Currently in theaters before streaming on Netflix on Oct. 25 is the biopic Dolemite Is My Name, starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow). The film recently had its World Premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (Goosebumps), Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Kodi Smit-Mcphee, Snoop Dogg, Ron Cephas Jones, Barry Shabaka Henley, Tip ‘TI’ Harris, Luenell, Tasha Smith, and Wesley Snipes co-star in the film.
Stung by a string of showbiz failures, floundering comedian Rudy Ray Moore (Academy Award nominee Eddie Murphy) has an epiphany that turns him into a word-of-mouth sensation: step onstage as someone else. Borrowing from the street mythology of 1970s Los Angeles, Moore assumes the persona of Dolemite, a pimp with a cane and an arsenal of obscene fables. However, his ambitions exceed selling bootleg records deemed too racy for mainstream radio stations to play.
Moore convinces a social justice-minded dramatist (Keegan-Michael Key) to write his alter ego a film, incorporating kung fu, car chases, and Lady Reed (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), an ex-backup singer who becomes his unexpected comedic foil. Despite clashing with his pretentious director, D’Urville Martin (Wesley Snipes), and countless production hurdles at their studio in the dilapidated Dunbar Hotel, Moore’s Dolemite becomes a runaway box office smash and a defining movie of the Blaxploitation era.
Blackfilm.com correspondent Sidnee Michelle spoke with Wesley Snipes and Keegan-Michael Key about shooting on set with a powerhouse cast, Rudy Ray Moore’s legacy & believing in yourself in a cut throat industry.
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