LOS ANGELES -- Just because you're the director of an Eddie Murphy movie doesn't mean you're in charge.
Which is why Karey Kirkpatrick initially balked when he was approached to helm the new comedy Imagine That.
"My first thought was, 'It is a horrible idea for me to make my live-action debut with a huge movie star. He will chew me up and spit me out,' " says Kirkpatrick, who had previously directed the animated Over the Hedge.
Problem was, Kirkpatrick identified with the screenplay about a financier swept up into the imaginary world of his seven-year-old daughter.
A meeting with Murphy later, he got the job. Yet still, even after he was picked, Kirkpatrick knew he had reason to fret.
"The DGA (Directors Guild of America) says you have two weeks before they can fire you. I got a call on Thursday of my second week that Eddie wanted to see some scenes cut together ... I started planning the day's scenes and I felt pretty nervous. I was going through the script and heard someone enter the room and looked up and it was him.
"He said, 'If the rest of the movie is this good, we are in great shape,' and I thought, 'Great. Can I keep working?' "
For both Murphy and Kirkpatrick, there is a lot at stake with Friday's opening of Imagine That.
Obviously, for the director, healthy box office would translate to a boost to his fledgling live-action career.
But Murphy is vulnerable as well after last summer's dud Meet Dave and a decade spent churning out family fare (Dr. Doolittle, Daddy Daycare) and out-right disasters (The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Norbit).
Even the Shrek films and Dreamgirls, for which he was nominated for an Oscar, have done little to dispel questions about whether Murphy's hungriest -- and funniest -- days are behind him. With that in mind, what better time to offer some career advice -- a few dos and don'ts, respectively submitted:
Do the Richard Pryor biopic
At last report, Murphy was attached to star in Richard Pryor: Is it Something I Said? from director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Kinsey). But this is Hollywood: plans falter, feet get cold, intentions reverse. Murphy shouldn't let it. He's not a surprising choice -- his Pryor impersonations are famous and he directed the man himself in 1989's notorious Harlem Nights -- but he is an inspired one.
Don't do Beverly Hills Cop 4
Yes, there is a script and a director (Brett Ratner, perpetrator of X-Men: The Last Stand), but aside from a sizeable payday, it's, in fact, a break-even proposition. If the sequel is a success, it will be the brand, not Murphy, who gets the credit (as was true of the most recent Indiana Jones and Die Hard entries). But if it tanks, guess who will get all the blame? (Hint: not Ratner.)
Do talk to the press
Do talk to the media: Murphy rarely grants in-depth interviews, save for the odd television appearance. But if Adam Sandler, Tom Cruise and Will Smith can fearlessly face journalists, why can't he? As Smith said while he was stumping for Seven Pounds, "When I sit down here right now in this interview, it's important you get exactly what you need because one day I'm going to be here and need some help real bad. I'm trying to put something in my karma bank right now." Murphy's karma bank, by comparison, is in overdraft.
Do drop some F-bombs
Please, a moratorium on movies featuring children, aliens or Murphy as multiple make-up-ensconced characters. Instead, make a funny, preferably filthy, R-rated comedy about real people that adults can watch without bringing their children. "Cash" isn't the only four-letter word in the vocabulary, you know.
Do Saturday Night Live
The reality is, Justin Timberlake has gotten more laughs these past couple years than the former Delirious superstar. If Murphy doesn't want to host an entire show, what about merely appearing in an Andy Samberg digital short? You know the kind -- easily uploaded to YouTube and millions of potential new (and old) fans?
Don't just work with directors you can tell what to do
We're all for Murphy's commitment to new talent (where would Norbit's Brian Robbins be without him?) but he'd do well to align himself with a heavyweight who might challenge him. If not Judd Apatow, what about The Hangover's Todd Phillips? Hot Fuzz's Edgar Wright? Zack and Miri Make a Porno's Kevin Smith? Or even Observe and Report's Jody Hill? Murphy's ferocious genius isn't in question; it's just a matter of how it's utilized. Or if it's utilized at all.
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