Cheo Hodari Coker is a former journalist who can’t seem to tear himself away from the truth. His first screenplay, for Notorious, is on display in theaters and he is now onto his next biopic. Coker will adapt “Toughter Than Leather: The Rise of Run DMC – The Authorized Biography” for the big screen, and will also serve as co-executive producer of the film.
The movie will be produced by DJ Classicz, a branch of Davis Entertainment. The company bought the rights to Tougher Than Leather recently and is already getting the gears in motion for production of the film. The author of the book, Bill Adler, will also serve as co-executive producer. Adler is the band’s former publicist.
DJ Classicz president Dallas Jackson told THR “It's an extraordinary rags-to-riches journey that I'm eager to bring to the screen. I'm hoping to have Run, DMC and Russell Simmons' involvement. This will be a big movie about the 1980s hip-hop movement that took over the world." Coker’s script will follow the lives of Joseph “Run” Simmons, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell in their rise to hip-hop stardom. The title of the autobiography refers to the band’s fourth album.
The members of Run DMC made it big in Queens, NY and were guided into national celebrity by Russell Simmons. The band was an integral part of the formation of what we know as hip-hop today, and was one of the first rap acts to make it into the mainstream. Run DMC is most famous for mixing rap and rock with their Aerosmith collaboration "Walk This Way." The band not only brought this mix to the mainstream, but also brought hip-hop fashion into the forefront of American culture in the 1980’s. The band has been on hiatus since the untimely death of DJ “Jam Master Jay,” in 2002, but will be the second hip-hop act to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4th.
Judging from Coker's respectful rendering of Biggie in Notorious I am betting that this will be an honest yet thrilling portrait of these hip-hop greats.
