Nick Cannon had a pretty busy schedule last weekend, as he went from performing at the iHeartRadio Ultimate Pool Party in Miami Beach to making every stupid face he could think of on the red carpet for the 2014 BET Awards. As always, Cannon is the classic five-tool entertainer – with a massive emphasis on tool – as he can go from rapping in front of a crowd of soulless women in bikinis to shouting hilarious jokes at a room full of people who probably weren’t listening to a word he said in a matter of 24 hours. And that’s the kind of range that might just have the role of a lifetime locked up for him – comedy legend Richard Pryor.
Earlier this year, Lee Daniels was reported to be in negotiations to direct a biopic of the late comic’s life for The Weinstein Company, with Michael B. Jordan, Eddie Murphy and Marlon Wayans named as the favorites to land the role that would almost instantly be considered Oscar bait. Wayans seemed to be the favorite after he “wowed” Harvey Weinstein, but if Cannon is to be believed, he actually has the role locked up. Hold on, my eyes just rolled so far backwards that Sisyphus now has to push them up a hill for the rest of eternity.
In an interview with TMZ Live yesterday, Cannon hinted that he has the role, and it would at least explain that hairstyle that he was sporting at the BET Awards.
Here’s the thing. There have been a lot of people out there who’ve discussed playing this role. I never want to jinx anything because you guys know how movies work. If it’s not in production, it’s not real. So all I’ll say is that I’m doing the work right now. I’m doing everything that I need to do to embody it when the opportunity is right.
Cannon claimed that he’s friends with Daniels and that they’ve “sat” together to work on “getting it right.” Cannon also shared two photos on Instagram that would imply he’s at least being heavily considered, as one is a side-by-side of him and Pryor and the other is his claim that he’s taking up smoking “for the next few months.”
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According to a TMZ follow-up today, Richard Pryor Jr. and Rain Pryor are both totally on board with Wayans, as I assume they want the biopic to center on a man who moves into a haunted house with a zany cast of characters and screams for two hours, and don’t want Cannon, because he doesn’t have the “cred.” But they’ve also been cut out from project by their stepmother Jennifer Pryor, so Cannon probably needs to leave Daniels alone and bring his Sean Young Catwoman routine over to Jennifer’s house.
At the very least, if he doesn’t get the Pryor role, he proved on Saturday that he’s ready to play LL Cool J.