Richard Pryor Biopic – Movie Smack Talk

If you don’t know Richard Pryor’s comedy, you should probably hit up YouTube and watch some old clips. He was one of the greats, and most living comedians will cite him as their inspiration.

And now he’s getting a biopic. Kenya Barris (Black-ish) is set to direct a feature film about the stand up comedian. MGM has purchased worldwide rights to the movie following a bidding war.

It’ll be Barris’ feature film directorial debut:

The movie is centering on the life and times of Pryor, one of the most influential comedians of all time. Over the course of his career, Pryor appeared in over 50 movies, headlined the series ‘The Richard Pryor Show”’ and ‘Pryor’s Place,’ and wrote for TV shows including ‘Sanford and Sons.’

The movie doesn’t have a title yet, but we do know that Barris is very passionate about this project.

He released a statement talking about the impact of Pryor’s work…

The way Pryor did what he did — with truth and specificity that was somehow self-aware and self-deprecating, and said with an unmatched level of vulnerability — that was the power and impact of his work.
Pryor had a voice that was distinctly his and, in many ways, comedy since then has been derivative of what he created. To me, this is a film about that voice, the journey that shaped it, and what it took for it to come to be.

No word on when production will take place, but we’ll keep you posted.

“Strap in and brace yourself,” is what director Lee Daniels said on his Instagram account last week after posting the photo you see down below.

Why should we brace ourselves? Well, because Eddie Murphy has officially joined the Richard Pryor biopic.

According to multiple sources, Murphy will be playing Pryor’s father and former boxer LeRoy “Buck Carter” Pryor.

It’s an interesting role for the 53-year-old comedian. LeRoy wasn’t exactly ‘Father of the Year’ material. He was reportedly an abusive alcoholic, who would punish the late comedian by beating him. Murphy will have to visit some dark places to get inside this character.

We are sure Murphy is up for the challenge though, considering Pryor is the one who inspired him to do comedy. If you have seen Eddie’s classic stand-up special ‘Raw’, then you’ll remember hearing the comedian talk about his idol.

“Richard [Pryor] is the one who made me want to do comedy. When I was young, I wanted to be Richard Pryor so bad I used to sneak in the basement, put his albums on, and just listen… I wanted to be Richard so bad, I used to go out on stage when I was 15 and talk and act and walk and everything like Richard Pryor.”

In addition to Murphy joining the cast, we are also hearing that Kate Hudson is joining the film to play Pryor’s final wife, Jennifer Lee Pryor. Oprah Winfrey has also agreed to play Pryor’s abusive grandmother.

The film does not have a release date yet, but we will keep you updated as we learn more information.