Hip-hop producer Damon Dash has signed on to direct and star in the Philadelphia gangsta sequel
State Property II, according to Variety.
Screenplay for
State Property II was penned by Adam "Blue" Moreno from a story by Dash and Moreno.
"This is my third project as director but the first on which I've really prepared properly to do what a director needs to do," Dash told Variety. "Being in the movie business as long as I have been, there are certain expectations, so I've really had to crack down and study."
Story follows three rival gangsters fighting to own the same turf. Dash and rapper Beanie Sigel reprise their roles from
State Property as a Harlem-born hustler forced into a vicious territory war and an imprisoned drug lord struggling to keep his gang on the map, respectively. Victor Santiago (aka Nore) stars as a flashy Miami playboy plotting to take over the Philly streets.
The movie is to be directed by Abdul Malik Abbott, original feature was a profitable pickup for the distrib, grossing $2.1 million theatrically and segueing to video and DVD to generate a further $5 million.
Shooting started March 4 in New York on the 16mm feature. Lions Gate is planning a 2005 release.