Notorious (2009)

The life and death story of The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace), who came straight out of Brooklyn to take the world of rap music by storm.

Director:

George Tillman Jr.

Writers:

Reggie Rock Bythewood, Cheo Hodari Coker

Stars:

Jamal Woolard, Anthony Mackie, Derek Luke

9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamal Woolard	...	Christopher 'Biggie' Wallace
Momo Dione	...	Record Executive at Party (as Mohamed Dione)
Derek Luke	...	Sean 'Puffy' Combs
Dennis L.A. White	...	Damion
Marc John Jefferies	...	Cease
Menyone DeVeaux	...	Hot Girl #1
Christopher Jordan Wallace	...	Biggie (Age 8-13)
Ricky Smith	...	Wally
Amanda Christopher	...	Keisha
Angela Bassett	...	Voletta Wallace
Jasper Briggs	...	Damion (Age 8-13)
Cyrus Farmer	...	Selwyn
David Costabile	...	Mr. Webber
Julia Pace Mitchell	...	Jan
Red Café	...	Primo (as Jermaine Denny)

Storyline

NOTORIOUS is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time; THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."

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Plot Keywords:

biopic | death | gun | shot to death | drive by shooting | 

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Taglines:

The story of the man behind the legend.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some strong sexuality including dialogue, nudity, and for drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

When a teenage Biggie is explaining how his rapping was initially a side-hustle to his drug dealing, the shot shows him rapping in a black and red lumberjack shirt with a hunting cap. This outfit, in fact, matches the one described in the lyrics of the song 'Juicy': 'way back, when I had the red and black/ lumberjack/ with the hat to match'.

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Goofs

After Biggie records "Sky is the Limit" a view of the New York skyline appears showing the New York Times building. Construction of this building began in 2003 was completed in 2007. The scene takes place 1997.

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Quotes

Sean Combs: Nigga, Ahm *hungry*!

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Alternate Versions

The unrated cut features seven minutes of extended footage as well as an opening sequence involving the "Impala SS" killer.

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Connections

References Above the Rim (1994)

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Soundtracks

Fulton Street Battle
Music by Kendale Richardson

User Reviews

Mackie stinks as 2Pac and the movie was anti-climactic

Derek Luke deserves a standing ovation. Without him, the movie would have been a complete waste. Jamal Woolard and Antonique Smith were good as well, but none of the cast could match the level that Derek Luke set as Puffy. Overall, the three really captured the essence of their characters, as we know them now and knew them then. But, the movie fell short of good characters aside from these three. The biggest disappointment being Anthony Mackie as 2Pac.

There must be a shortage of young, black, male actors because Mackie could not carry the essence of 2Pac. He does not physically resemble Pac, though he tried to, he couldn't capture the sense of poetry, serenity, and social consciousness that the world knows 2Pac for. Instead Mackie made 2Pac look irrational, paranoid, and just plain stupid. For that, Mackie should not be invited back to the hip hop movie world.

Lil Kim, played by Naturi Naughton (the girl who got kicked out of 3LW), was acted out beautifully, but the actual character was written a little over the top.

The biggest flaw of all is the fact that the movie had no interpretation and no real drama. It was a biopic without an opinion. There is no "theory" as to who could have been behind the shootings of 2Pac or Biggie, and I think people would have preferred to see that. Maybe George Tillman Jr. is afraid of repercussions if he expresses an opinion.

This movie missed the drama mark by miles. You will notice that as scenes are about to reach their dramatic peak, they are over. You basically wait and wait and wait for the real drama to occur, and you look up and the movie is over.

Overall, I'm happy I saw the movie at matinée price and not at regular price.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Notorious B.I.G. Project

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,497,596, 18 January 2009

Gross USA:

$36,843,682

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$44,420,167

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Voletta Wallace Films, Bystorm Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 128 min (unrated director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1