Travis Scott Joins DJ Screw Biopic as Executive Producer

Courtesy of DeMo Sherman and University of Houston Libraries Special Collections

The Sony biopic set to chronicle the life of Houston music legend DJ Screw has a new producer.

The studio announced that Travis Scott, another Bayou City native, will executive-produce the project — tentatively titled "All Screwed Up" —first publicized in 2020.

Deadline broke the news, which comes just days before the 22nd anniversary of the death of the pioneer behind the "chopped and screwed" sound that came to define Houston hip-hop in the latter part of the 20th Century.

“When I went up to the LA office with my bro Earl, and the entire Cactus Jack team was there. Trav and I talked over an hour about how epic this could be… bouncing ideas,” Isaac Yowman, who will direct the movie, said. “The love for Screw was mutual, and he told me I had his full support. We’re both raised in Mo. City so this means that much more to have him be a part.”

The film is being developed by Columbia Pictures, a subsidiary of Sony, and has the blessing of the deceased star's family.

"Continuing the legacy of my brother is most important," DJ Screw’s sister Michelle Wheeler said. "The process honestly has been exciting. I’m like wow, we’re really about to make a movie. Nearly a dozen film directors and producers had approached us over the years, but this was the first time I actually felt fully comfortable. I’m very thankful for Sony and Travis being on this journey with us, helping keep my brother Screw’s legacy going.”

Born Robert Earl Davis Jr., DJ Screw invented his signature “chopped and screwed” sound by spinning two copies of a record to “chop” in new rhythms and having local rappers freestyle over the tracks and slow down the recordings of the session on tape.

As the leader of Houston's iconic Screwed Up Click rap collective, and through the release of over 350 mixtapes he became a pivotal figure on the regional level during his life and his legacy continues to spread his innovations nationally and globally, as well as beyond the genres of rap and hip-hop.

He died at the age of 29 on Nov. 16, 2000, of a codeine overdose in addition to mixed drug intoxication, in his recording studio.