Following All Eyez on Me's summer box office success, the long-awaited 2Pac biopic makes its way to Blu-ray and DVD this week. The film, despite receiving largely negative reviews from critics, ultimately walked away with $44 million at the box office. For All Eyez' second wave, Summit Entertainment is treating fans of director Benny Boom's film to deleted scenes, audition tapes, and other bonus clips.
In a clip premiered by Billboard on Tuesday, star Demetrius Shipp Jr. discusses the power of recreating 2Pac's iconic 1996 House of Blues performance. "[Boom] had me coming out to 'Hail Mary,' I said 'Nah, Pac came out to 'Ambitionz az a Ridah,' I have to come out to that,'" Shipp said of shooting the scene. "I knew the energy that would bring and I knew I had that first part down. So, you know, the Outlawz are there, almost 1000 extras are there, and they haven't seen me yet, and I came out on fire."
After his "Ambitionz az a Ridah" run-through wrapped, Shipp said everyone on set was stunned. "The cast, the crew," he recalled. "They were like, I cannot believe that it looked so authentic...so identical it's scary." For Shipp, this was "the best day" on set.
All Eyez on Me also stars Walking Dead veterans Lauren Cohan and Danai Gurira, as well as The Vampire Diaries' Kat Graham. Though both Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood) were attached to the project at various points during its lengthy development process, Boom ultimately took the director's chair in late 2015, just weeks before principal photography kicked off in Atlanta, Georgia.
Catch All Eyez on Me on Blu-ray, DVD, and other non-theater platforms now.
