For Sonnenfeld’s part, he loved the experience of working on the “Beverly Hills Cop” TV series, but it didn’t come without hurdles. For example, Murphy, who has been known to be difficult to work with on occasion, was not willing to dip back into his usual comedic antics as Axel Foley. Sonnenfeld told /Film about meeting with Murphy before shooting the pilot:
“Eddie said, ‘Listen, if you think I’m going to do all those Eddie Murphy things, like go [imitates Axel Foley’s distinctive laugh] and all those other things, I’m not going to do any of that s***.’ So I said, ‘Okay, Eddie, it was a pleasure meeting you. Thanks. I’ll see myself out.’ And he said, ‘That’s the entire interview?’ And I said, ‘Well, I was going to talk to you about when we should do any key moments from the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ movies, but if you don’t want to do any of those, there’s really nothing to talk about. But thanks for your time. I’ll see you on the set.’ I started to go, and he said, ‘Hey, can I ask you a question?’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure, Eddie.’ And he said, ‘Why the f*** are you directing this thing?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m a big fan.’ And I left.”
That doesn’t sound like Murphy was too keen on reprising one of his signature characters. But the way Sonnenfeld explains it, perhaps Murphy was just trying to puff up his chest and be a big Hollywood star. The director continued:
“So it’s the first day we’re shooting, and I’m on the set with Eddie. We set up the scene, and Eddie’s supposed to pop up from behind a car, and Brandon, who played Eddie’s son, is supposed to see him, and I would have hoped that Eddie would have gone [imitates Axel’s laugh]. But of course, he said he wouldn’t, so I’m curious what he’s going to do. I say ‘roll camera,’ Eddie stands up, and goes [imitates Axel’s laugh]. And Eddie, the whole time, did everything I would have wanted him to do, but he said he wasn’t going to do!”
For his part, Sonnenfeld said working with Eddie Murphy on the show was a great experience, and he felt the pilot turned out “really, really good.”
So, what happened after the pilot was shot? Well, it sounds like you can blame a star who maybe didn’t have the chops to lead a network TV series, as well as corporate pettiness between a TV network and a movie studio.
