In ‘Dolemite Is My Name,’ a return to form for Eddie Murphy

It took Eddie Murphy more than a decade to get a movie made about Rudy Ray Moore. Judging by the response to the film at the Toronto International Film Festival, the wait was worth it.
“Dolemite Is My Name” drew some of the best reviews of Murphy’s career, following the film’s premiere over the weekend in Toronto.
“Dolemite Is My Name” was a passion project for the 58-year-old comedian. He long ago met with Moore, who died in 2008 at the age of 81, to discuss making a movie about the comedian. Moore’s famous character — the straight-talking, kung fu-fighting pimp Dolemite — was his stand-up persona and star of the 1975 Blaxploitation classic “Dolemite.”
“I never let go of the idea. It was always something I thought could be a great movie. I had been sitting on the couch. I took some time to do nothing,” Murphy said in an interview. “It goes back to when Rudy was alive. I literally went to see him at a club. It just didn’t come together. And there was no Netflix back then.”
“Dolemite Is My Name,” directed by Craig Brewer (“Hustle & Flow”), will be released by Netflix in theaters Oct. 4 and begin streaming on Oct. 25.

Stewart, Springsteen headline veterans’ fundraiser

Two New Jersey icons — Bruce Springsteen and Jon Stewart — will once again headline this year’s Stand Up for Heroes fundraiser, which benefits injured veterans and their families.
The comedy and musical event will also feature John Oliver, Hasan Minhaj and Ronny Chieng. It will be held Nov. 4 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tickets go on sale today.
Stand Up for Heroes was first held in 2007 and is produced by the New York Comedy Festival and the Bob Woodruff Foundation. Woodruff was nearly killed during a 2006 attack in Iraq while embedded with U.S. troops for ABC News.