According to 24 Frames, Antoine Fuqua is set to come aboard the boxing pic Southpaw, starring Eminem. While no official deal is in place as of yet, Fuqua’s rumored attachment to Southpaw may mean his upcoming Tupac Shakur biopic will be shelved.
The story of Southpaw, written by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter, follows a down and out lefty welterweight boxer. Eminem is set to play the title character, a man struggling with tragedies and challenges as he fights his way to the title.
Fuqua, director of gritty cop drama Training Day, has been attached to a number of projects recently, including the late rapper’s biopic and a Pablo Escobar biopic. The fate of the Shakur project is uncertain if these rumors are true, as Fuqua apparently was the creative force behind the film and helped persuade Shakur’s mother to cooperate in the development of the movie.
Eminem hasn’t played a leading role in a film since his acting debut in Curtis Hanson’s 8 Mile. The film was a thinly-veiled biopic, and followed an aspiring rapper from the wrong side of the tracks trying to make it big. Southpaw is also rumored to mirror parts of Eminem’s life and struggles, and it makes me wonder if he can only play roles in which he essentially plays himself.