Eddie Murphy says he has a few regrets when it comes to his film career. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, the 64-year-old “Coming to America” star shared which movies he turned down over the course of his career he wishes he would have said agreed to. “Yeah, there’s a couple of movies. ‘Ghostbusters,’ I was supposed to do ‘Ghostbusters.’ Didn’t do that. And ‘Rush Hour.’ Didn’t do that. Oh, and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”Those are my big three ‘wish I would have done’ movies.” When asked why those specific films stood out to him, Murphy said, “They were huge giant hits.” The first “Ghostbusters” movie was released in 1984, made more than $243 million at the box office domestically and produced a 1989 sequel. “Rush Hour” had two sequels, while “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” brought in over $156 million domestically. “Well, with ‘Ghostbusters,’ I did ‘Beverly Hills Cop‘ instead. So, it was like, it was do this or that, so it worked out cool. And ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ just sounded ridiculous to me, and I passed on it. And, afterwards, I was like, ‘Oh that’s f-ing amazing.’” While he regrets not participating in those movies, his career did not suffer. He played many memorable characters in movies like “The Nutty Professor” and “Dr. Dolittle.” He later received an Academy Award nomination for his work in the 2006 movie “Dreamgirls.” Murphy takes a look back at his legendary career as a comedian in the new Netflix documentary “Being Eddie,” starting from his early days as a teenage comic. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month, Murphy shared that “it wasn’t going to be this type of documentary” originally, but was supposed to cover his return to stand-up comedy. “Then COVID hit, and everything shut down,” he explained. “Afterwards, I was like, ‘I’m not sure if I want to do stand-up’ because I was paranoid about COVID. We worked on this thing for five, six years, and, now, coincidentally, it’s my 50th year in show business, a milestone for anybody in any business.” One of Murphy’s most popular roles was as Donkey in the “Shrek” franchise. The fifth movie in the franchise is scheduled for release in 2027, 17 years since the fourth movie was released. The new film will see the return of Cameron Diaz and Mike Myers as Fiona and Shrek and adds Zendaya as one of the couple’s triplets. “You have a headache after a ‘Shrek’ session. The donkey has a lot of singing. You’re on 10, and you’re doing it over and over again. The great thing, though, is it’s appreciated. Everybody loves the movie,” Murphy said. “Nothing’s worse than working really hard on something and doing makeup and sweat and all this s-, and then you put it out, and they’d be like, “Two thumbs down.” You go, “I was in the makeup chair for 50 hours.”.
https://nypost.com/2025/11/23/entertainment/eddie-murphy-reveals-three-blockbuster-hits-he-turned-down/
Tag: ghostbusters
New Comedy Movie With Marvel Actor Lands at Amazon MGM Studios
A new update on a high profile comedy project featuring a Marvel actor and a Ghostbusters star has shifted attention to its release rollout. The latest report details when audiences may learn more as the film progresses through development. Interest continues to build as the project moves forward at Amazon MGM Studios. Compulsive Liar starring Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon finds studio Amazon MGM Studios has acquired Compulsive Liar, a comedy project from Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, according to Deadline. The studio confirmed that Nanjiani is attached to star and that 21 Laps and Gaumont will produce. The package follows the pair’s previous work on The Big Sick, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Gordon and Nanjiani will serve as executive producers alongside Holly Brown for Gaumont and Émile Gaudreault. Compulsive Liar adapts the Quebec comedy Menteur, written by Émile Gaudreault, Éric K. Boulianne, and Sébastien Ravary and directed by Gaudreault. The original film follows Simon, a habitual liar whose family and coworkers stage an intervention. When he rejects them, he wakes up to find that every lie he has told has become real. Emily Feher is overseeing the adaptation for 21 Laps. Shawn Levy and Dan Levine produce for 21 Laps, and Nicolas Atlan and Sidonie Dumas produce for Gaumont. In 2024, Gordon launched the production company Winter Coat with Nanjiani and signed a first look deal with Sony Television. Nanjiani and Gordon earned an Academy Award nomination for The Big Sick, which starred Kumail Nanjiani, Holly Hunter, Zoe Kazan, and Ray Romano. The film won Best First Screenplay at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and Best Comedy at the Critics Choice Awards and received multiple major guild and industry nominations. It also appeared on the American Film Institute Top 10 Movies of the Year list. Nanjiani recently announced his new stand up special Night Thoughts, set to debut on Hulu on December 19. His television credits include Only Murders in the Building, Poker Face, Welcome to Chippendales, Obi Wan, Little America, Silicon Valley, Very Young Frankenstein, and Fallout season two. His upcoming films include Ella McCay, Driver’s Ed, and The Breadwinner.
https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2065127-compulsive-liar-kumail-nanjiani-emily-v-gordon-comedy-movie
