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Late Nwa manager Jerry Heller's lawsuit against Universal over the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton has been dismissed by a California federal judge.

The legal fight began in 2015 when Heller sued Universal for defamation and copyright infringement, among other claims. U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald in June 2016 tossed most of the suit. After Heller's death a few months later, his estate took over and in September of that year filed a third amended complaint for copyright infringement against Universal and for unjust enrichment against S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus and Xenon Pictures, with whom Heller claimed to have ...

Late Nwa manager Jerry Heller's lawsuit against Universal over the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton has been dismissed by a California federal judge.

The legal fight began in 2015 when Heller sued Universal for defamation and copyright infringement, among other claims. U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald in June 2016 tossed most of the suit. After Heller's death a few months later, his estate took over and in September of that year filed a third amended complaint for copyright infringement against Universal and for unjust enrichment against S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus and Xenon Pictures, with whom Heller claimed to have ...

Straight Outta Compton star Jason Mitchell (Eazy-e) is heading back into theaters this weekend in Key & Peele's kitty comedy Keanu. While we were sitting down with Mitchell to talk about the film, we touched on Straight Outta Compton being almost entirely snubbed at this year's Oscars, with the only nomination going to screenwriters Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman, S. Leigh Savidge, and Alan Wenkus. Many felt that Mitchell, in particular, was deserving of a nomination for his portrayal of the iconic rapper. When we asked him his thoughts, Mitchell said: "No I didn't get robbed. If anything the people who put it together F. Gary Gray, definitely. Ice Cube. You know, these guys have been fighting for this for such a long time and it's so much bigger than just one actor. You know what I mean. Those guys set up such a great platform for me to be able...

I'm sure most of you watched the Academy Awards last night, so I wanted to create a place for you to talk to us and your fellow commenters about the winners, losers, snubs, performances, and host. For good reason, the topic of diversity was looming large in the minds of the producers of the broadcast, and I thought host Chris Rock did a great job of ripping Hollywood while at the same time creating a call to action for equal opportunity in the industry (which is all the controversy really boils down to). For addressing a tough, complicated issue that obviously doesn't start and end with the organization of the Oscars, I thought it was handled about as well as it could have been.

As for the winners and losers, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mad Max: Fury Road take home as many awards as it did, considering what...

It’s Hollywood’s biggest night. In an awards season with no true clear frontrunner for Best Picture, we’re finally finding out who’s taking home the coveted statuettes at the 2016 Oscars ceremony. Below is the full list of nominees. HitFix will keep you updated on the winners here as they’re announced. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ honors are being presented at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Best Picture The Big Short Bridge of Spies Brooklyn Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Room Winner: Spotlight Best Actress Cate Blanchett, Carol Winner: Brie Larson, Room Jennifer Lawrence, Joy Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn Best Actor Bryan Cranston, Trumbo Matt Damon, The Martian Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl Best Supporting Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight Rooney Mara, Carol Rachel McAdams, Spotlight Winner: Alicia Vikander,...

Awards season comes to a glitzy end tonight with Sunday's broadcast of the Academy Awards.

Chris Rock returns to host one of the most competitive races in years -- with front-runners emerging late in the game, or not at all, in some categories. Will "The Revenant" sweep? Will Leo finally take home an Oscar? Can "Spotlight" ride its early buzz into the winners' circle?

We'll be updating the winners' list throughout the show. So make sure to check back to see who won, and who lost.

Best Picture

"​Spotlight"​ -- Winner

"The Big Short"

"Bridge Of Spies"

"Brooklyn"

"Mad Max: Fury Road"

"The Martian"

"The Revenant"

"Room

Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant" -- Winner

Bryan Cranston, "Trumbo"

Matt Damon, "The Martian"

Michael Fassbender, "Steve Jobs"

Eddie Redmayne, "The Danish Girl"

Best Actress

Brie Larson, "Room" -- Winner

Cate Blanchett, "Carol"

Jennifer Lawrence, "Joy"

Charlotte Rampling, "45 Years"

Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn"

Best Director

Alejandro G. Iñárritu,...

I will be posting updates of all of the Oscar action here tonight in this post (and live tweeting). You can check out all of the nominations below, I will Red Bold the winners as they are announced. 2015 brought a crazy amount of competition and there’s absolutely no telling which way the votes will go with this room of talent. Will Leo finally win his Oscar? Will George Miller take the Oscar for Best Director? Will Stallone finally earn the gold for Rocky after all these years?

The Revenant leads the way with 12 nods, including Picture, Director (Alejandro G. Iñárritu), Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Supporting Actor (Tom Hardy). Mad Max: Fury Road follows with 10 nods, with the action epic getting the well deserved Picture and Director nominations.

Here we go…

Best Original Screenplay

Spotlight – Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer

Inside Out – Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, Meg LeFavue

Straight Outta Compton — Jonathan Herman,...

Read More: Indiewire Awards Season Spotlight  "Spotlight" and "Inside Out" were always the two surefire nominees in this category, and now that they've made the cut they are certainly the two frontrunners.  Below is Anne Thompson's take on how things might shake down in the race for Best Original Screenplay. Check out Thompson on Hollywood's Oscar predictions pages for more awards season analysis. Click here for more category breakdowns on Indiewire. Nominees:Matt Charman, Joel & Ethan Coen ("Bridge of Spies")Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley ("Inside Out") Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer ("Spotlight")Alex Garland ("Ex Machina") Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus ("Straight Outta Compton") Predicted Winner: "Spotlight" Potential Spoiler: "Inside Out" For more insight into the 2016 awards season, visit the Indiewire Awards Season...

The Writers Guild Awards were presented on Saturday, February 13, during a ceremony hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt. -Break- Film Original Screenplay "Bridge of Spies" Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen "Sicario" Written by Taylor Sheridan X -- "Spotlight" Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy "Straight Outta Compton" Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff "Trainwreck" Written by Amy Schumer Adapted Screenplay X -- "The Big Short" Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; Based on the book of the same name by Michael Lewis "Carol" Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy Based on the novel "The Price of Salt" by Patricia Highsmith "The Martian" Screenplay by Drew Goddard Based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir; &quot...

If it’s Friday, it must be time for some new predictions. Yes, we’re nearing the finish line for the Academy Awards, with the ceremony only a few short weeks away. This is a pretty huge precursor weekend though, with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (or BAFTA) handing out their awards, along with the American Society of Cinematographers (or Asc), and the Writers Guild of America (or WGA). We can look to BAFTA for help in figuring out if The Revenant is going to more or less sweep the Oscars, while Asc will likely confirm the Best Cinematography category to be in its favor. As for the WGA, it’s probably going to be split between The Big Short and Spotlight. We could finally get some answers in the next few days, but we also might just wind up with more questions… First up, take a...

More than 150 Oscar nominees came together at noon on Monday at the Beverly Hilton as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored this year’s Oscar contenders at its annual Nominees Luncheon.

From Left to Right:

Seated: Adam Benzine, Paul Massey, Michael Standish, Chris Jenkins, Randy Thom, Jason Smith, Josh Cooley, Maryann Brandon, Richard Williams, Patrick Vollrath, Ed Lachman, Mary Parent, David Acord, Anders Langland, Henry Hughes, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Tom Yellin

First Row: Rosa Tran, Jacqueline West, Ed Guiney, Evgeny Afineevsky, Matthew Shumway, Amy Hobby, Jonas Rivera, Gregg Rudloff, Signe Byrge Sorensen, Love Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Courtney Marsh, Nomi Talisman, Mark Ruffalo, Diane Warren, Paco Delgado, Bryan Cranston, Jistin Wilkes, Blye Pagon Faust, Roger Guyett, Basil Khalil, Drew Kunin, Sian Grigg, Andrea Berloff,

Second Row:Adam Stockhausen, Tom McArdle, Keith Redmon, Damian Martin, Ale Abreu, Matthew Heineman, Matt Damon, Bernhard Henrich, Cameron Waldbauer, Alan Robert Murray,...

The Academy has broken its silence over a report that the cast of Straight Outta Compton were not invited to this year's ceremony, which fueled further uproar over the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. "The Academy invites the nominees only, and each studio gets a limited ticket allotment, based on the number of nominated films, to use at their discretion. It has been this way for decades," an Academy spokesperson tells People exclusively. While the number of tickets a studio gets is dependent on how many nominees they have in a given year, Academy members themselves have to enter a lottery to score them.

Follow the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. as they forge their anger and inner-city frustrations into the most potent weapon imaginable: their music. In Straight Outta Compton: Unrated Director’s Cut fans can follow N.W.A.’s electrifying lyrics and unique sound, which introduced a truth that no one had heard before and exposed life in the hood igniting a social revolution that still reverberates today.

The culturally relevant and explosively entertaining biopic is coming to Digital HD onJanuary 5, 2016 and Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand January 19, 2016 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray and Digital HD versions include the exclusive Unrated Director’s Cut that gives fans more of the N.W.A. story with 20 additional minutes of the film. Directed by F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, Friday),Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of five young rebels from South Central Los Angeles who, armed with only their lyrics,...

Here are the nominations for the 88th Academy Awards; and The Revenant leads the way with 12 nods, including Picture, Director (Alejandro G. Iñárritu), Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Supporting Actor (Tom Hardy). Mad Max: Fury Road follows with ten however, with the action epic getting the well deserved Picture and Director nominations.

Surprisingly Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs) and Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight) didn’t get a screenplay nod and Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott missed out in the Director category.

The 2016 Oscars will air live on Sunday, February 28th on ABC, hosted by Chris Rock.

Best Picture

Spotlight

The Big Short

The Revenant

The Martian

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

Bridge of Spies

Room

Best Director

Alejandro G. Iñárritu – The Revenant

Adam McKay – The Big Short

Tom McCarthy – Spotlight

George Miller — Mad Max: Fury Road

Lenny Abrahamson — Room

Best Actress

Brie Larson – Room

Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn

Cate Blanchett – Carol

Charlotte Rampling...

Mad Max: Fury Road close behind with 10; The Martian rockets to seven.Oscars 2016Full list of nominations

Scott, Spielberg, Sorkin shut out

Nominees’ reactionsBest Picture nominees at a glance

Comment: Oscar nominations reward ambition

Galleries: Best Picture; Actors

The nominations for the 88th Academy Awards have been announced in Los Angeles and Fox/New Regency’s survival epic The Revenant has clawed its way to the top with 12 nods.

Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s action reboot Mad Max: Fury Road followed close behind with 10 nominations while in a great day for Fox the studio’s adventure The Martian notched up seven.

Open Road’s Spotlight, Carol from The Weinstein Company and DreamWorks’ Bridge Of Spies (Buena Vista distributed in North America and Fox the rest of the world) earned six apiece, while Paramount/Regency Enterprises’ The Big Short and Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens collected five each.

Both [link=tt...

The 88th annual Academy Award nominations were announced this morning. "The Revenant" did well, snagging the most nominations: 12, including Best Picture, Best Director, and, of course, Best Actor. Not doing so well were actors of color, all of whom are noticeably absent.  Here are the major categories; the full list is here. Best Actress Cate Blanchett ("Carol") Brie Larson ("Room") Jennifer Lawrence ("Joy") Charlotte Rampling ("45 Years") Saoirse Ronan ("Brooklyn") Best Actor Bryan Cranston ("Trumbo") Matt Damon ("The Martian") Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Revenant") Michael Fassbender ("Steve Jobs") Eddie Redmayne ("The Danish Girl") Best Actor in a Supporting Role Christian Bale ("The Big Short) Tom Hardy ("The Revenant") Mark Ruffalo ("Spotlight") Mark Rylance ("Bridge of Spies") Sylvester Stallone ("Creed") Best Actress in a Supporting Role Jennifer Jason Leigh ("The Hateful Eight") Rooney Mara ("Carol") Rachel McAdams ("Spotlight") Alicia Vikander ("The Danish Girl") Kate Winslet ("Steve Jobs") Best Original Screenplay "Bridge of Spies...

The next set of 2016 awards nominees have been revealed. The WGA Awards nominations were unveiled today, featuring a very diverse set of films from last year. Included among the nominees: Adam McKay's Wall Street underdog The Big Short, along with Ridley Scott's The Martian, and Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs, plus John McNamara's script for Trumbo in the adapted category. Plus on the original side they nominated the Coen Brothers' Bridge of Spies, along with Sicario, Spotlight, and surprisingly, Amy Schumer's Trainwreck. Some very interesting picks this time. Check out the list of film nominees below. Original Screenplay: Bridge of Spies - Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen Sicario - Written by Taylor Sheridan Spotlight - Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy Straight Outta Compton - Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff...

Original Screenplay Bridge of Spies, Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen; DreamWorks Pictures Sicario, Written by Taylor Sheridan; Lionsgate Spotlight, Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy; Open Road Films Straight Outta Compton,...

The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in screenwriting during 2015. Besides the usual suspects ("Bridge of Spies," "Sicario," "Spotlight), there were also some surprises like the nomination given to Amy Schumer's "Trainwreck." It was a pleasant surprise as the movie was so funny it hurt, and that's a good thing!

But then, there were also some omissions because the films were deemed ineligible like "99 Homes," "Inside Out," "The Hateful Eight," etc. Why were they ineligible? According to indiewire, "only scripts written by WGA members and/or produced under the guild.s Minimum Basic Agreement are eligible to compete for their awards."

So much for artistry, you have to follow the rules first, say the WGA!

Here's the complete list of nominees. Winners will be announced in NY and La on Saturday, February 13th.

Original Screenplay

.Bridge of Spies,...

Amy Schumer’s comedy and Denis Villeneuve’s cartel thriller are among the screenplay nominees announced on Wednesday by The Writers Guild Of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild Of America, East (Wgae) ahead of the 2016 Writers Guild Awards.

The Hateful Eight, Room, Brooklyn, Ex Machina, Inside Out and Youth were among titles that were ineligible.

The awards show will take place simultaneously at both chapters of the WGA in Los Angeles and New York City on February 13.

The nominees appear below:

Original Screenplay

Bridge Of Spies

Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen and Joel Coen;

Sicario

Written by Taylor Sheridan;

Spotlight

Written by Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy;

Straight Outta Compton

Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; story by S Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff; and

Trainwreck

Written by Amy Schumer.

Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short

Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; based on the book by Michael Lewis;

Carol...

The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in screenwriting during 2015.

Winners will be honored at the 2016 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 13, 2016, at concurrent ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.

Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies, Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen; DreamWorks Pictures

Sicario, Written by Taylor Sheridan; Lionsgate

Spotlight, Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy; Open Road Films

Straight Outta Compton, Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkusand Andrea Berloff; Universal Pictures

Trainwreck, Written by Amy Schumer; Universal Pictures

Trainwreck

Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short, Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; Based on the Book by Michael Lewis; Paramount Pictures

Carol, Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy; Based on the Novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith; The Weinstein Company

The Martian, Screenplay...

Today was another pretty big day, precursor wise folks. Not only did the American Society of Cinematographers (or Asc) announce their 30th awards nominations, another guild chimed in, this one being the Writers Guild of America (or WGA). Both the nominations from Asc and WGA are worth taking note of in terms of Oscar, but especially with the Writers Guild, remember that a lot of titles were previously declared ineligible. Still, what wins here will end up with a boost, regardless…provided it gets nominated by the Academy, of course. Below you’ll see the nominees from both the American Society of Cinematographers and the Writers Guild of America, further attempting to clear up what voters are going to cite for the Academy Awards. We continue to get more questions than answers though, which is becoming par for the course… Here now are the nominees for the 2016 Writers Guild Awards:...

The Writers Guild of America has just announced the nominations for their annual awards for Best Screenplays (by writers who are guild signatories). That’s right, before you get nervous thinking that your favorite may have been left off the list, you must remember that the WGA is the group that is not all-inclusive and leaves out several of the top contenders each year due to them not being part of the guild or not following their very specific rules. For this reason, you won’t see Inside Out, The Hateful Eight, and Ex Machina in the Original Screenplay category or Room, Brooklyn, or Anomalisa in the Adapted screenplay category.

Taking a look at what’s left over for the nominations, we find many that were expected to make a showing, including Spotlight and Bridge of Spies for Original Screenplay, though they apparently had to sink to really low depths...

Amy Schumer's very good year just got even better.

The actress/writer/producer already has an Emmy and Peabody on her shelf, and she's up for a Golden Globe. Now, she's also vying for a Writers Guild of America award.

The guild announced the 2016 nominees for theatrical and documentary screenplays, and Schumer notched a nod for writing the summer hit comedy "Trainwreck," which she also starred in.

Also receiving original screenplay nominations were the blockbuster hip-hop drama "Straight Outta Compton" and this award season's frontrunner, "Spotlight."

Here is the full list of WGA nominees:

Original Screenplay

Bridge of Spies

Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen; DreamWorks Pictures

Sicario

Written by Taylor Sheridan; Lionsgate

Spotlight

Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy; Open Road Films

Straight Outta Compton

Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; Story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff; Universal Pictures

Trainwreck...

Follow the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. as they forge their anger and inner-city frustrations into the most potent weapon imaginable: their music. In Straight Outta Compton: Unrated Director’s Cut fans can follow N.W.A.’s electrifying lyrics and unique sound, which introduced a truth that no one had heard before and exposed life in the hood igniting a social revolution that still reverberates today.

The culturally relevant and explosively entertaining biopic is coming to Digital HD on January 5, 2016 and Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand January 19, 2016 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray and Digital HD versions include the exclusive Unrated Director’s Cut that gives fans more of the N.W.A. story with 20 additional minutes of the film. Directed by F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, Friday), Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of five young rebels from South Central Los Angeles who, armed with only their lyrics,...

In spite of being one of the most popular and successful movies of the year, Straight Outta Compton may not get an official sequel or spin-off. Universal has denied a rumor that they're working on a follow-up to their hit N.W.A. biopic, but that doesn't mean someone else can't produce a feature focused more on Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Suge Knight and the story of Death Row Records. There's actually already one -- maybe two -- biopics on Shakur in the works. Now the gunned-down rapper, who is also portrayed in Compton and the much earlier Biggie Smalls biopic, Notorious, could be looking at another depiction via an adaptation of the documentary and book combo Welcome to Death Row, both by S. Leigh Savidge and Jeff Scheftel.  According to The Hollywood...

Read More...

Welcome to Death Row, L. Leigh Savidge’s book and acclaimed documentary, could go on to become the sequel to box office sleeper hit Straight Outta Compton, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Savidge, who served as producer on the hit biopic about famed rap group N.W.A., is just one of the concepts currently being shopped around for the inevitable follow-up, with last week bringing word that Daz Dillinger was pushing ahead with a sequel to the breakout hit despite Universal denying that any progress has been made. Under the moniker Dogg Pound 4 Life, the sequel would carry on where we left off with Straight Outta Compton, picking up the story strands revolving around the likes of Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Warren G, Kurupt, Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Suge Knigh.

Should the studio pursue Savidge’s source material, though, the follow-up would chart the rise to prominence of...

According to THR, talent agency Apa is out shopping Welcome To Death Row, a biopic based on the documentary and book of the same name by Straight Outta Compton co-executive producer S. Leigh Savidge. The film would essentially be a sequel of sorts to Compton, since it would feature many of the same figures as the N.W.A. biopic. While Compton chronicles the rise and breakup of seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A... Read More...

With the unprecedented critical and box office success of N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, some of those involved are, not unnaturally, musing ways to follow it up. One such in particular is Compton co-executive producer L. Leigh Savidge, who's now in the early stages of turning his book and documentary Welcome To Death Row into a narrative feature.The story, touched on in Straight Outta Compton, would delve further into the formation, rise, copious feuds and controversy surrounding Dr Dre and Suge Knight's label Death Row Records: home of breakout megastars like Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur and many others (including Dre himself).Those four principal players have already, of course, been cast in Compton: Corey Hawkins as Dre, Keith Stanfield as Snoop, Marcc Rose as Tupac and R. Marcos Taylor as Suge. There's no guarantee at this stage that all or any of them would reprise their roles,...

Nwa biopic Straight Outta Compton has proven to be hugely successful at the box office, and now studios could be looking to cash in with a sequel.

Apa is reportedly shopping the re-issued 2001 documentary Welcome to Death Row as a possible follow-up to the film, despite the doc not possessing necessary music rights.

A Straight Outta Compton sequel is apparently already planned

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Apa has put together a package that includes the film and a book of the same name.

Welcome to Death Row focuses on the years immediately after the rise of Nwa, which saw the likes of Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur experience hugely successful careers.

The documentary's writer and director S Leigh Savidge also played a significant part in the story development for Straight Outta Compton.

Watch a trailer for Welcome to Death Row below:...

Now that Straight Outta Compton has become the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, taking the top spot at the box office for three consecutive weeks, some are beginning to ask: Can you turn rap history into a cinematic universe? According to The Hollywood Reporter, one agency hopes to do just that by making a film based on the 2001 documentary Welcome to Death Row, which Compton executive producer S. Leigh Savidge is pitching to studios as a sequel to the N.W.A biopic. The doc (and subsequent book of the same name) follows the pivotal rise and fall of Death Row Records during the ’90s. Its feature-film adaptation would include many of the same major players seen in Compton's third act — particularly label head Suge Knight and his star signees Tupac and Snoop Dogg — and would also flesh out Dr. Dre's timeline with the embattled label. (Compton rushes...

A version of this story first appeared in the Sept. 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Hollywood could be staying in Compton. In the wake of Straight Outta Compton's box-office success, Apa is shopping Welcome to Death Row, which features many of the same figures from the Universal hit. The agency has put together a package based on a book and documentary of the same name by S. Leigh Savidge, who received a story and co-executive producer credit on Compton. While Compton chronicles the rise and breakup of seminal

read more...

During the end of the summer, any surprise critical and financial success story seems to generate Oscar buzz. Frankly, that’s sort of the case whenever an early year or pre awards season release exceeds expectations. This year however, we have an interesting case to study in the biopic Straight Outta Compton, about the seminal rap group Nwa, which has gone above and beyond any of its goals so far. Now, some are beginning to wonder if the Academy might have an interest. I remain skeptical, but it’s well worth taking a look at. Perhaps the investigation will reveal something? Let’s find out now… The film is a look at the rap group Nwa, how its members came together, and what kind of an impact they had on the culture. Started in the city of Compton, California in the mid 1980’s, the music would spread across the world...

There are few movie forms more stagnant than the biopic. I am not a fan for the most part, and it takes something special to knock me out of that mindset. While "Straight Outta Compton" plays by the rules for the most part, the film has a great cast and an undeniable energy that drew me in, and considering we're talking about events from a quarter-century ago, there is a surprisingly urgent undertone to the entire enterprise that reminds us that we have not made as much progress as we'd like to think as a culture. Screenwriter Andrea Berloff made her feature debut nine years ago with "World Trade Center," and she hasn't had a produced credit since. She had an impossible job here, trying to boil down the rise and fall of an iconic band to a mere 142 minutes. Jonathan Herman is co-credited for the script, with S. Leigh Savidge...

Jonathan Herman ("Demonologists") has been hired to pen the latest draft of the script for the biopic "Straight Outta Compton" which Universal Pictures is picking up out of turnaround at New Line.

F. Gary Gray remains attached to helm the project tracing the roots of the seminal rap group and their rise to fame against the violence-plagued streets of L.A.'s Compton neighborhood.

Arabian Prince, DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Eazy-e, and Ice Cube formed the original members who, for better or worse, were key in the foundation of the gangsta rap sub genre of hip hop.

Cube, Dre, Tomica Woods and Matt Alvarez are producing. Alan Wenkus and Leigh Savidge wrote the original script.

Source: THR...

"The Italian Job" helmer F. Gary Gray is in talks to direct the N.W.A biopic "Straight Outta Compton" at New Line says The Hollywood Reporter.

N.W.A., short for Ni--az Wit Attitudes, were an influential hip hop group from Compton during the late 80's and considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap movement. Ice Cube was a part of the group along with since successful solo talents like Dr. Dre, Mc Ren and Arabian Prince.

Scribes Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus and Matt Alvarez have all been linked to the project. Cube, Tomica Woods and Matt Alvarez are producing.

Gray beat out the likes of John Singleton, George Tillman and Elgin James for the job. Gray was also linked as a potential helmer for the "Captain America" sequel, this would take him out of the running for that gig.

...and then there were two. It was just over a week ago when it was announced that Marvel was looking at George Nolfi ("The Adjustment Bureau"), F. Gary Gray ("Friday," "The Italian Job") and Joe and Anthony Russo ("Welcome To Collinwood," "You, Me & Dupree") for "Captain America 2" (which has since landed a April 4, 2014 release date). Well, it looks like one name is out of the running.

Deadline reports that F. Gary Gray has left to helm the brewing N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton." The movie was been in the works since at least 2009 and at least four writers -- Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus and Matt Alvarez -- involved (Berloff has the latest credit). Ice Cube is co-producing and we honestly figured this would be stuck in development hell like many of the hip hop movies brewing in Hollywood. And while John Singleton circled last fall,...

Out doing press rounds for "Abduction", director John Singleton hinted that he and his "Boyz N the Hood" star Ice Cube could be re-teaming for a new project.

"I can't talk about it too prematurely about the stuff I'm doing because nothing's come to fruition yet, but Ice Cube and I are talking about doing the N.W.A. story. The script is really, really good, and so we're just figuring it out. New Line really wants to make it." he said in comments to The Playlist.

N.W.A., short for Ni--az Wit Attitudes, were an influential hip hop group from Compton during the late 80's and considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap movement. Cube himself was a part of the group along with since successful solo talents like Dr. Dre, Mc Ren and Arabian Prince.

Scribes Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus and Matt Alvarez have all been linked to the project.

It's certainly possible. Ice Cube has been in talks with director John Singleton about a biopic for the big-league late 80's rap group, N.W.A. The director, whose previous work includes 2 Fast 2 Furious, Boyz N The Hood and the new thriller Abduction, spoke recently at a press conference, "I can’t talk about it too prematurely about the stuff I’m doing because nothing’s come to fruition yet, but Cube and I are talking about doing the N.W.A. story. The script is really, really good, and so we’re just figuring it out. New Line really wants to make it.” If the biopic gets off the ground, Ice Cube will produce while Singleton directs. The current screenplay is written by Andrea Berloff, Alan Wenkus, S. Leigh Savidge and Matt Alvarez. Would you watch a biopic of the notorious rap group? I definitely would. A film that covers the details surrounding...

John Singleton has Abduction opening this weekend, but he has a number of other projects in the works. The Playlist is reporting that Singleton is in talks to reunite with his Boyz N The Hood star, Ice Cube. Here is what he had to say about the project:

“I can’t talk about it too prematurely about the stuff I’m doing because nothing’s come to fruition yet, but Cube and I are talking about doing the N.W.A. story. The script is really, really good, and so we’re just figuring it out. New Line really wants to make it.”

The biopic that focuses on the classic gangsta rap group has Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus and Matt Alvarez, attached to writ the script. The film is being produced by Cube, David Engel, Bill Strauss, and Tomica Wright. The film has a proposed title of Straight Outta Compton?...

If one were to assemble a shortlist of possible directors for Straight Outta Compton, the mooted N.W.A biopic, one of the obvious choices would be John Singleton. Well, the John Singleton of Boyz n the Hood, at least; perhaps not the Singleton of Abduction. If you did put Singleton high on the list to make the N.W.A. film, you wouldn't be alone; evidently Ice Cube has approached him to make the picture. The Playlist [1] talked to the director at a press day for Abduction, and he said, I can’t talk too prematurely about the stuff I’m doing because nothing’s come to fruition yet, but Cube and I are talking about doing the N.W.A. story... The script is really, really good, and so we’re just figuring it out. New Line really wants to make it. We've been hearing about this possible film [2] for...

It’s been six years since John Singleton has directed a movie, returning with the Taylor Lautner action-thriller Abduction this week. Since being booted out of the Akira director’s chair, Singleton is currently in works on another potential project - reuniting with his Boyz in the Hood star Ice Cube to direct a biopic on the iconic ‘80s gangsta rap group N.W.A. According to Singleton, "The script is really, really good and so we’re figuring it out. New Line really wants to make it." Currently, four writers are attached to the project. Matt Alvarez is a frequent Cube collaborator, having penned both Barbershop movies as well as Next Friday and (shudder) Are We There Yet. S. Leigh Savidge is known more for this producing work including this...

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With various press outlets covering Abduction (the movie where Taylor Lautner finds out he was kidnapped and runs around or something) upon its imminent release, some of the talent involved in that film have been sharing information on their upcoming projects. One of those people is Sigourney Weaver, an action star who requires no introduction. Being involved with the Avatar and Ghostbusters franchises — two of which happen to have sequels either in development or heavily hinted at — means that questions about said franchises are coming up.

On the subject of follow-ups to the biggest movie of all time, the actress has already said that she might be returning in one form of another. While speaking to ComingSoon (via /Film), she basically confirmed her involvement. Read her quote below:

“Don’t worry, I will be back. Jim [Cameron] says no one ever dies in science fiction. He’s told me the stories...

The iconic N.W.A. introduced gangsta rap to the world and we got to discover the likes of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Easy E, and Mc Ren in the process. And their definitive album, Straight Outta Compton, changed the musical landscape forever.

Now, New Line is developing an urban drama about N.W.A. to be called..."Straight Outta Compton." According to EW, "the project will chronicle the rise and fall of the rap quarter."

Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are among the film's producers, as well as Eazy-e's widow, Tomica Wright. They're actively looking for a director ala Curtis Hanson ("8 Mile". Great plan, but who's writing the script? 'Cause you know, it all begins with the written word.

Update: My source told me that the script is written by Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus. They "did a lot of research, interviewed many people and worked closely with New...