It's Eddie Murphy ... in Eddie Murphy!

While the premise for Murphy's latest film, Meet Dave, definitely had some potential (think: Innerspace), I'm not so sure this new trailer brings all the boys to the yard, if you know what I mean. Here, Norbit director Brian Robbins re-teams with Murphy on a film that tells of a crew of miniature human-looking aliens whose human-looking spaceship walks around Earth doing funny things. Though, originally, they set out to save their planet, problems arise when their spaceship (in the form of Eddie Murphy) falls for a regular Earth girl (Elizabeth Banks).

Murphy looks to be using a combination of his Coming to America accent and his usual shtick for the spaceship character, and then he also plays the miniature alien operating said spaceship. Cue up a ton of fish out of water jokes, a few raunchy set pieces and a good amount of special effects -- and, well, Meet Dave. The film's July 11 release date will definitely secure a healthy box office take, especially since all our brains will be in dumb, popcorn summer mode. Check out the trailer above (or in a better quality over at Yahoo), then let us know what you think.

Sure, it's the time of Sundance, and the push towards the Oscars, but it is also the time of the Razzies! There's a million and two fests and awards ceremonies that tout all that is good in the world of cinema, but sometimes, you just want to revel in the bad. So, enter the yearly Golden Raspberry Awards.

Last year, the big, battling losers were Basic Instinct 2 and Little Man. This year, LiLo's I Know Who Killed Me is battling I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Eddie Murphy's Norbit. Miss Lohan's film has scored the first hurrah by grabbing the most nods (9 over Larry and Norbit's 8), but Eddie got the personal title with a record-setting five nods just for himself.

Rounding out the top stinker nomination-grabbers was Bratz, Daddy Day Camp, and Captivity. On the actor side of things, we've got talent wasting their abilities like Jim Carrey, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Julia Ormond, while others aren't so surprising -- Carmen Electra, Dane Cook, or Jessica Alba. (The last on this list, Alba, also scored herself romantic doom -- she hit the worst on-screen couple nod three times for her work in Awake, Good Luck Chuck, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer).

Also, I give big props to the Razzie folks for their Patty Duke reference. See what I mean after the jump.

Director Brian Robbins' name keeps popping up, and still, all I can think is: "Hey, it's that middle-of-the-road actor from the '80s." He had a bunch of 1-episode stints on the big, classic shows from that decade like Cagney & Lacey, The Facts of Life, Three's Company, and Knight Rider before nabbing the part of Eric on Head of the Class. He's the guy who had the little, black and white pictures in my issues of Teen Beat because the Coreys, the Brat Pack, and other cuties ruled the color spreads. But he's actually had a lot more success directing, mainly in that uber-fluffy sort of way. These days, he's got a directorial man-crush on Eddie Murphy and the projects just keep coming.

They brought us Norbit, we're about to get a little Starship Dave, and now Variety reports that they will team up for a DreamWorks comedy called A Thousand Words. To give the duo credit, it's an interesting idea: the movie will focus on "a glib man who finds out that he has only 1,000 words left to speak before he dies." Steve Koren, the guy who penned Click, wrote the screenplay. This being said, it all depends on execution, and it doesn't help that they want to rush this before the strike. But that might just be a little tricky -- Murphy has a slew of projects stacking up, from Nowhereland to Fantasy Island. But get ready, sports fans! At some point, we'll probably have yet another battle between the critics and those who love the world of Robbins!

I have absolutely no idea why, but I'm kind of into Eddie Murphy's new family comedy called NowhereLand. I should be having flashbacks to the disappointing roles he's taken on over the last decade. I could go on and on about how much of a bummer it was that they could make Pirates of the Caribbean into a great series, and then flounder so pitifully with my favorite ride -- The Haunted Mansion. But forget Disney. NowhereLand is about a man named Evan who solves his work problems by exploring the fantasy world of his six-year-old daughter. It's the sort of flick that could be really good if it has some smarts, and I'm hoping that producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is right when he says this is a role Murphy hasn't played before. I think Eddie not becoming five million different characters would be a good first step. However, I'm probably putting too many positive expectations on this project.

But on to the new castmates that The Hollywood Reporter just announced. Murphy and Thomas Haden Church (who will play his ruthless co-worker) are being joined by Brown Sugar's Nicole Ari Parker, DeRay Davis from License to Wed and ol' Beverly Hills Cop alum Ronny Cox. Parker will play Evan's estranged wife, who can't understand his preoccupation with their daughter's imaginary world, Davis plays his best friend -- "a therapist who calls himself the Man Whisperer and believes that all Evan needs to overcome his troubles is a good cry," and finally Cox plays the boss of a capital fund group who thinks Evan is doing some insider trading, but doesn't care as long as it works. Now all we need is the young tyke and we'll be set.

I don't know what is worse, that Steve James (Hoop Dreams) hasn't already been a member of the Academy all this time, or that Simon West (Con Air) is now allowed to take part in the Oscar voting process. Both directors are part of the list of 115 individuals who have just been invited to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Unlike last year's list, which seemed to be gearing for younger influences (like Dakota Fanning), this year's is pretty normal, and consists of a lot of people nominated for awards back in February. These include actor Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson), supporting actress Adriana Barraza (Babel), supporting actress Jennifer Hudson (winner, Dreamgirls), suporting actor Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children), supporting actor Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls), director Paul Greengrass (United 93), foreign film writer-director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (winner, The Lives of Others), screenwriter William Monahan (winner, The Departed), screenwriter Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine), foreign film producer Agustín Almodóvar (Volver), composer Javier Navarrete (Pan's Labyrinth), composer Gustavo Santaolalla (winner, Babel and Brokeback Mountain), composer Alexandre Desplat (The Queen), animator Torill Kove (winner, The Danish Poet), production designer Eugenio Cabellero (winner, Pan's Labyrinth) and documentary filmmaker James Longley (Iraq in Fragments).

A lot of non-nominees were invited, too. Some of those included are Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Daniel Craig, Aaron Eckhart, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Huston, Christopher Plummer (you'd think he was already in there, too), producers Jonathan Glickman (The Pacifier) and Jane Rosenthal (The Good Shepherd), directors Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) and D.J. Caruso (Disturbia), composer Carter Burwell (Kinsey), animation cinematographer Sharon Calahan (Finding Nemo), documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen (nominated in 2000 for On the Ropes) and, as mentioned, Steve James (nominated in 1995 for editing Hoop Dreams) and Simon West (shockingly no Oscar noms nor any Razzie noms). This is only the fourth year the Academy has made the list public, and you can see all of those invited here. All of the new members will be officially welcomed at a ceremony this September.

What with Rocky, Rambo and John McClane making late comebacks, it only makes sense that we'd get a new visit from Axel Foley. If producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has his way, we'll be seeing Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop 4 some time relatively soon. (Yes, even after that third one. Ugh.)

The producer told ComingSoon.net that while they haven't officially hired any writers yet, they've been consulting with folks and trying to hash out what the infamous cop's next adventure might be like: "We have not hired a writer yet, but we've been analyzing the franchise and asking lots and lots of people about Axel Foley. 'What do you love about Axel and what would you want to see with an Axel Foley movie?' I think we have enough information now that we'll probably be hiring a writer in the next four to eight weeks and taking a good shot at it."

The original Beverly Hills Cop (1984, Martin Brest) still stands as one of the mega-blockbusters of all time ($234 million, domestic). The first sequel (Tony Scott, 1987) was more of the same, right down to the profit margin ($153 million). The wholly unnecessary and frankly terrible second sequel (1994, John Landis) pretty much killed the franchise ($43 million) ... until now, it seems. Despite the fact that I only like the first BHC flick, I'd probably be open to a third sequel. If I have to choose between Beverly Hills Cop 4 or Norbit 2, well, that's not a very tough decision. (Knowing Eddie, we'll probably get both of those movies.)

Raise your hand if you love it when Eddie Murphy plays nine different characters in one movie. OK, hands down. Now raise your hand if you thought it was hilarious in Coming to America and The Nutty Professor but movies like The Klumps and Norbit make you nauseous. Yeah, I'm with the second group. (OK, Murphy's dual-role turn in Bowfinger was pretty funny too.) Looks like we'll soon have another such flick to ponder -- and it's not just another "Eddie Murphy in latex" comedy. Nope, this one will also be a "based on a silly old TV series" thing. Because we all know how awesome I Spy was.

Yes, old people, that show you used to watch on Friday nights after The Love Boat is about to make the leap to the silver screen. Multiple incarnations of Eddie Murphy will star in an adaptation of Fantasy Island, which (conveniently enough) comes from the writers who gave us the wonder that is Norbit. Not even remotely surprisingly, The Hollywood Reporter indicates that the movie will be a "family-oriented comedy," which is exactly what the Ricardo Montalban / Herve Villechaize series was: a family-oriented comedy. Ahem. (Oh, wait: I can see it now: Murphy will be playing a Spanish man with a verrrry thick accent AND a squeaky-voiced midget! This stuff writes itself!)

We can thank Sony for this brilliant idea. Murphy will get started on Fantasy Island once he's done shooting Starship Dave and counting all his Shrek the Third money. (And I gotta say it: Murphy opting to star in something called Starship Dave, after once opting to star in Pluto Nash, just reeks of masochism.)

Eddie Murphy hasn't made an R-rated movie since 1999's Life, and he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to do more any time soon. That seems like a real shame to me, as Murphy is one of the great modern vulgarians. Nearly all of his best roles have given him the freedom to really cut loose and let the expletives fly. Whither the Murphy of 48 Hours? The Murphy of Trading Places? The Murphy of Coming to America? I haven't laughed at Eddie since Bowfinger, and he hasn't had a truly great comedic role since The Nutty Professor over 10 years ago. He seems downright neutered in the children's films especially, and now he's signed on to what sounds like another one. In Nowhereland, Murphy will play "a successful financial exec who finds his career going down the drain and discovers the answers to his problems within his daughter's imaginary world." Sigh.

Karey Kirkpatrick will direct the film. He made his directorial debut last year with Over the Hedge -- the animated movie with the wacky talking animals. No, the other one. No, the other one. Nope. Yeah. That one. Nowhereland was written by Ed Solomon (Men In Black) and Chris Matheson (Mr. Wrong), an occasional writing team who first collaborated on a favorite from my youth: Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Solomon was inspired to write Nowhereland when his young son had an idea that wound up solving a business problem. Hope that kid's getting story credit! Now I know very little about this Nowhereland, so I don't want to speculate on its quality. But I wonder if Murphy might have headed his career in a different direction had he won the Oscar for his strong performance in Dreamgirls. Would it have re-energized him? Would he have started challenging himself ... a little bit? We may never know. Shooting on Nowhereland begins September 10th.

Way back in November, we brought you the very first look at the teaser poster for this summer's sure-to-be blockbuster Shrek the Third, and now we've got another first: the unveiling of the brand-spanking-new theatrical poster featuring more than just Shrek's ears and green crown-topped chrome dome. Double-click on the image below for a larger version.

The third installment in the lucrative CGI franchise finds King Harold (John Cleese) on his deathbed and Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) poised to ascend the throne of Far Far Away. But as you may have gathered from Shrek's expression in the above poster, ruling a kingdom isn't exactly in our ogre hero's wheelhouse -- so Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) set out on a quest to find the rightful heir to the throne: a rebellious teen named Artie, aka the once and future King Arthur, aka Diaz's erstwhile boyfriend Justin Timberlake. As Shrek, Donkey and Puss labor to bring 'Sexyback' to the kingdom, Fiona must defend Far Far Away from another coup attempt by the metrosexual Prince Charming (Rupert Everett). Shrek the Third barrels into theaters May 18.

Watch the trailer | Get more about the movie | See photos

Have we heard enough about Eddie Murphy yet? I mean sure, he's had some big, fun hits mixed in with more questionable choices. While I plan to never see The Haunted Mansion, as much as I adore the ride it was based on, I can't help but like him as Donkey. However, that could be because he's not playing a multitude of goofy characters, a schtick that has just about erased his classic guffaw from our memories. While Kim mused in February whether or not Murphy was interested in an Oscar, his huffy walk-out after losing seemed to answer that question. We've got Norbit, which has been right in the thick of the whole critic-vs-viewer showdown and Erik even brought word that Murphy was gearing up for a Fantasy Island remake.

Well, that's not all, salivating, insatiable Eddie Murphy fans! Now the man of many faces will be grabbing a badge, sliding on his spurs and putting his gun in his holster to face down rascal tumbleweeds in the Old West. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Murphy is about to be in yet another DreamWorks comedy. He is going to produce and re-team with Norbit co-star and stand-up comedian Katt Williams for the comedy feature that Williams has penned -- Marshals. The movie will have the pair as the first black marshals of the Old West. If you're wondering what sort of film this will be, take a look at the two comedians' histories. Murphy loves to put on the fat suit or make goofy voices, and Williams is only credited with writing his stand-up, one of which is named: The Pimp Chronicles. Need I say more?

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, IESB reports that Eddie Murphy will star in a big-screen remake of the hit 70's show Fantasy Island which, originally, began as two made-for-TV movies. In case you're wondering, here's what you'll get for that ten dollar movie ticket: Eddie Murphy playing multiple roles (look for them to go the Little Man route and have Eddie run into frame yelling "De Plane! De Plane!") A script written by Norbit scribes Jay Scherick and David Ronn (which means Eddie will be in a fat suit at some point singing cheesy karaoke.) And, if that's not enough, we'll have a ton of negative reviews coupled with a box office take of $100 million to look forward to. Sadly, I'm not making any of this up.

It's okay if you're not at all familiar with Fantasy Island; some of you were probably born after the show was already off the air. If that's the case, Fantasy Island starred Ricardo Montalban (Mr. Roarke) and Hervé Villechaize (Tattoo) as hosts of a mysterious island which invited guests to live out their fantasies in exchange for lots and lots of money. (Yes, it's kind of like Las Vegas, except with supernatural overtones.) ABC attempted a revival of the show in 1998 (which featured guests booking their fantasies through a travel agent), but it was canceled halfway through the season. I imagine the writers will pull ideas from both the original and the revival -- updating it in a way so that Eddie can play practically the entire cast. Columbia Pictures will shovel this one out (so you know where to send those 'Thank You' cards) and there's no word on a director yet.

Since its beginnings on Broadway in 1981, Dreamgirls has been widely known to be loosely based on the story of The Supremes. Of course, it isn't actually about The Supremes, as should be obvious from the names of the characters and the difference in events between those characters and any real people who may have inspired them. Unfortunately, some people don't think the differences are clear enough, or at least that the connections between the musical and the real world are too confusing for audiences. Therefore, Dreamworks has had to place an ad in The Hollywood Reporter apologizing for this confusion and clarifying that the movie is a work of fiction.

The ad especially points out that the character played by Jamie Foxx is not meant to be a representation of Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. Earlier this month Smokey Robinson, who wrote many songs for The Supremes, slammed the movie for being a blatant, intended portrayal of The Supremes and Motown, saying that none of the characters are disguised enough as fictional, unconnected people. Though Foxx has defended his performance as not being based on Gordy, both Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Hudson have publicly mentioned some channeling of Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, respectively.

So, I kind of can't believe Anna Nicole Smith died. I'm not exactly sure why this celeb death has stunned us more than most: Was it because she was so young, or because her life had grown so increasingly bizarre lately? Let's give her a moment of silence. ( ) And now let's move on and get to the predictions -- because Anna Nicole would want it that way.

Norbit: There's a poster for this movie at the subway stop near my apartment, and underneath the tagline "Have you ever made a really big mistake?" someone has thoughtfully scrawled, "Eddie Murphy did. This movie." Oooh, now that's a little bit harsh, though admittedly kinda funny (gotta love graffiti humor) -- and understandable, considering that Murphy just earned an Oscar nomination for Dreamgirls, and now he's wearing a pink bikini and showing off his stomach rolls.

But let's be fair. Whatever your take on this type of comedy, Murphy loves donning a fat suit and playing multiple characters, and he's made a nice chunk of change doing it: The Nutty Professor movies have earned a combined total of $250 million. The man must know what he's doing. As to the box office prospects of this movie, in which Murphy plays 1) wimpy geek Norbit, 2) Norbit's obese monster of a wife, Rasputia, and 3) Mr. Wong, who adopted Norbit as a baby, it remains to be seen whether it'll reap returns like The Nutty Professor ... or more like Pluto Nash.
Get showtimes & tix | Watch the trailer | Go behind the scenes

Hannibal Rising: Once upon a time, Anthony Hopkins looked like Gaspard Ulliel, apparently. The guy must've gained quite a few pounds from eating all those people, eh? This Silence of the Lambs prequel (it's actually a pre-prequel, since Red Dragon was also a prequel -- though Hannibal was a sequel, and now I need to go lie down) delves into the psychology of why Hannibal Lecter became who he was, and it's not just because his name conveniently rhymed with "cannibal." Ulliel isn't the star that Hopkins is, obviously, so don't expect this to be a massive hit. But Hannibal himself still carries some weight, and let's not forget that horror-type movies sell, so the curiosity factor alone could drive this movie to near the top.
Get showtimes & tix | Watch the trailer | See photos

Got your picks ready? Mine follow (and if you need a little guidance, see last week's results). Post predictions by Saturday at 2pm, if you would be so kind. And have a good one.

1. Norbit
2. Hannibal Rising
3. The Messengers
4. Because I Said So
5. Epic Movie

POST: What's your top five box office prediction?

POST: What do you think about these movies?

"Oscar winner." The two words together carry a certain noble cachet, as if anyone anointed with an Academy Award is destined for nothing but the choicest, meatiest roles worthy of their thespian talent.

But it doesn't always work out that way. Exhibit A: Eddie Murphy -- who hasn't won the Oscar for best supporting actor yet, but he's the odds-on favorite. Fresh off the heels of his electrifying, Oscar-nominated turn as fading R&B singer James "Thunder" Early in Dreamgirls, Murphy's got a new movie out, Norbit, in which he plays ... um, let's see if I've got this right ... a skinny geek AND the obese beeyotch he's bullied into marrying. (He's got a third role, too, as "Mr. Wong." I shudder to think.) I think it's safe to say that come next year, Murphy won't be bounding up to the podium to accept an Oscar for this particular film.

Now, I'm not knocking Eddie Murphy. The man's a comic genius, and audiences sure do love him in a fat suit. Besides, I'm guessing Norbit was in the can well before Dreamgirls even came out, so it's not as if Murphy had any say as to when it would be released. But that's Hollywood: One minute you're picking out your outfit for the Oscars ceremony, the next you're in drag, wearing a size 22 wedding dress.

And that made me wonder: What about Oscar winners past? Surely, whether through missed opportunity, financial need or plain ol' bad luck, at least some other winners (not to mention nominees) have found themselves in the embarrassing position of promoting a cheeseball film while the Oscar laurels were still fresh. And boy, was I right. Let's take a look, shall we?

A few weeks ago on Saturday Night Live, a digital short aired -- I'd give a link, but I'm sure Jeff Zucker's trying to monetize it somewhere as we speak-- called Nurse Nancy. Starring that man of two faces, Andy Samberg, Nurse Nancy was a mock trailer for a film featuring Samberg in a variety of roles -- including a cross-gender fat suit -- as Young MC's "Bust a Move" plays. Godard said the way to criticize a film was to make another film; nowadays, it seems that the best way to criticize a film is to make a digital short. And if you watch that short -- legally, or Lorne has to come by your house -- you'll pretty much see the worst of Norbit.

You wouldn't see the best of it, either, but Samberg and associates pretty much nail the rotten core with one shot. Starring Eddie Murphy, Norbit is a truly bizarre comedy -- for every moment of loud, unfunny idiocy, there's a split-second of surreal pleasure. And, at heart, Norbit is dumb as a sack of sacks (the traditional hammers would give the sack too much weight.) But it also has a zip to it, a lunacy, a slapstick-cartoon zest. Let me put it this way: having seen Big Momma's House and Diary of a Mad Black Woman in the line of duty, I'd much rather watch Norbit if I had to pick.