Eddie Murphy is set to take on the role of the godfather of funk George Clinton in an upcoming biographical picture.
The film will tell the story of the iconic musician’s humble beginnings in North Carolina in the 1940s to the formation of his groundbreaking bands Parliament and Funkadelic and ultimately to becoming a major influence on artists of the hip-hop generation including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Outkast and Wu-Tang Clan, among many others.
Murphy will serve as producer with John Davis and Catherine Davis through their Davis Entertainment banner. Talks are currently in place to obtain the rights to some of Clinton’s catalogue of music before setting the screenwriters.
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Murphy’s latest projects were the Netflix film ‘Dolemite Is My Name,’ which got him a lot of accolades for playing the unlikely Blaxploitation film star Rudy Ray Moore. He then followed up with ‘Coming 2 America,’ the sequel to his 1988 comedy classic. His upcoming films include the Kenya Barris-directed Netflix comedy ‘You People,’ in which he co-stars with Jonah Hill. That will be followed with ‘Beverly Hills Cop 4’ this summer, as he reprises his Alex Foley role.
