Eddie Murphy Set To Star in Biopic About Blaxploitation Film Star Rudy Ray Moore
It's been a couple of years since we've seen Eddie Murphy in a movie but he just landed a new film project set up at Netflix called Dolemite is My Name. The film is a biopic that will tell the story of the life of Rudy Ray Moore, the star of the blaxploitation Dolemite films.
Moore worked in a Hollywood record store in 1970 when he began hearing obscene stories of a pimp and hustler named Dolemite. He started a club act where he became Dolemite. He then began generating records that mixed humor and a ghetto fantasy character, burnishing the legend. While too racy to be put on display in record stores, the records became a big inner city underground hit. The proceeds allowed Moore to finance the 1975 film Dolemite, which he starred in as a kung fu-capable pimp ghetto hero who stuck it to The Man. Moore followed with three sequels. He continues to be an influence for the likes of hip hop entrepreneur Snoop Dogg, and he had something of a comeback starring alongside the hip hop group Insane Clown Posse in Big Money Hustlas in 2000.
This is a perfect film project for Murphy to be a part of! It's the kind of role that he can really dig into and fully utilize his comedic talent. The last movie he made was Mr. Church, which was actually a pretty fantastic film that I recommend you watch if you haven't already. Murphy gave an incredible performance in that film and I'm sure he'll bring that same level of talent to his next film. According to Deadline, Murphy has been eager to play this role for a decade.
Dolemite is My Name will be directed by Hustle and Flow‘s Craig Brewer from a script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. That's the same writing team behind films such as Big Eyes, Ed Wood and The People Vs. Larry Flynt.
What do you all think about Murphy taking on this role?