An upcoming film portraying Machine Gun Kelly as a doomed musician will change titles in the wake of what appeared to be a scathing complaint from the late rapper Mac Miller’s brother.
The filming of the film starring Kelly, the rapper-turned-rocker and collaborator of Travis Barker and Megan Fox, is currently known as Good News. Its story is based on several hip-hip artists who faced premature deaths such as Miller, Juice WLRD and Pop Smoke. The film’s title, unambiguous on the subject, nods to Miller’s song of the same name, an excerpt from his posthumous album Circles. In 2018, Miller, real name Malcolm McCormick, died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 26.
The film, however, is not a Mac Miller biopic, but a fictional tale inspired by real artists. Regardless, Miller’s surviving brother Miller McCormick has apparently challenged the film’s title, expressing angry thoughts in a social media post, according to the NME. (See a screenshot of the comment below.)
“Fuck you, fuck your movie, at least change the title,” Instagram account @millermccormick said in an Instagram story.
In response to this and other criticism on social media, the production team behind the film set to begin filming in Los Angeles next week has revealed that it will be changing its title.
“Our film is about a booming fictional musician with a busy life,” the producers said in a recent press release. “This is by no means a biopic or based on the real life of an artist.”
The film’s writers said they “realized that the title, which was meant to be a tribute to Mac Miller, and other artists who left too soon, is disrespectful. We have heard from many people on social media who have found the title offended, so without hesitation we’ll change it. “
Over the past two years, Machine Gun Kelly, real name Colson Baker, has had a parallel acting career as his own music gains popularity. The musician played Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee in The Dirt in 2019, and he appears alongside his girlfriend Fox in Midnight in the Switchgrass directed by Bruce Willis, which will be released later this month.
