USA: COMEDIANS EDDIE MURPHY AND MARTIN LAWRENCE TEAM UP FOR NEW FILM "LIFE"

Record ID: 388290

  • Title: USA: COMEDIANS EDDIE MURPHY AND MARTIN LAWRENCE TEAM UP FOR NEW FILM "LIFE"
  • Date: 15th April 1999
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 28, 1999)(REUTERS) SOUNDBITE (English) EDDIE MURPHY CONTRADICTING QUESTIONER'S STATEMENT THAT THIS IS HIS FIRST SERIOUS MOVIE, BY SAYING "I think I've always mixed elements -- the first movie I ever did, "48 Hours," had dramatic elements to it, you know, "Beverly Hills Cop" has dramatic elements to it, I've done action movies
  • Embargoed: 30th April 1999 13:00
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  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA67JDOELUE9H2WH57ZFDKKOYV8
  • Story Text: Comedians Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence have teamed up for "LIFE" in their new movie of the same name.It tells the story of two men who are jailed for life for murdering a man in Mississippi and details the trials and tribulations of their friendship behind bars.
    Ray Gibson (Eddie Murphy) makes a habit of stealing peoples wallets, mostly to pay off his debts.But when he picks Claude Banks' (Martin Lawrence) wallet, he discovers his victim is as broke as he is.In order to pay back New York clubowner Spanky, the two are forced to go on a bootlegging run to Mississippi.
    On the way back they decide to have some fun in a local bar, playing poker and picking up girls.As they are leaving, they discover one of the card players face down in a pool of blood.Hesitating too long to wonder what happened to him, they are found looking in his pockets, arrested for murder and thrown in jail for life.
    Their attempts to escape from Mississippi State Prison are thwarted time and again, but they never give up hope.
    Coping with the other convicts is no picnic.Ray and Claude had never met before that night in Spanky's, and each blames the other for their plight.Before long they're not speaking at all, until Claude is punished and Ray is forced to choose between backing his friend or helping himself that the two realise just how much they care about each other.
    Murphy, who's "always been a fan of the big escape prison movies" stumbled on the idea when he "saw a picture of a prisoner at his parole board in the film Shawshank Redemption.
    The photograph showed a much younger man and the comedian thought the story of him in prison would be an interesting tale".
    Working alongside the two comic geniuses was "great fun"for the other actors who revelled in the way "they could take everyday things and make them funny".
    The role that Eddie Murphy plays also has a much more dramatic side, but diehard fans can relax, he's not giving up comedy, he "just likes to mix it up a little bit".
    As the sun went down in Los Angeles, the stars came out to celebrate the premiere of their new movie.Director Ron Howard, a partner in Imagine Entertainment who helped finance "Life" was there to show his support.Raquel Welch, who has "a comedy of her own coming out later this year also came along to the screening.
    Miguel A Nunez Jnr was "a little bit scared of getting up on the big screen with two comedy legends, but soon relaxed and had a good time"
    In one scene, the film highlights the brutality of prison life when Ray takes a thrashing from Goldmouth (Michael "Bear"
    Taliferro)."It's the first time the quick witted actor has taken a beating in a movie, and Taliferro was only too pleased to be the one to kick his ass".
    Having so many comedy actors on one set is no easy task according to Director Ted Demme.He claims that "at least once a day they would get out of hand and he'd have to order them back to work"
    "Not so" says Murphy who dismisses that rumour as "a crock of shit" and brands Demme a "liar", all in good fun of course.
    Rumour or truth, one thing's for sure, both Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy are greatly admired by the cast, for "their wit, their professionalism, their talent and their humanity".
    "Life" opens in US cinemas on Friday 16th April, 1999.
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