Q&A with Mat Bradley-Tschirgi, author of The Films of Eddie Murphy

Q&A with Mat Bradley-Tschirgi, author of The Films of Eddie Murphy

Out of all the comedians to do a book on, why pick Eddie Murphy?

For years, a fourth Beverly Hills Cop film had been in the works. There was enough heat on Netflix’s take, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley, that made me believe this one would actually go the distance.

It seemed like a natural, full circle way to end the book with his latest movies mostly being legacy sequels; don’t forget Amazon’s Coming 2 America! There’s even rumors of a third 48 Hrs. with Martin Lawrence as the co-star instead of Nick Nolte, but I’ll believe that when I see it hit theaters or a streaming service near you! .  

There’s loads of film books out there. How did you decide on structuring yours?

Even before I went to college to study film which later changed into a video games major (long story), I would read “making of” books on film. I definitely wanted to write all-new reviews of Eddie’s theatrical filmography, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough.

Ben Ohmart of Bear Manor Media fame stressed the need for behind-the-scenes anecdotes, so I dove into a lot of vintage interviews and reviews that were more often than not primary sources, meaning material that was created around the time of when Eddie’s flicks were made. I decided to take brief quotes from writers, director, actors, and so on with a bullet point format to make for easy reading; this was inspired by Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series. 

As for the new interviews I conducted, I contacted writers and critics who were Eddie Murphy fans who gave their own opinions on their favorite works of his. Everyone has their own favorite Eddie movie, but it seems like Bowfinger was the go to choice more often than not! 

Were you familiar with Eddie’s films before writing the book?

I was a fan, but I had figured I had seen around 70% of his films. I was way off, it was more like 50%! Going through the movies one at a time for research, and looking up all the different interviews, gave me a greater appreciation for his career.

Even in the long stretch of family films he did in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Eddie Murphy is usually trying something different whether it’s doing mostly silent comedy in A Thousand Words or delivering a somber performance in Mr. Church. 

Did any of the movies surprise you upon watching them?

The Distinguished Gentleman is a very sharp satire of Washington, DC and political grifters that probably plays better in a post George Santos world than it did back in 1992.

Boomerang was one I had only caught glimpses of on TV before, and Eddie Murphy is really vulnerable here playing a lothario who’s called out on his bullshit. It’s a great mixture of sharp writing and fun performances.

Was the book ever going to be ordered chronologically?

Originally, yes! As I looked through the varied genres and quality of Eddie’s films, I figured organizing them in categories by how much I liked them made more sense and was a bit unexpected.

It also makes the types of movies discussed a bit more varied. He started out doing a lot of comedies, then more family films, and so on.

What do you think of Eddie Murphy’s return to R-rated movies?

After 1997’s Metro, Eddie Murphy didn’t do a rated-R movie until the 2019 biopic Dolemite Is My Name. It’s nice to see him do some edgier material again. I’d love to see him do a new stand-up special, but I don’t think that’s in the cards for him anymore; at one point, he was considering doing stand-up mixed with live musical performances of original reggae tracks!  

What was the most challenging thing about writing a book on Eddie Murphy?

Doing the research for some of the older films was a real challenge to find a lot of material on. For something that is both old and poorly reviewed like Best Defense, it’s doubly hard to find good interviews from when the film was made.

Researching nonfiction books leads you into a lot of dead-ends until you find what you’re looking for, but it often surprises you along the way. I was shocked to find out Eddie was considering voicing most of the animals in Doctor Dolittle at one point until he decided to use contemporary stand-up comics instead!

Do you have a favorite beverage when writing?

Well, most of the time I write in the morning before work, maybe a little bit later on the weekend. I tend to go with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Sometimes a can of ginger-ale is nice or, if it’s late, some sake..

Is your book meant for only die-hard Eddie Murphy fans?

No, I tried to make The Films of Eddie Murphy accessible with the reviews while also digging up some obscure trivia for the fans. I felt I was able to get a good balance for both the casual and more extreme fan.

I also had to consider readers might pick up random chapters and not read it in order, so I tried to make each movie I wrote about work both as a stand-alone read but also as a bigger picture larger narrative on Eddie Murphy’s career. 

Are you going to write another book on movies?

Certainly, but I’m developing a few different ideas. Maybe looking at the work of another comedian would be fun… There seems to be a lack of books on contemporary comedians, and, like horror, the genre tends to get the shaft whether it’s awards season or otherwise.

Where can readers contact you if they have questions?

It would be best of them to send me an email at sequelcast@gmail.com.