NOTORIOUS STAR WOOLARD FEARED NEIGHBOURHOOD RECEPTION.

JAMAL WOOLARD felt such pressure to portray rap legend NOTORIOUS B.I.G. in new biopic NOTORIOUS, he feared he'd be an outcast in the New York neighbourhood they both hail from if it flopped.

Woolard was born and raised in Brooklyn suburb Bedford-Stuyvesent, where B.I.G. - real name Christopher Wallace - is still a local legend, 12 years after he was murdered. And the MC-turned-actor knew the role came with a great responsibility. He says, "The pressure's enormous. I thought, 'I can't go home if I don't do this right.'" He was so determined to land the role of late rap legend NOTORIOUS B.I.G. in biopic NOTORIOUS - he began turning himself into the heavyweight hip-hop star five months before he even auditioned.

Woolard had no acting experience, but was an MC, like the star commonly referred to as Biggie Smalls, and hails from the same Brooklyn, New York neighbourhood as the rapper - who was murdered in 1997. He felt it his destiny to play B.I.G. - real name Christopher Wallace - on the big screen, and set about taking on his hero's look, voice and mannerisms, long before he could even try out for the part.

Woolard says, "I went to Biggie boot camp. I had to gain the weight and I went up to 340 pounds because I felt the competition was so big. I then studied his mannerisms. "This was all five months before casting."

If you read HipHossip, you would have won Devo Brown's movie ticket contest!! Duh!

HERE'S THE TRAILER OF THE NOTORIUS B.I.G MOVIE.

MY GURL AMY WINEHOUSE DROPPED FROM BOND TRACK THEME!

Pop singer LEONA LEWIS has reportedly triumphed over AMY WINEHOUSE in their drawn-out battle to record the theme song for the forthcoming BOND movie, QUANTUM OF SOLACE. Rehab hitmaker Winehouse was rumoured to have been dropped as the film's official musical muse after DJ Mark Ronson told reporters last month (May08) he had scrapped his 007 collaboration with the singer, because she was not "ready" to work on music after a recent return to her erratic ways. Days later (24May08), Winehouse confirmed that she had, in fact, completed the song - but her spokesperson has since admitted the use of her track in the latest superspy offering is "unlikely".

Now industry insiders claim Lewis, the 2006 winner of U.K. TV talent competition The X Factor, has become the favourite to record the title track. A source tells British newspaper The Sun, "It looks like Leona has finally won the race. "She is seen as one of the few candidates who has the right profile both sides of the pond to do it. "Amy was their original choice but she just can't get her act together and hasn't got the right image."

Mark needs to go watch over his sister kissing Lindsay Lohan all over the place and stop hating on Amy!

KIMPOSSIBLE: Is Diddy CRAZY? He's writing a romantic movie for Sienna Miller to star in!

Kim Porter is about to go wild soon as we hear P. Diddy wants to woo Sienna Miller by writing a movie for her. Remember that Diddy wants to be a "Screenwriter" story I told you days ago? The hip-hop mogul - who was linked to the stunning actress last year following his split from Kim Porter - is currently penning a romantic comedy and is keen for Sienna to play the lead role. He said: "I'm writing a film, a comedy. For actresses, I want Angelina Jolie and Sienna Miller." When asked who would play the male characters, P. Diddy replied: "For actors, Eddie Murphy." His pal Crazy Dogg added: "This is going to be one hot movie. We're all like, are you writing this so you can just hang with Sienna?' "

Sienna and P. Diddy were first romantically linked last January, shortly after the rap star's then-partner Kim had given birth to twin girls. The pair were seen partying in New York, before heading back to the actress' hotel room. He was quick to quash speculation the pair were anything more than friends. However, they then sparked fresh romance rumours last July, after the blonde actress went to the rapper's post-Concert for Diana party, held at London's Paper nightclub. The pair spent most of the evening together and later moved to a private area of the club to relax behind a curtain. The following month, P. Diddy invited Sienna for a romantic break on his yacht in Ibiza.

Diddy has started doing the kimpossible again. Can you please marry this woman and join your pals Jay-Z and Usher in the rich music husband's club!

DID YOU KNOW?: Kelly Rowland also lost to the J-Hudson curse!

R&B star KELLY ROWLAND has been left pondering the existence of a JENNIFER HUDSON curse on her and her DESTINY'S CHILD bandmates, after losing out to the Oscar winner for a role in SEX AND THE CITY: THE MOVIE.Hudson landed the role of Louise, the assistant to Sarah Jessica Parker's character Carrie Bradshaw, after fighting off competition from singer/actress Rowland. And the Dilemma hitmaker was stunned to hear she had lost out on the movie opportunity, because she was convinced she had it in the bag.

She tells WENN, "I can't understand it because I did a really good job at the audition, a really good job! "I hate it, and of course I feel that I should have the part, but then Jennifer Hudson's just won an Oscar, so maybe she's better for the role. But I was so bummed at that, I really wanted it." It is the second time in as many years that Hudson has triumphed over the Destiny's Child girls - in 2006, she was awarded the part of Effie White in the big-screen adaptation of musical Dreamgirls - the role Beyonce Knowles initially wanted to try out for. The Crazy In Love beauty later accepted the smaller part of Deena Jones, in a story loosely based on the rise and fall of The Supremes in the 1960s and 70s.

COMBS SHOCKED BY BIGGIE BIOPIC CAST'S LIKENESS.

Rap mogul SEAN 'DIDDY' COMBS has lavished praise on the cast of the upcoming NOTORIOUS B.I.G. biopic, because the actors bear an uncanny resemblance to the hip-hop stars they portray on screen. The film, Notorious, tells the story of the late rapper's rise to stardom in the mid-1990s, and features portrayals of stars like Lil' Kim, Tupac Shakur, and Combs himself.

And, after a visit to the movie's set, the 38-year-old came away especially impressed by actor Derek Luke, who has been cast as Diddy. He tells MTV.com, "It's rare that you get a movie made about you when you're still relevant, but (they) took on the challenge. "People asked me years ago who you'd want to play me, and I said Derek Luke... So it was just destined. I got to see him do his thing, and it was scary for me. I had to leave, 'cause he was acting just like me." But Combs reserved his highest praise for Jamal 'Gravy' Woolard, a young rapper who has landed the lead role.

He adds, "Gravy, the guy playing B.I.G., it was just too eerie for me to be on that. Gravy's killing it. If I tell you he's killing it, then that's all we need to say, you know what I'm saying? I don't think anybody could have done a better job." Notorious B.I.G., real name Christopher Wallace, was gunned down after a Vibe magazine party in Los Angeles in 1997. There's Biggie and Faith Evans actors above...

Introducing Actress Taylor Dior: Playing B.I.G's daughter in the new movie.

This is Taylor Dior. She has grown up more now as we hear she is playing Tianna, Biggie's daughter in the new upcoming movie. Tianna wasn't this cute. (Sorry but that's my opinion.) This picture sent the web crazy yesterday on why a baby had to have a wash and curl set. Below is Taylor now as she appears in the movie.