Just one week after it opened, the Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez On Me is causing a stir far from the box office. Deadline reports that the movie’s writers and producers, including Lionsgate, are being sued by veteran music journalist Kevin Powell for infringement. Powell, who’s written extensively for Vibe, claims there are “significant portions of the film is based on interviews he did” with the iconic rapper years ago. After seeing the film a couple of times, Powell says “it is clear that my exclusive Vibe cover stories on Tupac Shakur (when he was alive), were lifted, without proper credit or compensation of any kind to me” for use in the film directed by Benny Boom, and written by Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez, and Steven Bagatourian.
Powell, who has his own Tupac biography set for next year, also believes his claims are bolstered by the fact that All Eyez On Me producer Lenton Terrell Hutton told radio hosts at the Breakfast Club recently that the film used “all of the interviews” of Tupac Shakur, which presumably includes the many done by Powell himself. The lawsuit is looking to have the film pulled from theaters, as well as a portion of the $31-million box-office take to date.