Pictured: The exact moment Brett Ratner spotted the shrimp tray.
Beverly Hills Cop 4 is movie industry white whale on par with Ghostbusters 3 that I’ve been writing about as far back as 2008. That’s when we first heard Brett Ratner and Eddie Murphy were attached. It’s been in development hell for the better part of 10 years but just won’t die, which is insane to anyone who’s seen Beverly Hills Cop 3. Nonetheless, BH4 was one of the first projects Paramount announced after Jerry Bruckheimer left Disney in 2013. But now, Paramount has taken Beverly Hills Cop 4′s original March 2016 release date off its release schedule. Any explanation as to why is just speculation at this point, but I’d like to think Paramount finally realized this project is cursed and threw the script down a well like a Medieval witch.
While the film remains in development, it has not moved forward as quickly as Paramount originally envisioned, though recent movement in the studio’s executive suites has complicated matters.
The delay may ultimately prove to be a blessing in disguise for “Beverly Hills Cop 4,” which would’ve found itself going head-to-head with “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” on March 25, 2016. As much goodwill as audiences still have for Axel Foley, it’s hard to compete with the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel. […]
This past January, Murphy told Rolling Stone that script concerns were the primary reason behind the continued delay.
“They[‘re] still trying to get that script right. I’m not doing a ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ unless they have a really incredible script. I’ve read a couple things that look like they can make some paper, but I’m not doing a sh*tty movie just to make some paper. The sh*t got to be right,” said Murphy. [TheWrap]
I like to imagine that a montage of clips from A Thousand Words, Imagine That, Meet Dave, and Norbit was playing when Eddie Murphy said “I’m not doing a sh*tty movie just to make some paper.” Is he serious? Only a guy who’s been super rich for 30 years could say something like that without a trace of irony. Not counting Shrek movies, Eddie Murphy has had exactly two films rate over 50% on RottenTomatoes since 2000. And one of those was Tower Heist, which was terrible. Eddie Murphy saying “I’m not doing a sh*tty movie just to make some paper” is like Hitler saying “Sure I’ll make a speech, but I’m not going to get all worked up about it.”