Writers hired for Tupac Biopic

A biography on the late rapper, Tupac Shakur has been in the works for a while now. While nothing has been heard recently, progress is now being made on the film. Vulture reports that Oscar-nominated writers Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson (Nixon) have been hired to pen the script for the biopic.

Both Rivele and Wilkinson have been known to adapt true stories to film, but this film “is not in any way biopic-y,” according to Wilkinson. A draft was written by Steven Bagatourian as a documentary, and just laid out facts about the late rapper. This new script is said to focus on the last day of Shakur’s life, and the last four years leading up to that day.

Rivele admits to not knowing anything about Shakur, but has come to understand his work after doing research.  “It became clear that he was essentially a 19th century Romantic poet who found himself in the 21st century,” Rivele said. Tupac’s murder remains a mystery to this day and the writer’s goal won’t be to show who killed him, but why they did. Director Antoine Fuqua is wanting to cast an unknown actor in the lead role. Filming is expected to begin mid-November.