‘City of Lies’ Trailer Reexamines Biggie Smalls Murder Case [VIDEO]
Twenty-one years after his death, the murder of The Notorious B.I.G. continues to draws interest in Hollywood. On Monday (May 21), on what would have been Biggie Smalls’ 46th birthday, the trailer for City of Lies, which reexamines the late rapper’s murder, hits the internet.
In the trailer, actor Johnny Depp portrays real-life LAPD detective Russell Poole who was one of the lead investigators in the Biggie Smalls murder case. Tagging along with him is an inquisitive journalist played by Forest Whitaker. Both seem to take two unlikely paths as they begin their search for Biggie’s killer.
"A murder like that only goes unsolved if the police don't want to solve it," said Depp's Poole at the beginning of the trailer. From there we see images of Biggie, 2Pac and various authorities refusing to divulge any information regarding the murder case. In addition, Biggie's haunting Life After Death track "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)" plays throughout the trailer.
The film is based on Randall Sullivan's book LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal. Russell Poole, before his death in 2015, believed that an alleged conspiracy within the police force hindered the investigation into Biggie’s death.
According to the film's synopsis (via Rolling Stone), City of Lies is about:
"LAPD detective Russell Poole (Johnny Depp) who spent years trying to solve his biggest case, but after two decades, the investigation remains open. 'Jack' Jackson (Forest Whitaker), a reporter desperate to save his reputation and career, is determined to find out why. In search of the truth, the two team up and unravel a growing web of institutional corruption and lies. Relentless in their hunt, these two determined men threaten to uncover the conspiracy and crack the foundation of the LAPD and an entire city."
City of Lies will arrive in theaters on Sept. 7, which ironically, falls on the anniversary of Tupac Shakur's 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. The late rapper would later die from his injuries on Sept. 13.
Listen to The Notorious B.I.G.'s "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)"
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