Actor Jamal Woolard stars as rap icon Notorious B.I.G. and actor Derek Luke portrays rapper and entrepreneur Sean “Puffy” Combs in the movie Notorious. (Photo courtesy of FOX Searchlight Pictures)
By Marcus A. Williams
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
(January 6, 2009) - His fans knew Notorious B.I.G, the fire-spitting, ruthless rapper. His mother knew Christopher, the boy. His close-knit circle of friends knew Biggie Smalls, the fierce protector and women knew him as simply Biggie, the charming player. But finally, everyone will get to know Christopher Wallace, the man.
Thanks to film director, George Tillman Jr., mother, Voletta Wallace and a host of supportive friends and family members, the world will get a glimpse at the different sides of rapper Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace.
Notorious charts the rapper’s remarkable rise from the drug-infested streets of Brooklyn to the glitz and glam of the music industry. And despite avoiding the slew of conspiracy theories surrounding his death, the movie shows the vulnerable and innocent side of someone that many saw as a hardcore street rapper.
“The movie is called Notorious. If everything else were fleshed out it would have taken away from Biggie. The good thing about making movies is that you are making a compilation of the ‘hot points’ of a person, kind of like the best of Notorious B.I.G.,’” says actor Anthony Mackie, who portrays rap icon Tupac in the movie. “So, being as though the movie is about Notorious you have to allow Biggie to shine and let everyone see all the different sides of him.”
From the first day of pre-production it was clear that finding someone to portray such a layered person would be an arduous task.
But after thousands of auditions, newcomer Jamal Woolard arrived at an audition in Brooklyn as Biggie reincarnated.
“I was messed-up when I first saw the finished product. I went through ‘Biggie boot camp’ with an acting coach who really believed in me and just pushed me to tap into my inner emotions and bring them out as an actor,” says Woolard. “She made sure I stayed in character at all times so I could really become Biggie.”
Notorious is not only about how well Woolard plays Biggie Smalls or the hush-hush relationship with female rap protégée Lil’ Kim, nor the scenes of the plus-sized rapper and Sean “Puffy” Combs launching their careers in Washington, D.C.
The part of Notorious’ life most of the world is hungry to know more about is his rift with Tupac and the now infamous East Coast-West Coast rivalry.
“George (the director) touched on it but it didn’t harp on it. The interviews he inserted into the movie really did a good job of showing how the public was being fed lies from the media to create news,” says Mackie. “As a matter of fact, there was a time when Tupac went up to Biggie and told him, ‘I don’t have no beef, I’m just trying to sell records, so we cool.’”
However, the lyrics to songs like “Who Shot Ya?” by Biggie and “Hit ‘Em Up” by Tupac makes it difficult for the public to believe that the rappers had nothing to do with the media-driven “East Coast –West Coast beef.”
“I don’t think the tragedies that happened during their era or the ones that are still happening have nothing to do with hip hop. I think it has everything to do with stupidity, illiteracy, just human beings not being human,” says the rapper’s mother and producer of the film Voletta Wallace. “All of these killings are not hip-hop killings, it’s brother killing brother, mother abusing her kids, husbands slapping their wives – nothing to do with hip hop.”
Notorious turns Biggie’s life into an open book and shows his hunger for success which was not driven by money, women or fame, but rather by love of family, friends and hip hop.
“This movie is for every body. We all can relate to prosperity, everybody can relate to hope and love,” says Mackie. “The reason why the song ‘Juicy’ was such a hit is because of the first line ‘It was all a dream.’ We all have dreamed of things but none of us knew if they were really going to come true. That’s what everyone will be able to relate to––that dream.”
The remainder of the ensemble includes; Derek Luke as rapper/entrepreneur Sean “Puffy” Combs, Angela Bassett as mother Voletta Wallace, Antonique Smith as singer Faith Evans and Naturi Naughton as rapper Lil’ Kim.
‘Notorious’ hits theaters nationwide on Jan. 16.
No comments:
Post a Comment