As announced earlier this month, Jamal Woolard will star as the lead role in Notorious, a big screen adaptation of the life of rapper Christopher Wallace a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G.
Fox Searchlight sent us a first look of Jamal as B.I.G., and I must admit, he looks pretty dead on.
Jamal’s casting isn’t without controversy. New York Times suggests that Jamal had this part in the bag even before Searchlight’s open casting call stunt last fall:
“Not part of the open call in New York in October, Mr. Woolard had been under consideration since November, and was quietly being groomed by the film’s director, George Tillman Jr., before being officially selected. “We set up a boot camp for three months just for him,” Mr. Tillman said from New York, where he is preparing to begin production with Robert Teitel, his partner in State Street Pictures.
Discuss: What do you think of Jamal Woolard as BIG?
March 17th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
He certainly looks the part, but a screenshot is not even half the battle, people like BIG are known for their mannerisms.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
all i can say is
Supa Nintendo Sega Genesis, a couple months back man i couldnt picture this,
i thought this movie would be on the brinks man, im just glad they didnt get sean kingston!!!
March 17th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I guess it looks like him from that angle.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
He had a great story.
From good kid to crack dealer. It will be interesting to see how they portray how the allure of street life affects even the most sheltered and well raised youth in urban culture.
Woolard looks a lot like BIG, but i have seen other pictures of him that weren’t so forced that actually look better than this.
I wonder who will play Tupac in the film?!?!?
:)
March 17th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
this guy reminds me of BIG because of the clothing but hes physique is not on par with Biggie…his face isnt even close….the guy from 8 mile..the papa doc guy is playing tupac….i just dont really think they have the look down…i dont doubt he can act the part but its going to have to be extremely convincing to sell me on it…….
March 17th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
looks more like a suge knight wanna be…or an extra from american gangster
March 17th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I like it. Looking forward to seeing B.I.G. on the big screen.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Could not care less about Biggie or Tupac.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
If I saw this image in a Halloween costume catalogue I’d think the same thing I’m thinking now: some likeness but not a double-take
March 17th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
a little slimmer than biggie but that’s Hollywood. Hope there is some good concert scenes in this film. Some of his best tracks are live. Crowd cheers + his vox always sound really good.
March 17th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Meh.. Looks more like the fat guy from Gnarles Barkley…
March 17th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
This certainly looks better than the god-awful forthcoming Anna Nicole Smith biopic with Willa Ford.
And that fat guy from Gnarls Barkley is Cee-Lo, sir. And he’s every bit as talented as Biggie.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I’d say MORE talented than BigE but okay…
March 17th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
you really dont know of what you speak jfk.
while cee lo is the shit, biggie is arguably the best rapper to hit it.
that being said, the look isnt too much of a concern for me, it’s more about how much he sounds like biggie. think about walk the line, phoenix didn’t really look like cash but still pulled the roll off.
March 17th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I just think that any black big guy can look like biggie. All you need is the tux and shades. With shades, any1 can look like him.
March 18th, 2008 at 9:37 am
I just think that any white big guy can look like biggie. All you need is the tux and shades. With shades, any1 can look like him.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I just think that any asian big guy can look like biggie. All you need is the tux and shades. With shades, any1 can look like him.