Pass The Popcorn: A Def Jam Biopic Based On Russel Simmons & Nelson George's 'Life & Def' Is In The Works
I suppose if 2015 has proven anything, it's that music biopics are the new comic book flick. Following the massive success of the NWA treatment Straight Outta Compton (the highest grossing music biopic of all-time) there have been countless rumors of other hip-hop narratives being proposed to studios for development. They've included treatments for Death Row Records, Gang Starr, Outkast, Aretha Franklin, another Jimi Hendrix film and that's all within the last few months. But one most needed narrative from hip-hop's baby years, predating it's "Fuck The Police" adolescence, is that of the Def Jam saga, pioneered by executive Russell Simmons and prolific big beat producerRick Rubin. And it appears that we just might have that wish granted in the years ahead.
According to Deadline, a treatment of the film is being developed based on Uncle Rush's Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, + God chronicle (co-written by the mighty Nelson George) which charts his journey and eventual transformation into the great hip-hop yogi we now know him to be, and the label's come-up as an era-defining hub. Also, it should be noted that Jonah Hill and Michael B. Jordan are apparently being eyed for the roles of Rubin and Simmons, which could certainly bode well for the rest of us. And no, this won't be Krush Groove Part Deux with your favorite burly stoner in a leading role. Actually, that doesn't sound too bad...
