Eddie Murphy and Brett Ratner have been making the press rounds lately talking up their latest film, “Tower Heist.” Which, by the way, well, let me address that real quick.
I quite enjoyed “Tower Heist.” It’s a diversion, and Murphy isn’t in it to the extent that you might think (he doesn’t really figure in until the second act rolls around — more of him would have been great, actually). But the final action sequence is fun and gripping. Michael Pena should be tapped for comic relief in, like, everything. And it’s worth noting that there is a zeitgeisty haves/have-nots article waiting to write itself in both the release of this film and “In Time.”
But I digress. Naturally, Ratner and Murphy have been fielding a ton of questions regarding the Oscar telecast they will produce and host respectively in February. It’s the usual light and fluffy chatter, nothing to really sink your teeth into. Murphy has been quipping all over the place that he’ll be “the worst Oscar host in history,” that kind of thing. Winks and nudges and “we don’t have anything to say so let’s give them something because they won’t stop asking.”
Then again, that’s kind of the point of taking the gig. It puts a lot of eyeballs on “Tower Heist” that might not have been there otherwise. Shrewd moves all around.
Anyway, last night Murphy stopped by “The Late Show with David Letterman” to talk about the film, and given that Letterman probably WAS one of the worst Oscar hosts in history (I imagine he’d admit as much), it was fun to watch them talk about the gig (which Letterman quipped “ain’t all it’s cracked up to be”).
I hope there’s a Jon Stewart stop planned as well. Hearing older hosts go back and forth with a prospective one is always more interesting to me than the empty press queries that lead up to the show.
Check out the full interview below. They start talking Oscar around the 7:15 mark. He also stopped by “The Today Show” this morning to discuss. “Tower Heist” hits theaters nationwide on November 4.