"This ain't good at all," Eddie Murphy says on a biopic of his life

Record ID: 1434862

  • Title: "This ain't good at all," Eddie Murphy says on a biopic of his life
  • Date: 2nd October 2019
  • Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 28, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR CRAIG ROBINSON SAYING: "It's kind of surreal, actually because you know, you're sitting across from your hero, pretty much. But at the same time, you know, you can't let that cloud what you're doing. So, you got to focus, so it helps you grow as an actor just to be on set with him. He's very conversational and funny between takes and telling us stories. And, you know, and we're just all sitting there just picking up whatever gems he dropped." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR DA'VINE JOY RANDOLPH SAYING: "Our first day of filming." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR TITUSS BURGESS SAYING: "That's what threw me." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR DA'VINE JOY RANDOLPH SAYING: "We're just waiting and he just walks in the door - they're like, alright, let's go, let's start. And we're going to walk across the street and… And it was just like, wow, I need to process, can I have a moment, the man is right here?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR TITUSS BURGESS SAYING: "She and I actually shared a moment, do you remember? Right before they yelled action. I was like, can you believe?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR DA'VINE JOY RANDOLPH SAYING: "Yeah, because it was Eddie, then it was you and then it was myself and I was 'what?'" (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR TITUSS BURGESS SAYING: "It was too much, it's still too much."
  • Embargoed: 16th October 2019 22:46
  • Keywords: Keegan-Michael Key movie Craig Robinson film comedy Dolemite premiere Mike Epps Netflix bio-pic Da’Vine Joy Randolph actor Wesley Snipes Tituss Burgess Eddie Murphy
  • Location: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS
  • City: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
  • Reuters ID: LVA008AZEKC3X
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDIT CONTAINS PROFANITY
    Eddie Murphy has stepped into the shoes of late comedian Rudy Ray Moore for his new biopic, "Dolemite Is My Name."
    The film tells the story of Moore who did everything he could to become a stand-up comedian and ultimately one of the first guerrilla filmmakers with his film 1970s Blaxploitation film, "Dolemite."
    Murphy first approached Moore in 2004 about making a film about his life, which he and the cast called inspirational.
    "He believes in himself, that's what his biggest thing is that he believes in himself. And as crude as his stuff and as crude as his movies were made - and he made them out of his pocket and he had to do everything himself and come in from the back door. But he truly, truly believed in it," Murphy said.
    Co-star Keegan-Michael Key described the film as delightful and heartwarming.
    "I mean it's outrageously funny in the best possible way. But it's a story about perseverance, it's a story about I won't take no for an answer and that's inspiring. I want that feeling of inspiration."
    The all-star cast also includes Wesley Snipes, Mike Epps, and Tituss Burgess and Da'vine Joy Randolph who were both star-struck on the first day of filming.
    "We're just waiting and he just walks in the door - they're like, alright, let's go, let's start. And we're going to walk across the street and… And it was just like, wow, I need to process, can I have a moment, the man is right here?" said Da'vine Joy Randolph.
    "She and I actually shared a moment, do you remember? Right before they yelled action. I was like, can you believe," added Tituss Burgess.
    This film marks the first time Murphy has portrayed someone in a biopic and when it comes to his life story turning into a biopic, he doesn't think his story is gritty enough to be told.
    "Most biopics have, you know, you lose it all, you're a dope fiend, they have all kinds of crazy abusive... And I haven't had any of that. I've had such a charmed life my biopic would be boring. It would be boring. It would be some actor trying to be funny and it would be strange. You'd be like, this ain't good at all," he joked.
    "Dolemite Is My Name" will be released in theaters on October 4 and will begin streaming on Netflix on October 25.
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