Eddie Murphy is giving up the funk. According to a new report by Deadline, the actor is in early talks to topline a biopic about the Parliament–Funkadelic bandleader George Clinton.
The film, which is still in its earliest stages, would track the musician from his roots in 1940s-era North Carolina to becoming the bonafide Godfather of Funk, pioneering the genre alongside James Brown and Sly Stone as he formed both Parliament and Funkadelic. In the process, he influenced the rise of modern hip-hop by inspiring the sound of everyone from 2Pac and Wu-Tang Clan to Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, OutKast, Public Enemy, and beyond. The Oscar nominee will also serve as a producer on the project.
While a deal isn’t quite set in stone, the film would be part of Murphy’s three-picture deal with Amazon following the success of last year’s Coming 2 America, which the platform claimed at the time had the best first weekend of any streaming film since the beginning of the pandemic and even garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
In 1997, Clinton was officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his contributions to the genre along with 15 other members of his Parliament-Funkadelic collective. 22 years later, they were all honored at the 2019 Grammy Awards with their own Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.
However, the accolades haven’t swayed the now-80-year-old musician to simply rest on his laurels. Earlier this month, he announced the 2022 dates of the funk ensemble’s ongoing “One Nation Under a Groove Tour,” which continues this summer with stops in New York City, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and more. Grab your tickets via Ticketmaster.
Murphy’s film won’t be the only portrayal of Clinton coming to screens both big and small. Last summer, Wiz Khalifa signed on to play the funk pioneer in Spinning Gold, the upcoming film on the life and career of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart.
