While we're eagerly awaiting fresh news on the Tupac Shakur
biopic that's scheduled to begin filming next month, an entirely new biopic is currently being shopped by indie director/producer/writer Gobi M. Rahimi--not to big league studios but to everyday Pac fans. Rahimi is hoping to film, finish and release 7Dayz, his labor of love feature that will, he asserts, home in on the final week of Tupac's life and investigate the events immediately preceding and following his death.
7Dayz is seeking funding via an Indiegogo campaign that hopes to raise $300,000 between now and July 3rd, and as of press time has collected just over $4,000. When it comes to Rahimi's credentials in this case, they're impressive: the director was involved with many of Tupac's music videos during his time as a Death Row Records artist and was incredibly close with the late MC, especially in the time leading up to his death.
"I was waiting for Tupac at club 662 in Las Vegas after the Mike Tyson fight on September 7, 1996. Soon after, I was informed by rapper Nate Dogg that Tupac and Suge Knight had been shot and taken to University Hospital. I immediately rushed there to be by Tupac’s side," Rahimi wrote on the fund's main page. Following the shooting, he reportedly stayed by Tupac's side for the weeklong coma that lead to his passing. "7Dayz is the story of my experience at the hospital amidst death threats, undercover FBI informants and an uncooperative Police Department"
In an interview with Deadline, the director said that the film will be a full-on narrative picture, rather than a documentary, and use some pre-existing footage that has been in his personal archives for 20 years. Rahimi envisions an all-star roster of artists to perform a "dedication music" soundtrack, in lieu of using any of Tupac's official recordings.
Rahiim has reportedly been trying to get 7Dayz off the ground for quite some time, but recent harrowing events may have lent him extra motivation. "Tupac's final week reflects all of the racism and inequality that Baltimore and the likes of Trayvon Martin have been victims to. The powers that be don’t want us to make this film," he wrote on the fundraising page. Watch the promo trailer for 7Dayz below and visit its online crowdfunding campaign here.
