http://lebeauleblog.com/2015/09/25/franchise-killers-beverly-hills-cop-iii/
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Beverly Hills Cop III
TMC-4 — 10 years ago(September 25, 2015 10:30 PM)
http://lebeauleblog.com/2015/09/25/franchise-killers-beverly-hills-cop-iii/
Its easy to forget this now, but once upon a time Eddie Murphy was the coolest and funniest guy on the planet. In the early 80s, his movie career got off to a fantastic start with 48 Hours and Trading Places, But it was 1984s Beverly Hills Cop that officially made Murphy a major movie star. Three years later, Murphy reprised his role as Axel Foley in an action-packed sequel. Beverly Hills Cop II wasnt nearly as good as the first movie, but as 80s action movies went, it was better than most. Then Murphy decided he wanted to do other things for a while. By the time he got around to Beverly Hills Cop III, ten years had passed since the first movie and no one cared anymore. Especially Murphy.
In 1988, Murphy was still one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But he was getting tired of doing the same schtick in every movie and wanted to branch out. His solution was star in a romantic comedy. Coming to America allowed Murphy to play multiple characters and to showcase his trademark humor, but it also allowed the actor to show his sensitive side. For the first time, Murphy wasnt just playing a charismatic motor-mouth. He was a romantic leading man. The comedy managed to appeal to Murphys core fan base while reaching out to a broader audience.
Coming to America was directed by John Landis who had directed Murphy in his earlier hit, Trading Places. According to Landis, Murphy changed between making the two movies:
The guy on Trading Places was young and full of energy and curious and funny and fresh and great. The guy on Coming to America was the pig of the world the most unpleasant, arrogant, beep entourage just an beep We clashed quite a bit because he was such a pig; he was so rude to people. I was like, Jesus Christ, Eddie! Who are you? We had a good working relationship, but our personal relationship changed because he just felt that he was a superstar and that everyone had to kiss his ass. He was a jerk.
The feeling was mutual. The way Murphy tells the story, Paramount wasnt interested in hiring Landis after all the bad press he got for Twilight Zone: The Movie. For those who dont know, Landis directed a segment in the movie which was set in Vietnam. In a tragic accident involving a helicopter, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed. Making matters worse, the scene was being shot late at night when the child actors werent legally allowed to be working. Landis and several others involved in the production were charged with manslaughter. After a nine-month trial, they were ultimately acquitted.
Murphy said he felt bad for Landis whom he had befriended while making Trading Places, so he went to bat for his friend. According to Murphy, Landis immediately started demanding more money and Murphy insisted Paramount pay up. But Murphy claims Landis was not at all grateful for the favor. He says Landis got on the set of Coming to America and started throwing his weight around. Murphy said Landis was upset that Murphy never showed up to support him during his nine-month ordeal in court. Eventually, things got heated.
One day, Murphy had some writers on the set working on a script for a TV show his company was producing. When Landis saw the writers, Murphy says the director made a scene. Murphy recounted the incident in a Playboy interview:
I playfully grabbed him around the throat, put my arm around him and I said to Fruity, one of my guys, What happens when people put my business in the street? And Fruity said, they get beep up. I was kind of half-joking. Landis reached down to grab my balls, like he also thought it was a jokeand I cut his wind off. He fell down, his face turned red, his eyes watered up like a bitch and he ran off the set. beep punk.
He came to my trailer later and made this big speech. His voice was trembling. And it all came out: that he didnt think I was talented, that the only reason he did Coming to America was for money, that he didnt respect me since I hadnt gone to his trial and all this beep All this beep beep Called me ignorant, an beep
Im sitting there shattered; Im thinking, This beep guy. I bent over f*ucking backward to get this guy a job. He probably wont even acknowledge what happened. He didnt realize that his beep career was washed up. So I told him, The next time you beep around with me, Im gonna whip your ass.
Later on, when asked about the possibility of working with Landis again, Murphy said that Landis had a better chance of working with the late Vic Morrow than of ever working with him again. Harsh. But oddly, it was Murphy who reached out to Landis to make Beverly Hills Cop III.
By that point, the third Beverly Hills Cop movie had been stuck in development limbo for years. Early scripts had Murphy solving a crime in London. At various points, both Sean Connery and John Cleese were considered to costar. Judge Reinhold, John Ashton