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When casting began for the upcoming biopic, “Notorious,”
about the life and death of rapper Christopher “Notorious
B.I.G.” Wallace, his mother Voletta Wallace, says she only had
one person in mind to portray herself in the film- actress Angela
Bassett.
“I asked for her to portray me
in the film. They wanted someone else, but I said, ‘let’s
see if we could find her first.’ When I heard she said yes, I was
very excited, very thrilled,” Wallace admits.
The
film, which is slated for a January 2009 release, also co-stars Derek
Luke as Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jamal Woodard as Biggie. His
mother, who also serves as one of the film’s producers, hopes the
film will provide much-needed insight into her son’s personality
and life.
“In the past, there were so
many documentaries [but]…I thought that a movie would be good
because there are so many people out there that respected his
music,” she explains. “There were also some who hated his
music but wanted to know about the person and the man.”
With
the film’s release date drawing near, Wallace admits that she is
more than happy about the film. “[Director] George Tillman did a
great job, an excellent job. The actors and actresses—just
excellent,” she declares. “I’m very excited and
thrilled for what they have done. Do I like the movie? I love the movie.” Wallace is also certain that Biggie’s Brooklyn birthplace will love the film just as she is.
“I
know Brooklyn as a whole is gonna love it. We did a lot of filming in
Brooklyn; we spent days there…and Brooklyn is just loving every
minute of it. I think they’re looking forward to it.”
–ivory m. jones
“Notorious” is expected to hit theaters January 16, 2009.
