The incredible true story of rap icon Snoop Dogg is headed to the big screen, with serious pedigree attached.
An untitled, definitive biopic about the multi-hyphenate is underway at Universal Pictures. Set to direct is Allen Hughes, who made the classic “Menace II Society,” “The Defiant Ones” and “Dead Presidents.” The project will feature Snoop’s expansive music catalogue and also mark the first production from his content label Death Row Pictures. Joe Robert Cole, co-writer of both “Black Panther” scripts, will handle the screenplay.
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“I waited a long time to put this project together because I wanted to choose the right director, the perfect writer and the greatest movie company I could partner with that could understand the legacy that I’m trying to portray on screen, and the memory I’m trying to leave behind,” Dogg said in a statement. “It was the perfect marriage. It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni.”
The package was shepherded by Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley, who has seen critical and commercial success in this exact space before. The 2015 Universal film “Straight Outta Compton,” about the origins of hip-hop godfathers N.W.A., grossed over $200 million worldwide and was nominated for a best original screenplay Oscar. Additionally, in one of the greatest executive shoutouts of all time, founding member Ice Cube referred to Langley as the “sixth member of N.W.A.” at the movie’s world premiere.
“Snoop Dogg’s life and legacy make him one of the most exciting and influential icons in popular culture. We met with Snoop shortly after he acquired Death Row Records and had the opportunity to hear his story in his own words. We are humbled to be able to create the lasting document of this singular artist,” said Langley.
Dogg has enjoyed a notably versatile career for three decades, as a a bonafide rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, producer, DJ, media personality and entrepreneur (including tech and entertainment investments, and lifestyle, food and beverage and cannabis brands). His debut came in 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre’s debut single, “Deep Cover”, and then on Dre’s landmark debut solo album, “The Chronic.” He has sold more than 35 million albums worldwide, is a 17-time Grammy nominee and an Emmy winner. He is represented by Stephen Barnes of Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein & Kohner.
Mike Knobloch, NBCUniversal’s president of music and publishing will supervise the project’s music. Universal’s senior vice president of production development Ryan Jones will oversee the film for the studio.
Hughes, an Emmy and Peabody award nominee who just debuted a lengthy Tupac Shakur docuseries at TIFF, is represented by WME and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.
Cole was a producer on the acclaimed FX series “American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson,” and will produce and direct on the forthcoming limited series “Class of ’09.” He is represented by Ken Freimann of Circle of Confusion, and Geoff Oblath and Darren Trattner at Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.
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