Online search for star of Tupac film

Producers searching for someone with ‘the right mix of raw charm and charisma’ to portray the late rapper Tupac Shakur lookalikes have been offered the chance of screen stardom after a website invited online auditions for the lead in a biopic of the late rapper. Insearchoftupac.skeetv.com calls on would-be actors to download and perform a scene from the film as well as their favourite Tupac track. The scene appears to be a courtroom monologue in which the rapper protests: “I just don’t wanna be the scapegoat. I just wanna be. I wanna be.” The auditions are to run until 30 April. Morgan Creek Productions plans to start shooting its version of the music star’s life story this summer, with Training Day’s Antoine Fuqua in the director’s chair. Producer David Robinson told the Hollywood Reporter : “We’re looking for someone with the right mix of raw charm and charisma for the role. At this point, we’re more concerned about finding someone with the ability to give their entire heart into the performance than just looks and personality.” Shakur was shot dead in Las Vegas in 1996, curtailing a career that appeared to be hitting new heights following the success of his album All Eyez on Me. The rapper continued to sell millions of albums after his death, however, with a string of posthumous releases. In addition to his musical projects, he appeared in a number of films including 1993′s Poetic Justice, in which he starred opposite Janet Jackson. Shakur’s work and untimely death imbued him with near-mythical status in the eyes of some hip-hop fans, and he continues to inspire devotion. One follower reacted with dismay to news of the current casting call, saying on YouTube : “It’s impossible to find somebody to play Tupac or even tell a story about him. He was like the most complex man in the past decades! It’s like making another Mona Lisa with a cell phone. It’s not gonna work!” Rap Hip-hop Urban music Ian J Griffiths guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 21, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.