Chris Rock Up to Direct Martin Luther King Jr. Biopic
The Top Five director will work with executive producer Steven Spielberg.
CComedian and actor Chris Rock is ready to direct another movie -- and it's likely to be the biggest of his career. Rock will team with Steven Spielberg for an upcoming biopic based on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. According to reports, Rock is in final negotiations to direct and produce the film, which will be executive produced by Spielberg via Amblin Partners. Kristie Macosko will serve as producer, with Universal distributing and backing the project, which is based on Jonathan Eig's biography, King: A Life.
Eig's book was released in May and earned a National Book Award nomination. What differentiates it from previous stories about King is the new information acquired from the FBI, who surveilled and harassed King for the last several years of his life.
According to Farrar, Straus and Giroux (who published the title), Eig's biography is an "intimate portrayal of King as a courageous but emotionally troubled individual, who demanded peaceful protest while grappling with his own frailties and a government that hunted him."
The Hollywood Reporter first confirmed that Rock was circling the picture.
Rock rose to stardom in the 1990s, with a string of popular stand-up comedy specials and roles in projects like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Dogma. He has since remained one of the most popular and respected voices in comedy, while adding producing and directing to his resume. He directed and starred in 2003's Head of State, which envisioned him as the first Black president of the United States; 2007's I Think I Love My Wife, which saw Rock star opposite Kerry Washington, Gina Torres, Steve Buscemi, and Edward Herrmann; and 2014's Top Five, which was far and away his best-reviewed directorial effort.
During that time, Rock starred in the Madagascar franchise, tried his hand at revitalizing the flagging SAW series, and created the popular TV series Everybody Hates Chris. Earlier this year, he released Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, his first standup special since he was assaulted onstage at the Academy Awards. He also appeared in David O. Russell's Amsterdam. He also appears in Rustin, another biopic set during the Civil Rights Movement, which stars Fear the Walking Dead's Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, advisor to Martin Luther King Jr.
An animated follow-up to Everybody Hates Chris, titled Everybody Still Hates Chris, is in development at Paramount+.