Oscar nominated filmmaker Lee Daniels became the barer of bad news Sunday, May 9, when it was announced that he was abandoning his role at the helm of the long anticipated Richard Pryor biopic. Sources for the 56-year-old executive producer of Fox's "Empire" cited scheduling difficulties as the reason he will be side stepping the project. Past Daniels production partner, the Weinstein Company, have confirmed that they are in search of replacement to begin shooting on the film in October.
The making of a biopic on the legendary Pryor has been in the works for over a decade, dating back to the comedian's own participation in the prospective flick before his death in 2005. As it currently stands, the picture, written by Bill Condon, will take on the title of Pryor's 1975 Grammy-winning live album, "Richard Pryor: Is It Something I said?". Kate Hudson (as Pryor's widow), Oprah Winfrey (as Pryor's grandmother), and Mike Epps (as Pryor himself) have all signed on to cast in the film.
Daniels and TWC have worked together before, generating $175 million off of the strength of 2013's blockbuster "Lee Daniels' The Butler". There has yet been word directly from the "Precious" director as to whether there were additional reasons for his departure, as such a grand production would seem hard to turn down. Pryor's influential career of risky, raw and real stand-up in the 60's, 70's and 80's was viewed by many as having transformed the art and laid foundation for comics, specifically Black comics, to come after.
Source: nydailynews.com
