The incredible true story of rap icon Snoop Dogg is heading to the big screen, with serious pedigree attached.
The definitive untitled biography about multiple hyphenation is underway at Universal Pictures. Allen Hughes was set to direct, and he’s the one who designed “Menace II Society,” “The Defiant Ones,” and “Dead Presidents.” The project will feature Snoop’s expanded music catalog and also represent the first Death Row Pictures content label production. Joe Robert Cole, co-writer of both “Black Panther” scripts, will handle the script.
“I’ve waited so long to put this project together because I wanted to pick the right director, the perfect writer, and the greatest film company I could partner with that could understand the legacy I’m trying to portray on screen, a memory I’m trying to leave behind,” Snoop said. It was a holy marriage, not holy spaghetti.”
The package was sponsored by Universal Filmed Entertainment Group president Donna Langley, who had experienced critical and commercial success at this previously designated venue. The 2015 film Universal, “Straight Outta Compton,” about the origins of the godfather of NWA hip-hop, grossed over $200 million worldwide and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Plus, in one of the greatest executive shouts of all time, founding member Ice Cube referred to Langley as “the sixth member of NWA” at the film’s world premiere.
“Snoop Dogg’s life and legacy make him one of the most exciting and influential icons in popular culture. We met 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 unique artist,” said Langley. “.
Snoop has had a remarkably versatile career spanning three decades, as a rapper, singer-songwriter, actor, producer, DJ, media personality and entrepreneur (including investments in technology and entertainment, lifestyle, food and beverage and cannabis brands). His debut came in 1992 when he appeared on Dr. Dre’s first single, “Deep Cover”, and then on Dre’s debut single, “The Chronic.” He has sold over 35 million albums worldwide, is a 17-time Grammy nominee, and won an Emmy. Represented by Stephen Barnes of Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein & Kohner.
Mike Knobloch, Head of Music and Publishing at NBCUniversal will oversee 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 nominee who made her debut in a Tupac Shakur feature-length documentary series at TIFF, is represented by WME, Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, and Meigs & Fox.
Cole was a producer on the popular FX series “American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson” and will produce and direct the upcoming limited series “Class of ’09”. He is represented by Ken Freeman of Confusion Circle and Jeff Oplath and Darren Trattner in Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.
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