One truly positive aspect of Eddie Murphy’s Oscar nomination (aside, of course, from the possibility that he’ll take home a golden baldie) is that it might finally drag him from the mire of comedies like Daddy Day Care and Haunted Mansion.
But while he’s doomed to appear in the odd nightmare – anyone else seen the trailers for Norbit and worried for the safety of their brain? – the future does hold the prospect of some decent comedy action.
We’re much more hopeful for Fox’s comedy Starship Dave and he’s in serious talks to star in NowhereLand, which Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson are busy scripting. It sounds like it has a little bit more on its mind, with Murphy planning to play a successful executive who has his confidence crushed and sees his career gurgling down the drain. He ends up finding the answers he needs in the imaginary world dreamed up by his daughter.
"We liked the idea of Eddie playing a role he hasn't played before," producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told Variety. "He showed a bit of that vulnerability in Dreamgirls, but this gives him the opportunity to tap into that reservoir of talent."
Lets hope the reservoir keeps flowing this summer when the film gets a director and starts shooting.
