Eddie Murphy in Talks to Play Former DC Mayor Marion Barry in Biopic

(NewsCore) - Comedian Eddie Murphy is in talks to play Washington, D.C.'s most infamous mayor Marion Barry in an upcoming biopic, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Murphy, 50, is reportedly working on the project with HBO Films, with Oscar winner Spike Lee as director and John Ridley as writer.

Reps from HBO would not comment on rumors of the possible project.

In 2002, it was reported a movie about Barry was in the works starring Jamie Foxx, written by comic Chris Rock. But no project materialized.

Barry served as mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 but his career was sidelined when he was videotaped smoking crack cocaine in a hotel room in 1990. Drug charges and claims he gave false testimony landed him in federal prison for six months.

Even after his stint in the slammer he ran for mayor again in 1994 and was elected to a fourth term. He decided not to seek re-election in 1998 and was elected to serve as a city council member for D.C.'s Ward 8 in 2004.

Source: The Washington Post