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Author
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Topic: Axel Foley is back...! (!)
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John Wilson
Film God
Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 05-29-2008 10:33 PM
Eddie Murphy to reprise Beverly Hills Cop Story ----------------------------
If Indiana Jones can make a successful comeback after almost 20 years, why not the Beverly Hills cop?
Paramount Pictures has given the go-ahead for a fourth installment of its Beverly Hills Cop franchise, with Eddie Murphy on board to return to the role that launched his movie career, the studio said on Thursday.
Brett Ratner, the filmmaker behind the similarly themed Rush Hour movies starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, is in negotiations to direct the latest Beverly Hills Cop adventure, a Paramount spokesman said.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers) will produce.
The film is expected to begin filming next year for a summer 2010 release.
According to Daily Variety, it was Murphy, 47, who approached the Viacom Inc-owned studio about reviving the film series in which he plays a Detroit police detective, Axel Foley, who ends up chasing crooks in Beverly Hills, California.
The original 1984 film and its two sequels, the last of which opened in 1994, collectively grossed more than $US735 ($769) million in cinemas worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. The first movie alone took in over $US316 million globally.
The decision to make Beverly Hills Cop IV follows Paramount's success with the revival of its Indiana Jones franchise after 19 years. The fourth film in that series, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, opened last Thursday and grossed nearly $US152 ($159) million in its first five days in US release.
Murphy's last two films, the live-action comedy Norbit and the animated storybook satire Shrek the Third, in which he supplied the voice of a talking donkey, grossed $159 million and $799 million worldwide, respectively, according to Box Office Mojo.
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Greg Anderson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 766
From: Ogden Valley, Utah
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-30-2008 08:26 AM
It's just sad that the stars who used to be big draws, who used to be worth the salaries they were receiving, can't find better work than this. Eddie Murphy's movies used to make tons of money. But, looking back, can you really name one of them that has aged well? Do you ask yourself why we ever liked any of those movies?
Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy... who's next? Name someone who 1) used to be huge, 2) hasn't had a hit lately to justify his still-big salary demands and 3) has an old franchise that could be revived (although most fans would scream, "No! Leave it alone!"). Now imagine that same person, on the set, shooting yet another sequel and see the look on his face that says, "I'm too old for this. Nobody's gonna buy this rubbish."
How about another Austin Powers movie? Oh, wait! There is one! I half-expect the ending of The Love Guru to include a Mission:Impossible moment where he pulls off his mask.
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 05-30-2008 02:53 PM
quote: Shane Cooper To be fair to Murphy, while I agree that he has become stale in the last 10 years, I did think he was great in Dreamgirls. It did demonstrate that he has versatility but chooses to make rubbish like Norbit.
Point taken, and he did put in a serious and convincing performance in Trading Places, which I'd forgotten about until this thread. I think my earlier post was prompted by memories of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, which hit the cinemas and the video rental shops (which were quite a novelty in Britain at the time) when I was a teenager and first starting to take an interest in films. It was considered the height of cool to have got in to see one (or to have successfully managed to hire a tape, despite the age restriction). But about 3-4 years ago, one of the Beverly Hills Cop films was shown as a Northwest Airlines in-flight movie, and I was scratching my head, wondering why I thought it was remotely funny the first time round.
But there again, there are comedians I admire, while friends and relatives whose judgments normally click with mine can't stand them (in particular, if I suggest watching a Will Hay DVD, people tend to suddenly find other things they need to be doing that evening!). It's a personal taste thing, I guess.
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