comment #1

Rich S. says ...

I don't know. The Lily Tomlin spoof version was awful. Plus, it will once again probably be 99.9% CGI. The special effects in the original were terrific.

A commercial idea it may be, but there's a lot of subtext going on in the novel and the original film. There are few directors and actors today who I think could do it justice. Their names sure aren't Ratner and Murphy.

comment #2

Jesse Perry says ...

"The most recent draft of the screenplay is by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant."

And there goes any possible interest I had in this movie.

comment #3

Mark says ...

In the version of the scrpt that i read, Murphy's character was joined by a whole comic team that was shrunk. To better function in the real world, they team up, and build and control a large robot that actually resembles (and will be played by) Murphy.

Thus instead of fighting the cat with a needle and thread, they just kick the cat with the robot's human-sized leg.

comment #4

DotTheEyes says ...

Isn't the mini-Murphy gag already being used in this summer's Meet Dave, directed by Brian Robbins and co-starring Elizabeth Banks?

comment #5

DavidF says ...

Eddie Murphy + remake + Brett Ratner = studio financing.

Really?
And you'd go see this, Wells? After all your Murphy bashing you're willing to give THIS ,of all things, a chance?

At this point, I think Murphy's best move would be to buy everyone in America a DVD set of 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop and then just retire. (Red Staters can add all the movies where he dresses in fat suits if they want.)

I think he's a comedic genius and I don't know the last time I cared about anything he did. I wouldn't have thought he could waste his talent more but...here you go.

comment #6

giantman says ...

I seriously hope you are joking Jeff.

comment #7

MDOC says ...

This is perfect for Eddie and Ratner. Maybe it'll be good, probably it'll be awful but at least Ratner is not playing with a property that anybody cares about.

comment #8

Terry McCarty says ...

Jesse Perry wrote:
"The most recent draft of the screenplay is by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant."

And there goes any possible interest I had in this movie.

Which means if Eddie walks, Ben Stiller is next in line.

comment #9

MDOC says ...

This is perfect for Eddie and Ratner. Maybe it'll be good, probably it'll be awful but at least Ratner is not playing with a property that anybody cares about.

comment #10

corey3rd says ...

Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant: That's Quality Funny!!!! These two guys need to stick to making one page scripts that get bundled together for 20 minutes of cop nonsense.

And I still like Shrinking Man - Universal is putting it out in a monster boxset with other SciFi flicks. Don't mess with Jack Arnold's Legacy

comment #11

alan says ...

Sacrilege!

comment #12

hcat says ...

He has been attached to this for a decade, Imagine has been trying to get this off the ground since they teamed on Nutty Professor. If you think Ratner is bad news, Kennan Ivory Wayans was supposed to direct for a few years during its development

comment #13

swordandpen says ...

Murphy, Ratner, Garant and Lennon?

It's like the perfect storm of lame comedies.

comment #14

George Prager says ...

After this, Murphy can do a remake of THE MAD ADVENTURES OF RABBI JACOB.

comment #15

cjKennedy says ...

"Think about it for ten seconds." I gave it five. Not interested.

comment #16

p.Vice says ...

And people wonder why I have no respect for this man...

comment #17

Ray says ...

Jeff, go outside and take a deep breath of fresh air. You obviously need it if you're interested in this obvious abortion in any way.

comment #18

Legowombat says ...

Think about it for ten seconds (Murphy vs. the big cat and big spider)...

Wide eyes, big mouth, minstrel squealing - sound and fury.

...and it almost makes itself in your head.

Why pay to see something when you can play it in your head for free, when you know they'll play it safe enough to be exactly how it would turn out anyway?

On the other hand, if you imagine it as a better movie, you can think up more interesting dialogue, substitute better actors, and be far more entertained than anything that Murphy would choose to be involved with.

You can say no to seeing these things. Save money and imagine a better film today!

comment #19

vp19 says ...

Instead of this absurdity, how about a remake that's more a literal adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel, "The Shrinking Man"? The book has nuances and angles that the 1957 Grant Williams version (for which Matheson wrote the screenplay) doesn't explore -- probably because it didn't want to alienate the kiddie and teen sci-fi crowd.

Scott Carey's sexual frustration as he diminishes, a major theme of the book, is only indirectly touched upon in the '57 film. The movie also omits a frightening scene where a half-sized Scott who's run off from his home and initially mistaken for a child in the darkness, is nearly assaulted by a bunch of teen boys (obviously the producers didn't want to bite the hands that fed the box office).

We need a "Shrinking Man" that's a serious adaptation of the book; if Eddie Murphy or someone else wants to do a high-concept CGI "shrinking" comedy, let them do it with an original, unrelated property, please.

comment #20

PerfectTommy says ...

Yep, Murphy's film sounds like an insult to Matheson and Arnold. Would Hollywood dare to use the ending from the still interesting Grant Williams, as he continues to shrink without end - "to God there is no zero" ?

comment #21

PerfectTommy says ...

Meant to say "still interesting Grant Williams film". though I'd be happy to sit through other films from with Willaimss "Monilith Monsters" or "The Coach" again (it's been a very long time, but I liked both very much when I was a kid.)