The Hollywood Reporter says that Eddie Murphy is set to play former Washington, DC mayor Marion Barry in a Spike Lee directed HBO biopic.
HBO Films is said to be developing the as yet untitled television biopic.
Spike Lee will be at the helm while John Ridley is attached to write the script. Murphy, Lee and Ridley are also set as executive producers of the project, the Washington Post also reported.
Marion Barry served as the mayor of Washington from 1979 to 1991 and again from 1995 to 1999. he is currently a member of the City Council representing the city’s eighth ward.
In January 1990, Barry was caught smoking crack cocaine at the Vista International Hotel and was arrested on drug charges, serving six months in prison.
Information from The Hollywood Reporter and The Washington Post contributed to this report.
