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EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Murphy is set to join Ben Stiller and Alan Alda in Tower Heist, the Brett Ratner-directed caper film for Universal Pictures. Imagine’s Brian Grazer is producing, and Murphy will join Karen Kehela Sherwood and Kim Roth as executive producers. Jeff Nathanson, Ratner’s accomplice in the Rush Hour films, is rewriting the latest version by Ted Griffin. Murphy has been mentioned as a possible participant going back to the film’s original configuration as an African American version of Ocean’s Eleven, when it was called Trump Heist. Trump was dropped as was that casting equation, and now, the storyline deals with operations and maintenance workers in a luxury Manhattan high-rise whose pension funds were looted by a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook, who is living high style in a penthouse apartment, under house arrest. Led by an overworked building manager (Stiller), the workers use their knowledge of the inner workings of the building to rip him off. WME-repped Murphy became a star playing street-smart characters who stuck it to the man in movies from 48 Hours to Trading Places. If he’s still got some of that mojo, he classes up Tower Heist considerably.
Eddie Murphy In Universal’s ‘Tower Heist’
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Uh, Eddie Murphy hasn’t had “that mojo” since 1984.
It’s hard for me to understand how Ben Stiller, known partly for his collaborations with Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, not to mention his own innovative comedies as a director, believes Brett Ratner is a good director, or even a good person for that matter. This movie feels like it wouldn’t have made a profit in 1998, let alone the current, much more competitive marketplace.
Why don’t you stop trying to understand and just go back to your crappy life?
You can say what you want about Brett Ratner being a bad director, which he is, but you cannot sit here and tell me that his movies don’t make profit. Sure, Rush Hour movies aren’t good but each one of them have made back their cost,and lets not talk about X-Men 3. You can say what you want but the guy knows how to make blockbusters; whether they’re good or not is another question.
Oh yeah and another thing– what does Brett Ratner being a bad director have to do with him being a good or bad person?
He has the Pizazz, it’s just a matter of getting the rest of the cast to dial back enough for it to show. In any successful Murphy movie the other characters had to stand aside or in awe to Eddies. Hopefully it won’t be another Pluto Nash.
Leave It To Fuckin’ Hollyweird to fuck this up. Ratner had it right the first time around. It would have been much more $interesting$ concept if it starred Afr-Am comedians pulling a heist in the Trump Tower.
White America doesn’t really go see movies starring black people.
Go to boxofficemojo and look up “Will Smith”.
the exception that proves the rule
Uhhhh Will Smith is the most bankable star in the world !! What planet do YOU live on ???!!!
True, but name a recent Will Smith movie that was a predominently African American cast. He’s right, put Will Smith in the next Madea movie and white America will still not see it. Will’s a star, but he doesn’t do “black movies”. It’s an unfortunate fact, perhaps. But still true.
Dil, obviously short for “delirious”, lots of white Americans enjoy the Madea movies & other films w/ predominately black casts. As many African Americans don’t find it necessary to watch a movie simply based on the race of the cast. “Death @ a Funeral” is a good example. Tyler Perry’s TV series are another example. So you might want to check your facts before making such ignorant statements.
That’s because people want to see Will Smith save the world not have a Barbecue.
He didn’t say that White America doesn’t see Black Movies. He said White America doesn’t see movies starring Black People, which is absolute, utter nonsense.
Yet another tired idea from the Imagine factory. Seriously, does anyone want to see forced buddy-comedy dreck from aging stars led by a hack director? Grazer must be pretty hard up for go movies if he’s still pushing around this turd pile.
@notinterested No, you are totally right. Just strikes me as odd that Uni, in the midst of their worst slump in 15 years, would look to Ratner, who has killed/badly damaged three franchises (X-Men, Hannibal Lecter, his own Rush Hour series) in as many tries to reverse their fortunes. Hopefully this is one of those movies where Grazer is making all the big, important decisions while the director just shuts up, smiles and takes the check. Meanwhile between Stiller, Grazer, Ratner, and Murphy, plus Natheson’s astronomical weekly fee for a polish, this movie sounds like it’s easily already cost 60-70 million before a foot of film has been shot. And isn’t it supposed to start in early November? Always a great sign when they’re still punching up the script a few weeks out
Clearly this boondoggle is being forced through the pipeline before the Comcast boys take over and properly clean house at the studio.
Boondoggle? You mean a $200 million dollar BATTLESHIP movie based around Aliens starring Rhianna is a real movie then?
Hahahaha! Good one. For you. Not them. Very bad one for them.
Eddie Murphy is already an icon he is devoted in his work as an actor, director, writer, musician, producer and every movie he does really creates millions of dollars.
Agree! I may not love all his recent films and am confused about what he’s doing, but there is no doubting the incredibly strong appeal of Eddie. Do so at your own peril, naysayers. The brilliance of his performance in “Bowfinger” alone earned him my eternal devotion. Go Eddie!
This going to be a hit, people want to see Eddie be funny again. The Rush Hour movies weren’t great but Ratner did create the environment for Chris Tucker (Eddie clone 101) to be hilarious. Maybe he can make magic again with the real deal.
@tree BATTLESHIP has a cooler, far cheaper cast, a director coming off a worldwide hit who has actually proven he can direct large-scale action, and major brand name recognition. And Uni gets to keep a bigger chunk of the gross than they will with Tower Heist. Sounds like a better bet to me.
The original premise sounds better but unfortunately interest in a cast with too many black actors would not have been enough to justify the budget. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t for some people I guess.
Their looking for a blockbuster movie . Ratner always does movies like this after the sunset, the rush hour films, they are movies that look pretty have known actora that middle america likes., i see this doing very well.
This absolutely makes sense……Universal just wants to be like all the other Studios with unreleasable Eddie Murphy films sitting on their shelf. Comcast can just grab em all and have an EM fest!!
Will be interesting to see Ed as part of an ensemble and not playing 25 characters in a one-man show. People bash Ratner but the Rush Hour flicks made a ton of money, point blank. And I don’t blame him for X3 either as all the development was done already, he just stepped in at the last minute to direct. Probably would have sucked with or without him but his image, like Michael Bay’s, makes him a whipping boy among the losers who can’t get on his level.
And LOL @ Chris: “White America not going to movies with African-Americans in them.” Explain Takers: $56,852,742 domestic via Box Office Mojo plus the top spot on 8/30. OMG it was a black heist flick. =0 Jennifer Aniston movies don’t gross that much. The American starring the mighty Clooney by comparison only did $35,399,163. So shut your racist-ass Tea Party mouth.
I will sai it again.
Brett Ratner is a good producer. He’s not a director.
McG is a producer. He’s not a director.
I can go on and on with certain people who think they are directors but they are producers. They sell but they make bland films that have no real vision nor the ability to tell a story visually.
A movie directed by a hack, written by hacks, and starring a bunch of hacks.
Ridiculous.
I liked this movie the first time I saw it, when it was called THE ANDERSON TAPES.
So this will be Madea Goes Uptown?
This idea started because it had a truth at it’s core that white America ignores blacks and minorities who fix and clean u shit all around their fabulous lives. And those black people then steal their money somehow making life seem just.
It was filled with the kind of politically correct shit prejudice Hollywood types loves to use to hide their own prejudiced behavior.
But ironically, when it came time to make the film, the racist notions of all those same executives would not let them make the film out of fear that white America would not see it.
So they get Ratner, famous for not minding being around black people and Eddie Murphy famous for being accepted by white people long ago and then they think the film will have the same edge. But now it’s just a lame ass movie with white guys in it looking to steal stuff with no motivation other than greed.
Never seen that before!
I thought Eddie Murphy was going back to stand-up. Here’s the thing…keep Eddie Murphy on book…no improv or straying from the script…his days of spontaneous wit are long over. Get him a good script, and direct him away from his normal “wide-eyed, wildman” schtick. He needs to stop speaking with his hands! Do not let him improv! Bring him way down so he’s not so obnoxiously over-the-top and it could work. The last thing I want to see is a loud-mouthed, over-the-top unfunny eddie murphy. Let’s see something sly and subtle for a change. He has lost his confidence! If you can capture this venerability – you might get something we’ve never seen before. If he’s allowed to go off half-cocked, with his mugging and ulta-caffeinated craziness, we’re just going to have another batch of tepid, unfunny scenes, starring eddie murphy. not interested in this at all! but if the script is tepid from the start…there’s no saving it anyway.
I think you’re confusing Eddie with Will Ferrell. Eddie is awesome at improv. Check out his classics or a more recent example Life co-starring Martin Lawrence. Those two going at are hysterical. Ferrell on the other hand ruins a lot of films because of his screaming at clouds improv. Ferrell was awesome in Megamind which was scripted. Taladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby was good too. Though I think that was his best improv mainly because benefited from Sacha Baron Cohen.
The cool thing is that DAVE CHAPPELLE will also be in this movie