Fox Searchlight is moving ahead with their biopic on slain rapper Notorious B.I.G., and they’ve given the movie’s producer Wayne Barrow his own production blog to hype the thing. A little hype couldn’t hurt since most of B.I.G.’s fans are now in their mid-thirties and have been supplanted by 15-year-old thugs who spend their time obsessing over how many times they want to get shot, so they can be just like Fiddy, not Biggie.
They’ve cast Jamal Woolard in the role of B.I.G., and Barrow released the first ever pic of Jamal in full costume as the 90’s rap icon. That’s the pic there to your right. Is it just me, or is he not fat enough? He looks like any random wannabe pimp, not so much specifically like Biggie Smalls.
Here’s what Barrow had to say about the casting of Woolard in the role: “Although Jamal has a bit of history of his own in the music industry, he is still relatively unknown, which we thought was an integral element in filling the role. Jamal, a Brooklyn native, has been working hard to capture the spirit of Christopher's character, the soul of the man. We are extremely excited about our choice of casting, his natural charm and charismatic demeanor is very reminiscent of B.I.G and we look forward to sharing this ride with him.” Maybe once we see him in context, he’ll slip right into the part on screen.
