Eddie Murphy Interview, Norbit!

Posted by: Stanch

Time for another interview. This go around its Eddie Murphy and he tells us about his latest comedy romp, Norbit. Norbit (Eddie Murphy) has never had it easy. As a baby, he was abandoned on the steps of a Chinese restaurant/orphanage and raised by Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy). Things get worse when heâ€™s forced into marriage by the mean, junk food-chugging queen, Rasputia (Eddie Murphy). Just when Norbitâ€™s hanging by his last thread, his childhood sweetheart, Kate (Thandie Newton), moves back to town. In the comedy "Norbit," heâ€™ll show them all that nice guys sometimes finish first.

Where did the idea for Norbit come from?

I remember we saw a video on the computer of a woman beating her husband up and all the wives thought it was the funniest thing ever, and it was, like, you think that's funny? They're just, like, yeah, the guy just couldnâ€™t defend himself, and my brother and I talked about it, it was, like, they think that's so funny, and it was, like, well, let's write something.

And we used The Color Purple, as a model, it was like if you take The Color Purple and switch it and make it a man that was under a woman's thumb his whole life. It's kinda funny, (laugh) you take the edginess out of it and just this guy, this henpecked husband, it made it funny and that's how it came about.

Whatâ€™s it like playing multiple characters, and how do you develop your different characters?

It's fun for me, it's not fun doing it, it's a bunch of hard work doing it, but it's fun when you see it all put together. What happens is Rick Baker, the brilliant, genius Rick Baker, who did these make-ups and Coming To America, and Nutty Professor, he'll make the face, and then he'll start asking me questions, and that's how I find the character it'll just start, you know.

So where are you from, you know, how many kids do you have, you know, and I'm trying different voices out, and stretching the make-up around, and, and after about two or three hours of him asking questions and me seeing what the make-up can do, after awhile you have it,that is where the character locked, you could, like, see it happen right on film sometimes.

WHY Was It important to have Rick baker as part of this project?

Well, Rick makes my characters look like real people......and what's crucial to. Most make-up movies usually its in the plot, the audience knows that the character is in make-up and they're undercover, or they gotta do it, they're hiding and you know, and there are scenes where they gotta put their make-up on fast and all that. So you know it, that it's, so it doesn't have to really look real, 'cause you know its your favorite actor underneath it or whoever.

But its crucial that you forget they're make-ups, and that's where Rick's genius is, it's crucial that you forget it's Eddie Murphy, you forget it's whoever, you're seeing this character. If I hadn't had a history of this, you'd come to this movie and you wouldnâ€™t know I was that old Asianguy, coming into it you know it, but if no one had told you, you would never think that that wasn't a really an old Asian guy and that's Rick's genius.

What it like playing in a scene with yourself? Did you have trouble ad-libbing

I've done it so much, it was kinda like going, all the way back to Coming To America where I did those scenes with myself so it was kind of a toss back. Ad-libbing is always encouraged and we have Marlon Wayans and Cuba Gooding Jr., the Academy Award-winning Cuba Gooding Jr., not the comedian, you have Comedian Eddie Griffin, we got Katt Williams, uh, Thandie Newton, so we got a really good supporting cast. And Brianis a talented and funny director, I had such a good time working with Brian......um, my next movie Brianis directing.

TELL me more about rasputia.

Well she's just tyranny in a skirt, I'd never (laugh) played anybody quite as mean as Rasputia, and she's a screen villain, she's one of that great, the movie starts off as a comedy, but towards the end Rasputia's like a great screen villainess. I never played a villainess.

Whatâ€™s your favorite part of Norbit and why?

Well, my favorite part of the movie is doing these characters and what I love about the movie is this sweetness that's at the center of it, the sweetness, the sweet little love story between Thandie Newton and Norbit's character and it's real sweet and believable with these outrageous characters around. And so it's, right what we wanted it to be.

What do you hope audiences get out of norbit?

I think they're just gonna laugh. I have a lot of people asking hey when are you gonna do another movie. I've been making so many movies for kids, people have been asking when are you gonna do your typical Eddie Murphy funny movie? And it's, like, okay, here's one with multiple characters and make-up and it's edgy, and funny and I think they're just gonna laugh.