Before starring as Henry Church is director Bruce Beresford's comedic drama MR. CHURCH, it had been a hot couple of minutes before we last saw Eddie Murphy up on the big or small screen. For the past several years, Murphy has done little to involve himself in any film-related projects, save for his providing the voice of Donkey for Dreamwork's SHREK franchise or teasing his return as Detective Axel Foley for the long-gestating BEVERLY HILLS COP 4. It's worth noting that Ivan Reitman's TWINS sequel, TRIPLETS, is currently in pre-production, for which Murphy is meant to be attached.
Today, Netflix has announced that Murphy is set to star in an upcoming feature based on the life of Rudy Ray Moore, the star of the blaxploitation DOLEMITE films. Directing Murphy in the role of Moore will be Craig Brewer (HUSTLE & FLOW) who will shoot from a script penned by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the writing duo behind such films as BIG EYES, ED WOOD and THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT.
Back in the year 1970, Moore worked in a record store where he began hearing outlandish stories related to a pimp and hustler called Dolemite. In time, he started performing at a club while using the lurid tales as inspiration for a character named Dolemite. He followed the performances by releasing records containing skits featuring Dolemite's ghetto-related activities, though no stores would carry them due to their adult-oriented content. After several pressings of the material made their way into the wild, Dolemite (and Moore) became something of an underground smash hit. After selling enough records on the down low, Moore financed the 1975 film DOLEMITE. In the feature, Moore starred as the kung-fu wielding pimp who used his skills to stick it to The Man. The movie was followed by three sequels featuring Dolemite's ghetto-tastic adventures.
The Netflix feature starring Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore is scheduled to begin production on June 12th.
Have you missed Eddie Murphy? Are you excited to hear he's coming back? Will you check out TRIPLETS and BEVERLY HILLS COP 4 if those films ever see the light of day? Let us know in the comments section below.