UPDATE Friday morning, 12/9: It's not a question mark anymore folks; this is very real and is indeed happening, as has been confirmed by some of the industry trades, like The Hollywood Reporter. So, wow! This should be very interesting… VERY interesting. It just came out of nowhere. I'm waiting to hear all the backstory on this, like how it all came together, how long those involved had been chatting about doing it, etc. I also look forward to finding out how they plan to attack it.
For now… my original post from last night below….
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WTF? Is this a joke?
No definite confirmation on this yet, but the venerable Washington Post is reporting that Eddie Murphy is attached to star as Marion Barry in an upcoming biopic on the man's life for HBO, with Spike Lee directing and John Ridley penning the script.
The project is said to be "in development by HBO Films," with all three gentlemen (Murphy, Spike, Ridley) serving as executive producers, and D.C. journalists Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood consulting; their 1994 book Dream City (on Washington politics) will be used as source material, as well as the pair who produced the 2009 documentary, The Nine Lives of Marion Barry.
No direct word from HBO, Spike, nor Eddie on this one; so who knows. But it's the Washington Post right? So, I certainly couldn't completely ignore it.
And as the Post piece notes, this certainly isn't the first time HBO has attempted a Marion Barry film; In 2002, Chris Rock was said to have been prepping a Marion Barry film, with Jamie Foxx tapped to star, but nothing happened there for whatever reason.
All I can say for now is… stay tuned… Hoepfully we get a confirmation or negation soon.