A Wiley biopic is heading to a cinema near you

This is my life, my highs and lows”

The story of how Wiley emerged from East London to become the self-styled Godfather of Grime is set to receive the big screen treatment.

The grime pioneer’s life story will be told in Wiley, a forthcoming biopic announced by Pulse Films and record label BMG.

It’ll be directed by Adam Smith and will trace Wiley’s roots as a performer on pirate radio and his subsequent journey to achieving global fame.

“This is my life, my highs and lows, but it’s not really all about me,” Wiley told Variety of the project.

“When I make music, help the scene or even do something like this, it’s like I’m not alone any more. It’s for people who grew up like me. I’m doing it to help people who are lost like me.”

Smith previously directed the video for Wiley’s ‘Wot Do U Call It’, before making his big screen debut with 2016’s Trespass Against Us – a revenge thriller starring Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson.
He also helmed Don’t Think, a 2012 concert film that captured The Chemical Brothers’ performance at Japan’s Fuji Rocks festival.

“Making a film about this incredible talent and his story 15 years later is very exciting”, Smith said of the project.

British-Egyptian poet Sabrina Mahfouz is believed to be working on the film’s screenplay.

Earlier this year, Wiley’s contributions to UK music were recognised in the form of an MBE.

Speaking to the Press Association as he collected the honour at Buckingham Palace, he said: “This could open up doors for me in terms of going back to teach, to help, because I don’t care about myself anymore, I care about others.

“I feel like that’s the way I get on in my life, it’s about everyone else, and that’s why I’m here.”