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Eddie Murphy Turned Brett Ratner On To The Classic Heist Films Before Making 'Tower Heist'

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • November 3, 2011 5:20 AM
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  • 0 Comments
And More From The Director & Cast Of The High Concept ComedyIn Brett Ratner’s “Tower Heist,” Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy lead an ensemble cast in a story of wronged hotel employees who decide to seek revenge against a ruthless financial world maven who has run off with their pensions. A comedy, heist flick and even a triumphant middle finger to the swindlers that put many out of house and home (though the filmmakers say the ties to current events were unintentional), the film is a crowd-pleasing confection about the little guys finally getting one over on those in authority. A solid supporting cast including Alan Alda, Tea Leoni, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick and more help bring the story, a distinctly New York City-set tale, to life.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Producers, Brett Ratner, Tower Heist, Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Casey Affleck, Gabourey Sidibe, Brian Grazer

Eddie Murphy Is Writing ‘Jamal And Tyrell And Omar And Brick And Michael’s Wack-Ass Weekend'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • October 31, 2011 6:26 AM
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  • 3 Comments
With Eddie Murphy now threatening a comeback (well, a return to halfway decent material) with this weekend's "Tower Heist," he made the most of his interview with Rolling Stone to drop some nuggets of info about what he plans next. "Beverly Hills Cop 4" may be dead, but he wants to bring Axel Foley to the small screen, and in the print edition of the mag transcribed by Moviehole he's got an all black alien invasion flick he's writing. But let's hold up a second.
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More: Actors, Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy Says He Was Really "Never Involved" With A Richard Pryor Biopic

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • October 28, 2011 4:08 AM
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  • 0 Comments
"I only want to do what I really want to do, otherwise I'm content to sit here and play my guitar all day. I always tell people now that I'm a semi-retired gentleman of leisure, and occasionally I'll go do some work to break the boredom up."
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More: Actors, Bill Condon, Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy Says 'Beverly Hills Cop 4' Is Dead, But TV Series About Axel Foley's Son In The Works

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • October 26, 2011 5:29 AM
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  • 2 Comments
Also Says His Oscar Night Incident After Losing To Alan Arkin Was Misunderstood"We’re not close, but I’m hoping in the next few years there will be one," Brett Ratner recently told Collider about the forever in development "Beverly Hills Cop 4." "Eddie and I are even setting up some more of his ideas. I’m hoping that we have a long, fruitful relationship. We’re both still very young, believe it or not. Eddie’s only 50 years old, so I think we have a little bit of time to come up with a great 'Beverly Hills Cop.'" But it looks like the sand in the hour glass has run out as Eddie Murphy is hanging up the idea of starring in a fourth movie and is looking for a younger Axel Foley to take the adventures to the small screen.
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More: Actors, Brett Ratner, Eddie Murphy

Not Mad About 'Dreamgirls' Anymore, Eddie Murphy Considers Hosting The Oscars

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • September 5, 2011 10:35 AM
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  • 6 Comments
Update: Deadline reports that Eddie Murphy is now officially on board to host the Oscars. Career comeback? Between this and "Tower Heist" it could well be. However "A Thousand Words" and the "Hong Kong Phooey" movie say otherwise.
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More: Actors, Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy Still Making Crap, Will Voice Title Character In 'Hong Kong Phooey'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • August 11, 2011 1:26 AM
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  • 4 Comments
We can't help but feel that, decades from now, the early career of Eddie Murphy will be a trivia question. "Which star of terrible children's movies was once was an edgy, ground-breaking stand-up comedian, and star of comedy classics like '48 Hours' and 'Trading Places'?" Since the mid 1980s or so, Murphy has seemingly gone out of his way to make absolute shit, with only the occasional glimmer of hope -- "Bowfinger" was pretty good, "Life" is underrated, and we suppose he was fun in the original "Shrek," although subsequent sequels have run that one into the ground by now.
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More: Films, Actors, Animated Films, Eddie Murphy, Hong Kong Phooey

Probably Terrible Eddie Murphy Comedy 'A Thousand Words' Gets Dumped On January 13, 2012

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • April 22, 2011 4:48 AM
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  • 2 Comments
It's been so long since Eddie Murphy made a good movie, we've kind of forgotten that he used to be funny. Making his bank account bigger over the past decade in a string of increasingly shitty family movies, the days when Murphy was edgy comic with a unique and hilarious voice are now a far distant memory. And the actor now has yet another high concept, and probably poorly executed comedy and it looks like even the studio are throwing up their hands on this movie which has been sitting around for a while.
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More: Actors, Films, A Thousand Words, Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy & Usher Approached To Play James Brown In Long Gestating Biopic

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • April 4, 2011 8:39 AM
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  • 10 Comments
Dr. Yanna Brown Also Likes Chris Brown For The PartA James Brown biopic isn't new, in fact, it's quite old. Way back in 2006, Paramount and Imagine Entertainment brought on Spike Lee to direct the film that he would also rewrite, adding another pen to a draft that had already been through a number of hands including Steve Baigelman ("Feeling Minnesota") who got it rolling and Jezz and John Henry Butterworth ("Fair Game") who did the most "recent" draft. Word on the project has pretty much been quiet since but it appears that movement is still happening sort of.
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More: Actors, Musicians, Spike Lee, Eddie Murphy, Usher, Chris Brown

Michael Gondry Says Nic Cage Wanted To Play 'The Green Hornet' Villain With A Jamaican Accent

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • January 10, 2011 4:01 AM
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  • 2 Comments
Director Says He Was "Relieved" When Cage No Longer Wanted The RoleAt one time, "The Green Hornet" looked very different. Seth Rogen was still on board in the lead, crime-fighting role but Stephen Chow, the star of "Kung Fu Hustle" was signed up to direct and play Kato and Nicolas Cage was in talks for the villain. He eventually walked from the part and at the time, gave a very sober account of an actor struggling to ensure the integrity of the character he was looking to play. Interesting coming from the guy with "Season of the Witch" now in theaters, but anyway....
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More: Films, Actors, Michel Gondry, Super Hero Films, Eddie Murphy, Nicolas Cage, The Green Hornet

Updated: Matthew Broderick & Casey Affleck Join Ben Stiller & Eddie Murphy In 'Tower Heist'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • October 26, 2010 6:11 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Update: Casey Affleck has also joined the cast playing Stiller's friend and underling who is uncomfortable with the heist plans and wants to turn him in. Judd Hirsch of "Taxi" fame is also in the ensemble. This cast is now officially bonkers.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Brett Ratner, Noah Baumbach, Tower Heist, Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Michael Pena, Casey Affleck, Téa Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe

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