Storytelling … To Pac’s real fans just know I am still planning a movie on Tupac … It doesn’t matter what they do mines will be better… Tupac was much more than a hip hop artist … He was a black man guided by his passions … Of most importance was his love of black people and culture … Something the people involved in this movie know nothing about… Real talk! How you gonna make a movie about a man when you suing his mother to get the rights to tell his story?! They have no true love 4 Pac so this movie will not be made with love! And that’s why my ass isn’t involved ! If Tupac knew what was going on he’d ride on all these fools and take it to the streets… But I won’t do that … I’ll just make my own project. What Yall think about that?!!

The director’s reasoning for backing out of the biographical film is because the studios are not allowing enough black people to tell stories. “[Studio executives say] ‘We’re going to take your stories but, you know what? You’re going to go starve over here and we’re not going to let you get a job.’,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter.

“You’ve got a lot of black executives at the studio who are afraid to give their opinion about what black culture is,” Singleton maintained. “There’s a whole lot of black people who work in studios that don’t need to be there, because they won’t — if I give them the best thing possible, they’re scared to give it to somebody [higher up], because they’d be like, ‘Woah!’ “

[via]