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Eddie Murphy's 'Nowhereland' Finds Director
Filed under: Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Scripts », Family Films »
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.
Eddie Murphy Heads to NowhereLand
Filed under: Comedy », Casting », Paramount », Family Films »
Although Eddie Murphy is now "Oscar-nominee Eddie Murphy," he isn't immediately giving up on family comedies and heading into really serious roles. According to Variety, he just signed on to star in a new kiddie fantasy called NowhereLand. If we're lucky, it won't be as childish as Daddy Day Care or Doctor Doolittle, though it does at least involve a child. Murphy will play a financial executive who is given a new outlook on life from his daughter and her imaginary world. Sounds a little like It's a Wonderful Labyrinth.The script is by Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, who last collaborated on Mom and Dad Save the World, which I'll admit I guiltily enjoy. Of course, if you're not a fan of that movie, and chances are you're not, they also wrote the Bill & Ted movies! Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Constantine) told Variety that like Murphy's character in Dreamgirls, the NowhereLand role is something we haven't seen the actor play before. But if there's anything I want in this world, it is to see Murphy play the role we have seen him play before. That role is any character he played between 1982 and 1990, preferably one with a loud mouth and an asthmatic-sounding laugh.
Basically I would like to see Murphy play his character from The Golden Child, still naive and ever-baffled, but as a father. Then, I would like to see him made up as fantastic characters that dwell in his daughter's imaginary world. And then, I would like to hear myself laughing as much as I do while watching Trading Places. I know this is a lot to hope for, especially not knowing much about the movie's plot, but I like to have my own imaginary worlds. NowhereLand will begin shooting this summer after Murphy's done on Starship Dave.
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