“You’re gonna get your ass whipped”: The director Eddie Murphy was ready to beat up
It has often been the case in Hollywood that comedy films, no matter how light-hearted or funny, feature some of the most vicious on-set battles. Comedians, particularly those who have transitioned from stand-up, are used to working in relative isolation, and there have been numerous cases of comedic actors struggling to take direction from production staff. Eddie Murphy, on the other hand, was often as much a part of the production staff as he was a part of the comedy.
Murphy is truly a comedian like no other, boasting a beloved career as a stand-up comedian with countless iconic sets inspiring multiple generations of comics. He is also one of the few stand-ups who has managed to make the transition to comedic acting without too much turbulence. Beginning in the 1980s and continuing to this very day, Murphy has played starring roles in a wealth of legendary comedy flicks, from Trading Places to Beverly Hills Cop, and even Shrek.
One of Murphy’s most iconic roles, however, came in the 1988 classic Coming To America, which remains a definite fan favourite within his filmography. Telling the tale of Akeem Joffer (Murphy), the prince of a fictional African nation who travels to New York City to find a woman to marry, the hilarity of the film certainly did not reflect the high tensions which marred the behind-the-scenes production, owing to the film’s director, John Landis.
Landis, having worked on multiple iconic comedy films from Animal House to The Blues Brothers, worked with Murphy on Trading Places in 1983, but his directorial career took a steep nosedive soon thereafter. While directing Twilight Zone: The Movie, three people – including two children – were killed in a helicopter crash on set.
Landis had broken child labour laws by hiring the child actors without a proper permit, and his ignorance of warnings and health and safety concerns directly contributed to the tragedy. Understandably, few individuals in Hollywood wanted to work with Landis in the wake of the incident.
Nevertheless, Murphy hired Landis to direct Coming To America as something of a favour. “I figured I’d give this guy a shot because his career was fucked,” he told Playboy in 1990. “But he wound up fucking me.”
Explaining, “After [Landis] got the job, he brought along an attitude. He came in with this ‘I’m a director’ shit. I was thinking, Wait a second, I fucking hired you, and now you’re running around, going, ‘You have to remember: I’m the boss, I’m the director.’”
The tension between Landis and Murphy only seemed to increase over the course of the filming process until, at the peak, Murphy grabbed the director by the throat and threatened him. “The next time you fuck around with me, I’m gonna whip your ass,” he reportedly told Landis. “You’re gonna have to give me either some fear or some respect. I want one of them, because this is my shit and you’re working here.” Concluding, “If the only way you can fear me is knowing that the next time you fuck up, you’re gonna get your ass whipped, fine.”
Seemingly, this threat worked as a wake-up call for Landis, who toned down his controlling behaviour for the rest of filming, according to Murphy. In fact, the pair reunited a few years later for Beverly Hills Cop III in 1994, by which time Landis had presumably figured out not to mess with Eddie Murphy.
