Eddie Murphy to play former Washington DC Mayor

Eddie Murphy is set to play former Washington DC mayor Marion Barry for a HBO Films biopic directed by Spike Lee.

Barry was mayor from 1979-1991 and then from 1995-1999. In between he did six months in prison on drug charges that came about when a video of him smoking crack cocaine was discovered.

John Ridley is writing the script, based on source material including ‘Dream City’, a book by Harry Jaffe and Tom Sherwood that was published in 1994. The authors are consultants on the film, as well as executive producers along with Murphy.

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Lee and writer Ridley have also been working on a movie about the LA riots, as well as HBO pilot ‘Da Brick’, which could go to series.

It’s not the first time HBO have tried to do a biopic of Barry. A decade ago Chris Rock was set to produce the same story with Jamie Foxx in the title role, but the project stalled.

Source: Deadline