Iceberg Slim's "Pimp" Closer to Big Screen

Robert "Iceberg Slim" Beck's 1969 autobiography, "Pimp: The Story of My Life," is closer than ever to becoming a feature film, according to the Hollywood Reporter. A project was once set up at Fine Line as a starring vehicle for Ice Cube with Bill Duke directing, and Pras of the Fugees was trying to mount a film version as late as 2004.

One huge obstacle has been an ongoing lawsuit between the author's estate and the publisher (Beck died in 1992). With the suit recently settled, rights to the best-seller have been acquired outright by Rob Weiss, an executive producer of HBO's "Entourage," along with producers Mitch Davis, Ryan Drexler and Andrew Left.

Born in abject poverty, Beck became a pimp at 18 and eventually rose to kingpin status in the Chicago underworld. He had several stretches in prison, making one escape. After retiring from the business he became an insecticide salesman in Los Angeles.

During a phone conversation with a college professor, Beck mentioned that he had been a pimp, and the professor encouraged him to write an autobiography. Three months later, Beck had penned "Pimp." The autobiography has sold more than 5 million copies and is the second-best-selling book by a black man, after Alex Haley's "Roots."

"The story is really the birth of the American inner city, and it's an incredible tale of overcoming oppression," said Weiss, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "It speaks of a very specific time in America and its street culture. The book is filled with broken souls but shows how, in the end, Iceberg found a way to heal himself."

The quartet is looking for actors, writers and a director before bringing the project to a studio. Who do you think should play "Iceberg Slim"? Tyrese with a Rev. Al 'do?