In a surprise move this week Eddie Murphy decided to take a role that did not involve him getting into a fat suit. The Academy Award nominated actor/comedian (for Dreamgirls not Norbit in case you were wondering) is set to play former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry in an upcoming biopic for HBO. Spike Lee is also attached to direct.
Barry's life is certainly fodder for good drama. Barry served as mayor of D.C. from 1979 to 1991, when he resigned after being arrested for crack cocaine possession. After serving only six months Barry ran again for mayor in 1994...and won. I don't know if that means that America just loves a good comeback story or a majority of voters at the time were idiots. Maybe a little of both.
In any case this is certainly a bold move for Murphy who's publicly stated he wants to do "more edgy stuff." Barry's political and personal peccadilloes certainly fall into that category. And although his films have lagged in recent years, and his feud with Clint Eastwood was just misguided and ignorant, I believe Lee is the right choice to direct.
With movies like 61* and the recent Too Big to Fail (about the 2008 financial crisis-seriously check it out) I have a lot of confidence in this upcoming film. Should the project move forward Lee and Murphy are both set to executive produce the film as well.
Can't wait to see how Murphy delivers the line in my post title.
No comments:
Post a Comment