Eddie Murphy is about to get funky. He is about to give us the funk. All of the funk. Yes, the actor and Hollywood comedy legend is circling the role of Parliament Funkadelic leader and visionary music artist George Clinton, Deadline reports.
If all pans out, this may be an awards season grab for Murphy, who earned an Oscar nomination in 2007 for his role as James “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls. Alan Arkin ended up winning for Little Miss Sunshine, but let’s be honest… Murphy deserved that trophy in a category that also included Jackie Earle Haley for Little Children; Djimon Hounsou for Blood Diamond, and Mark Wahlberg for The Departed.
As far as we know, papers haven’t been signed and no ink has dried on this project. In fact, they are still trying to secure the rights with Clinton. They still need to find writers and then from there, they will shop it around — but it will probably happen. It can possibly be part of Murphy’s three-picture deal with Amazon.
I can see Murphy as Clinton. He will also serve as the producer on this yet-to-be-titled movie alongside John Davis and Catherine Davis via their Davis Entertainment banner.
For those of you who don’t know P-Funk and George Clinton, you probably know his music because they had a heavy influence on a specific era of hip hop that included Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Tupac, Outkast and others. Clinton is an icon, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Lifetime Achievement winner so its about time we give him some love.
