Paramount is looking to bring the digital brand WorldStarHipHop to the big screen.
The studio is fast-tracking a film through its Insurge label that would use the popular website WorldStarHipHop.com as a springboard for a narrative feature. Ian Edelman, the creator-writer behind HBO’s How to Make It in America, is writing the screenplay and is poised to direct the low-budget film.
Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam, is onboard to produce alongside WorldStarHipHop founder Q Worldstar. Douglas Banker and Trevor Engelson also are producing.
The plot is being kept under wraps, but it’s described as similar in tone to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Insurge bought the concept as a pitch and quickly attached Simmons as a producer. The studio now has a script it likes and is eyeing a fall start date in New York.
Launched in 2005, WorldStarHipHop.com has become a hip-hop lifestyle phenomenon, used by artists and brands to launch music videos, singles, apparel and products. The site, which boasts huge traffic numbers, also frequently posts raw footage from violent street fights.
The film will be produced by digital media company Woven, WorldStarHipHop, Underground and Def Pictures. Adam Goodman and Dani Bernfield are overseeing for Paramount.
E-mail: Tatiana.Siegel@THR.com
Twitter: @TatianaSiegel27
