News

Floyd Levine, a character actor who appeared in such films as Dog Day Afternoon, Night Shift and, for his son, producer, director and studio exec Brian Robbins, Coach Carter and Norbit, has died. He was 93.

Levine died Sunday, his daughter-in-law Tracy Robbins announced in an Instagram post.

“He was surrounded by his beautiful family (and probably wishing someone would bring him a martini),” she wrote. “The best father-in-law, grandpa and all-around jokester, Floyd loved Frank Sinatra, classic films and making everyone laugh.”

Levine also showed up as Desk Sgt. Lubin on CBS’ Cagney & Lacey, as Dr. Howard Stein on Fox’s Melrose Place and as Ned the Doorman on Nickelodeon’s Cousin Skeeter, a show co-created by his son.

Born in New York on Feb. 23, 1932, Levine and his wife, Rochelle, raised their three kids in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn. He drove a cab to support an acting...

This week on the Film Stories Podcast Network: we find out what happened on Krypton, why a man left Newcastle, what you did last summer and much more. Here’s what we’ve been up to…

Reel Talk

You’ll believe a different podcast can fly this week as Sam Stokes dons the cape, alongside DC nerds Perry Constantine and Craig McKenzie, to give their take on James Gunn’s new Superman film…

Modern Horror

We know what Hugh McStay did last summer, which is why he is absent in the Bahamas this week and Aj Black is joined by guest Mark McManus to talk the new 2025 take on I Know What You Did Last Summer…

At the Movies in the 90s

If both you want to know, and Still Want to Know What You Did Last Summer, join Aj Black and Mark McManus for some 90s chatter around the original films…...

Eddie Murphy has made 42 feature films, not counting stand-up specials and documentary appearances. And while he's dabbled in dramas like many other comedians have, he remains best known for making people laugh. It's understandable, as he got his start on "Saturday Night Live" in 1980 before breaking out on the big screen with some of the decade's most memorable comedies. He went on to tweak his appeal and found even greater success with family comedies that still sit among his highest-grossing films (although he does regret turning down a movie in the 1980s that combined live-action with animation).

Of course, Murphy's also seen some down years as several of his movies failed to find receptive audiences or critical acclaim, resulting in some notably rough Rotten Tomatoes streaks. Films like "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," "Holy Man," and "Meet Dave" probably have their defenders, but don't go expecting to find them in the list below.

A sequel to Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is moving forward at Netflix. While David Fincher will be taking the helm, the follow-up film will bring back Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, the former stuntman from the original. Now, some of his co-stars are being revealed.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, newcomers to the cast of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's sequel include Scott Caan and Elizabeth Debicki. Details about their characters have not yet been revealed, as the plot of the movie remains mostly shrouded in mystery. All that's known is that the film is expected to be set in a later time period, and it's also unclear if any material from Tarantino's 2021 tie-in novel, which divulged some of Cliff's backstory, will be utilized.

According to THR, Tarantino was initially considering having the film serve as his final movie as director before shelving that idea.

Attention all thriller enthusiasts! Prime Video is set to release an exciting new thriller series that will instantly pique your interest once you discover all the details. It's titled The Better Sister, and we've shared all there is to know about it right below.

The announcement of this new series came in May 2024, revealing that Emmy nominees Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel would be starring together. This marks their first collaboration, so it'll be interesting to see how their dynamic plays out on screen. While Banks has taken on some serious roles in her career, she's most known for her work in comedy. You might've watched her in the comedy movies The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Fred Claus, Meet Dave, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Role Models, Our Idiot Brother and all three Pitch Perfect films. She most recently starred in the thriller flick Skincare. Besides The Better Sister, we'll see...

Eddie Murphy is a king of movie comedy, but he’s sure made some notorious bombs. That list is embarrassingly long — Holy Man, Norbit, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Meet Dave, Imagine That and A Thousand Words are hard-to-defend failures, both as comedies and at the box office. However, none of those flops qualify as Murphy’s worst ever, at least according to Murphy.

In fact, Murphy made what he considers his worst movie during the hottest streak of his career, sandwiched between 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop, according to Far Out. It’s hard to blame Murphy for the failure. When you’re in your early 20s and people throw obscene amounts of money at you, you take it and run. That’s what happened in the case of the Dudley Moore comedy Best Defense.

Murphy copped to the money grab when he returned to host...

Eddie Murphy’s name in Hollywood’s entertainment industry is quite literally synonymous with laughter and unparalleled entertainment. With a career spanning over four decades, he has woven a tapestry of iconic characters, with his impressive filmography serving as a testament to his boundless talent, versatility, and commendable dedication to his craft.

Throughout his star-studded career, Murphy’s personal life has been a subject of fascination, with his private relationships often earning him the limelight. From his early days as a rising star to his current status as an acting legend, he has been linked to several high-profile celebrities, including the likes of Nicole Mitchell, Tamara Hood, Paulette McNeely, and Paige Butcher.

Eddie Murphy. | Credits: Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F / Netflix.

While each of these relationships has contributed to the rich tapestry of his life, shaping him into the devoted father and partner he is today, it’s also...

Sometime in the 2000s, comedian Eddie Murphy began experiencing a career slump that, quite sadly, would remain with him for years. Ron Underwood's 2002 sci-fi comedy "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" was a notorious bomb, making only $7.1 million on a $100 million budget. Murphy's cinematic update of "I Spy" from the same year also lost money, and Murphy turned to making mediocre but popular kiddie flicks like "The Haunted Mansion" and "Daddy Day Care" to make ends meet.

In 2006, Murphy received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in "Dreamgirls," but he immediately chased it with the universally hated "Norbit" only months later. "Norbit" made money, but no one seemed to like it. Some have even said that the presence of "Norbit" in theaters harmed Murphy's chance of winning an Oscar that year. He lost to Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine."

Murphy's next few films were all panned by critics,...

Ryan Murphy is back at it with another installation of his “American Story” franchise. The long-awaited “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” centers on the rise and fall of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez.

It’s been three years since the series was first announced in August 2021, and now with the cast finalized and production wrapped, the project is right around the corner in a living room near you. “West Side Story” and “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” breakout Josh Rivera stars as Hernandez and here makes his TV debut.

The series lands on FX on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Here’s a list of the cast and the real-life figures they play.

Josh Rivera as Aaron Rodriguez

Josh Rivera stars as late New England Patriots tight-end Aaron Rodriguez. He played for the team for three seasons before he was arrested and convicted for the murder of Odin Lloyd.

Night School has landed at No. 7 on Netflix's weekly global chart of the most watched English-language movies. The movie earned 27% from critics and 38% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. It remains to be seen if the movie's critical reputation is reevaulated after this streaming success.

Night School has become a Netflix hit. The 2018 movie starred Kevin Hart as high school dropout Teddy Walker, who decides to go to a night school class taught by the unusual Carrie Carter (Tiffany Haddish) in order to earn his Ged and get a coveted job at an investment firm. The ensemble cast of the movie also includes Rob Riggle, Romany Malco, Taran Killam, Al Madrigal, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Keith David. Night School reviews were overwhelmingly negative, earning the movie a 27% score on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes after 145 different critics weighed in.

Netflix has now officially calculated their global chart...

In the mid-2000s, Eddie Murphy needed a comeback, and he sort of got it. After nearly over a decade of only doing misfires like Holy Man or voicing cartoon animals for franchises like Mulan or Shrek, his shtick had become stagnant, and he needed something to remind people that he hadn't lost his talent. Dreamgirls helped Murphy get into Hollywood's good graces, leading to some of the best reviews of his career. After he lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine, Murphy returned to comedies that couldn't showcase his best talents, films like Norbit, Meet Dave, and A Thousand Words. But Murphy's long climb back into the spotlight climaxed with Dolemite Is My Name, with Murphy playing blaxploitation icon Rudy Ray Moore. It was not only the best performance he'd given in ages, but also the role that should have netted him a second Oscar nomination.

If you're of a certain age, there's nothing you can do: you have to accept that Crazy Frog will live in a hollowed-out space in your brain until the day you die. That blue-grey Swedish CG nuisance that was everywhere, especially ringtones, born of terrible energies, was ubiquitous sometime back in 2005. The aural plague was thanks entirely to an earworm track that worked far better in its original state in 1984's Beverly Hills Cop. "Axel F" by Harold Faltermeyer plays intermittently throughout the film and is the stuff of instant cranial embedding. Even in its original context, the song gets annoying by the third or fourth spin, but everyone involved in Beverly Hills Cop's production must've known what sort of bottled lightning they were working with.

None of this is to say that "Axel F" is the sort of song that could drum up an audience through catchiness alone,...

Eddie Murphy's latest holiday movie, Candy Cane Lane, has received a low score of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, continuing his streak of disappointing films. Murphy's highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is Dolemite Is My Name with a rating of 97%, while his recent films Coming 2 America and You People received rotten scores. Critics have described Candy Cane Lane as "batty," "lacking in spirit," and "forgettable," although some saw enjoyment in Murphy's antics.

Hollywood icon and beloved comedian Eddie Murphy has unfortunately continued his “rotten” streak with this month’s holiday outing, Candy Cane Lane. Released on December 1st, Candy Cane Lane now has a score of 40% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, meaning that the movie has the dreaded green splat by its name.

However, this has not stopped the movie from taking the #1 spot on Prime Video in its first days on release, and setting a record as...

Eddie Murphy's latest holiday movie, Candy Cane Lane, has received a low score of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, continuing his streak of disappointing films. Murphy's highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is Dolemite Is My Name with a rating of 97%, while his recent films Coming 2 America and You People received rotten scores. Critics have described Candy Cane Lane as "batty," "lacking in spirit," and "forgettable," although some saw enjoyment in Murphy's antics.

Hollywood icon and beloved comedian Eddie Murphy has unfortunately continued his “rotten” streak with this month’s holiday outing, Candy Cane Lane. Released on December 1st, Candy Cane Lane now has a score of 40% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, meaning that the movie has the dreaded green splat by its name.

While Murphy saw something of a resurgence in critical quality with the 2019 biographical comedy Dolemite Is My Name, which achieved a rating of 97% and...

Fandoms everywhere can now rejoice, for in October Our Flag Means Death finally returns to our screens for its second season. Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi will be romancing the high seas once more thanks to an enormous outpouring of love and support from the show’s fans. The safety of the cult favorite is not yet known beyond season two, but if this one is as good as the first, it certainly won’t be for lack of trying.

Talking of little shows that could, Doom Patrol is back for its last ever block of episodes, having long outlasted the many of the other ill-fated DC streaming series. Season two of The Gilded Age is also streaming this month, with Bertha challenging both Mrs. Astor and the old system in this new run.

And if none of that is up your street, there’s always Jason Statham punching sharks in the face,...

Rhys Darby in ‘Our Flag Means Death’ season 2 (Photograph by Nicola Dove/Max)

Max’s 2023 October lineup of series includes new seasons of Our Flag Means Death, The Gilded Age, and 30 Coins, as well as the second half of Doom Patrol season four (the final season). A documentary focusing on the notorious Bling Ring premieres on October 1st, along with all five Final Destination films.

In addition to a batch of horror films joining the network’s lineup, Max is celebrating Halloween with new seasons of Ghost Adventures and The Haunted Museum.

Series & Films Arriving On Max In October 2023:

October 1

3 Godfathers (1948)

The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996)

All About the Benjamins (2002)

The Amazing Panda Adventure (1995)

Angels in the Outfield (1951)

The Answer Man (2009)

Anthropoid (2016)

Appaloosa (2008)

The Apparition (2012)

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

Badlands (1973)

Be Cool (2005)

Bee Season (2005)

Beetlejuice (1988)

The Benchwarmers (2006)

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Blindspotting (2018)

Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012)

Cesar Chavez (2014)

Charlie Wilson’s War...

From the ecological-unfriendly spotlights of movie openings of yore, all the way up to pop-up ads with the volume boosted to provoke a mild heart attack, ad men have been perfecting the craft of teeth-gnashing advertisements for decades. We’re a long way from the plastic Jurassic Park collectible cup.

Films and TV shows have a narrow window to make their presence known to the viewing public. A lack of press can doom a production, especially in an era when studios and network execs refuse to take a risk on any IP without an existing brand footprint. Blanketing TV and the internet is but one way to do so, but why settle for a boring ad when you can reach people in a more innovative and excruciating style?

In the 2020s, PR reached the next level in the stage of evolution, going from simple trolling to outright interfering with your daily commute.

Elizabeth Banks is an American actress, director, producer and writer. She is best known for her roles in the Pitch Perfect film series, The Hunger Games film series as Effie Trinket, as well as her role of Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the musical comedy film series, The Rock of Ages. Elizabeth has also starred in many other successful films such as Wet Hot American Summer, Seabiscuit, Meet Dave, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Elizabeth Banks. Depostiphotos

Elizabeth’s career began off-Broadway at the Wpa theater in New York City with her debut in Shakespeare’s The Tempest which was followed by numerous other stage works. Elizabeth transitioned to television with a recurring role on the NBC drama series Third Watch. Elizabeth’s wide range of acting credits includes notable roles in television shows such as Modern Family, 30 Rock and Scrubs. Elizabeth made her...

Cocaine Bear is directed by Elizabeth Banks, with an ensemble cast that includes Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Christian Convery-Jennings and Alden Ehrenreich.

A movie that starts off with a comic bump and cites Wikipedia as a source can’t be bad, can it?

If you take it seriously, it’s a B-movie with little plot and a series of “well-worn” jokes that are probably funnier after you’ve had two or three whiskeys or your favorite substance.

If you don’t take it seriously: it’s an eighties revival that’s lot of fun and is done with period effects.

Very funny.

Plot (to call it something)

A guy throws some packets of cocaine out of a plane, which end up in the paws of a bear, which dances furiously in a park that is similar to Yellowstone – but with an entirely different Yogi there…

About the Movie

Funny,...

Warner Bros. Discovery has had a rough go of it recently. The newly-formed mega corporation’s decision to callously prune HBO Max’s servers of hours of content has led to mountains of bad PR and billions of dollars in market cap losses. Suffice it to say, a jam-packed list of new HBO Max releases for September 2022 would provide some welcome relief for the “House of the House of the Dragon.”

Unfortunately, HBO Max’s new releases this month are uncommonly light. It’s impossible to say whether this is the result of more Wbd meddling or simply some bad scheduling luck but either way it’s not going to make any executives’ seats less warm. There are only a handful of notable originals this month, led by season 2 of the Spanish language comedy Los Espookys on Sept. 16. That is joined by a pair of documentaries, Escape from Kabul on Sept.

Amazon Prime Video’s epic The Lord of the Rings series won’t arrive until 2022. Thankfully, with its list of new releases for November 2021, Amazon has a pretty major fantasy adaptation to hold us over.

The Wheel of Time is set to premiere on Nov. 19 and will bring Robert Jordan’s massive fantasy universe to life. Rosamund Pike stars as Moiraine, a powerful magic-user who guides five young people on a perilous journey around the world. One of them just might be the reincarnation of the Dragon, a powerful entity who could save the world…or destroy it.

Read more TV The Wheel of Time: Who Are the Aes Sedai? By Michael Ahr TV How The Wheel of Time Adapts a Sprawling Epic Fantasy By Michael Ahr

In addition to that bit of fantasy fun, Amazon Prime also has some other TV options this month. Lesbian dating show Tampa Baes (Nov.

For comedy fans of the '80s and '90s, there was no bigger name than Eddie Murphy. The talented comedian conquered the stand-up circuit with his legendary "Raw" and "Delirious" tours, and also conquered television with his stint on Saturday Night Live, before going on to star in a string of hit films. But Murphy's star dimmed around the 2000s, so much so that the actor recently admitted in an interview with Marc Maron that he quit acting because of all the awful reviews he was getting.

"I was making shitty movies. I was like, 'This shit ain't fun. They're giving me Razzies...Motherfuckers gave me the 'worst actor ever' Razzie. [So I thought], 'Maybe it's time to take a break. I was only gonna take a break for a year, then all of a sudden six years go by, and I'm sitting on the couch, and I could sit on the...

The Golden Raspberry Awards, otherwise known as the Razzies, honor the worst films and performances of the year. While the Razzies are not considered a major industry event, they are apparently major enough to get a comedy legend like Eddie Murphy to stop acting for several years. During a recent appearance on Marc Maron’s “Wtf” podcast (via The Independent), Murphy revealed he stepped away from acting after a string of critically reviled movies made him a Razzie darling.

“I was making shitty movies,” Murphy said. “I was like, ‘This shit ain’t fun. They’re giving me Razzies…Motherfuckers gave me the ‘worst actor ever’ Razzie. [So I thought], ‘Maybe it’s time to take a break.’”

Murphy is a nine-time Razzie Award nominee and three-time winner thanks to performances in films such as “Norbit,” “The Adventures of Pluto Nash,” and “Meet Dave.” At the 2010 Razzie Award ceremony, Murphy was given a...

At some point in every big screen comedian’s life, it seems like the idea of playing multiple roles in the same movie always rears its head, and the results have been pretty hit or miss. For every Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove, Mike Myers in Austin Powers or Eddie Murphy in Coming to America that found success and critical acclaim, there’s an Eddie Murphy in Norbit, Eddie Murphy in Meet Dave or Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps that drove the concept headfirst into the ground.

Seth Rogen is the latest big name to pull double duty in HBO Max exclusive An American Pickle, and the general consensus is that he’s done a pretty good job, with the fish out of water comedy currently boasting a 72% score on Rotten Tomatoes and most of the praise being pointed in the direction of the 38 year-old’s performance...

Edde Murphy made good at the Razzies. After making a number of critically derided films over the years, the comedian won the Redeemer Award for his career turnaround performance in Netflix’s “Dolemite is My Name.” He overtook four other nominees who redeemed their past cinematic sins last year: Jennifer Lopez (“Hustlers”), Keanu Reeves (“John Wick 3″ and Toy Story 4”), Will Smith (“Aladdin”) and Adam Sandler (“Uncut Gems”). Check out the complete list of Razzie winners here.

SEERazzies: Every Worst Picture Winner 1981 to Today

Murphy starred in “Dolemite” as Rudy Ray Moore, a real-life comedian whose “Dolemite” blaxploitation films made him a cult figure and an inspiration to future performers. The role earned Murphy acclaim from critics, who called his turn “irrepressibly alive” and a “killer comeback.” He earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Film Comedy/Musical Actor and a Critics’ Choice bid for Best Actor. But he missed the cut at the Oscars.

The resurgence of Eddie Murphy continued on Sunday night at the 25th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award as well as two wins for Dolemite Is My Name including the award for best comedy film.

The 58-year-old comedy icon has been enjoying a brighter spotlight in recent months thanks to his portrayal of Rudy Ray Moore, the struggling comedian who fashioned an alter ego for himself as the cartoonishly obscene pimp king known as Dolemite. Murphy also made a triumphant return to Saturday Night Live in December and is setting his sights on a return to the stage with a stand-up comedy tour.

On Sunday, Murphy was feted by the Broadcast Film Critics Association during their Critics’ Choice Awards gala at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. A montage of his screen career put the star in a reflective mood as he accepted the lifetime achievement trophy.

“To make your living making people laugh is the highest blessing on Earth,” Murphy said. He added:“I’ve played everything: a cop, a robber, a doctor, different ethnicities, animals. I’ve been a donkey. I’ve even played a spaceship once. When young actors come up to me on the street and say, ‘Do you have any advice?’, I say, ‘Never play a spaceship.’”

The donkey gig, of course, was for the Shrek franchise, a pivotal success for Dreamworks Animation. The spaceship role, on the other hand, was for the widely forgotten 2008 film Meet Dave. A few minutes after the standing ovation for Murphy’s lifetime achievement honor the comedy star was back on stage and wearing a satisfied smile after hearing Dolemite’s name called out in a key competitive category.

Dolemite claimed the prize for best comedy, topping a strong and eclectic field that also included Jojo Rabbit, Booksmart, The Farewell, and Knives Out. Ruth E. Carter took home the Netflix film’s second trophy of the night when her blaxploitation era recreations won in the best costume design category.

Exclusive: Finance and production company Oakhurst Entertainment has secured the rights to Savior, a feature spec from Todd Komarnicki, the screenwriter behind Warner Bros’ Clint Eastwood-directed and Tom Hanks starring biopic, Sully. Oakhurst will produce the project with Lightbridge Entertainment’s Terry Botwick and Komarnicki under his Guy Walks Into a Bar label. Geyer Kosinski will serve as executive producer.

Savior is described as a high-octane thriller in the likes of the Bourne films and 3 Days of the Condor. It centers on Vincent Will, a cold-blooded killer and mercenary working for a secret organization called, “the twelve disciples.” Their master plan is to trigger a world war through what appears to be a string of individual terror acts. None of the mercenaries know anything but their own miss.

The producers have the film on a fast track out to talent.

Komarnicki also wrote the script to...

Simon Brew Sep 2, 2016

Premiere magazine highlighted 10 movie executives to watch in 1990. So what happened to them?

In its May 1990 issue, the sadly-missed Us version of Premiere magazine published an article, highlighting ten young movie executives, and suggesting that these were people with very big futures ahead of them in the industry.

Given that much is written about movie executives, without actually digging much deeper to find out who they actually are, I thought it was worth tracing what happened to these ten, and – 26 years later – whether Premiere was correct in saluting them as the future of the industry. So, er, I did...

Lance Young

Senior production VP, Paramount Pictures

Pictured in the article on an office swivel chair with some snazzy purple socks, Lance Young, Premiere wrote, had been “groomed for big things since joining Paramount at the age of 23”. He was 30 at the time the article was published, and...

The Jungle Book remained in first place in its second weekend by a large margin over the weekend runner up as it tripled the opening weekend for Universal's The Huntsman: Winter's War. Meanwhile, Pantelion's Compadres finished among the weekend top ten while Roadside's release of A Hologram for the King finds itself in a battle for tenth position. With an estimated $60.8 million, Disney's The Jungle Book dropped only 41.1%, the fourth smallest second weekend drop for a film that opened over $100 million as its domestic cume now climbs to over $191 million. Internationally the film took in an additional $96 million this weekend as its global take is now over $528 million, fifth largest for the year so far. In second place, Universal's prequel The Huntsman: Winter's War struggled out of the gate. With an estimated $20 million it brought in only 36% of the opening weekend total of its 2012 predecessor Snow White and the Huntsman.

Curly Sue has the unique distinction of being the final film directed by 80s teen movie king John Hughes, and marked his decent into much more family friendly fare. A favorite amongst nostalgia hounds, the comedy's star Alisan Porter has only appeared in a handful of roles since taking the lead in this tale of a hobo and his young companion. Now, Alisan Porter has made a comeback in the most unlikeliest of places. And she shows off an amazing new talent to boot.

Yes, Curly Sue is back. And guess what? She can sing. Appearing on The Voice Season 10, she shocked the judges, who rushed to turn their chairs. We have the clip from this show, which shows off her vocal talents and why she just became a big contender in this latest season of the singing competition, which returns this Monday.

Alisan Porter belted out her own rendition of Blue Bayou.

It looks like the good version of Eddie Murphy could be returning soon.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, producer Brian Glazer spoke about a project that he just secured with Netflix that will star Eddie Murphy in a more “raw” role than we have seen him in lately.

“I’m gonna do a tour de force movie that’s cinema verite with Eddie Murphy being as raw as he can be.”

Glazer didn’t say anything else more, but the prospects of Murphy “being as raw as he can be” sounds much more interesting than what he has been doing lately with flops such as A Thousand Words and Meet Dave. It also seems to be akin back to what he was doing while coming up as a comic and on Saturday Nigh Live rather than his more recent fares.

That being said, Murphy has a tendency to back out of projects also,...

A man crashes into water and hauls himself to the side, heavy breathing puffing through his nylon mask as he throws himself into the waiting car. "Just drive," he wheezes to the waiting driving. "There was nothing I could do." Meet Dave and Sylvie, both of them working class folk clearly at the tail end of a criminal endeavor gone wrong. Missing from the picture is Kenny - Dave's brother and Sylvie's boyfriend - and he shall remain missing for the next four years, time spent in a cell as he serves time for the trio's crime while sheltering his brother and the woman who has sworn to wait for him.But when Kenny comes out everything has changed. Sylvie is two years sober, for one...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

In 2007, Eddie Murphy earned an Oscar nomination for his dramatic turn in Dreamgirls. In the years since then, he’s spent his time getting terrible reviews (Meet Dave, A Thousand Words), voicing a donkey (Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After), or planning sequels to old hits (Beverly Hills Cop 4, Triplets). But now it looks […]

The post Eddie Murphy Will Go Serious Again With ‘Cook’ appeared first on /Film.

Summer movie season is a magic time of year when Hollywood traditionally rolls out its most appealing merchandise. It’s true that some summer movie seasons are better than others. This is our ranking of all the summer movie seasons since 1980 from worst to best.

On January 20th, 1975, Steven Spielberg and Universal Studios released Jaws. The movie landscape would be forever changed from that date. Jaws is widely credited as being the first blockbuster film because it was the first movie to make over $100 million (non-adjusted). The fact that the film had a meager $8 million budget meant that it was a huge cash cow for the studio and rocketed Spielberg to the the forefront of a new generation of filmmakers for a new era of movie mass-consumption. George Lucas and Spielberg followed up in 1977 with Star Wars, which became a sensational and very profitable hit. It helped to convince production...

Comedian-turned-actor Kevin Hart has expressed his desire to have a career like Eddie Murphy’s, but anyone who has sat through recent Murphy big-screen vehicles like “A Thousand Words,” “Norbit,” “Meet Dave” or “Imagine That” might put Hart’s aspirations in the be-careful-what-you-wish-for column. And while the mismatched-buddy-cop formula of “48 Hrs.” gave Murphy’s career an effective kickstart back in the 1980s, Hart’s similarly themed “Ride Along” feels like the copy of the copy of the copy of Murphy’s influential hit. Instead of Murphy’s wiseacre convict, we get Hart as Ben, a motor-mouthed video game fanatic who...

In the Coen brothers' excellent new film Inside Llewyn Davis, John Goodman plays Roland Turner, a jazz musician who travels with Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) to Chicago. Along the way, he berates Davis about his choice in genre, his goofy name and his pet cat. It's another memorable role for the veteran actor, who since the Eighties has become a staple in the Coens' arsenal. Rolling Stone recently spoke with Goodman about his long career working alongside the acclaimed filmmakers and the characters that have stuck with him all these years.

Otay, here’s the deal. For the past few years (at least since 2000′s Nutty Professor II), all humans have been clamoring for Eddie Murphy to get back to what made his comedy work so well: sarcasm, a little edge and Samuel L. Jackson robbing a McDonald’s knock-off with a shotgun. Now after Norbit and Meet Dave and a few cashed checks, Murphy is taking that suggestion to heart in the most literal way possible. According to Deadline Hollywood, he’s working with Paramount to make a fourth (fourth!) Beverly Hills Cop movie. After CBS passed on the TV version from The Shield creator Shawn Ryan and co-starring Brandon T. Jackson, Paramount (who was on board as the rights holder) hired Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) to shift the character back to the big screen. So this is happening (for now). Oddly enough, this comes a few years after Murphy claimed to...

Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Gatins started his career as an actor. He played small roles in films like Leprechaun 3, Varsity Blues and Meet Dave before (and while) writing screenplays for Summer Catch, Coach Carter and Real Steel. Gatins may have originally come to Hollywood to be an actor, but it’s his screenwriting that’s made him a star. And with the release Flight (out on Blu-ray and DVD February 5), his star is suddenly shining just about as brightly as it’s ever going to get. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Denzel Washington, Gatins masterful screenplay for Flight not only turned a movie with a major plane-crash set piece into a small, human drama, but it also garnered the young writer an Oscar nomination. Movies.com recently sat down with...

Read More...

By Scott Neumyer

It took nearly ten difficult years for screenwriter John Gatins' story of an alcoholic pilot who pulls off an impossible move to save the lives of many of his passengers but comes under scrutiny for his personal life to achieve lift off. But one phone call from Oscar-winner Denzel Washington and the support of director Robert Zemeckis finally helped get "Flight" (out on Blu-ray and DVD February 5) off the ground.

An incredibly human story about addiction, wrapped inside a miraculous action set piece, the film features a great performance from Washington, a hilarious John Goodman, and Gatins' own Oscar-nominated screenplay.

MTV News recently spoke with Gatins to discuss the transition from acting to screenwriting, his upcoming films, and the pressure of a writer's acceptance speech.

MTV: The first thing I have to ask is how does one go from acting in "Leprechaun 3" to writing an Oscar nominated screenplay?...

My overwhelming thought following tonight’s rippling terrain of pricey Super Bowl commercials was that Doritos missed a great cross-promotional opportunity by not joining forces with Calvin Klein. There’s always next year. Below, zip through a bunch of 2013′s most memorable — best And worst! — Super Bowl ads.

Budweiser Clydesdales, “Reunion”

Aggggghhhhh. Unstoppable Cuteness. Set to the dulcet tones of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” a baby foal (seven days old at the time of filming) leaves his devoted trainer and grows up to roam “free” in the streets of downtown Chicago to find proud papa again! This spot has everything...

Those who follow stand-up comedy and the ever-revolving mantle of club and concert-hall performers know that Kevin Hart is a huge star. Like, .Eddie Murphy. big. But he hasn.t had Murphy.s luck when it comes to crossing over to mainstream movie success. Hart has appeared in a handful of good movies, from Death at a Funeral and The Five-Year Engagement to The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Murphy, ironically, even used Hart for a supporting role in Meet Dave. Hart is putting in his time. Even though he has a few high-profile fictional projects on the horizon, Hart.s going to see if his stand-up act will help him knock down a few more doors. Lionsgate revealed plans to release the stand-up comedy movie Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain on July 4, Variety reports. The trade explains that Lionsgate is hoping to counterprogram Hart against the major tentpole pictures The Lone Ranger...

Star of Tower Heist joined by Reese Witherspoon and Katherine Heigl in 2012 breakdown of underperformers at the box office

Well-known Hollywood figures Eddie Murphy, Katherine Heigl and Reese Witherspoon have suffered the indignity of being named top of Forbes magazine's annual list of the most overpaid actors in the world.

Murphy, who was commanding $20m a movie around the turn of the millennium, returns just $2.30 for every $1 he is paid, according to Forbes. Such meagre financial clout means he is considered the most overpaid actor in Hollywood in 2012, with the news coming on the back of flops such as Meet Dave and Imagine That. Even his 2011 critical hit Tower Heist, which was seen as something of a comeback vehicle for the Beverly Hills Cop star, was not a resounding box-office smash, earning $152m on a $75m production budget.

Second place on the list goes to newcomer Heigl, who is said...

Forbes magazine has released its annual list of Hollywood's most overpaid actors. While Will Ferrell usually tops the list, this year he was able to stay out of the top ten. Meanwhile, Eddie Murphy, who has appeared on the list the last three years, usually in second place, has now taken the top spot. Murphy's recent films, like "Meet Dave," "A Thousand Words" and "Imagine That," have all been complete failures. "Tower Heist" was supposed to be the actor's comeback, but it didn't perform as well as expected. As a result, Murphy's movies have only been able to earn only $2.30 for every dollar the actor was paid. Katherine Heigl landed in second place due to such disasters as "One For the Money," which grossed only $37 million. For every dollar she earned, her movies earned back $3.40. Reese Witherspoon ended up in third place due to "How Do You Know," which grossed $50 million on a $120 million budget.

Los Angeles, Dec 5: Actor Eddie Murphy is Hollywood's most overpaid actor, according to Forbes magazine.

The 51-year-old's recent films "Imagine That", "A Thousand Words" and "Meet Dave" were all labelled flops. According to Forbes magazine, for every $1 Murphy was paid for his last three movies, they returned an estimated average of $2.30, reports contactmusic.com.

His movie "Tower Heist", which was released last year, also failed to wow audiences and earned just over double its budget of $75 million.

One of the comedian-cum-actor's best loved roles was as wise cracking detective Axel Foley in the Beverly Hills Cop.

Wellington, Dec 5: Eddie Murphy, who was once among Hollywood's top box office draws, now has the dubious honour of being crowned its most overpaid actor.

According to Forbes magazine's annual list, determined by the misalignment between star salaries and their films' box office take, Murphy, once a one-man gold mine with 1980s hits such as 'Trading Places' and 'Beverly Hills Cop,' displaced Drew Barrymore for the top spot, Stuff.co.nz reported.

"Murphy's career has just collapsed," Forbes said, citing such recent box office bombs as 'Imagine That,' 'A Thousand Words' and 'Meet Dave.'

Weighing box office receipts against.

Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy has managed to make it to the top of this year's Forbes' list of 'most overpaid' actors. Murphy had previously displayed seemingly insurmountable fame and success, after turning out box office hits such as Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America. Forbes writers have now said that "lately, Murphy's career has just collapsed", blaming his recent movies such as Imagine That, A Thousand Words and Meet Dave. (more)...

Eddie Murphy might have once been a hit on "Saturday Night Live" and "Beverly Hills Cop," but these days the actor's claim to fame is landing the title of "Most Overpaid Actor in Hollywood."

Murphy came in at the No. 1 spot for the most overpaid actor this year. A series of recent box office flops -- like "A Thousand Words," "Meet Dave" and "Tower Heist" -- left studios with $2.30 for every $1 they paid Murphy. Last year, the 51-year-old came in second place, making the studio $2.70 for every $1 paid.

Visit Forbes to see the complete list of 2012's "Most Overpaid Actors in Hollywood."

Forbes compiled the list of the 10 most overpaid actors in Hollywood by using data on actors’ earnings from their Celebrity 100 list, plus estimates from Box Office Mojo. Forbes looked at the last three wide-release films the actor made to calculate the investment for the studio, determining how much...

Eddie Murphy is No. 1! Unfortunately, not in a good way. Forbes has just released its list of Hollywood's most overpaid actors, and the star of such films (read: flops) as Imagine That, A Thousand Words, Meet Dave and Tower Heist landed in the top spot. The magazine based its selections on how much a celeb was paid for his or her recent projects and compared it to what the movies actually made in ticket sales. So, with Murphy, it was calculated that for every dollar Murphy was paid for his last three films, they only returned an average of $2.30 at the box office. Coming in second was One for the Money star Katherine Heigl. Her recent flicks only generated an average of $3.40 for every dollar...

The higher they fly, the farther they fall, right?

Eddie Murphy, who was largely considered to be box office gold during his '80s and early '90s heyday, has now been certified as Hollywood's most overpaid actor of the year by Forbes.

According to their number crunching of Murphy's earned salary over his last three movies — "Imagine That," "A Thousand Words" and "Meet Dave" — versus those films' box office muster, the movies have only brought in around $2.30 for every $1 he earned. Those are some slim profit margins.

Forbes twisted the knife farther by making note of Murphy's dismal "Tower Heist" numbers from last year (a pithy $78 million earned domestically on a $75 million production budget) and his recusal of the 2012 Oscars hosting post as evidence of his fallen star status.

This isn't the first time Murphy's been fingered as an overearner by Forbes, either. Last year, he placed number two...

I bet Eddie Murphy would like to trade places with another actor right about now.

The Saturday Night Live alum tops Forbes’ list of the year’s most overpaid actors again, followed by newcomer Katherine Heigl and Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Sandra Bullock (say it isn’t so!). Murphy’s earning power has steadily declined since his string of ’80s hits, including Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. His voice work in Shrek and Mulan and family-friendly roles in Norbit and Dr. Dolittle left him in good standing, but his recent films, Imagine That, A Thousand Words, Meet Dave,...