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We Gon’ Make It

Two years ago, the talented Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Tears of the Sun) was tapped to direct a biopic about the life and death of Christopher Wallace (a.k.a. the Notorious B.I.G.). Initially funded by Fox Searchlight Pictures (the Koch of the film industry), the movie was to be produced by Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, and his former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts. Recruited to write the screenplay was journalist Cheo Hodari Coker, author of the Biggie bio Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. Now it’s 2007, and the status of the untitled Biggie project is still unknown (and IMDB won’t give us a clue). Last summer, Ms. Wallace said the process of casting was under way, but we haven’t heard any news since. We here at XXL are looking forward to the Biggie movie and figured we would lend the movie’s creators a helping hand with casting and a title. Here’s what we envision.

Director: Hype Williams
Writing Credits: Cheo Hodari Coker
Genre: Biography / Drama / Music
Tagline: From Bed-Stuy to Benjamins, the life and times of Biggie Smalls…Vol. 1.
Plotline: Young Christopher Wallace goes from a Brooklyn street-corner hustler to one of hip-hop’s most prominent figures.
User Rating: 10/10 (5,000 votes)

Notorious B.I.G.: Guerilla Black
Puffy: Jamie Foxx
Voletta Wallace: Della Reese
Lil’ Kim: Countess Vaughn
Jay-Z: Rob Stapleton
Faith: Tisha Campbell
Lil’ Cease: Aries Spears
Junior M.A.F.I.A.: Themselves
Charli Baltimore: Uma Thurman
2Pac: Fredro Starr
Nas: Wood Harris
Ma$e: Nick Cannon
D-Roc: Tiny Lister
Mister Cee: Anthony Anderson
Snoop Dogg: Himself
Suge Knight: Ving Rhames
Lance “Un” Rivera: Horatio Sanz
Mary J. Blige: Elise Neal

Quotes: “I was born in the mind frame of ‘keep ya mouth shut, Big…don’t feed into it.’ If you feed into it, it’s gonna do nothin’ but escalate.” —Biggie on the beef with 2Pac (more)