Eddie Murphy has only earned one Academy Award nomination in his career, and when that happened it was Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Dreamgirls. That film was directed by Bill Condon, and Murphy, perhaps looking to get back in the awards conversation, is teaming with Condon on the biopic of funk music legend George Clinton announced a couple of years ago by Amazon MGM.
Deadline reports Condon will direct the George Clinton biopic that has Murphy as the master of the funk, artist, producer, and leader of the iconic group Parliament-Funkadelic. The film will have a script by Virgil Williams, known for co-writing Mudbound and for the upcoming adaptation The Piano Lesson, which many are pegging as an Oscars favorite.
Clinton’s 2017 memoir, Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You? will be the basis of the film, which will tell the untold story of the funk pioneer’s wild journey to creating Parliament-Funkadelic and unleashing their bizarre, sci-fi and drug-influenced sound. Clinton’s sound has found influence in every decade, and became hugely popular again in the ’90s when Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and other West Coast rappers launched the G-Funk Era.
Coming up next for Murphy is the Amazon MGM comedy The Pickup alongside Keke Palmer and Pete Davidson. Condon last directed the 2019 crime thriller The Good Liar. He’s currently filming musical adaptation Kiss of the Spider Woman starring Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna.
