Tracy Morgan’s post-SNL ascendancy has been nothing short of astonishing. Wisely cast as a thinly veiled version of himself by Tina Fey on her critically acclaimed NBC comedy “30 Rock” (which we think is still chasing its first season brilliance), Morgan’s delightfully off-kilter take on the egotistical Tracy Jordan has practically made him a household name. The press, who can’t seem to get enough of the quotable Morgan, peed themselves when he joined Twitter earlier this month and early reviews of his autobiography, “I Am The New Black” (it’s out tomorrow) got him even more press, as published excerpts included him telling ex-SNL cast members Chris Kattan and Cheri Oteri to go “fuck themselves.”
There’s no rest for the wicked, and now, after joining Twitter and writing a book, Morgan appears to be ready to bring himself, warts and all, to the big screen. In the latest issue of GQ (and yes, we bought it because of the January Jones cover) Morgan reveals in an interview that he may be working on stand-up film with a certain African-American director known for banging out quickie documentaries of late.
GQ: We hear you may be doing a stand-up concert film with Spike Lee. What can we expect?
Well, you know, I talk a lot about sex, because I’m good at it!
Of course, the already brief interview (it’s about twelve questions long) doesn’t reveal anything further so we have no idea if this just an idea being batted around or something in active development. But, if anyone knows how to crank out projects cheap and quick, it’s Spike Lee. His latest two endeavors — the Kobe Bryant doc “Kobe Doin’ Work” and “Passing Strange: The Movie” — were completed in the last year and he’s currently teaming with Robert De Niro to oversee the series “Alphaville” for Showtime.
We’re glad someone as genuinely funny and decidedly off-base as Tracy Morgan is getting mainstream attention, but we hope that Morgan goes behind the curtain for awhile so we’re not totally burned out on the guy by the time this film (if it’s even happening) hits theaters (or cable where Lee seems to be doing a lot of his work lately).