It looks like Marlon Wayans is going to be playing Richard Pryor in a proposed biopic about the late comedian.

The Playlist is reporting that after being in the hands of several different studios, Sony Pictures seems to have picked up the film with Wayans in the lead role and Bill Condon (”Gods and Monsters,” “Dreamgirls”) to direct.

It’s still indefinite, but it’s an interesting thought.

While Pryor’s film roles left something to be desired, his stand up was acute and confrontational and not the least bit homogenized. The same, unfortunately, can’t really be said of Wayans, whose ventures into film (with one or two exceptions) have been pretty lame and whose stand up has been fairly generic.

People can surprise us, though. Adam Sandler did great work in a few dramatic roles. Jim Carrey, too. And let’s not forget where Oscar-nominee Mark Wahlberg got his start!

Tags: biopic, comedian, damon, marlon, movie, murphy, pryor, richard, wayans

Director Timur Bekmambetov has reportedly figured out a way to raise Angelina Jolie’s character from the dead for a sequel to the violent male fantasy “Wanted,” but will they be able to afford to pay her?

A movie about a fictional “Soul Train” concert tour is in the works and The Onion’s AV Club rightfully calls the idea something “that sounds like every half-assed dancesploitation movie ever, with some cheap nostalgia thrown in for good measure.”

In more interesting music-related news, a biopic on Beatles manager Brian Epstein is in the works.

USA Today is reporting that Steven Spielberg is now pusuing an adaptation of Michael Crichton’s posthumous soon-to-be-published novel, “Pirate Latitudes.” Ugh. Screw pirates, what about his much-delayed Abraham Lincoln biopic?

So it turns out that the controversial 1989 high school-set “Heathers” will not be remade as a movie after all. /film says it will be a TV show. Or a TV movie. Either way, bad idea…

Even though its only a couple weeks away, Werner Herzog’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans,” Atom Egoyan’s “Chloe,” and Neil Jordan’s “Ondine” will be screening at the Toronto Film Festival without distribution deals in place. The Toronto Globe and Mail says not to worry, though, they’ll be on somebody’s fall slate soon.

The Playlist says Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or winner “The White Ribbon” has been officially chosen as Germany’s representative at this year’s Academy Awards.

By the way, this article about Megan Fox playing Catwoman in the next “Batman” movie is bullshit. People need to simmer down and wait for Christopher Nolan to make his decisions. I trust they will be good ones from what I’ve seen from him so far. If Harry Knowles wants to speculate that it will all be shot in IMAX, let him. I trust Nolan.

And finally, New York magazine’s Vulture blog writes about what good business it is NOT to show your movie to film critics. With the success of “G.I. Joe” at the box office, and both of this weekend’s major horror releases, “Halloween II” and “The Final Destination,” barring us from going, it begs the following question: Would critics have actually liked them?

Tags: Beatles, biopic, Catwoman rumor, Epstein, manager, megan fox, new, pirate latitudes, Spielberg, Wanted 2

Variety is reporting that Antonio Banderas is in final negotiations to play surrealist Salvador Dali in the Simon West-helmed indie biopic “Dalí .” I would absolutely love to see a movie that portrays one of the 20th Century’s most interesting media manipulators and artists, but is Simon West really the director to do this?

The movie is said to be a combination of music and CGI sequences that will combine (in a surreal manner, I suppose) to form a picture of the man who used sin, sex, and surrealism to stoke the fires of America. it will also concentrate on his relationship with wife/muse/manager Gala.

Simon West must really want to change up his modus operandi, because he is the same guy who has directed big-budget tentpoles such as “When a Stranger Calls,” “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” “The General’s Daughter,” and “Con Air.”

Meanwhile, Al Pacino is also slated to portray Dalí in Andrew Niccol’s “Dalí & I: The Surreal Story.” Niccol is the guy behind the underrated sci-fi film “Gattaca,” starring Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, and Uma Thurman, but he’s also the director of “S1m0ne.” The latter is his only collaboration with Pacino, and I had the severe misfortune of watching it on an overseas flight when nothing else but “C.S.I” reruns were on. It was a painful, painful experience.

“Dalí & I” is based on a book by Belgian writer Stan Lauryssens, who has been in jail in Belgium and Spain for fraud and selling faked Salvador Dalí works of art. The movie’s perspective is through his eyes. Lauryssens is slated to be played by Cillian Murphy (the Scarecrow from “Batman Begins”).

The only movie that’s completed is “Little Ashes,” which has no American release date yet, but has been shown at some European film festivals. Starring Robert Pattinson (of the upcoming “Twilight” and Cedric Diggory in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”), it’s not just about a young Dalí, but also the lives and loves of filmmaker Luis Buñuel and writer Federico García Lorca.

Tags: al, andrew, antonio, ashes, banderas, biography, biopic, cillian, dali, film, little, movie, murphy, niccol, pacino, pattinson, robert, salvador, simon, west

It is way to early to think about this (or maybe not, since Oliver Stone’s “W” dramatized the life of a sitting president), but I keep hearing the word “history” used over and over again today in the media. Barack Obama getting elected the 44th President of the United States is certainly historic. I even heard a caller on a talk show this morning talk about how tears were streaming down his face while he watched the TV last night.

“It was like the ending of ‘Ben-Hur’!” he said.

History being compared to movies. I think that’s a signal that now it’s time to think about who will play Obama in the eventual biopic of his life.

“Too soon!” you may say. And, technically, I might agree. But isn’t it fun to play the game?

It’s crazy how quickly current events are turned around into historical films these days. HBO’s recent “Recount” was about the fight over the 2000 election. Paul Greengrass’ amazing “United 93″ conveyed the immediacy and urgency of Sept. 11. On the less serious side of things, the usual turnaround of TV movies about sensational news stories like the Texas cheerleader scandal, the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan incident, or the baby caught in a well has been traditionally very fast. (And how many Amy Fisher/Joey Buttafuco movies were rushed into production?)

Especially in this lightning-fast communications age, we are also able to see history as it happens. What’s bizarre is how quickly an event can be registered as “history.” No doubt, yesterday was one of those days. And movies and TV played a huge part in the making of yesterday’s election results. Don’t think that they didn’t. Besides the fact that Americans had two full years to observe the way Obama carried himself as a public figure, we also had two years to get used to the idea of a black president. It wasn’t that hard; it’s something that has been out there in the culture for quite awhile.

It’s often said the Hollywood is extremely liberal, so black actors portraying the President in movies like “Deep Impact” (Morgan Freeman) or “Head of State” (Chris Rock) are no surprises. (Not to mention “The Fifth Element,” “Idiocracy,” “The Man,” although those weren’t necessarily game-changers). Probably the role with biggest cultural effect, however, was from Fox’s “24,” a TV show created, ironically, by a conservative writer/producer.

David Palmer (played by Dennis Haysbert, the reassuring presence from those Allstate commercials) was one of those tough presidents who tackled problems with an equal amount of smarts and morality. He was the kind of president you’d wish we could have in the White House one day, and his run on that popular TV show did a lot to get the country used to the idea of a black president, I believe. He was assassinated after he was out of office, and his brother Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside) was elected not long after that. Two black presidents. One show. Plus lots of sketchy, scheming white men swirling around them…

Now that the moment is upon us, let’s get hypothetical. What current actor has the range, gravity, and physical characteristics to play President-elect Barack Obama in a movie?

My top choice would be Jeffrey Wright, who was so good as the moral compass in “W.” He played Colin Powell as a character, not an impersonation. His conflict and conscience were guiding lights in a movie where virtually everyone else had their own agendas. He’s proven in tons of great supporting roles (Bill Murray’s loquacious best friend in “Broken Flowers” and the uber-confident villain in “Shaft” leap to mind) that he’s got the chops and I think he could portray Obama’s tenacity in all the key moments in his life.

Will Smith would obviously be any movie producer’s first choice due to his box office clout, and I think he could handle it. He made me forget he was Will Smith in Michael Mann’s flawed-but-interesting “Ali,” and would have the same uphill battle portraying another very famous face were he to tackle Obama.

Terrence Howard, recently let go as Jim Rhodes in the “Iron Man” series, might be a good choice. He was totally convincing in his Oscar-nominated role as the pimp-turned-rapper in “Hustle and Flow,” and that same year played a successful yuppie TV producer in “Crash.” (Though I hated the movie, his performance was quite good.)

Lastly, I think British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is a true chameleon. Having appeared in everything from “Children of Men” down to “Love Actually,” he is probably the most versatile actor on this list. Plus, he is not a household name or a bankable actor yet, so his personality won’t get in the way of Obama. Right now, especially with his hard-to-pronounce name, he is still “that guy who’s always good in everything he does.” He also has a history of choosing really risky roles with great directors over more commercial work,

Now it’s time to hear from you all. It’s probably too early, but we all know it’s a great story, and Hollywood loves great stories, especially the against-all-odds “only in America” kind.

Who do you think should play President-elect Barack Obama in the inevitable movie biopic?

Tags: actor, barack, biopic, Chiwetel, dennis, Ejiofor, film, haysbert, hollywood, howard, jeffrey, life, movie, obama, play, president, should, smith, terrence, who, will, wright