Forest Whitaker to produce Richard Pryor biopic

Los Angeles: Oscar winning actor Forest Whitaker has taken over a long-running effort to bring the life of legendary comedian Richard Pryor to the big screen.

The 51-year-old `Last King of Scotland` star has teamed up with the funnyman`s widow, Jennifer, to develop a script and produce the planned biopic after previous efforts by director Bill Condon and Adam Sandler`s film firm Happy Madison failed to bring the project to fruition, reported Deadline. Condon had tapped actor Marlon Wayans to portray the `Blazing Saddles` star in `Is It Something I Said`, but the movie was put on hold indefinitely in 2011 as the `Dreamgirls` filmmaker focused on making the two-part adaptation of `The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn`. It is not yet known whether Wayans is still attached to the biopic, or if Whitaker will feature in the film. Meanwhile, Mike Epps will tackle the role of Pryor in an upcoming Nina Simone movie, with Zoe Saldana as the late soul icon. PTI