Kenya Barris to helm Richard Pryor biopic for MGM

Black-ish creator Kenya Barris will write and direct the biographical drama about legendary stand-up comedian Richard Pryor.

The yet-to-be-titled project, which hails from MGM, will mark the feature directorial debut of Barris, according to reports.

Pryor, who died in 2005, wrote for and headlined several television shows and appeared in many films. He was also the first recipient of the Mark Twain Humour Prize, which is awarded annually.

He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time.

Barris will also produce the movie through his Khalabo Ink Society, along with Pryor's widow Jennifer Lee Pryor and her Tarnished Angel and Tory Metzger for Levantine Films. 

"The way Pryor did what he did with truth and specificity... that was somehow self-aware and self-deprecating, that was the power and impact of his work," Barris said in a statement

"Pryor had a voice that was distinctly his and, in many ways, comedy since then has been derivative of what he created. To me, this is a film about that voice, the journey that shaped it, and what it took for it to come to be," he added.

Adam Rosenberg and Levantine's Renee Witt will serve as executive producers on the project.