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the surviving footage. After she finished this rough cut, Pryor arranged a private screening for Bill Cosby at UCLA. His reaction is not known, but rumors circulated afterwards that Cosby may have bought the film and buried it to remove Pryor as a source of competition, or may have been feeling charitable toward Pryor, who had sunk a huge amount of his own money into the film. Spheeris left the project after not being paid for three months.
125:. Pryor historian Anthony Balducci calls it a "mysterious, unfinished film. It is questionable whether it even belongs in a listing of his films: It was not completed and has been lost for decades." The film was disowned by Pryor, who was unhappy with it and destroyed part of the footage during post-production. It was thought to be completely lost for many years, but a copy may exist in the archives of the
160:
Spheeris, then still a film student, spent more than a year at Pryor's house editing the film. While the film was being edited, during an argument with
Shelley Pryor, his wife at the time, Pryor ripped apart much of the footage by hand. A partial, 40-minute edit was then re-assembled by Spheeris from
144:
Details about the film's pre-production and shooting are hazy. Pryor apparently did not write a traditional script for the film, but wrote notes by hand in a spiral notebook. The plotline is not known for certain, but Pryor's biographers David and Joe Henry write that it concerned "a wealthy white
194:. The suit claims that Spheeris and Pryor's daughter conspired to take the surviving film from his home sometime in the mid-1980s. According to the suit, he contacted Spheeris after the tribute. She allegedly revealed she had given the footage to the
145:
man abducted by a group of Black
Panther-type militants and put on trial for all the racial crimes in U.S. history." In addition to writing and funding the film, Pryor apparently played multiple roles, including a poet and a defense attorney.
157:. Mooney, a close friend of Pryor's, would later call the movie "a project conceived and executed in a drug haze." Mooney stated that Pryor didn't approach the film with a plan, but simply bought a 16mm camera and began filming.
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Pryor told his biographers David and Joe Henry that he remembered shooting the movie in March 1969. Filming was reportedly chaotic, with copious amounts of cocaine and alcohol on hand. It also co-starred comedians
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that she and
Jennifer Lee Pryor were working together to collect all surviving footage from the film, but that the Cosby family was not cooperating with their efforts.
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of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and intended to give the film to Rain. Pryor died in December 2005 but the suit is still currently pending.
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Pryor decided to produce the film himself after becoming frustrated with the lack of work he was getting in
Hollywood. In his book
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Spheeris discovered a 30-minute reel of unedited, silent footage in her own archives 35 years later and donated it to the
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In June 2005, scenes from the film (possibly from the rediscovered footage
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409:"Richard Pryor Vinyl Reissues Highlight the Evolution of Comedy"
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The
Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
364:"Entertainment Law Digest | New Filing – Richard Pryor"
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Pryor later said that he destroyed the only copy remaining.
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Richard Pryor in
Hollywood: The Narrative Films, 1967-1997
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Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him
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127:Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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307:(in Turkish). BearManor Media. p. 49
182:. In August 2005, Pryor and his wife and
1115:Films with screenplays by Richard Pryor
271:. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers.
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178:while Pryor was being honored by the
396:Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales (1968) - News
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1110:Films about the Black Panther Party
1085:Films directed by Penelope Spheeris
641:Prison Stories: Women on the Inside
496:The Decline of Western Civilization
201:In 2023, Spheeris told the website
957:Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling
606:We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll
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121:. The film stars and written by
960:(1986, also produced and writer)
1054:The Funniest Man Dead or Alive
821:Live At The Comedy Store, 1973
301:Pryor, R.; Brawer, R. (2019).
186:, Jennifer Lee-Pryor, filed a
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330:Henry, D.; Henry, J. (2014).
1120:1960s English-language films
407:Sokol, Tony (June 7, 2023).
16:Lost 1969 Richard Pryor film
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773:...Is It Something I Said?
265:Balducci, Anthony (2018).
180:Directors Guild of America
68:Unreleased; filmed in 1969
1100:Unreleased American films
848:The Anthology (1968–1992)
984:Live on the Sunset Strip
895:Live on the Sunset Strip
805:Live on the Sunset Strip
1003:Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales
797:Wanted: Live in Concert
683:Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales
560:The Beverly Hillbillies
439:Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales
92:Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales
22:Uncle Tom's Fairy Tales
1095:1960s unfinished films
922:The Richard Pryor Show
228:Black Is the New White
840:...And It's Deep Too!
225:Mooney, Paul (2010).
113:) is a 1969 American
1125:1960s American films
1105:American drama films
520:Hollywood Vice Squad
368:www.entlawdigest.com
196:Academy Film Archive
987:(1982, also writer)
979:(1981, also writer)
952:(1983, also writer)
781:Bicentennial Nigger
765:That Nigger's Crazy
757:Craps (After Hours)
336:. Algonquin Books.
1011:Live & Smokin'
879:Live & Smokin'
568:The Little Rascals
512:The Boys Next Door
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238:978-1-4165-8795-8
231:. Gallery Books.
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832:Compilation
576:Black Sheep
414:Den of Geek
203:Den of Geek
151:Paul Mooney
98:Bon Appétit
47:Produced by
27:Directed by
1079:Categories
914:Television
633:Television
599:Hollywierd
420:2023-06-08
349:2023-06-11
311:2023-06-11
284:2023-06-11
244:2023-06-11
209:References
37:Written by
789:L.A. Jail
592:Senseless
479:Works by
385:News Home
104:The Trial
741:Original
675:See also
504:Suburbia
73:Language
55:Starring
188:lawsuit
133:History
76:English
1065:(2013)
1057:(2005)
1049:(2003)
1030:(1979)
1022:(1974)
1014:(1971)
1006:(1969)
933:(1984)
925:(1977)
906:(1983)
898:(1982)
890:(1979)
882:(1971)
859:(2005)
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784:(1976)
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760:(1971)
752:(1968)
734:Albums
686:(1969)
667:(2012)
661:(2011)
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644:(1991)
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617:(2005)
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579:(1996)
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499:(1981)
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107:, and
81:Budget
528:Dudes
115:drama
658:Five
444:IMDb
338:ISBN
273:ISBN
233:ISBN
192:Rain
153:and
442:at
84:N/A
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