Despite the apathy generally lobbed his way, there seemed to be an eagerness to watch a comeback story on the part of Eddie Murphy. He was saying (mostly) the right things in interviews, declaring a disinterest in the kids stuff (even if he’s still got some in the hopper) and the Oscars seemed as good a place as any for him to be funny again. Abruptly, that whole bit came to an end.
You may be shocked to find out that Murphy isn’t hinging the future of his career on an Oscar hosting gig though, and he’s now plowed ahead with a deal that could pair him up with Spike Lee for biopic of Marion Barry.
The former DC mayor would be the subject of an HBO Films-produced movie that Lee would direct from a script by John Ridley, writer of his current HBO project Da Brick (starring John Boyega!). A batch of journalists and writers with history covering Barry’s life will consult.
Barry is an infamous figure in DC politics having served two stints as mayor in the city–all of the 80s, and ’95 to ’99–the second of which he was elected for after serving time for smoking crack cocaine. He was an exceptionally powerless mayor the 2nd time around though, as by then Congress had created a board to manage the finances of the broken district, and their decisions superseded Barry’s in all matters save for departments like Parks & Rec and Tourism. Definitely plenty of fodder for a biopic from Lee, going all the way back to Barry’s early years spent assisting the civil rights movement. It’s also a ripe opportunity for Eddie Murphy to take on a serious role that has some meaning, but is… let’s just say he can identify with Barry, and leave it at that.
HBO still has to pull the trigger on the project, but I’m confident we’ll see this take shape.
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Source | THR