White woman to write NWA bio-pic

'World Trade Center' writer joins N.W.A. film
THR EXCLUSIVE
By Borys Kit

May 2, 2010, 11:00 PM ET

N.W.A.

Andrea Berloff, who wrote Oliver Stone's true-life movie "World Trade Center," is tackling the story of seminal rap group N.W.A.

Berloff is writing "Straight Outta Compton," the story of the rise and fall of the Compton, Calif.-based group, whose initials read Niggas With Attitude. The members included drug dealer turned label founder Eazy-E, young disc jockey Dr. Dre and the politically bent Ice Cube, plus MC Ren and DJ Yella.

Another member, Arabian Prince, left N.W.A. before the group released the ground-breaking "Straight Outta Compton" album in 1988. The album, which featured the title track as well as "Fuck tha Police," introduced gangsta rap to the world and triggered sales of 9 million units.

As the group rose, however, egos and jealousies surfaced.

Cube left in 1990 over royalty disputes, went solo and warred with the group via songs. All grappled with violence, charges of anti-Semitism, misogyny and homophobia, and even more infighting, this time between Eazy-E and Dr. Dre.

Eazy-E's death, from AIDS-related causes, set the ex-members on a reconciliatory path. Cube has gone on to a successful career as an actor and producer, and Dre has become a top music producer.

Cube and Matt Alvarez are producing via Cube Vision. Eazy-E's widow, Tomica Woods, who inherited his share of the song rights, also is producing. Michelle Weiss and Dave Neustadter are overseeing for New Line.

Having a white writer on black-themed projects, especially biopics, is a fairly recent trend. Sheldon Turner penned a draft of the Rick James project "Super Freak," while Brad Kane wrote the draft of the Richard Pryor project that attracted director Bill Condon.

Especially noteworthy is that the person tackling the N.W.A. adaptation is a white woman.

However, the scribe, repped by UTA and Benderspink, is known around town for tackling true-life stories. On top of "World Trade Center," she wrote "The Fugees," adapting a New York Times article for Universal, about a group of international refugee soccer kids who settle in Atlanta.

She also is working on an adaptation of Mark Bowden's book "Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War With Militant Islam," about the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, for HBO and producer Bill Horberg. 'World Trade Center' writer joins N.W.A. filmTHR EXCLUSIVEBy Borys Kit
May 2, 2010, 11:00 PM ET
Andrea Berloff, who wrote Oliver Stone's true-life movie "World Trade Center," is tackling the story of seminal rap group N.W.A.

Berloff is writing "Straight Outta Compton," the story of the rise and fall of the Compton, Calif.-based group, whose initials read Niggas With Attitude. The members included drug dealer turned label founder Eazy-E, young disc jockey Dr. Dre and the politically bent Ice Cube, plus MC Ren and DJ Yella.

Another member, Arabian Prince, left N.W.A. before the group released the ground-breaking "Straight Outta Compton" album in 1988. The album, which featured the title track as well as "Fuck tha Police," introduced gangsta rap to the world and triggered sales of 9 million units.

As the group rose, however, egos and jealousies surfaced.

Cube left in 1990 over royalty disputes, went solo and warred with the group via songs. All grappled with violence, charges of anti-Semitism, misogyny and homophobia, and even more infighting, this time between Eazy-E and Dr. Dre.

Eazy-E's death, from AIDS-related causes, set the ex-members on a reconciliatory path. Cube has gone on to a successful career as an actor and producer, and Dre has become a top music producer.

Cube and Matt Alvarez are producing via Cube Vision. Eazy-E's widow, Tomica Woods, who inherited his share of the song rights, also is producing. Michelle Weiss and Dave Neustadter are overseeing for New Line.

Having a white writer on black-themed projects, especially biopics, is a fairly recent trend. Sheldon Turner penned a draft of the Rick James project "Super Freak," while Brad Kane wrote the draft of the Richard Pryor project that attracted director Bill Condon.

Especially noteworthy is that the person tackling the N.W.A. adaptation is a white woman.

However, the scribe, repped by UTA and Benderspink, is known around town for tackling true-life stories. On top of "World Trade Center," she wrote "The Fugees," adapting a New York Times article for Universal, about a group of international refugee soccer kids who settle in Atlanta.

She also is working on an adaptation of Mark Bowden's book "Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War With Militant Islam," about the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, for HBO and producer Bill Horberg.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i37b1b301206de33fcee6621ace0b9f00

Not usually a fan of biopics. Normally they are all pretty watered down versions of true lives.

 

That will be a weird movie.

 

You think? I think it might be interesting.

 

BEFORE NWA there was no such thing as gansta rap. You had Run-DMC, Grand Master FLash, Whodini, the Sugar Hill Gang, etc. You NEVER heard of women being called bitches and ho's.

They revolutionized rap music in the WRONG direction.

 

They were definitely influential, but yeah, they brought on a new era of negativity.

 

Aw shit, prepare to be called "old" or "out of touch with the black community," it's the Hip-Hop Gestapo's favorite tactic if you don't cosign the madness.

 

LOL!!!!!!!!!

 

I'd much rather listen to some old school NWA before any of these clown-assed fools in the game today.

 

Just Ice aka the Gangster of Hip-Hop. Schooly D with the track PSK(Park Side Killas). So there kinda was. they were nowhere near the level of explicitness of NWA, but they still made gangsta rap records. Just sayin'. Also, as far as calling women bitches and hos about it a, Blowfly with Rapp Dirty. "What I thought was a bitch was nothin' but a man". Just sayin, again. Also, Slick Rick called a woman a bitch in Lodi Dodi in 85. But of course, that was one time.




Been looking forward to this movie, but also sketchy the same time. Who's gonna play who? Eazy had a really distinct look and voice. And where are they gonna find a 5 foot 5 actor to look, sound, and play Eazy? I've heard so many different sides of the story about their break up. Well, I know Jerry Heller's version ain't gonna be in the movie. It's gonna be inaccurate as fuck. They'll probably give Ren and Yella the big "fuck you" and give them 2 seconds of screen time.


Also, Fuck Tomica. That dumb fuck.

 

:smt023:smt020

 

SMH Let a brotha write the script. Imagine if a black dude was picked to write the elvis bio-pic.

Riots.

 

:smt042:smt042

 

NWA are legends. People were flat out scared of them in middle America.

Nowadays in Hip Hop you got corny rappers like Drake or the New Boyz (wearing pink shirts and skinny jeans) SMH

 

Lets not forget, these guys were nothing but ENTERTAINERS. They were not hard or street wise. Tupac and Biggie should be a lesson for everyone. When they tried to cross over from entertainment to street, the REAL street people had something for them.

Even Shug Knight, with his 300 lbs, turned out to be a cream puff when dealing with real hard people. He was literally knocked out for 3 minutes by a guy who was half his size.

They are ENTERTAINERS, plain and simple.

 

I spy with my little eye, two NWA members....






The only one who was doing shit in the streets when they were younger was Eazy, and people still thought he was one of the nicest people you'd ever meet.

 

Nah.

Suge Knight is a real blood.

Tupac -

Biggie was the entertainer.....still a great rapper

 

According to Jerry Heller, Suge had him tied up in a van, while they went into Eazy's office with bats and basically muscled Eazy into releasing Dre, and a couple other people from their contracts. Saying shit like "we know where you mom lives". Eazy filed against him for racketerring, or something, but it was thrwon out, I guess. But Suge went to jail in 96 for the same thing he was being investigated for.


Suge is no entertainer. Pac, and Biggie rapped about shit they didn't do, like every other rapper. Suge just used his bullshit muscle mafia tactics to get his way. Plus, he had connections with the LAPD n' shit. Suge may have looked like a bitch, but he still commanded a deal of power from shady connections for most of his career.

 

You rang Old School? Lol
I'll just make one very important point. Music is entertainment and yeah a lot of rappers present negative characters when they rap but why can't or shouldn't they. Robert Engel performed as creepy dude who lurked in the bedrooms and dreams of children like a pedophile but that it was considered horror and he was allowed to make it. And these guys gave a much needed voice to areas of the country that were overlooked. So yeah they cursed a lot and called women profain names but so what if they did? Its just entertainment if you don't like it don't listen don't pay attention.

 

Errr...my tuppence on this, m8....

It's Robert Englund..

I worked with his brother George, a sax & flute player in the 1990's....he contributed to incidental music for a Merrie Melodies vignette I did back then.

Just to keep the record straight, folks.....
















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