“All Eyez on Me” director Benny Boom will helm the LAPD thriller “The Shave,” written by Thomas White and Miles Hubley, Route One Entertainment CEO Russell Levine and Lost City President John Finemore announced Monday.
The Blacklist script tells the story of an LAPD officer who was recently exonerated in the murder of a high school honor student. He visits the boy’s father at his barbershop and while receiving a straight razor shave, he listens to the father recount the story of his son’s life.
Levine and Finemore are producing alongside Maiden Voyage’s Chris Columbus and Eleanor Columbus and Mason Novick, and Michelle Knudsenfrom MXN Entertainment. Chris Lytton is executive producing with Lost City’s James Hoppe and Elizabeth Grave. Sophia Dilley will co-produce for Route One.
“I look forward to working with Lost City, Route One and Maiden Voyage in bringing a film with such social and cultural relevancy to life. It is an opportunity for us to examine the division between the Police and communities of color,” Boom said in a statement.
“This project is a smart and edgy thriller that speaks to the big issues of the day. We have a great team of producers led by Chris Columbus and we’re proud to bring Benny on board to fulfill the vision,” Levine added.
“All Eyez on Me” opened Friday and grossed $27 million in its opening weekend. It stars Demetrius Shipp, Jr. as the iconic rapper Tupac Shakur. Danai Gurira, Lauren Cohan, Jamie Hector, Jamal Woolard and Dominic L. Santana also feature in the biopic.
Route One Entertainment and Maiden Voyage previously partnered on the 2016 Sundance film”Tallulah,” which starred Ellen Page and Allison Janney, and was acquired by Netflix.
Boom is represented by Principato-Young Entertainment and Bryan Diperstein at ICM. White and Hubley are represented by WME, MXN and attorney Jeffrey Frankel.
12 Music Biopics We'd Like to See, From Amy Winehouse to Prince (Photos)
Tupac died more than 20 years ago, and he's only now getting a proper biopic, “All Eyez on Me,” opening this weekend. That's almost way too long, but Pac's isn't the music history story that still needs to be told. Here are 12 other musical biopics we're dying to see.
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Amy Winehouse Noomi Rapace was in talks to star in a biopic back in 2015 but no film materialized. Winehouse's tragic decline from universally acclaimed young star to gone-too-soon drug addict was captured in the documentary "Amy."
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Janis Joplin This is the white whale of music biopics -- there's even a “30 Rock”gag about how impossible it’s been to get this made. Amy Adams, Michelle Williams, Pink, Zooey Deschanel and more have been interested, but so far no film has been made.
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The Beatles Yes, we know there are many movies about the most famous band in history. But Mike Ryan over at Uproxx had a cool idea we second: turn The Beatles into a shared universe, with films for each member during different eras, from Beatlemania to Sgt. Peppers.
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Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis Less interesting than the band's enormous success is the fact that its two principle figures - brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher - hate each other's guts. Their animosity broke up the band and Liam regularly trolls Noel on Twitter. Tell that story.
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Kurt Cobain More than 20 years after his death, the Nirvana frontman remains misunderstood, and a biopic in the vein of the Joy Division movie “Control” would show equal parts of Cobain’s humor, talent and depression.
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Bob Marley
Somehow, the cultural icon who helped define reggae music and whose face adorns countless dorm room walls has never received a biopic. That needs to change.
Carole King This is already happening - it's called “Beautiful,” based on the recent stage adaptation of the singer/songwriter’s life. But the film still needs a star. We know Sara Bareilles is a fan.
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Chris Cornell
In the wake of the Soundgarden frontman’s sudden suicide, a look back on his career, and impact on the 1980s-90s Seattle music scene that changed the world, is sorely needed.
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Chuck Berry Many artists he directly-influenced have gotten biopics, but not the legend himself, who died in March. His artistic legacy as well as his thorny personal history are stories in dire need of telling.
The Replacements The Minneapolis band were an important part of the history of American alternative rock. Their music and tempestuous lifestyle -- they were banned from SNL after performing drunk -- makes for perfect garage rock drama.
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The Strokes The Strokes came out of nowhere in 2001 and were immediately hailed as the saviors of rock and roll. That claim didn't pan out, but the band's huge success in what amounts to the tail end of Rock's dominance in pop culture is a story worth telling.
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Prince and Michael Jackson The legendary musicians lived almost cinematic lives, but their 1980s artistic and pop-charts rivalry deserves a biopic of its own. It would have to include an almost too-good-to-be-true moments like their 1983 on-stage “duel” in front of James Brown and a not-so-friendly game of ping-pong.
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”All Eyez On Me“ documents the career of Tupac Shakur. What other musicians should get their own films?
Tupac died more than 20 years ago, and he's only now getting a proper biopic, “All Eyez on Me,” opening this weekend. That's almost way too long, but Pac's isn't the music history story that still needs to be told. Here are 12 other musical biopics we're dying to see.