Eddie Murphy will star as George Clinton in a forthcoming biopic on the funk pioneer. Confirming a long-rumored casting and progress on an account of the tireless musical innovator’s incredible life story, Variety reports today, Nov. 1, that the iconic actor and comedian will lead a new film from director Bill Condon for Amazon MGM Studios. Though the project does not yet have a public title or release window, Variety’s release confirms some vital early production details.
Condon–who previously led Murphy to an Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe for best supporting actor for his role in 2006’s Dreamgirls–will helm the film, which is based on Clinton’s 2014 memoir Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You? The script is being written by Virgil Williams, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his Mudbound screenplay, with an initial draft from Max Werner. Clinton himself will advise the project as a producer. Murphy, too will earn a producer credit, as will John Davis, Charisse Hewitt-Webster and Greg Yolen.
The period of Clinton’s prolific career to be depicted in the film has not yet been publicized, though the creators will certainly have a wealth of material to sift through, from the origins of The Parliaments, through the subversive reign of Parliament-Funkadelic and Clinton’s Atomic Dog solo heyday, to his current status as a guiding figure and elder statesman for the worlds of funk, hip-hop and fusion. The Afrofuturist pioneer’s period with Casablanca Records received the Hollywood treatment with 2023’s Spinning Gold, for which Wiz Khalifa played Clinton.
Beyond the ringleader, the host of iconic musicians who passed through Clinton’s orbit would doubtlessly be a daunting task for any casting director. Stars among the countless projects to which he contributed include Eddie Hazel, Bernie Worrell, Maceo Parker, Junie Morrison, 2Pac, Prince, Outkast and of course bassist Bootsy Collins, who is currently hard at work on a new solo album. Read more about Bootsy’s Album of the Year #1 Funkateer here.
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