The Nutty Professor Tagged Articles at Cinematical

You can't turn around in a movie without bumping into a professor. If it's not Nicolas Cage as the unlikeliest astrophysicist to be granted tenure at M.I.T. in Knowing, just released on DVD, it's the passel of professors that will undoubtedly be presented in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, due out in theaters next Wednesday. Which kind of professor do you prefer?

My early impressions were formed by seeing the distinguished, imposing Harvard law professor John Houseman dress down Timothy Bottoms in James Bridges' The Paper Chase: "Here is a dime. Take it, call your mother, and tell her there is serious doubt about you ever becoming a lawyer." My impressions changed dramatically when I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones may have been more of a thrill-seeker than an academic, but he was driven by his love for archeology -- and a desire to share his knowledge with his students, no matter how distracted they were by his dreamy looks.

Movies have produced so many memorable professors that it's hard to narrow down the list, but here are my other favorites, and why:

• Gary Cooper, Ball of Fire (Good-hearted and modest).
• Orson Welles, The Stranger (Cold-hearted and scary; an alluring phony).
• Jerry Lewis, The Nutty Professor (Makes you feel better about yourself).
• Peter O'Toole, Creator (Zestful and enthusiastic; encourages free thinking).
• Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society (Funny, if a bit too manic and pushy).
• Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys (Wounded, but can still teach life lessons).

Who are your favorite movie professors?

I don't know about you, but I've been sitting here, hating the state of cinema -- those dark knights, iron men -- and wishing that we could get more nutty professors. Behold my happiness: The Hollywood Reporter posts that Universal and Imagine Entertainment are tossing around the idea of another sequel to The Nutty Professor.

Apparently, they're in the early stages of development, and have an open call out to writers asking for their take on character. Whether Eddie Murphy would be attached -- that remains to be seen. THR says that his involvement depends on a number of elements including the writer and director. But really -- would he actually refuse it? It's not like we're talking about stellar cinema here.

Perhaps the bigger question is who actually wants to see this? First, there's more Fockers, now more Klumpy nuttiness. The first made $270 million worldwide, a nice chunk of change, and the second took in $162 million. I'd be incredibly surprised if the next possible sequel doesn't have at least the same $108 million drop. But if they kept expenses low, I guess this could still be monetarily worth it.

But can we movie fans bear more goofy Murphy? Could a sequel survive without him? Maybe even thrive?

For a reason no one can fathom, The Weinstein Company has bought the rights to The Nutty Professor, and are planning an animated film "based on the original." So, basically, it's another remake. Apart from Jerry Lewis, who seems to sell the movie's rights off every time they revert to him, who thinks this is a good idea?

According to a story that originated in The Hollywood Reporter, Lewis himself will voice at least two characters in the feature, which will go straight to video (that's something at least). And, get this: To make the movie appealing to kids, the story will focus on Professor Kelp/Buddy Love's college-age grandson, who is just as big a nerd as his grandpa. And, you guessed it, the kid "takes the same formula his grandfather took and unleashes an ultracool but comically destructive alter ego." For this, people, they've hired a new screenwriter: Straight-to-video specialist Evan Spiliotopoulos, whose resume includes work on The Lion King 1½ and The Jungle Book 2. What, Jerry wasn't available to paste the words "internet" and "MySpace" into his 1963 script?

Between hosting his cheesy but, you know, really helpful telethon (Theater employees actually used to collect for Jerry's Kids before movies in Cape Cod. Do they still do that now anywhere?) and appearing on Larry King Live, Jerry Lewis has announced that he will be directing a stage production of The Nutty Professor. The play, starring singer-comedian-egomaniac Michael Andrew, is expected to debut in San Diego next January with an eye to hitting Broadway in the fall of 2008.

What's great about this project is Lewis' total honesty about his involvement -- basically, he's never been particularly interested in doing a stage version of this movie (people have asked, apparently), and only agreed to give it a shot when this Andrew guy came along with a huge pile of money and said "Hey, kids! Let's put on a show!" That, said Lewis, changed his attitude right around. "I saw this kid perform, and he wanted very much to do [The Nutty Professor], and he had money. ... I said, 'With those pockets, we'll give it a shot.'" Go Jerry. I mean, just imagine how much nicer things would be if people in Hollywood were that honest about the power of money!