Eddie Murphy and director Brett Ratner have been hanging out on Manhattan's Upper West Side recently, shooting exteriors outside the Trump International Hotel for their upcoming comedy, "Tower Heist."
During their downtime on the long-delayed film — when they're not enjoying some seriously fancy craft services courtesy of chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, whose acclaimed restaurant resides on Trump's ground floor — Ratner and Murphy have been discussing another long-in-the-works project: a fourth "Beverly Hills Cop" flick.
"Oh yeah, believe me, I'm all over it," Ratner told MTV News when asked if the duo chat about a new "BHC" film. "I am all over it."
Word of the project first dropped in the spring of 2008, with the primary motivator seemingly Murphy's desire to rescue the integrity of the franchise after a third installment that was, in the star's own words, "horrible."
But with an itch to resurrect a dormant franchise comes the pressure of creating a worthy successor rather than another stinker. And, as Ratner told us, Murphy is proceeding cautiously.
"He's sensitive about it," Ratner explained. "He made two great ones. The third one didn't really work. It's an important film for him. It's a character that's iconic. I don't think he goes anywhere in the world where someone — they're not going, 'Yo, Eddie Murphy,' they're like, 'Yo, Axel Foley!'
"It's his Clark Kent. His Darth Vader. His albatross," the director added. "He wants to go out with a bang."
But it is going to happen, right?
"It could. Hopefully he'll have a great experience with me on 'Tower Heist,' " Ratner said. "I'm happy he selected me as the guy to do it, but it's not an easy process and it's not going to be anytime soon."
Would you be excited about a fourth "Beverly Hills Cop" film? Tell us in the comments.
Check out everything we've got on "Tower Heist."
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