Reuters reporter Sue Zeidler writes that Eddie Murphy “has been loved, hated and ignored but now he is back with Holly- wood heavyweights rallying around him for his career-redefining turn in Dreamgirls, a role that may win him an Oscar.”
In support of this assertion she runs friendly-to-Eddie statements from (a) DreamWorks honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg (an obviously biased source who ironically provided the definitive dynamite-plunger quote about Murphy not being interesting in testing his acting abilities, i.e., “That’s just not who Eddie is“), (b) film critic and historian Leonard Maltin (who merely observes that Murphy has been “laughing all the way to the bank for years” and that “some performers are immune to criticism and [Murphy] may be one of them”), and Dreamgirls director Bill Condon (“I love working with [Murphy] because he’s so terrific”).
Murphy may well win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor on 2.25.07, but will somebody please tell me how running supportive quotes from the afore-mentioned trio provides convincing proof that “Hollywood heavyweights are rallying around him”?
Katzenberg “dismissed suggestions Murphy was disliked or difficult,” Zeidler reports. “People trash people out of envy and self interest. Eddie Murphy has been in this business for over 25 years. The question is why now are some people anonymously blogging lies about him and trying to hurt him?” Anonymously? Who’s anonymous? And please explain, Jeffrey, what lies have been put forth in my anti-Eddie postings?
It’s not a lie, for instance, that Murphy once saw himself as a half-serious actor who might expand his talents by starring in a film adaptation of August Wilson‘s Fences. He really did do that, and he really did blow the project off when it came time to fish or cut bait. (Perhaps it was poorly written?) A guy who’s never once laid it on the line, arts gratia artis, and who’s opted time and again for the opportunity to earn some low-rent big bucks makes Murphy, in my book, a true Hollywood beelzebub — the ultimate King Turd.
