Eddie Murphy

Watch a Montage of Famous Actors in Their Feature Film Debuts

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 5th, 2012 at 2:35 pm

It’s always a fun treat when a now-famous actor pops up in a small role in an older movie you haven’t re-watched in a while.  We previously posted a “Before They Were Famous” supercut, but now someone has edited together a montage of actors in their very first feature film roles. While you’re most likely aware of the majority of these appearances, I’m willing to bet you’ll find at least a few surprises in this video.  I had no idea Jon Hamm was in Clint Eastwood’s “old guys can be astronauts too” movie Space Cowboys, but I now feel compelled to move the pic to the top of my Netflix queue.

Watch Jack Nicholson, Woody Allen, Emma Thompson, Zach Braff and many more make their feature debut after the jump.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks TWINS Sequel TRIPLETS, TRUE LIES 2, and “Awful” TERMINATOR: SALVATION

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 5th, 2012 at 2:29 pm

When Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he was ready to get back into the movie business following his tenure as Governator of California, no one was really expecting him to dive headfirst back into Hollywood.  Cut to 2012 and the actor has already shot a substantial role in The Expendables 2, just wrapped his “comeback” starring role in The Last Stand, and is poised to team up with Sylvester Stallone for the actioner The Tomb.  Oh yeah, and a Twins sequel.  Just last week we learned that Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito are planning to reprise their roles from the 1988 comedy Twins in a sequel called Triplets with Eddie Murphy playing their long-lost sibling.

We got the chance to speak with Schwarzenegger in a recent group interview and the actor talked about the idea behind Triplets, how his personal life has affected the likelihood of a sequel to True Lies, and he also had some choice words for the most recent entry in the Terminator franchise.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

TWINS Sequel, TRIPLETS, to Star Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito and Eddie Murphy

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: March 29th, 2012 at 7:01 pm

One of these things is not like the other. Actually, none of these things are like any of the other…and that’s what made the premise of Ivan Reitman’s 1988 film Twins work. But how do you further capitalize on the hilarious assumption that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito are twin brothers? Add in Eddie Murphy as a long-lost sibling and call it Triplets. DeVito talked about the possibility of a sequel in an recent interview with Steve. Currently, there is no director attached, but Reitman will produce the project via his Montecito Picture Co. The sequel is in the process of recruiting writers as no substantial creative talks have occurred yet. Hit the jump for more on Triplets.

TOWER HEIST Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: February 20th, 2012 at 7:00 am

“Men on a mission” films and the heist genre (arguably the same thing) in general are virtually impossible to screw up. Even Brett Ratner, a director that (perhaps unfairly) gets beaten up regularly for the insensitive things he says in the press, and his party-boy image can deliver a film like Tower Heist, and it plays fairly well at home. You’ve got an ensemble of actors with Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy playing against Michael Pena, Casey Affleck, Mathew Broderick, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe and Alan Alda, and with that cast you’re not going to get bored, even if you can see where the film needed a little more oomph. It’s all about seeing a plan come together, and how that plan gets complicated. And if the film isn’t as great as it could have been, well there’s that, but it’s just good enough. Our review of Tower Heist on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Spike Lee to Direct Eddie Murphy in HBO Film About Former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: December 9th, 2011 at 11:51 am

With a whole slew of comedies both spectacular and downright terrible in his past, Eddie Murphy is looking to take on the most serious role of his career. The Washington Post reports Murphy is slated to star in a biopic of former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry for HBO Films. Even more interesting is that Spike Lee is also attached to direct the film which looks to use various sources (like the 1994 book Dream City) to tell the life story of Barry, the first prominent civil-rights activist to become chief executive of a major American city and a man who has endured various political and legal controversies and has somehow maintained his popularity and influence on the nation’s capitol. This just might be a film that paints Murphy in a new light and could open the door for more dramatic roles in his future. The actor received an Oscar nomination for Dreamgirls previously, but his role was still pretty comedic, so this will certainly be a big change of pace. Stay tuned.

TOP 5: SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, IMMORTALS, CARS 2, THE EXPENDABLES 2, Billy Crystal and Brian Grazer Take on 2012 Oscars

by Jason Barr    Posted: November 12th, 2011 at 12:49 pm

I’m going to bypass my usual opening paragraph musings this week and simply wish everyone a Happy Veterans Day weekend. Given that I don’t have any immediate family or friends who serve, I won’t claim to know the first thing about the sacrifices that each serviceman/woman and their respective families and friends are continually asked to make. I reap all of the benefits of their service without any of the concessions. As a result, I owe a debt of gratitude to each and every one of them.

In this week’s “Top 5″ installment you can find the first trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman, a cornucopia of interviews for Immortals and Cars 2, new set images from the set of The Expendables 2 featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme, and a look at the road that led Billy Crystal and Brian Grazer to the top of the 2012 Oscars. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

Painful Trailer for A THOUSAND WORDS Starring Eddie Murphy

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 10th, 2011 at 8:30 am

Remember that brief moment where it looked like Eddie Murphy was going to turn his career around and go back to being that guy we all liked in the 80s?  Then he dropped hosting the Oscars after his moron Tower Heist director Brett Ratner resigned, and now there’s a new trailer for another one Murphy’s high-concept “comedies”, A Thousand Words.  In all fairness, Murphy made this movie almost a year ago, but it’s a strong reminder of why we all want to forget about him. The movie is about a guy who only has a thousand words left before he dies, which seems like a strong premise for a drama, but instead it looks like everyone involved said, “Let’s make Liar, Liar 2“.  At least it’s a nice reminder that we should all heed the warnings of Cliff Curtis.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Kerry Washington, Clark Duke, and Allison Janney.  A Thousand Words opens March 23, 2012.

Eddie Murphy Drops out as Oscar Host Following Brett Ratner’s Resignation

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 9th, 2011 at 11:17 am

Yesterday, Brett Ratner resigned as the producer of the 84th Academy Awards after he made homophobic remarks to the surprise of no one. Now host Eddie Murphy has followed his Tower Heist director’s lead and exited the awards ceremony.  Academy president Tom Sherak released a statement about Murphy’s departure, saying: ” I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well.”  The Academy usually hires its producer and host well in advance in order to build buzz and provide plenty of lead time on the ceremony.  Now there will be a bit of a scramble to bring on a new producer and host with only three months to go until the 84th Academy Awards.  Maybe this time the Academy will hire a producer who is unlikely to say something like “Rehearsal is for fags.”

Hit the jump for the press release, which includes a statement from Murphy.  The 84th Academy Awards will take place on February 26, 2012.  Someone place a call to Neil Patrick Harris right now.

TOWER HEIST Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 4th, 2011 at 6:02 am

I was trying to figure out a way to find a more backhanded compliment than Brett Ratner‘s “Tower Heist is surprisingly not terrible,” but I came up empty.  At first glance, it should be the poster child for everything that’s wrong with mainstream American cinema.  Ben Stiller has been playing the same character, his co-star Eddie Murphy doesn’t seem to care about acting anymore, and Ratner is an unimpressive journeyman director.  And yet Tower Heist is kind of an entertaining movie.  Stiller plays against type, Eddie Murphy shows he can deliver when he’s not phoning it in, and Ratner keeps the film upbeat.  There are a mind-blowing number of obvious plot-holes, and the crappy screenplay relies heavily on coincidence, but the movie never comes off as insulting or offensive.  Tower Heist is like a sweet child who draws a terrible picture of your house, but he doesn’t know any better and just wants you to be impressed.

Eddie Murphy Writing Alien Comedy as Starring Vehicle; Wants Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Other Black Comics to Co-Star

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: October 30th, 2011 at 6:42 pm

The level of optimism for Eddie Murphy’s career is high right now—the highest since at least since Dreamgirls, maybe in over a decade.  Tower Heist doesn’t look god-awful.  The live Oscar stage could reinvigorate the former stand-up.  And recently, Murphy denounced his recent work in family films.  (Notwithstanding A Thousand Words, finally coming out in March after years on the shelf.)  That leaves the question of what he would like to pursue going forward.

It’s worth noting that Tower Heist was originally conceived for a cast of black comedians such as Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle, Tracy Morgan, and Martin Lawrence.  The development process whitewashed the project (Ben Stiller and Matthew Broderick seem absurdly white in this context), but Murphy hasn’t abandoned the central idea.  Murphy says he is writing an alien abduction comedy he whimsically refers to as Jamal and Tyrell and Omar and Brick and Michael’s Wack-Ass Weekend.  More after the jump.

8 Clips from TOWER HEIST

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 27th, 2011 at 11:33 am

We’ve been provided with eight clips from director Brett Ratner’s upcoming comedy Tower Heist. The film centers on a group of disgruntled employees who decide to rob a white-collar criminal living under house arrest in their high-rise after he scams them all out of their savings. The all-star cast includes Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe, Téa Leoni, Stephen Henderson, Judd Hirsch, Michael Peña, and Alan Alda. Tower Heist opens November 4th.

Eddie Murphy Quitting Family Movies; Turning BEVERLY HILLS COP into TV Series; May Return to Stand-Up

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 26th, 2011 at 8:49 am

It’s been easy to write off Eddie Murphy for about a decade.  There was a moment of hope when he turned in a strong dramatic performance in Dreamgirls, but then he went right back to making crappy family comedies.  Murphy now tells Rolling Stone that he’s done with family films, Beverly Hills Cop IV (which he might turn into a TV series), and his stand-up hiatus.

If you want to rekindle your hope that Murphy may return to form, hit the jump for some encouraging quotes.  Murphy will next be seen in Tower Heist (which looks less-than-encouraging) and he’ll be hosting the Oscars next year.

Brett Ratner Talks Eddie Murphy, the Oscars, a Woody Allen Documentary, BEVERLY HILLS COP 4, Tarsem’s SNOW WHITE, and More

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 24th, 2011 at 5:37 pm

Brett Ratner is a very busy guy at the moment.  He’s currently preparing for the release of his latest directorial effort Tower Heist, which features an all-star cast that includes Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, and Alan Alda, and he’s also gearing up to produce the Academy Awards.  In addition, Ratner is juggling a number of other projects.  Steve recently got the chance to talk to Ratner and the conversation covered a wide range of topics.  In addition to talking about his plan for the Oscars and getting Eddie Murphy as a host, Ratner also spoke about Tarsem Singh’s Untitled Snow White Project which he’s producing, a comprehensive documentary about Woody Allen (which sounds awesome) that he’s also producing, a miniseries on Sidney Korshak, and much more including updates on Beverly Hills Cop 4 and Hong Kong Phooey.  Hit the jump to check out the full conversation.

Character Posters for TOWER HEIST Starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 18th, 2011 at 10:08 am

Universal has released six bland character posters for Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist.  Each poster features a main character standing on top of a building, we get the actor’s name and their character’s profession, and I guess this sells a movie.  I suppose having an adorable dog on Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy’s posters doesn’t hurt.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The film also stars Tea Leoni, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, and Gabourey Sidibe.  Tower Heist opens November 4th.

New Trailer for TOWER HEIST Starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 6th, 2011 at 1:13 pm

A new trailer for Brett Ratner’s Tower Heist has gone online.  The film centers on a group of employees working in a high-rise who decide to rob a white-collar criminal after he fleeces them out of their savings. After viewing both trailers, I stick by my conclusion that it will be a popular movie featuring the kind of safe humor that makes a crummy show like Two and a Half Men the #1 show on comedy.  However, it looks like we might finally get another funny performance from Eddie Murphy.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. The film also stars Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Téa Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Casey Affleck, Stephen Henderson, Judd Hirsch, Michael Peña, and Alan Alda.  Tower Heist opens November 4th and hits VOD in select markets three weeks later.

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