The Tupac biopic will not be made with love, it will not show respect to Tupac’s family and it will not be directed by John Singleton, according to an Instagram post shared by the Boyz n the Hood director.
Singleton took to social media to announce his departure from the Tupac Shakur biopic after he insisted that the producers were showing no respect to the iconic rapper, his legacy or his surviving family.
“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,” his Instagram message read. “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.”
The message was displayed under a screenshot of an article confirming that Carl Franklin will replace Singleton as the biopic’s director.
According to Singleton, however, the movie is guaranteed to be a flop to anyone who truly respects Shakur.
“Tupac was much more than a hip hop artist…He was a black man guided by his passions…of most important his love of black people and culture…something the people involved in this movie know nothing about,” Singleton continued.
That’s when Singleton made another charge at the filmmakers.
“How you gonna make a movie about a man when you suing his mother to get the rights to tell his story,” he added. “They have no true love 4 Pac so this movie will not be made with love!”
Singleton is backing out of this project but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still plan on touting a Tupic biopic at some point.
Singleton hinted that he will be making his own movie about Tupac that will actually honor the legacy he left behind.
Based on the comments, fans are happy to hear Singleton is taking a stand against the alleged disrespect from producers and insist that a film not made with love and respect will be just as bad as Lifetime’s Aaliyah biopic that was torn apart by viewers.
“Thank you!!! Somebody that actually respects an artist work and not trash it like Aaliyah biopic,” one user commented.
Another user added they had “much respect” for Singleton and “will get the word out” about his plans to create his own film.
Many users are also pushing him to take to Kickstarter to fund the project, assuring him that he will be able to get the backing he needs for the project in no time.
Of course, that’s a tall order considering movie budgets reach well in the multi-million dollar range. He may not be able to garner all the necessary funding through crowdsourcing but perhaps that type of momentum will encourage other big players in the media space to get involved with Singleton’s proposed Tupac biopic alternative.
Some would-be viewers have lost faith in the original project following Singleton’s post and departure and are now using their own social media platforms to call for a boycott of the film when it is released.
This marks the second time Singleton walked out on the film.
Back in 2012 he also decided to back out of the project and only came back because he planned to “rewrite, produce and direct” the biopic to make sure it actually lived up to expectations and honored the man that is still widely praised in pop culture today.
The directorial shakeup comes roughly four months before shooting is scheduled to begin with casting slated to be announced by September.