Eddie Murphy to play funk legend George Clinton in upcoming biopic
Disney/Randy Holmes
Eddie Murphy has reportedly signed on to play a funk music icon on screen.
Variety reports that the actor/comedian is set to star as Parliament-Funkadelic leader George Clinton in a biopic directed by Bill Condon, the same director who directed Murphy in Dreamgirls, a role that earned him an Oscar nomination.
The film, which Murphy will also produce, will be based on Clinton’s 2014 memoir Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You?
Clinton, who launched his funk career in the ’70s as one of the founding members of the collective known as Parliament-Funkadelic, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. He and the band were also honored in 2019 with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Reynolds and Tatum in 2015 – Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
As a guy who spent years trying to get Deadpool off the ground, Ryan Reynolds says he feels for his pal Channing Tatum, who never got the chance to play the X-Men hero Gambit onscreen — until Ryan brought him into Deadpool & Wolverine, that is.
Tatum tried to get a Gambit project off the ground before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, but his hopes were dashed when that deal went through.
After the blockbuster success of D&W, however, it seems there’s renewed hope for Tatum’s Cajun, card-slinging, mealy mouthed mutant.
“I honestly don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the bookkeeping sessions at Marvel, but I do know that they’re obsessed with him in that role,” Reynolds tells Entertainment Weekly‘s Awardist podcast.
Reynolds compared Tatum’s journey to his own, when the success of leaked test footage of him playing Deadpool convinced Fox to greenlight the 2016 smash hit original.
“It’s kind of like the same situation I went through,” Ryan says. “Once you show that it works well, that’s really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action. And Channing is so singular in how he plays that character. But also he’s so beautiful physically, the way he moves and the way he can pick up steps.”
As reported, Tatum remained optimistic — but realistic — regarding his future in the role. He told Collider some months back, “You never know. I mean, literally, I could never be in another Marvel movie again, and it wouldn’t surprise me because I’ve had it in my hand before, and it’s gone away.” He added, “I’m always grain-of-salting it, but I’m hoping that [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] will allow me in.”
Kristofferson and Burstyn in ‘Alice’ – Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Martin Scorsese has added his name to the list of famous fans who are mourning Kris Kristofferson, whom he directed in the 1974 film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.
Kristofferson played David, Ellen Burstyn‘s eventual love interest in the film, which also saw supporting turns from two of Scorsese’s subsequent Taxi Driver co-stars, Jodie Foster and Harvey Keitel.
Scorsese noted in a statement, “Right now, I’m on a small boat between Ustica and Palermo, listening to ‘Me and Bobby McGee,’ remembering Kris Kristofferson. Just like half of the world.”
Scorsese continued, “I was lucky enough to work with Kris. He was a poet. Truly. Inside and out. And a damn good actor, a remarkable screen presence. Spending time with Kris when we made Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore was one of the highlights of my life.”
The legendary director went on to express, “Onscreen or in person, he brought all of himself. He gave so much heart and humor to his character, and to all of our days shooting in Tucson.”
Scorsese added, “What a beautiful human being. What a great artist.”
Kristofferson’s death was announced Sunday with a post on his official Facebook account. In addition to his acting work, Kristofferson was famous for his songwriting, including tunes like “Bobby McGee,” “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night.”
Netflix is pulling the curtain back on one of the biggest pop culture touchstones of the 1990s, The Jerry Springer Show, ABC Audio has confirmed.
On Jan. 7, 2025, the streaming service will debut Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action, which will feature “first-hand testimony and revelations from show insiders,” including interviews with former guests and producers who shed light on “the destruction it caused.”
Netflix teases that the “jaw-dropping, premium two-part series” will explore “how this daytime talk show became one of the biggest and most outrageous TV hits of the nineties.”
It teases further, “But behind the entertaining facade lay some darker truths. As we hear from the producers and ex-guests … a murkier picture begins to emerge of the destruction it caused, raising renewed questions about who was responsible, and how far things should go in the name of entertainment.”
