Johnny Depp To Investigate The Murders Of Biggie & Tupac In Thriller ‘Labyrinth’

[Remy Danton]

It kind of sucks to be Johnny Depp right now. The 53-year-old actor spent most of the 2000s as the biggest movie star in the world, thanks to the immense success of the “Pirates Of The Caribbean” franchise, but since the last instalment in 2011, Depp’s had almost nothing but flops: his most successful film of the last five years was a ten-minute cameo as a wolf in “Into The Woods.” And worse, this year saw very convincing allegations that he’d physically abused his now-ex-wife Amber Heard.

With Hollywood being traditionally bad at punishing men who are awful to women, and a fifth ‘Pirates’ movie due to hit next summer, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Depp is done as a leading man, and Screen Daily has details of a new project that the star will be headlining, and it’s a… surprising one. According to the trade, Depp has signed on to “Labyrinth,” an independent film about the detective that investigated the murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.

Hailing from Good Films, who backed this summer’s “The Infiltrator,” the project will see Depp play Russell Poole, an LAPD detective who was a rising star in the department until he accused a fellow officer of involvement in the death of Biggie Smalls. Stonewalling from the department saw him quit the force and become a private detective, when he also looked into the killing of Biggie’s rival Tupac.

Poole’s work was detailed in the 2002 non-fiction book “Labyrinth” by Randall Sullivan, and actor/writer Christian Contreras has adapted the project for Good, with “The Infiltrator” helmer Brad Furman set to direct. It’s certainly an intriguing set-up, though we have mixed feelings on Depp’s involvement: on one hand, it would be good to see him play a human being and not a caricature in something more grounded, on the other, he’s allegedly a horrible, drunken, abusive person. Anyway, “Labyrinth” is being sold in TIFF, so expect more news on the project soon.

Johnny Depp To Investigate The Murders Of Biggie & Tupac In Thriller 'Labyrinth'

 

[Kill Dat Noize]

like

 

[Concerned Citizen]

Hollywood is finally putting some serious money into Biggie and Pac and this is The story they tell

 

[Ol’Otis]

Wow

Another way to make money off hip hop

 

[re'up]

There's an excellent story in Laybrinth, (The Rampart division, and Death Row's early days and downfall) I read the book years back, but I doubt this will tell it, because the fukking story isn't true, (the one they will likely tell) a besieged, heroic, LAPD cop who got justice for Pac and Big, only to be taken down by the powers that be in the end....Except for Poole, while a crusader, was wrong, and the suspects he named, didn't even exist.

 

[Ol’Otis]

and the suspects he named, didn't even exist.

 

[Rev]

terrible cash grab.

 

[The Prince of All Saiyans]

terrible cash grab.

see you in the official thread

 

[HipHopStan]

like

Wasn't it 's bright idea to go to Cali to promote Life After Death just six months after Pac's death? Biggie should've been like " Nah...we good over here."

 

[MikelArteta]

johnny needs to just stick to pirates movies, hasnt had a hit since strangers tide

 

[Rapmastermind]

Well I think Johnny can pull this off but they have to make the investigation really good showing the LAPD corrouption. It's basically going to be a "Bad Cop" movie. Johnny has fantastic "Crime Drama" catalog including "Donnie Brasco, Blow etc". I think Russell always had the best theory honestly. Also Russell died tragically recently still investigating the case. This was litterally his life work. I'm not shocked Hollywood would want to do this version of the story because it was from a White Detective's viewpoint so that's an easier sell to the dominate society at large in America as far as a BiggieVTupac movie. Plus with "Notorious" and "All Eyez On Me" techincally we would have gotten the Bio-pics already.

 

[Deltron]

Johnny Depp's Tupac-Biggie Thriller 'Labyrinth' Acquired by Open Road

Open Road Films is on the case. The distributor has acquired all North American rights to Labyrinth, an investigative thriller about the murders of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. that will star Johnny Depp.

Directed by Brad Furman (The Lincoln Laywer) and set to begin production in November, Labyrinth centers on Russell Poole (Depp), a disgraced LAPD detective who has been unable to solve the slayings of the rival hip-hop artists for two decades. He eventually teams up with a reporter desperate to save his own reputation to finally uncover the truth behind Tupac and Biggie’s deaths.

Christian Contreras wrote the script, adapting Randall Sullivan’s dense nonfiction book LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records’ Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal.

In an announcement Monday, Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg called the project “an edgy and timely investigative thriller.”

Miriam Segal, who collaborated with Furman on The Infiltrator, is producing Labyrinth. Open Road has also acquired rights in several international territories where it has output agreements.

Hollywood and the general public’s fascination with Tupac and Biggie endures. The former artist is the subject of the upcoming biopic All Eyez on Me, and the latter has inspired a scripted series in development at TBS.