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.