Controversial Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight, Jr. will be the subject of a feature-length documentary to be produced and aired on Showtime, the network announced today.
The film, tentatively titled "Suge Knight," will be directed by "Training Day" filmmaker Antoine Fuqua.
The pay cable network says it will be the first of a several Showtime-produced documentaries that "will spotlight iconic and controversial figures from talented and prestigious filmmakers."
Fuqua will also co-produce the documentary, with Bradley J. Fischer, whose credits include "Black Swan," "Shutter Island" and "Zodiac." David Prior, Laeta Kalogridis, James Vanderbilt, Lisa Remington and Edward McGurn will executive-producers, while journalist Chuck Philips will serve as co-producer.
In the announcement, Fischer promised to deliver a warts-and-all view of Knight that others have shied away from.
“Suge Knight’s reputation and rise to power in the music business has become the stuff of legend, and he remains one of the entertainment industry’s most provocative and enduring myths,” said Fischer. “But while his name elicits an immediate and powerful reaction from people around the world, very few can legitimately claim to know the man. Antoine Fuqua and I are thrilled to be partnering with Showtime to tell this remarkable story and take audiences behind a curtain that most have been terrified to even approach.”
Not that the documentary doesn't come with its subject's cooperation: Knight, through his new music company Black Kapital, will spearhead the soundtrack.
Knight has had a particularly volatile career and history, with a troubled past that includes several arrests and the bankruptcy of Death Row.
