RJ Cyler has surged onto the film scene, starring in both Me and Earl and the Dying Girl as Earl and the new Power Rangers as the Blue Ranger. Lionsgate has chosen him to portray Luther Campbell, the leader of the infamous rap group 2 Live Crew, in what looks to be a biopic of Campbell and his time with the group as their leader and manager, according to Deadline.
The film will be based on Campbell’s book Book Of Luke: My Fight For Truth, Justice And Liberty City, which chronicles Campbell’s life on the streets to national stardom to the eventual Supreme Court case which helped form the new normal when discussing free speech and fair use. The case surrounded 2 Live Crew’s parody cover of Roy Orbison’s Oh Pretty Woman, with the music publisher Acuff-Rose Music suing the group for copyright infringement. Campbell would eventually win the case, which changed the way parodies are viewed in the commercial bubble.
The drama biopic will be written by Craig Williams (Underdog), with Temple Hill Entertainment’s Marty Bowen (Twilight, The Fault in Our Stars), Wyck Godfrey (I, Robot, The Maze Runner), and John Fischer producing and Mike Epps (Meet the Blacks) executive producing. The film currently does not have a release date.