Kenya Barris to Write And Direct Richard Pryor Biopic For MGM

Kenya Barris is set to write and direct a biopic about legendary comedian Richard Pryor.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barris will also produce the movie via his Khalabo Ink Society, along with Pryor’s widow Jennifer Lee Pryor and Tory Metzger for Levantine Films.

MGM scores the much sought after biopic on Pryor whose career spanned television, film and stand-up with writing credits that include comedy classics “Blazing Saddles,” “The Richard Pryor Show” and “Pryor’s Place.” Pryor is considered one of the most critically acclaimed and successful comedians in history. He was the first recipient of the Mark Twain Humor Prize for humor and earned numerous Emmys, WGA Awards and Grammys.

“The way Pryor did what he did — with truth and specificity that was somehow self-aware and self-deprecating, and said with an unmatched level of vulnerability — that was the power and impact of his work,” Barris has said. “Pryor had a voice that was distinctly his and, in many ways, comedy since then has been derivative of what he created. To me, this is a film about that voice, the journey that shaped it, and what it took for it to come to be.”

No word yet on when the project is expected to be released.