The long road to getting the story of comedian Richard Pryor onto the big screen might be nearing its end. The Weinstein Company is reportedly close to giving the greenlight to a biopic to be directed by Lee Daniels. Comedian Mike Epps will play the late comedy icon.
This project has been in the works for a decade and Epps finally committed to it in August 2014 after having been linked to it in 2005. In March, Eddie Murphy was cast to play Pryor's father, Leroy Pryor. Kate Hudson has been cast as Pryor’s widow, Jennifer Lee Pryor.
Deadline reported late Friday that Oprah Winfrey will play Pryor’s grandmother, who ran a brothel.
The script was written by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) and Danny Strong (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Empire). Bruce Cohen and Jennifer Lee Pryor are producing, so it will have family approval.
Coincidentally, Epps also plays Pryor in the Nina Simone biopic starring Zoe Saldana, notes Indiewire. That film has yet to be released.
Daniels and his crew are set to start filming in March, once work on Empire’s second season wraps, notes Deadline. That could set up the film for an awards season run next year.
In the meantime, you can see Epps this fall in the title role of ABC’s Uncle Buck series.
Pryor died in 2005 at age 65, following a heart attack. He is still considered one of the most influential stand-up comedians of his day and starred in several movies. He and Murphy co-starred in the 1989 movie Harlem Nights.
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