A movie about Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight is now in development after producer Steve Whitney and his TSW Films bought the music mogul’s life rights. Whitney hired Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, Alpha Dog) and Anthony Thorne (Badge of Honor) to write the script, reports Deadline. Since the late 1990s, Knight has been in almost constant legal trouble. He is now serving a 28-year prison sentence for a fatal 2015 hit-and-run accident.
Knight, 56, became a concert promoter after playing for the Los Angeles Rams in 1987. After forming an artist management company and signing West Coast rappers, he co-founded Death Row Records in 1991 with The D.O.C., Dr. Dre and Dick Griffey. The label was credited with taking gangsta rap mainstream with artists like Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dog. The label grew to include over 50 artists, but it quickly declined after Dre and Snoop Dog left and an unknown assailant murdered Tupac.
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In 2015, Knight crashed his car into Heavyweight Records co-founder Terry Carty and filmmaker Cle Sloan. Carter died of his injuries and Sloan was severely injured. Security footage showed Knight running over the two men, but Knight claimed he was acting in self-defense. Before he was set to go to trial in September 2018, Knight pleaded no contest. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison for running over the victims and six years because it was his third strike. Knight is incarcerated at RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. He is not eligible for parole until July 2037.
Although he is in prison, Knight endorsed Whitney’s project. “I met a guy named Mike Klein that was with Ruthless. David Kenner was on the phone with Michael Harris and they took a meeting with Jerry Heller and during [the] process of taking that meeting they were trying to sell Dre back to Ruthless behind my back,” he said in a statement to Deadline. “Mike Klein told me about it and I respect him for it – We became friends. So when it came time to do a real movie and tell the truth about it he introduced me to Steve Whitney. Now, Steve, Mike, and I, and the woman that has my back, are making this movie. Taking it to the next level!”
Knight has been portrayed on the screen before, but usually as a supporting character. R. Marcos Taylor played him in Straight Outta Compton and Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le. Sean Ringgold played Knight in The Notorious B.I.G. biopic Notorious. Dominic L. Santana played Knight in the Tupac biopic All Eyez on Me and Unsolved. Director Antoine Fuqua interviewed Knight for the 2018 Showtime documentary American Dream/American Knightmare. Whitney did not announce a cast or director for his Knight biopic.
