One comedian is set to play another! Funnyman Eddie Murphy has been picked to step in the shoes of the late, great Richard Pryor for an upcoming biopic. Says the Guardian,
Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? is being put together by Bill Condon, the Oscar-winning writer who co-produced Sunday night’s revamped Academy Awards show and directed Murphy in the 2006 musical Dreamgirls.
Hitfix and Entertainment Weekly have separate reports confirming Murphy’s involvement. The Beverly Hills Cop star, whose early standup routines featured an impersonation of Pryor, is said to be enthusiastic about taking the role. He is waiving his usual fees for the project, which has a relatively low budget of $25m.
Hitfix reports that Pryor’s four wives will all be depicted in the film, along with the pioneering African-American comedian Red Foxx, who appeared alongside Pryor in Murphy’s only directorial effort, 1989’s Harlem Nights.
Pryor’s battles with alcohol and drug addiction are expected to feature heavily in the biopic. In 1980 he doused himself with rum and set himself on fire following a cocaine and alcohol binge. Pryor later incorporated the tale into his standup routine, poking fun at those who told jokes about the event by waving a lit match and saying: “What’s this? It’s Richard Pryor running down the street.”
Do you think Eddie should have been picked to play Pryor? Let us know!
Another acting gig will help Eddie pay for THIS!
Eddie isn’t the only funny man in the family, you know. Check out his brother Charlie HERE.
