Joseph T. Cool

Some of you may scoff at this but I found it interesting news.

Mike Epps has been cast as Richard Pryor in an upcoming picture about the man's life.

Apparently this was Pryor's decision to go with a lesser known actor to protray him on the big screen.

Considering that he is one of the most influential comedians of all time I would have imagined someone else playing him other than the guy from the Friday movies and All About The Bejamins. I'm not so sure this is a good call on his part but we shall see.

The only other bio pic on Pryor's life that I am aware of is "JoJo Dancer, Your Life is Calling"

Thoughts or comments on this??

pp2

Gotta remember the state Pryor is in these days (well, the last decade or so) so the fact something so...odd...was done in this manner doesn't surprise me much.

What does surprise though, is that they're doing another movie on Pryor. As you mentioned they did one already, plus you trip over biographical features on him any time you turn on E! or Biography. He was pretty good in his day, but I don't consider Richard Pryor to be groundbreaking or relevant to the point where this oversaturation is necessary. Like Elvis oversaturation heh.

That said, if the guy can get another payday for his story...more power to him. I won't be watching though.

Joseph T. Cool

Agreed. There have been several biographies I have seen on the man lately. I believe some were on the E! channel like you mention and I think I saw one on A&E.

I doubt very seriously that this movie will be another "Ray" but I am sure the popularity of that film helped this one get greenlighted.

Since Jamie Foxx set that standard it seems a lot of bio-pics are in the works.

pp2

Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head there with the Ray analogy. Everyone is trying to capture that kind of magic again. The thing is they need to find someone that was truly groundbreaking (like Ray Charles) that hasn't been done to death, yet someone that is contemporary enough to pique interest.

Dr. Giganto

I dont think Mike Epps is funny enough to portray Richard Pryor. And does he have the actual acting ability to pull off the serious side of Pryor's life. I think it's a questionable choice...

Joseph T. Cool

Apparently no one else thought so either but Pryor is paying for and producing this movie himself.

He pushed for and got Epps to play him.

Maybe like pp2 said he's not in the best frame of mind right now....I dunno.

I would have picked a complete unknown that had not done a feature film yet.

That way the movie serves as a tribute to Pryor and a potential vehicle for someone new to establish their acting skills.