1984: Would you advise Eddie Murphy to take Ghostbusters or Beverly Hills Cop?

[keone]

at that time seeing both scripts? before both movies was made

1. Ghostbusters (1984)

The role: Winston Zeddemore
Who got it: Ernie Hudson
Dan Aykroyd wanted Eddie Murphy for this role. The character of Winston Zeddemore received the least screentime of the four Ghostbusters and wasn’t even introduced until about halfway through the movie, but Aykroyd originally intended the part to be larger. In an earlier version of the script, Zeddemore was introduced much earlier in the story, and he was the one who was slimed by the ghost at the hotel instead of Bill Murray’s character. Dan Aykroyd told Murphy about the part on the set of Trading Places, but Murphy later admitted his original thoughts about Ghostbusters, saying “I was like, ‘This sounds like a crock… to me.”

Murphy passed on Ghostbusters to make Beverly Hills Cop, which ended up being a better career move for him. To this day, it’s still his biggest hit ever (besides the Shrek films). Murphy would have been part of an ensemble in Ghostbusters (albeit a talented, iconic one), but with Beverly Hills Cop, he got to play the lead and carry a movie on his own for the first time, cementing his status as a viable box office commodity. Ghostbusters was a massive hit at the time of its release in the summer of 1984 and the highest grossing movie of that year, up until Beverly Hills Cop was released at Christmastime and edged it out by a measly few million dollars, becoming the year’s box office winner. Still, both were through-the-roof successes that, with adjustments to account for inflation, are still amongst the top five highest grossing comedies ever. Comedies today just don’t capture the public interest the way Beverly Hills Cop and Ghostbusters did. Even recent megahits The Hangover and Meet the Fockers haven’t come close to these numbers, when inflation is factored into the equation.

While picking Beverly Hills Cop over Ghostbusters was a smart decision on Murphy’s part, if he had somehow been able to balance the shooting schedules of these two films, it would have turned him into the biggest movie star in the world. Taking part in Ghostbusters would have also secured him a role in 1989’s Ghostbusters II. Although the sequel isn’t held in high esteem by fans and critics, it was still a financial success. Adding these two hits to his resume would have helped Eddie Murphy to better withstand the career slump he went through in the early ’90s and kept him a first choice for casting agents, directors, and studio execs.

 

[A to Dah K]

U cant be serious

 

[November 17]

Well, considering hindsight is 20/20, I would have advised him to take Beverly Hills Cop. Eddie Murphy was the lead actor in Beverly Hills Cop,whereas Ernie Hudson was playing a supporting role in Ghostbusters.

 

[ViCiouS]

Beverly hills cop!
star role vs 2nd fiddle to a 3 way ensemble

but on the other hand - Eddie would have stolen EVERY scene he was in for Gbusters

 

[tallblacknyc]

it was 3 beverly hill cops and only 2 ghostbusters..he made the right decision

 

[THREAD_CRITIC]

Ummm...really?

 

[keone]

U cant be serious

U cant be serious

Well, considering hindsight is 20/20, I would have advised him to take Beverly Hills Cop. Eddie Murphy was the lead actor in Beverly Hills Cop,whereas Ernie Hudson was playing a supporting role in Ghostbusters.

Ummm...really?

lol this question isnt after what we know now. i meant before both movies was made

 

[Naha-Nago]

U cant be serious

This...

Eddie SAVED SNL and is still the funniest and most successful person to come off that show. Why put him in an ensemble when he can carry a movie by himself???

Plus, Ghostbusters needed a character to play the 'straight' as a representative for the audience, "Yo this shit is fucked up and y'all are insane but I really need a job.". Ernie Hudson fit that role perfectly.

*two cents*

 

[jasonblacc]

Beverly hills cop!
star role vs 2nd fiddle to a 3 way ensemble

but on the other hand - Eddie would have stolen EVERY scene he was in for Gbusters

Eddie would stole the movie. So GB for me, but I've never seen any BHC

 

[keone]

Beverly hills cop!
star role vs 2nd fiddle to a 3 way ensemble

but on the other hand - Eddie would have stolen EVERY scene he was in for Gbusters

eddie's role was different than what ernie hudson role was. eddie had a whole back story

 

[World B Free]

I would advise you to take the new thing called "Crack Rocks" that just came out around the same time.

Of course, Beverly Hills Cop, hands down. C'mon Son!

 

[keone]

This...

Eddie SAVED SNL and is still the funniest and most successful person to come off that show. Why put him in an ensemble when he can carry a movie by himself???

*two cents*

at that point he only did trading places. also its a reasonable question to ask as if Beverly hills cop wouldnt work it could have damaged him. now it turned out different of course.

 

[keone]

I would advise you to take the new thing called "Crack Rocks" that just came out around the same time.

Of course, Beverly Hills Cop, hands down. C'mon Son!

hook me up

 

[Naha-Nago]

lol this question isnt after what we know now. i meant before both movies was made

But after Trading Places and 48 Hours. Eddie didn't need Ghostbusters....

That's why the question is absurd.

*two cents*

 

[A to Dah K]

lol this question isnt after what we know now. i meant before both movies was made

U cant be serious

 

[November 17]

lol this question isnt after what we know now. i meant before both movies was made

I would still say Beverly Hills Cop because he was the lead. Ask yourself this, how many movies has Ernie Hudson made where he was the lead and it was promoted as an Ernie Hudson movie (not taking anything away from Ernie Hudson because I do like him as an actor).

 

[alexw]

who thinks of such bs?

the answer would be obvious in 1984, 1974, 1964, etc.

 

[keone]

lol yall bunch of i can see the future as niggas

I would still say Beverly Hills Cop because he was the lead. Ask yourself this, how many movies has Ernie Hudson made where he was the lead and it was promoted as an Ernie Hudson movie (not taking anything away from Ernie Hudson because I do like him as an actor).

true but ernie was a nobody while eddie was hot. he would have gotten another chance guarantee. cause ghostbusters was a guarantee hit. if BHC flopped it could have shift his career

 

[keone]

who thinks of such bs?

the answer would be obvious in 1984, 1974, 1964, etc.

alex dont make me slap you up

 

[Amajorfucup]

keone, delete this shit.

 

[November 17]

lol yall bunch of i can see the future as niggas

true but ernie was a nobody while eddie was hot. he would have gotten another chance guarantee. cause ghostbusters was a guarantee hit. if BHC flopped it could have shift his career

So Keone, what would you have advised Eddie Murphy do to and why?

 

[keone]

So Keone, what would you have advised Eddie Murphy do to and why?

ghostbusters

 

[alexw]

alex dont make me slap you up

man you know this was a dumb ass question

GB's must be your favorite movie or some shit

 

[keone]

keone, delete this shit.

old man dont get beat up

on another note the fucked Ernie up
they would even let him do the voice for the cartoon
Hi Ernie! It’s 8am in LA where you are. Do you always do interviews this early?

It’s pretty early but I wake up normally at about 5am and go to the gym for about an hour. I’m pretty busy this week, giving talks at conventions (1) and then shooting Hot in Cleveland and Jane Fonda’s new show. I’ve been very blessed and I try to stay busy (2).

Can you remember where you were when you found out you were cast in Ghostbusters?

Yeah, I was living in Laurel Canyon. I was a single dad and was with my sons. The auditions for Ghostbusters kept dragging out and dragging out so when I finally got the part, the boys and I really celebrated. As soon as I’d read the script I thought, oh my God, this will be really cool.

Was it a fun shoot?

It was. The three guys were very inclusive, very sharing, even though they were at a certain place in their careers where I wasn’t. Harold Ramis especially was always so easy to talk to, and just really down to earth. Bill Murray’s just so much fun to hang with and Danny [Aykroyd] is really great. They’d been working together for years so I had to learn how to jump into that timing and be there in the moment, and Murray’s all about the moment.

Did you stay in touch with them?

Well, in the way that people in this business do. Every time you do a show you exchange numbers and it seems very real at the time, but once you wrap, you gotta get home, you gotta deal with the kids. But I saw Bill Murray recently and it was almost like no time had passed.

I love Ghostbusters but I hate the way they squeezed out your character.

You know, I never bring it up unless someone else does and since you have … I tell people Ghostbusters was the most fun I had, but it was also the most difficult for reasons that I, to this day, do not understand. In the script that I read for the audition, Winston is in the film all the way through the movie. But they changed it just before we shot, so I had to wrap my head around that. I think the studio thought they could sell the guys as they were from Saturday Night Live, and so they wanted to include Winston marginally. But then when we came back five years later for the sequel, they did the same thing! That I didn’t understand. But once you become really angry, it’s all over, so I just kept working and stayed positive.




Ernie Hudson, far left, with Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd in Ghostbusters II. Photograph: Moviestore Collection/REX
So you think it was the studio who cut your character down and not Ramis and Aykroyd, who wrote the script?

You know, nobody tells you. I blame the studio because in my mind it’s easier for me to say “some exec” rather than the guy sitting next to me. I don’t think it came from the guys; the guys are great, but what do I know? But what I have come to appreciate over the 30 years is how amazingly loyal the fans are. No matter where I go, fans quote lines from Winston (3). I went to buy a car the other day and the mechanic had a tattoo of Winston’s face on his leg. So that I really appreciate.

Some fans think maybe the studio was being racist when they cut you out, and some think the part was originally written for Eddie Murphy.

If I go to the racial side of it and blame that, it takes all my power away, because if I blame racism there’s nothing I can learn from it, and the message to my sons becomes really blurred. I’m telling my boys, you can step out and grow and be and do – and then all of a sudden I’m saying, I’m being shut down because I’m black. So what I have to do is say, maybe there are other reasons. But yeah, had I been as big a star as Eddie Murphy, I don’t think the part would have been cut.

Is it true they turned you down to voice the Winston character in the cartoon of Ghostbusters (4)?

Yeah, that’s a little weird. They called me up and I said, “Yeah, I wanna do it” because the cartoon could have made a big difference in my life, so they brought me in and the director [of the cartoon] started telling me what “Ernie Hudson in the movie” did and explaining what Ernie Hudson did. It was the weirdest thing! Then I called my agent and they said they thought I was going to be doing something and I’d be too busy or some excuse like that. But I’m telling you, I’d have loved to have done the cartoon and it bothered me that somebody else did Winston, but, once again, Ghostbusters has been a learning and growing experience for me.

You sound so zen about all this, Ernie. I’d be spitting feathers.

You know, I have sons, and in this environment black men can be very marginalised and bad things happen and the attitude I take on about my life, they pick up, and I didn’t want them to go out there like that. So I say, listen man, there are a lot of hard things and you gotta keep going. I can’t make that speech if I’m not living it. So I just say, I’ve studied and trained and I’m ready to work, and you hope that someone out there will let me work and someone always has. So maybe that’s the lesson I needed to learn in this life.

 

[keone]

man you know this was a dumb ass question

GB's must be your favorite movie or some shit

hell nooo

this is

 

[November 17]

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $242,212,467 82.0%
+ Foreign: $53,000,000 18.0%
= Worldwide: $295,212,467

vs.

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $234,760,478 74.2%
+ Foreign: $81,600,000 25.8%
= Worldwide: $316,360,478

Guess which film made more?

 

[World B Free]

ghostbusters

Huh?

 

[keone]

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $242,212,467 82.0%
+ Foreign: $53,000,000 18.0%
= Worldwide: $295,212,467

vs.

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic: $234,760,478 74.2%
+ Foreign: $81,600,000 25.8%
= Worldwide: $316,360,478

Guess which film made more?

yeah but thats after the fact tho.

 

[xxxbishopxxx]

To be honest, I don't think he would have been wrong either way. Eddie would have had a much stronger presences in GB1 than ernie. He probably would have had equal or star billing by the time GB2 would have came out. Besides, for all we know, after Ghostbusters success, Paramount may would have been willing to wait for Eddie to finish GB. From what I seen, Beverly Hills cop went through some changes, before it became the movie we know.
Paramount knew what they had in having Murphy in their films. There was another Eddie Murphy movie that was released in 1984 called Best Defense. The whole marketing campaign had you thinking it was an Eddie Murphy movie. Come to find out, he was in it for about 10 to 12 minutes.

 

[keone]

Huh?

he my homie we chill a lot

 

[BDR]

Eddie would have stolen all the scenes in ghostbusters

 

[World B Free]

he my homie we chill a lot

On the real, Keone, Ernie Hudson was a flunkie in Ghost Busters & even he was disappointed in some aspects of his role.

 

[keone]

To be honest, I don't think he would have been wrong either way. Eddie would have had a much stronger presences in GB1 than ernie. He probably would have had equal or star billing by the time GB2 would have came out. Besides, for all we know, after Ghostbusters success, Paramount may would have been willing to wait for Eddie to finish GB. From what I seen, Beverly Hills cop went through some changes, before it became the movie we know.
Paramount knew what they had in having Murphy in their films. There was another Eddie Murphy movie that was released in 1984 called Best Defense. The whole marketing campaign had you thinking it was an Eddie Murphy movie. Come to find out, he was in it for about 10 to 12 minutes.

exaclty, eddie had a whole backstory in GB it wouldnt be the ernie hudson role what we know as now. i think Eddie would even hace a bigger role than all 3 together.
they wanted fucking stalone for BC. it wasnt a guaranteed success back then. GB was.

 

[keone]

On the real, Keone, Ernie Hudson was a flunkie in Ghost Busters & even he was disappointed in some aspects of his role.

thats my point, eddie had a bigger role. once he said no, they cut out a huge part of the role and gave it to ernie who at that time was a nobody and needed cash. they cac'd him.

 

[World B Free]

thats my point, eddie had a bigger role. once he said no, they cut out a huge part of the role and gave it to ernie who at that time was a nobody and needed cash. they cac'd him.

Keone, an article for you, this is in Ernie Hudson's own words on how he was screwed:
http://ew.com/article/2014/11/05/ghostbusters-ernie-hudson/