It’s time to fall in love with the smooth grooves of Boyz II Men all over again – this time on the big screen. The legendary R&B group will soon be added to TheShockNews of artists whose lives have been explored in biopics with a new development deal that goes beyond just making a film.
Per Variety, Boyz II Men has joined forces with production and financing companies Compelling Pictures and Primary Wave to develop a feature film based on their long history as one of the best-selling R&B groups of all time. Current members of the group, Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris, will also be executive producing the project, which includes the production of a longform documentary that will dive deep into their success throughout the ’90s and 2000s, as well as their continued relevance as legacy artists who continue to sell out shows with their wide-ranging hit catalog. When speaking about the project, Nathan Morris said, “We’ve been waiting to find the right partners who understand our story and are willing to tell it all. Denis and Jeff at Compelling Pictures understood us day 1.”
Compelling Pictures is no stranger to music biopics. Denis O’Sullivan has ties to Bohemian Rhapsody, while Jeff Kalligheri did work on the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody. The project is in the early stages with producers still in talks with writers and directors to take on the biopic but, once they find the right voice for the movie, they want to fast track the film and get it off the ground quickly. O’Sullivan and Kalligheri spoke about being big fans of Boyz II Men in a statement about the film, and it appears it will benefit from the time they have taken to truly get to know each member of the group over the years.
“Having grown up as huge fans of Boyz II Men, and having spent the past couple of years getting to know the guys and become friends with them, it’s a tremendous honor to help bring their unique and untold story to the big screen. We’re excited to show the brotherhood and comradery, as well as the challenges and strife, humor and heartbreak, that has accompanied the unparalleled success that Nate, Shawn, Wanya, and Mike have worked so hard to achieve. And we think the global audience will want to sing along to a sexy, funny, aspirational, uplifting celebration of friendships and artistic partnerships that have stood the test of time.”
Boyz II Men Is One of the Most Successful R&B Groups of All Time
Boyz II Men burst onto the scene in 1991 with the release of their first album, Cooleyhighharmony, which followed with a series of record-breaking singles. The album sold over nine million copies, and spawned the hit singles “Motownphilly” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” both of which peaked within the top five on the Billboard Hot 100. While on tour in 1992, they recorded the song “End of the Road” for the Boomerang soundtrack, which set a record at the time for most weeks spent at number one when it topped the chart for 13 weeks.
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The group achieved even bigger success with the release of their album II, which sold 12 million copies and became one of the best-selling albums ever released by an R&B group. They broke their own single record on the Billboard Hot 100 twice when “I’ll Make Love to You” topped the charts for 14 weeks and then again when their duet with Mariah Carey, “One Sweet Day,” spent 16 weeks at number one. Although their popularity began to subside into the 2000s, Boyz II Men still went on to sell over 60 million albums over their lengthy career, making them one of the biggest-selling R&B acts of all time.
The group performs as a trio today following the departure of their bass singer Michael McCary, who left the group in 2003 after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.