Actor Mike Epps will play Richard Pryor in a biopic of the late comedian.
As previously reported, Zoe Saldana will star as the legendary singer and activist which has been criticized since its announcement this summer. Epps joined the cast of the Nina Simone biopic. Richard Pryor opened for Simone during the early days of theirs careers.
Simone’s daughter, Simone Kelly, a Broadway actress and singer,told Ebony.com she has been totally left out of the planning and production of the biopic.
Simone said, “We offered to get involved with all the stuff that we have, from the music, to the pictures, to her writings, to connecting them with the stories of many people who were close to my mother, and we were ignored.”
Filming begin this week in Los Angeles.
