Eddie Murphy Talks Imagine That

3 months ago 10th Aug 10:32

Comedy superstar Eddie Murphy has played an animated donkey, a Chinese octogenarian, outlandishly large people of both sexes, and all but one member of the hilariously inappropriate Klump family.

But in his latest movie, Imagine That, Murphy’s role is, comparatively speaking, a pretty normal guy.

The Paramount-Nickelodeon comedy tells the story of high-powered financial executive Evan Danielson (Murphy), a man whose career is spiraling toward disaster until he discovers solutions to his business problems in the rich imaginary world of his seven-year-old daughter.

"I think it’s one of the best performances Eddie has given in a long time," says the film’s director, Karey Kirkpatrick (Over the Hedge). Not only is he funny, the kind of funny you expect from Eddie, but he's also really emotionally grounded and connected. He isn’t wearing a fat suit, he isn’t dressed up as a woman, he's just Eddie as a business guy trying to connect with his daughter.

Murphy, 48, describes the film as a "sweet and emotional" story packed with humor. "It’s a movie about a man who starts off feeling like he’s been cursed with this oddly imaginative child," the actor says. "But, in the end, he realizes that he’s truly blessed to have such a wonderfully unique daughter in his life."

Rising child star Yara Shahidi (In the Motherhood) plays Evan’s young daughter, Olivia. The film also stars Thomas Haden Church (Sideways, Spider-Man 3), the multi-talented Nicole Ari Parker (Remember the Titans, Boogie Nights), veteran performer Ronny Cox (Beverly Hills Cop, Total Recall) and Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now, The West Wing).

Evan is a recently divorced workaholic who neglects to spend quality time with his daughter, even though he only sees her every other weekend. "I'm so driven, I have virtually no relationship with her," Murphy says of his character.

"I barely know the little things that you're supposed to know about your kid. But then her imaginary friends start telling me what stocks to buy, and the stocks start going through the roof. That really gets my attention."

The idea for the story came from Ed Solomon (Men in Black), who is one of the film’s producers and screenwriters. Solomon recalls his young son one day offering him business advice after overhearing a contentious phone call between Solomon and a colleague.

The toddler innocently suggested that Solomon fire the other party, which later proved to be the wisest course of action.

"It turned out my son was exactly right," Solomon says. "That’s when I had the idea: What if a guy had a child who had better business sense than he did?"

Solomon and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura say Murphy was a natural choice for the part of the father.

"Eddie knows how to be truthful and play the tiniest of moments with genuine poignancy," Solomon says. "Yet he never gets maudlin or sappy. Then, when the story calls for broadness and comic desperation, Eddie is never afraid to go all out without ever going over the top. At every stage, he is perfectly modulated."