Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker has joined Johnny Depp in the upcoming thriller, “LAbyrinth,” which centers around the investigations into the murders of rap icons The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.
Whitaker is tapped to play investigative journalist Randall Sullivan, while Depp plays now deceased LAPD detective Russell Poole, who was assigned to Biggie’s murder.
The chart-topping rappers were embroiled in a long-running rivalry when Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas in 1996. Wallace met a similar fate less than a year later, when he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles.
LAbyrinth is based on Sullivan’s 2003 novel, “LAbryinth: 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.”
A description of the book is as follows:
“Acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan follows Russell Poole, a highly decorated LAPD detective who in 1997 was called to investigate a controversial cop-on-cop shooting, eventually to discover that the officer killed was tied to Marion “Suge” Knight’s notorious gangsta rap label, Death Row Records. During his investigation, Poole came to realize that a growing cadre of black officers were allied not only with Death Row, but with the murderous Bloods street gang. And incredibly, Poole began to uncover evidence that at least some of these “gangsta cops” may have been involved in the murders of rap superstars Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.”
Variety reports that Miramax is partnering and co-financing with Open Road Films for U.S. distribution. Good Universe is handling international sales.
Whitaker has had busy fall schedule, including Paramount’s “Arrival,” directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. He also stars in “Star Wars: Rogue One,” opening in December, and recently joined the cast of Marvel’s “Black Panther.”
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
(Photo Source: AP)
