NWA will be returning to the spotlight in the next few years… as if they ever left. A biopic on the pivotal rap group, Straight Outta Compton, is in pre-production, but has already cast the first actor for the project. Ice Cube’s very own son, O’Shea Jackson, Jr, will be portraying his father in the F. Gary Gray (Friday) directed biopic. No other casting announcements have been made, but it’s been confirmed that Eazy-E’s son, who auditioned for a role, didn’t receive a callback. However, don’t think that Jackson received any preferential treatment. While Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E’s widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, all had casting approval, the trio still auditioned other rappers and actors for the film’s major roles.
Straight Outta Compton hasn’t officially been greenlit, but considering the subject matter, I would be incredibly surprised if it doesn’t enter production this year. Just last December, the film received a new writer in Jonathan Herman and switched studios from New Line Cinema to Universal, so progress is being actively made on the film. With Ice Cube and Dr. Dre’s direct involvement, it seems like Straight Outta Compton won’t be a misleading, misinformed biopic that some other biopics tend to become.
[via /Film]