Eddie Murphy is revisiting a professional disappointment: the single motion picture he believed “sucked.”
In a discussion with The Hollywood Reporter to promote the new Netflix documentary, Being Eddie, (a project that chronicles the iconic actor and comedian’s life from his beginnings in high school stand-up comedy to his tenure on Saturday Night Live and subsequent rise to movie stardom), Murphy looked back on his history with filmmaker John Landis.
Although Murphy and Landis were famously known to have had friction in the past, the comedian stated they have since reconciled.
“That heat that I had with John Landis 35, 40 years ago, that’s so long ago. I love John, and he directed two of the best movies of my career — Trading Places and Coming to America,” Murphy said.
The actor continued, however, to note that Landis was also at the helm for one of his most poorly received endeavors: “For years, we’ve had no heat whatsoever. We even did a movie after that shit. John Landis directed Beverly Hills Cop III. The movie sucked, but we were buddies after,” he said with a laugh.
Murphy’s most recent film appearances include the Prime Video movies The Pickup and Candy Cane Lane, in addition to Netflix’s 2024 film Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which marks the fourth installment in his beloved Beverly Hills Cop series.
Murphy serves as the central subject of the new Netflix documentary, which also includes commentary from an A-list ensemble of comedians, producers, and actors, including Arsenio Hall, Brian Grazer, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Jamie Foxx, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jerry Seinfeld, John Landis, Kenan Thompson, Kevin Hart, Michael Che, Pete Davidson, Ruth Carter, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Tracy Morgan.
As detailed in a synopsis, the film is a celebration of Murphy “and his nearly 50-year career that’s seen him break barriers, invent genres, and inspire generations of talent.”
“For the first time ever, Murphy invites the public into his home to revisit his breathtaking body of work, all the while revealing the dazzling interior life that has long driven, and grounded, this once-in-a-century star,” the synopsis reads.
The documentary’s director, two-time Academy Award winner Angus Wall, shared with Netflix’s Tudum in an Oct. 14 piece about the project: “Eddie has played a lot of different characters over the last 40 plus years, but he has never played himself on screen before. He opens up his world and his heart and I think people are going to really enjoy spending time with him.”
Being Eddie begins streaming on Netflix Nov. 12.