The hot project Labyrinth, starring Johnny Depp, was recently announced. In it, the 3-time Oscar nominated Depp will portray L.A.P.D. detective Russell Poole, man all-consumed with solving the murder cases of rap legends Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G. Today, news reports confirm that Open Road Films has grabbed North American rights to the title. The film is scheduled to start shooting in November, so news should be coming in with rapid succession as we get closer to production start.
Brad Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer) will direct Labyrinth from a screenplay by Christian Contreras. The film is based on Randall Sullivan’s book LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implications of Death Row Records’ Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal. The film centers around Poole, the late police detective, as he relays to a reporter on his biggest (and unsolved case) – the murders of Shakur and Wallace. Poole and the reporter begin to form a tenuous bond as Poole shares the deep web of power, corruption and crime that factored into the case and a new lease on trying to solve it.
In statement, Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg said “Labyrinth is an edgy and timely investigative thriller that will make a great addition to our slate. Johnny Depp is perfect for the project and we are thrilled to be in business with him, Miriam Segal, Brad Furman and the rest of the filmmaking team.” It should be noted that the young Open Road Films had terrific success last year with the Oscar-winning Spotlight, another journalistic, detective story.
We will stay tuned on Labyrinth.
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