Eddie Murphy Pitches ‘Soul, Soul, Soul,’ His Long-Gestating Mockumentary Film: ‘I Almost Made This Movie a Bunch of Times’
Harrison Richlin
While it was hard not to find an Eddie Murphy film in theaters during the ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s, the multi-faceted talent has been more reserved in taking on roles over the last decade. Though he’ll soon be gracing television screens as classic character Axel Foley in Netflix’s upcoming “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” he’s not sure how many more movies he has left in him, but there is one project he’s been waiting for the right moment to take on.
“This one thing I’ve been threatening to do for years called ‘Soul, Soul, Soul,’ Murphy said in a recent interview with The New York Times. “It’s like this fake documentary that I love.”
Murphy described it as “a ‘Zelig’ kind of thing,” referring to the 1983 Woody Allen mockumentary about a fake figure of the 1920s whose desire to fit in caused him to take on the characteristics of those around him. The satire included testimonials from real-life figures like Susan Sontag, Saul Bellow, and Irving Howe.
“It’s this guy who’s part of the rock ’n’ roll, R.&B. thing back in the ’60s and worked with everybody; all these great moments, and he’s attached to all of these things,” Murphy said, describing his dream project. He later added, “I’m telling you, I almost made this movie a bunch of times. I’ve been right to where I was going to make it and then said, ‘No, not right now,’ because I feel like it’s so self-indulgent, and only a few people would go see it — but they would laugh so hard.”
So amused was Murphy by this idea that he even had a fake trailer for the film put together, participating in character as Murray Murray. Included in it are jokes like, “I coined the phrase ‘I Have a Dream’ before Martin Luther King. Actually, it was gonna be the name of an album, ‘I Have a Dream.’ They liked the way that flowed. Was a good hook. Then he took that and run with it.”
Another typically inappropriate Murphy joke from the trailer involves Murray telling an interviewer about the first time he had sex. Murphy’s character tells them it was with a woman named Daisy, then when asked how old they each were when this happened, the character said, “I was nine and she was 37.”
No word on when “Soul, Soul, Soul” will see the light of day, but “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” drops on Netflix next week, on Wednesday, July 3.
