We established long ago, well before Tower Heist was greenlit, that sorting out the many irons in Brett Ratner’s directorial fire is something of a fool’s errand . New projects seem to come and go from the filmmaker’s slate every day, with a few priority projects like Beverly Hills Cop IV hang on for dear life (their stars’ disinterest notwithstanding). And now you can add another “dream project” to the list.
Don’t let the audience hijinks fool you: This weekend’s chat between Matthew Broderick and Alec Baldwin at the Hamptons Film Festival gave the two old acting chums almost a full hour to catch up — often hilariously so, with Saturday’s ostensible tribute to Broderick generally resulting in a freewheeling gab session between the guys.
‘He’s a huge movie star. He has huge international appeal,’ producer Brett Ratner tells us on Emmy Awards red carpet. By Eric Ditzian, with reporting by Josh Horowitz Eddie Murphy Photo: Bruno Vincent/ Getty Images The American public may no longer be convinced about Eddie Murphy ‘s enduring comedic gifts, based on the number of folks who purchased tickets to “Imagine That” and “Meet Dave.” Even Eddie Murphy may no longer be convinced about Eddie Murphy’s enduring comedic gifts . But one man with no such doubt is Brett Ratner , who is producing the 2012 Academy Awards and who has tapped Murphy to host. “I think there’s no question about it. He’s the greatest,” Ratner told us Sunday night at the Emmy Awards about Eddie taking on the gig and slaying the crowd. “My first idea was the show had to go in the direction of more comedy with a single host, and there’s nobody better on that stage than Eddie Murphy.” “I grew up watching ‘ Raw ‘ and ‘ Delirious ‘ and being a big fan of him,” Ratner added. “He’s a huge movie star. He has huge international appeal. There’s nobody better. He’s a pro. The guy is a pro.” That’s certainly true, even if it has been a couple of decades since Eddie’s days as the foulmouthed king of the standup comedy world. Ratner, for his part, appears to be attempting to hit a sort of Eddie Murphy reset button, for years trying to kick-start another ” Beverly Hills Cop ” film and now coming out this fall with ” Tower Heist ,” a flick that finds the comedian cussing and riffing like it’s the ’80s all over again. Perhaps for Murphy, in Ratner he trusts. Which is why, according to the filmmaker, Eddie took zero convincing to take on the Oscar gig. “It’s not the kind of job you want to convince anyone to do. They either want to do it or they don’t,” Ratner told us, adding that Eddie is going to commit more than 150 percent effort to the job. “200, not 150! 200!” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com .
The rumor has become fact: Eddie Murphy will host the 20120 Academy Awards. “Eddie is a comedic genius, one of the greatest and most influential live performers ever,” says Brett Ratner, who will produce the telecast and who directs Murphy in Tower Heist . “With his love of movies, history of crafting unforgettable characters and his iconic performances – especially on stage – I know he will bring excitement, spontaneity and tremendous heart to the show Don and I want to produce in February.” Murphy was nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for Dreamgirls . Think he’ll make a good host?
Well, there you have it: Co-producer Brett Ratner asked, his Tower Heist star Eddie Murphy accepted, and the Academy today gave its official blessing for the comic/actor to host the 84th Academy Awards next February.
“Eddie is a comedic genius, one of the greatest and most influential live performers ever,” telecast producer Brett Ratner says. “I know he will bring excitement, spontaneity and tremendous heart to the show.” Eddie Murphy is set to step back into the spotlight in a big way: He#39;s agreed to take on hosting duties at the Oscars next February. The selection of Murphy, 50, is a departure from last year#39;s Academy Awards hosts – the unlikely duo of James Franco and Anne Hathaway.
Due to the four-day holiday frame, Sunday’s standard Weekend Receipts feature will not be seen today. Please return to this space on Monday for a full reading of Labor Day at the box office, and refer to our earlier dispatch for the preliminary figures shaping up the flaccid competition. (Spoiler alert: The Help wins! Again!) See you tomorrow!
Rumors abound today that Eddie Murphy may dig out of his extended rut with an Oscar-hosting stint next February. The Web site that broke the story says it’s a done deal, while our sister site Deadline reports that co-producer Brett Ratner has a few hurdles to clear at the Academy (quite possibly including his producing colleague Don Mischer). Among them: Convincingly answering the question, “What on Earth is the upside of Eddie Murphy hosting the Oscars?”
The first week of August (and the official beginning of the end of summer) rolled by in fine fashion; sure, it was at times an agonizingly slow news week, but the first looks, surprise developments, and WTF ? revelations kept things bouncy. Head into the weekend with your head held high, week. You gave us plenty to munch on. For starters: The terms “Brett Ratner” and “Oscars” in the same sentence? You so crazy!
Another day, another set of publicity stills from upcoming movies for all of us to wrap our snarky heads around. Peek into the distant future (all the way to fall 2011) and help Movieline figure out what’s going on in these images from Brett Ratner’s tower heist flick Tower Heist , Tate Taylor’s period novel adaptation The Help , and John Singleton’s Abduction , AKA Taylor Lautner Gets $7.5 Million to Play Tom Cruise .
