By now everyone knows that the life and tragic death of rapper Christopher Wallace a.k.a. Biggie Smalls will soon be seen on the big screen in the motion film Notorious starring Brooklyn emcee Jamal 'Gravy' Woolard as Biggie, Antonique Smith as Faith Evans, former 3LW member Naturi Naughton as Lil Kim, Derek Luke as Sean 'Puffy' Combs and the lovely Angela Bassett as Biggie's mother Voletta Wallace. Biggie's son, Christopher 'CJ' Wallace portrays a young version of his father in the film. CJ, 11-years-old says of the father who was shot down when he was just 6 months old, "I'm gonna hold it down for my Dad." To celebrate Biggie's legacy and hip-hop's first real biopic, Vibe magazine has provided an exclusive first look at the cast in their respective roles. Above you'll see a re-creation of Biggie and Faith Evan's infamous 1995 Vibe cover featuring Woolard and Smith.
Smith, who bears a strong resemblance to Faith says she credits the singer with helping keeping her performance Faithful in every way. "We were able to talk about each scene in the movie and what was going on in her mind. I really wanted her to be happy, and she just wanted to be portrayed honestly. I think I did that." Of Jamal's portrayal as Biggie, the final casting decision was made by Mrs. Wallace who said, "It was Jamal's charming personality, warm spirit, wonderful sense of humor and beautiful smile that won my heart." And I think we may be surprised by Naturi's role as Lil Kim in the film. Judging from the pictures below, she's got Kim's nasty-ass stance down pat, don't she?! LOL! This will be Naturi's film debut and the singer says, "I think I did it justice." Former Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil Cease, whose a consultant for the film and also makes a surprise cameo says he was blown away by Naturi's acting skills. "Since the first day I rehearsed with her, Naturi knocked that shit out from day one. She's a star in her own way, and you gotta respect that."
The production will move to Los Angeles to film the scenes which will depict on scree, Biggie's final days. Notorious is scheduled to hit theaters in January 2009.
TO SEE MORE PICS OF NATURI AS LIL KIM CLICK 'READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!'
READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!
The roles of the three top chicks who played love interests in the late Notorious B.I.G.'s personal life have been casted in Notorius,
According to AOL Blackvoices, Smith will be playing Faith, Naughton will portray Lil' Kim, and Julia Pace Mitchell has been cast to play Jan. Smith is best known to New Yorkers who may have seen her play Mimi in Jonathan Larson's Broadway production of Rent. Naughton is a former member of the music group 3LW who later appeared in the Broadway musical Hairspray. Mitchell has also done theater in different parts of the country. Both Smith and Naughton come from East Orange, New Jersey.
It's official. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Biggie is coming to the big screen. Fox Searchlight has hired Jamal 'Gravy" Woolard, a Brooklyn-based rapper, to play late rap icon Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G., in its upcoming biopic Notorious. Derek Luke, Angela Bassett and Anthony Mackie also have been cast in the movie, the art-house studio said. Directed by George Tillman Jr. (Soul Food), it goes into production this month and is expected to hit theaters on January 16 2009. Luke (will play Biggie record producer Sean "Diddy" Combs, who off-screen is an executive producer on the film. Mackie will play rival rapper Tupac Shakur, while Bassett will play Biggie's mother Voletta Wallace. The production held an open casting call last fall in the hope of finding the next Notorious B.I.G., ne Christopher Wallace, the generously built East Coast rapper who was killed in an unsolved Los Angeles drive-by in 1997.
The idea, executives said, was that as with casting for sports movies like "Miracle," the production would be better served with a non-actor who can rap and imitate Biggie than with a pro actor who might need to be taught how to rap. More than 100 Biggie wannabes, many of them non-pros and all with the requisite size, turned out to show off their rapping and impersonation skills. Woolard, who also is known as Gravy, is not a total unknown. He has released a number of albums, though he's perhaps best known for being shot before a radio appearance outside the New York hip-hop station Hot 97 two years ago, after which he proceeded with the interview and became a part of hip-hop lore. Like Biggie, Woolard was a drug dealer before he became a rapper. He had released a number of albums on indie labels in the 1990s before being signed by Warner Bros.
If you search Real Gossip 101's archives, you will see several blog posts related to the upcoming release of Tyler Perry's film adaptation of his successful stageplay, Meet the Browns. And this post is no exception. Due for release on March 21, 2008, Meet the Browns is described as 'a funny, moving romantic drama about the power of love and family and the possibility of second chances.' The film also features a return to the big screen by Madea, the indomitable, law-breaking, fun-loving grandma (peep Madea and Uncle Joe in the Set If Off-esque stills below!). The film stars Angela Bassett, Rick Fox, David Mann, Tamela Mann, Jenifer Lewis, Lamman Rucker (Why Did I Get Married?)(CLICK HERE to read more news on LAMMAN RUCKER ON BLACKCELEBRITYMEN.BLOGSPOT.COM!), Lance Gross (Tyler Perry's House of Payne), Margaret Avery (The Color Purple, Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins), Irma P. Hall (Soul Food) and Tyler Perry as 'Madea' and 'Uncle Joe.' To read the film's full synopsis, CLICK HERE.
