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Link Time! Simon Baker Scores Surfer Role

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:30:40 -0800

Simon Baker attached to surfing drama Breath - Coming Soon
Eddie Murphy to star in R-rated animal comedy The Misadventures of Fluffy - Movieline
Anvil! The Story of Anvil and Capitalism: A Love Story both left off of Oscar documentary shortlist - Cinematical
Get a look at next week's annual Slapsgiving on How I Met Your Mother - PopWatch
All Songs Considered: The 50 most important recordings of the decade - NPR
Susan Boyle breaks Amazon's record for global CD pre-orders - Lifeline Live
Could Lost's Nestor Carbonell be Khan in the Star Trek sequel? - Moviefone
True Blood's Stephen Moyer signs on for thriller The Caller - MTV Movies Blog
Remember Chandler's awkward relationship with Thanksgiving? Share your own stories with Très - TrèsSugar
Interpol is prepping an album for next year - Pitchfork

Box Office: The Hangover Hangs On to the Top Spot

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:30:55 -0700

The Hangover had another fantastic weekend at the box office. The comedy came in at No. 1 with an estimated $33.4 million, and is now being called a bona fide box office phenomenon. Pixar's Up also did very well, coming in second place with an estimated $30.5 million over the weekend. According to Variety, "It's unusual for two films like Hangover and Up to simultaneously have such solid holds domestically."

Meanwhile, The Taking of Pelham 123 debuted at No. 3 and earned a solid $25 million, followed by Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Will Ferrell's Land of the Lost took the fifth spot while Eddie Murphy's newest comedy, Imagine That, had a fairly dismal debut at No. 6.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Will Eddie Murphy Play Richard Pryor?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:30:34 -0800

According to Entertainment Weekly, writer/director Bill Condon (screenwriter of Chicago, writer/director of Dreamgirls) is shopping around his newest script, Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said? The magazine notes that Eddie Murphy, who has included Pryor impressions in his act for years, would be a natural fit for portraying Pryor in the biopic. This would reunite Condon and Murphy after Dreamgirls earned Murphy much award recognition.

Murphy has credited Pryor as his inspiration for becoming a comedian, though apparently Pryor wrote in his autobiography that he found Murphy's comedy to sometimes be too insensitive.

Another interesting aspect of this news is that Fox Searchlight - a studio that has been positively on fire the past few years, putting out award-grabbing films like Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, The Wrestler and Slumdog Millionaire - is interested in the film. Perhaps we have a future Oscar darling on our hands with this biopic? Do you think Murphy could - or should - play Richard Pryor?

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Box Office: Hellboy and Friends Kick Box Office Butt

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:15:15 -0700

Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army won the weekend box office with an estimated $35.9 million, not only handily beating the current competition, but also surpassing the first Hellboy's opening weekend earnings ($23.2 million). Yippee! I'm happy for that ragtag group of superheroes.

On the other end of the spectrum was Meet Dave, which Variety described as "one of the worst opening grosses ever for an Eddie Murphy pic." The details are even more painful. Consider this: It cost $60 million to make Meet Dave and it only earned an estimated $5.3 million over the weekend. That's not a pretty picture.

Hancock remained a draw (fun aside: at the movie theater over the weekend, a group of young boys sped past me while one yelled, "Hurry up! I don't want to miss a single second of Hancock!"), coming in second place, followed by the 3-D action flick Journey to the Center of the Earth. Pixar's Wall-E came in at No. 4 followed by Wanted to round out the top five.

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures

Meet Dave: I Thought It Would Be Worse

BuzzSugar — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:33:33 -0700

So, full disclosure: I dragged myself to this movie with the lowest of expectations. Things like Norbit and The Adventures of Pluto Nash danced through my mind and I prayed to the comedy gods to spare me a numbingly unfunny experience. I mean, I've just barely recovered from The Love Guru.

And guess what: They sort of heard my prayers. I'm happy to report that Eddie Murphy's new comedy (that even he couldn't bring himself to watch) isn't all that bad. I wouldn't say it's good, either, but my soul is intact and I'm not as worried about the fate of all that is funny, so those are good signs. What's more, I came away with a renewed sense of Eddie Murphy's talent, and I think it's possible he might be back on that screen making me hurt with laughter one of these days.

To see what I think gets in the way of Murphy's hilarity in Meet Dave, making this another one of his forgettable comedies, read more.

When I first saw the trailer, I thought the premise was weird and even kinda gross. Little people running around inside Eddie Murphy? Falling out of his ears? No thanks. Plus I figured it was bound to get real scatological, real fast. Well, turns out it's actually a fairly inspired idea for a movie, and as I watched I saw glimpses of what could have been. Little tiny aliens coming to earth in a space vessel in the form of Eddie Murphy (who also plays the captain in charge of a Star Trek-like crew inside) starts out as a ridiculously silly twist on the extraterrestrial comedy, and I'll be honest, I couldn't help but smile.

My smile only widened during scenes in which Eddie Murphy takes those funny muscles and gives them a good workout. In the beginning when the aliens are learning how to get their human to stroll down the street, his brilliant herky-jerky walk is like a lesson in physical comedy. There is also a running gag in which the aliens decide that it's best to make their vessel just copy human behavior when they're not quite sure of the proper response. So when a good-natured character shakes hands with "Dave," Murphy does a pretty hilarious imitation right back at him that's akin to the "white man's over bite" in how dorkishly affable it is.

However, there is a "but," and it's a big one. Despite a handful of shimmering moments of good old-fashioned comedy, the movie crumbles under mostly idiotic jokes (he poops money, for example) and a plot so cliched you could bet $100 pooped dollars every 10 minutes on what will happen next and walk out rich.

Bottom line: Meet Dave will remind you that Eddie Murphy made hilarious movies once upon a time, but will make you wonder why he makes movies that are beneath him - and you.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

How Well Do You Know Eddie Murphy's Career?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:30:33 -0700

Few have enjoyed the kind of long-term box office success that Eddie Murphy has, and despite recent movies he's made (oh man, Meet Dave looks. . . interesting) there is no denying the permanent impact his work has had on TV, movies, and yes, even music.

So in honor of his newest comedy opening this weekend (and the news that he's not, actually, retiring from the biz), I thought I'd grill you on your Eddie Murphy knowledge. Good luck!

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Take the quiz

Bret Ratner, Eddie Murphy to Team Up for a Beverly Hills Cop 4

BuzzSugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:25:09 -0700

Apparently, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has been an inspiration to other old franchises looking to capitalize on nostalgia as Brett Ratner is aiming to resurrect the Beverly Hills Cop movies with a fourth installment. Eddie Murphy will reportedly "reprise his role as Detroit detective Axel Foley." Variety has more:

Studio is aiming for a 2009 production start and a summer 2010 release. Lorenzo di Bonaventura (G.I. Joe, Transformers 2) will produce. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original Beverly Hills Cop trilogy with late partner Don Simpson, won't be actively involved in the new film.

What do you think about this news? Totally unnecessary? Or possibly fantastic?

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Tax Season Movie Night: Money, Money, Money

BuzzSugar — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:30:27 -0700

Tax season is upon us and I know how stressful it can be to dig up receipts, fill out the forms and file the ol' taxes. Although my friend Savvy wouldn't be too happy to hear this, I have a bad habit of procrastinating and will find any reason to avoid doing my taxes. This year I have a new strategy: hold a money movie night with the following films and then do my taxes - no more excuses! It's a good plan because there are a lot of good lessons to learn from these movies, you know? OK, that's a lame rationalization, but hey, these movies are fun and might even convince you to stay away from white-collar crimes.

Trading Places
Just thinking about Trading Places makes me laugh, which is the perfect way to kick off a tax season movie night. Eddie Murphy stars alongside fellow funny man Dan Aykroyd in this film that poses the question: Does money make the man?

Louis Winthorpe III (Aykroyd) is a Harvard educated broker who has it all. Billy Ray Valentine (Murphy) is a street hustler angling for a dollar. When these two men switch places in society, all hilarity breaks loose. It's a wacky premise, but Murphy is hysterical and it's a funny peek at the ways in which money changes people.

Two more money movies, so read more.

Wall Street
In high school, my economics teacher taught us all about the stock market and making lots of money. And then he made us watch this movie starring Michael Douglas (who won an Oscar for his performance) and Charlie Sheen to warn us of the dangers of excess. Looking back, this was a smart move as Wall Street is the ultimate cautionary tale. At the center we see the evil, morally depraved Gordon Gekko (Douglas), who embodies the worst of the opulent 1980s. Sheen plays the young and naive newcomer who first believes he can make it big as a mover and shaker on Wall Street, but under the tutelage of the greedy Gekko finds himself tangled in an insider trading scheme and has to fight for his soul. Again, white-collar crime is bad. Thanks, Teach!

Indecent Proposal
Indecent Proposal, starring Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and Robert Redford, is a provocative twist on an age-old question: How far are you willing to go for money? Moore and Harrelson are a happy couple who find themselves in a serious financial crisis and head to Vegas (naturally!). There, a rich, handsome stranger (Redford) offers them $1 million for a night of you-know-what with Moore. What follows is scandalous, shocking and painful. In the end though, it's a good lesson in how just a little bit of moral compromise in the name of greed can eat you alive.

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Eddie Murphy's Meet Dave: Funny or Lame?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:30:14 -0700

Parts of the trailer for the Eddie Murphy comedy Meet Dave are pretty funny, while others fall into the "things that make me go 'Hmm. . .'" category. People jumping out of his ears! Aack!

Meet Dave opens July 11, so check out the preview and tell me what you think. Funny? Lame? Or just weird?

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Lindsay Lohan, Eddie Murphy Sweep Razzies

BuzzSugar — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:37:30 -0800

Between Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards and Sunday's Oscars, it's a weekend for recognizing great films. But we can't be getting too lovey-dovey about the year's movies, can we? That's where the Razzies come in. The 28th annual Golden Raspberry Awards also announced their "winners" this weekend, taking a few folks down a peg.

The biggest smack-downs went to Lindsay Lohan and I Know Who Killed Me, which won a total of eight awards. Eddie Murphy and Norbit weren't immune, either, getting three of the $4.89 gold spray-painted trophies. With such dominance from those two movies, the only other film to sneak in was Daddy Day Camp, which got the nod for Worst Prequel or Sequel.

To see the full list of dubious honorees, just read more.

WORST PICTURE
I Know Who Killed Me

WORST ACTOR
Eddie Murphy (Norbit)

WORST ACTRESS
(tie)
Lindsay Lohan as Aubrey (I Know Who Killed Me)
Lindsay Lohan as Dakota (I Know Who Killed Me)

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Eddie Murphy as Mr. Wong (Norbit)

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Eddie Murphy as Rasputia (Norbit)

WORST SCREEN COUPLE
Lindsay Lohan & Lindsay Lohan (I Know Who Killed Me)

WORST PREQUEL OR SEQUEL
Daddy Day Camp

WORST REMAKE OR RIPOFF
I Know Who Killed Me

WORST DIRECTOR
Chris Siverston (I Know Who Killed Me)

WORST SCREENPLAY
I Know Who Killed Me (Jeffrey Hammond)

WORST EXCUSE FOR A HORROR MOVIE
I Know Who Killed Me

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