Snoop Dogg is getting a big-screen biopic.
Universal Pictures announced Wednesday that the studio is developing a film about Snoop Dogg's life to be produced by the 51-year-old rapper. The film will be written by Joe Robert Cole, who co-wrote the two "Black Panther" films, and directed by Allen Hughes, the filmmaker of "Menace II Society."
"I waited a long time to put this project together because I wanted to choose the right director, the perfect writer, and the greatest movie company I could partner with that could understand the legacy that I'm trying to portray on screen, and the memory I'm trying to leave behind," Snoop said in a statement. "It was the perfect marriage. It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni."
Universal previously turned the story of rap group N.W.A. into the hit 2015 film "Straight Outta Compton" and also released the acclaimed Eminem biopic "8 Mile" in 2002. Cole said the studio "has proven they can guide a movie like this to something special."
Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, said she met with Snoop shortly after he acquired Death Row Records. His acquisition was announced just days before Snoop performed in the Super Bowl halftime show in February with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar.
Snoop Dogg broke through in the early '90s as part of the West Coast rap scene as a collaborator of Dr. Dre's. He's sold more than 35 million albums worldwide in his three-decade career. He'll produce the film along with Sara Ramaker and Hughes.
Emmy Awards ratings up more than 50%, reversing record lows
The Emmys telecast on ABC reached nearly 7 million viewers, a jump of more than 50%from the record low of the last ceremony in January and the biggest audience since 2021, according to numbers released Monday by the network.
Sunday night's 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, in which "Shogun," "Hacks" and "Baby Reindeer" won top awards, was back in its traditional mid-September spot after the rare January ceremony that was delayed four months by Hollywood's strikes.
That show, which aired on Fox, reached a record low audience of 4.3 million viewers.
ABC said Monday that the Sunday night show hosted by Eugene and Dan Levy reached 6.87 million viewers, a jump of 54% despite competition from NFL football.
The height-of-the-pandemic Emmys in 2020 on ABC, with no in-person audience and remote nominees, set a new low at the time with 6.1 million viewers. The show bounced back the following year with 7.4 million for CBS with help from an NFL game lead-in.
But NBC's 2022 telecast dropped to 5.9 million, followed by the further decline in January of this year.
The Emmys telecast rotates annually between the four broadcast networks.
The last time the Emmys reached more than 10 million viewers was 2018, when it drew in 10.2 million. The show had 21.8 million viewers in 2000, a level it's unlikely ever to reach again.
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