Notorious

Notorious is a 2009 American biographical drama film directed by George Tillman Jr. and written by Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker. It is based on the life of Brooklyn-based hip-hop artist The Notorious B.I.G. Much of the film dramatizes key events in Biggie's life: his criminal lifestyle, arrest and release from prison, his relationships with Sean Combs, Tupac Shakur, Lil' Kim and Faith Evans, his involvement in the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry and his drive-by-shooting murder on March 9, 1997. The film stars Jamal Woolard as Wallace, with Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, and Anthony Mackie in supporting roles. Biggie's mother, Voletta, served as a producer for the film, alongside his former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts. Notorious was released in the United States on January 16, 2009, by Fox Searchlight Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $44.4 million on a $20 million budget. Plot On March 9, 1997, in Los Angeles, just as The Notorious B.I.G. is stopped at a red light, an assailant in a Chevrolet Impala pulls up next to his SUV and opens fire. The film flashes back to Biggie's childhood in 1980s Brooklyn, New York, where he was a hard-working school student before being groomed into drug dealing. Christopher, The Notorious B.I.G.'s real name, begins selling drugs at the height of the crack epidemic as he reaches adulthood, hustling with his friends Damion "D-Roc" Butler and Lil' Cease.