Three decades ago Black Panther, Eddie Murphy proved in the 1980s that films led by black lead actors could succeed at the international box office, with the comedy becoming cult A prince in New York by John Landis.
The American actor returns with the sequel to the adventures of his spoiled rotten African prince, in A Prince in New York 2 by Craig Brewer, which will be released on the Amazon Prime Video platform on March 5.
But according to the actor, the worldwide success of these two franchises, with a predominantly black distribution, has nothing to do with any growing interest in political and historical issues of race, like contemporary movements like Black Lives Matter. . Most American films “bring to light a certain social injustice, or civil unrest (…), around the world, they don’t give a damn about that“said Eddie Murphy.
For the comedy star like The Beverly Hills Flic, or The Nutty Professor, the success of his films lies above all in a good old story, with universal reach. “A prince in New York 2, has nothing to do with it – it’s a movie just about family, love, doing what’s right, and tradition“, underlined the actor.
Eddie Murphy’s remarks come as Hollywood presents an anthology of prestigious films on the civil rights movement, to castings conducted by black actors, like Judas and the Black Messiah or from One Night in Miami, which are among the favorites of bookmakers at the Oscars.
However, it will be difficult to compare the popular craze for all of these films, with most cinemas around the world remaining closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A Prince in New York 2 was indeed produced by Paramount but the rights were sold to Amazon for its platform.
Eddie Murphy said he was proud, during a promotional day, that the first part ofA prince in New York have been “the first film in the history of cinema – with an exclusively black cast – to achieve worldwide success“. But since then you can count”on the fingers of one hand“the films in Hollywood that have repeated such international success – and”you will have fingers left“to count on,” said the 59-year-old star.
In A prince in New York, released in 1988, the actor plays the title role of His Highness Akeem Joffer, in search of love in the city that never sleeps. In the sequel, Akeem, now an older monarch, returns to New York this time in search of his lost male heir, who can save his fictional African kingdom.
His daughter Bella also in the game
At his side, Eddie Murphy can count on other black stars of cinema or humor, including Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, Tracey Morgan, or even James Earl Jones. “I can tell you that there was not a single black actor – middle aged or younger – in this town or any town, who didn’t want to be a part of this movie.also starring actress Luenell.
One of Eddie Murphy’s daughters, Bella, is also a part of the cast. To reporters interviewing her, the 19-year-old actress confessed that she was very keen to take part in the film after seeing her father play in the first installment. “It was great to see my dad like that, because it was the first time I saw black royal characters on screen … and it was even more awesome that it was my dad“she said.”It really gave me strength“.
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