Beverly Hills Cop 4 (2016)

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Release Date: December 31, 2016

The newest installment of "Beverly Hills Cop," from the ultimate "fish-out-of-water" franchise, takes Axel Foley, who has been living a cushy life as a Beverly Hills Detective, back to Detroit during the coldest winter on record to navigate the new rules and old enemies in one of America's most tenacious cities.

Cast: Eddie Murphy

Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah
Screenwriter: Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec
Genre: Comedy, Action

Official Website: Not Available

 

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Eddie Murphy updates the status of Beverly Hills Cop 4

Apparently the mildly-anticipated action sequel Beverly Hills Cop 4 is not as far along as many would like, at least according to Axel Foley himself, Eddie Murphy, who talked to Rolling Stone about the potential project while promoting his new reggae single “Oh Jah Jah.”

“Nah, they still trying to get that script right,” Murphy said of the fourquel. “I’m not doing a ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ unless they have a really incredible script. I’ve read a couple things that look like they can make some paper. But I’m not doing a sh*tty movie just to make some paper. The sh*t got to be right.”

Right or not, Paramount’s plans seem a lot firmer than Murphy’s, as MLive reports Michigan Film Office spokeswoman Michelle Grinnell’s insistence that, to paraphrase Glenn Frey, the heat is STILL on.

“Paramount’s plans for this project in Michigan have not changed,” Grinnell wrote, reiterating her previous statement a month ago that Beverly Hills Cop 4 was, “still looking like this spring for principal (filming/production).”

Production was expected to take place primarily in Detroit last fall for a March 25, 2016 release, until unspecified delays occurred, possibly due to the script work Murphy refers to.

Having a good script is a valid point, especially after the disastrous reception of 1994′s Beverly Hills Cop III, which Murphy admitted on a 2006 episode of “Inside the Actor’s Studio” was “atrocious” and responsible for the two-decade banishment of the character. In May of 2013, CBS passed on a pilot for a “Beverly Hills Cop” TV show featuring Murphy as now-Chief of Police Axel Foley and starring Brandon T. Jackson as his son, but it spurred interest in a fourth film.

 

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Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah to direct Beverly Hills Cop 4

As far as blockbusters are concerned, Hollywood loves to play it safe. When it comes time to recruit filmmakers for sequels or big tentpoles, it’s less about finding the RIGHT director than it is a director who’s proven themselves at the studio level. In a rare case of a studio genuinely rolling the dice on little-known talent, Deadline is reporting that Paramount Pictures has handed the reins of Beverly Hills Cop 4 over to Belgian helmers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who previously directed the thrillers Image and Black, the latter of which won the Discovery Award at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival.








Apparently the studio loved Black and were excited to hear that the first Beverly Hills Cop was a seminal film for the duo, and decided to inject some youthful exuberance into the moribund project, which has been flailing in development hell for years under previously-attached director Brett Ratner.

As for star Eddie Murphy, the last time he spoke about Beverly Hills Cop 4 was is January when it sounded like he was unhappy with the creative team behind the sequel.

“Nah, they still trying to get that script right,” Murphy said of the fourquel. “I’m not doing a ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ unless they have a really incredible script. I’ve read a couple things that look like they can make some paper. But I’m not doing a sh*tty movie just to make some paper. The sh*t got to be right.”

Production was expected to take place primarily in Detroit in fall 2015 for a March 25, 2016 release, until unspecified delays occurred, possibly due to the script work Murphy refers to. Jerry Bruckheimer is returning as producer after sitting out the third film. Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) wrote the current draft of the screenplay.