STOP THE PRESSES! Michael K. Williams (who played Omar on “The Wire” so this is totally TV-related and not just an excuse for me to ramble about Wu-Tang) has signed on to play Ol’ Dirty Bastard in a film about the deceased rapper’s life. HOLY SH-T.
EW has learned exclusively that Williams, 45, will star in an upcoming film about the legendary Wu-Tang Clan rapper and all-around troubled soul Russell Jones, a.k.a. Ol’ Dirty Bastard, whose impressive mic skills and outrageous showmanship were eclipsed by his erratic offstage behavior, assorted arrests, and an early death. […]
The movie is based on the final years of ODB’s life — a true story that is nonetheless stranger than fiction.
Titled Dirty White Boy, the film focuses on the offbeat friendship between the Wu-Tang Clan co-founder and Jarred Weisfeld, a 22-year-old VH1 production assistant who through a lot of hustle (and the occasional lie) talked his way into becoming the rapper’s manager when Jones was serving a three-year stint in prison in the early 2000s. [Entertainment Weekly]
I want to be very clear about something, so there is absolutely no confusion going forward: I am going to watch this movie with such an unsettling amount of intensity that the staff at the theater will fear for their lives. A movie about ODB’s life is exciting enough, but having Omar play him pushes this right over the edge. I’m so giddy I can barely type. I mean, this is a man who once interrupted Shawn Colvin’s speech at the Grammys by rushing the stage and yelling “Wu-Tang is for the children.” A man who got caught stealing $50 shoes despite having $500 cash in his pocket. A man who got arrested in a South Philadelphia McDonald’s while on the run from the police because he stopped to sign dozens of autographs. A man who once took a limousine to pick up his welfare check. A man who gave himself the following nicknames: Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Big Baby Jesus, Dirt McGirt, Joe Bananas, Peanut the Kidnapper, Freeloading Rusty, Knifey McStab, and Little Billy Clinton. This movie will be FASCINATING.
This is also an excellent excuse to post my favorite YouTube video of all time: ODB discussing E.T. (NSFW audio).
One important note about this video:
John Norris tries to explain to ODB who Drew Barrymore is by saying “she was in E.T.,” and ODB replies, “Who? The girl with the bald head?” This leads me to believe ODB had a fundametal misunderstanding of the film, namely that E.T. — an alien from space who could fly and move things with his mind — was actually a “girl with a bald head,” possibly named Drew Barrymore. He then concludes his discussion of the film by saying, and I quote, “I remember the ni**a that was riding the bike in the sky.”
I would gladly forfeit 50% of all my future earnings to be able to travel back in time and watch movies with ODB. I’d love to hear his take on Surf Ninjas.
