Dennis Quaid Finally Bringing Charley Pride Biopic to Life

The long-rumored Charley Pride biopic movie is finally on the way. First formally announced in 2006 with actor Terrance Howard cast as the Country Music Hall of Famer, then announced later in 2011 with “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson to portray Pride, script issues, production issues, and other problems resulted in endless delays for the film. But according to actor and producer Dennis Quaid, it is definitely moving forward now, with filming set to start in the fall of 2021.

One of Dennis Quaid’s many side hustles is as a musician and songwriter, including with his band Dennis Quaid and the Sharks. On December 12th—which was also the day Charley Pride passed away at the age of 86 due to COVID-19 complications—Dennis Quaid was set to make his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry evening became an impromptu Charley Pride memorial as they always do when a country music great passes, and Dennis Quaid gave an update on the film.

“I’m so glad to hear everybody talking about Charley Pride tonight,” Quaid said, dedicating his song “On My Way to Heaven” to the late singer. “I actually made a friend of Charley Pride back last January, and we agreed and, we’re doing the movie of Charley Pride that I’m gonna help produce. We start filming in the fall, have the script written, so his story will not go unsung for generations to come, that’s for sure.”

One of the rumors of why the biopic film has been such a long time coming is due to disagreements between producers and the Pride family over scripts and approach to the film. Though it’s sad that Pride won’t be around to see the finished product, it is heartening and assuring that when it is released, it will be with Charley Pride’s approval.

Dennis Quaid has been involved in the development of the film for years, but it was bringing in script writer Dianne Houston who worked directly with Charley and his wife of 64 years, Rozene, that apparently broke the impasse, and is allowing the film to finally move forward. As a direct witness to much of Pride’s struggles and successes, Rozene’s point-of-view is said to be a strong component to the script.

The fim is presently titled Charley Pride Story. No word at the moment of who may play Charley Pride in the film.

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