Snoop Dogg is one of the legends of hip hop, but his movie career has barely registered. When your best role is that of Huggy Bear in a Starsky and Hutch adaptation, that’s to be expected. But that hasn’t deterred the man, and he’s looking to make his return to movies once again; Deadline reports that Snoop has taken the lead role in The Legend of Fillmore Slim. The movie, currently being written by Alan Ames and Carole Parker, will tell the real-life story of Fillmore Slim, who — in addition to being a blues musician — dabbled as a pimp in San Francisco during the ’60s and ’70s. According to Ames, The Legend of Fillmore Slim will “span decades,” covering his music career, pimp life, and redemption after being arrested and thrown into jail. Hawthorne James has signed on to helm, making this his first feature film as a director. He has previously acted in movies like Se7en and The Five Heartbeats. Huh, that sentence felt like something Troy McClure would say.
A musician/pimp story is interesting in and of itself, and the fact that it actually happened is even more intriguing. I like Snoop Dogg as an actor, despite the fact he was in Soul Plane, and I have no doubt he can pull the role off. I’m interested to hear him sing instead of rap, too, since it seems crucial to the role.
The Legend of Fillmore Slim starts pre-production in December, while filming in expected to begin in March.
As an added bonus, here’s a song by the real Fillmore Slim, who’s still currently touring — although he’s in his ’70s. (Blues musicians just never quit, do they?) Check it out below:
Anybody interested in a Fillmore Slim biopic?