Actor/comedian Mike Epps, set to star as Richard Pryor in the yet-untitled biopic, told VH1.Com that a dispute between Pryor's first and second wives over his assets had caused preproduction of the film to come to a standstill.
Epps added, however, that an agreement to move the film forward has just come into order. The original script will now be rewritten with additional information garnered from "Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss With Richard Pryor," a recently released memoir by Pryor's daughter Rain.
Epps seems happy with the effect the delay has had - "I think the previous script, which was a great script, was based off of a lot of the knowledge that people already knew about... this new script is coming from the perspective and eyes of the kids, Rain and Elizabeth, and so forth. So I think people are gonna get a whole other view of what Richard Pryor was thought of in his story."
Kasi Lemmons, who directed the acclaimed indie flick "Eve's Bayou," has now signed on to helm the project which is slated to begin filming sometime next year.
Epps also revealed he has been in talks with frequent collaborator Ice Cube for a role in the remake of "Welcome Back, Kotter"
