It’s a good day for fully authorized movies about famous people to get directors, first with Shekhar Kapur signing on to the Bruce Lee biopic and now with Amaru Entertainment and White Horse Pictures announcing that 12 Years A Slave’s Steve McQueen will direct a documentary about Tupac Shakur. In a press release, McQueen says that he’s “extremely moved and excited to be exploring the life and times of this legendary artist,” and that he’s looking forward to “working closely with [Shakur’s] family to tell the unvarnished story of this talented man.”
In addition to having the full support of Shakur’s family, the yet-untitled documentary will also be backed up by Interscope Records, which released most of Shakur’s music and will presumably be providing any music McQueen needs. Plus, its producers include What Happened, Miss Simone? producer Jayson Jackson and The Beatles: Eight Days A Week—The Touring Years producer Nigel Sinclair, so it’s a pretty experienced crew all around.