BOOMERANG 25TH ANNIVERSARY

In celebration of 25 years of my second film BOOMERANG, here are film clips and selections from the soundtrack.

“Marcus darling!”

Eartha Kitt was the only cast member we had to practically beg to be in the film, but once she committed she was all in. She and Eddie basically improvised their scene in the bedroom together, and we got it all in one shot.

“pussy!”

Grace Jones was another cast member who totally committed to the role. Sometimes cast members could barely make it through a scene with her without cracking up. Off camera she was sweet and sometimes brought her son to set.

“coordinate!”

Filming the Thanksgiving dinner scene with Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, David Alan Grier, Johnny Witherspoon and Bebe Drake was probably the funniest two days of my life.

“love should have brought your ass home last night!”

From the philosophy of Frances Cress Wesling to weave jokes and face slapping, we did everything in this movie. Love that music cue when Eddie is sneaking in. Marcus Miller is a genius.

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST – HOT SEX ON A PLATTER

I will never forget going down to the basement recording studio of LA Reid’s Atlanta mansion and hearing this song for the first time. ATCQ killed it.

TONI BRAXTON – LOVE SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT YOU HOME

LA and Babyface executive produced the soundtrack. While watching the scene when Halle slaps Eddie, LA leaned in and said “that’s a song title”. And history was made….

PM DAWN – DIE WITHOUT YOU

Love this song so much. I can’t believe that He and Phife are no longer with us.

BOYZ II MEN – END OF THE ROAD

This smash hit broke Elvis’ record as the longest running number one on the charts.

Which scenes and songs are your favorites?

#boomerang #eddiemurphy #halleberry #gracejones #atcq #tonibraxton #boyzIImen #pmdawn #robingivens #martinlawrence #davidalangrier #eaerthakitt #marcusmiller #lareid #babyface #johnnywitherspoon #reginaldhudlin

THE MARSHALL TRAILER IS HERE!!!

Here’s the trailer for the film I directed about Thurgood Marshall! I can’t wait for the world to see this movie!! #MarshallMovie

Below from Deadline

“The only way to get through a bigot’s door is to break it down.” Here is the first trailer for Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman in the biopic about Thurgood Marshall.

Before he became the country’s first African-American Supreme Court Justice in 1967, Marshall was a lawyer famous for winning the landmark Brown v Board of Education case that outlawed segregated schools. The film goes back even further, to when he was a rabble-rousing young attorney for the NAACP, and follows the story of his greatest challenge in those early days: the case of black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), accused by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), of sexual assault and attempted murder. Marshall fought the case alongside Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a young attorney with no experience in criminal law.

NEW PROJECT ALERT!

25 Years Later- The Making of ‘Boomerang,’ and The Burden Faced By Black Filmmakers

By regg – Jun 17, 2017

“When I seduce you, if I decide to seduce you, don’t worry…you’ll know,” she mutters as she gazes into his eyes. Jacqueline Broyer has an impactful effect. She has legs that’ll make you tremble, paired with a smile that makes you quiver. Her eyes, regardless of the words coming out of her mouth, are telling of her actual thoughts. Her business suits are flashy but never classless. She’s career-driven and you shouldn’t dare try to interfere with that. She’ll fit you into her schedule when it’s beneficial for her to do so. Yes, she’s a fictional character, but she embodies characteristics that’ll humble any real man—not just Marcus Graham. Boomerang turns 25 this year and is widely overlooked, despite being one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time. Robin Givens’ portrayal of Broyer is only the surface of what makes the film a timeless hit. It was considered a letdown compared to Eddie Murphy’s previous starring roles, which included Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places, and Coming to America, but quietly, Boomerang is still the highest grossing black romantic comedy.

Playing on the idea of sexual role reversal, Boomerang tells the story of an advertisement executive named Marcus Graham, who has a reputation as a womanizer—he loves ‘em and then leaves ‘em for a variety of reasons, including “hammer time in her shoes,” as he shamelessly tells his friends Tyler (Martin Lawrence) and Gerard (David Alan Grier). Things get interesting when he has to work under the guidance of the damn-near irresistible Jacqueline Broyer. After becoming involved with each other, Marcus falls for her hard, and who wouldn’t? But it is then that he learns she shares the same non-committal attitude as he does, and probably does it better.

Before it came to fruition, Boomerang was no easy film to get off the ground. According to director Reginald Hudlin, it was a bit challenging to convince the higher ups that a romantic comedy would excel with Eddie Murphy cast in the lead role. Hudlin recalled an exec telling him flat out at the studio, “Look. I don’t know how you’ll make a romantic comedy with Eddie Murphy with that big nose and big lips.” Keep in mind that this was uttered at a time when Eddie was the biggest name in Hollywood, commanding no less than $15 million through an exclusive deal with Paramount Pictures. But with a cast that included a then relatively unknown Halle Berry, Martin Lawrence, David Alan Grier, Eartha Kitt, and Grace Jones, he knew he was onto something special. The movie is also responsible for helping launch the career of Chris Rock, with a small but notable part as Bony T; the loud-spoken mailroom worker that knew everyone’s business. Ironically, Rock got his start just five years earlier in Beverly Hills Cop II, thanks to Murphy spotting him at a comedy club performing stand up. “Years from now, people won’t believe we had all these people in the same cast. If you were there, you felt it,” Hudlin told Blackfilm. “You felt that this was an explosive moment and that all these people were enormously talented and would go on to great careers.”

Boomerang was supposed to represent the next phase of black filmmaking and with a 40 Million dollar budget, it was considered too big to fail. Murphy presented the idea to the Hudlin brothers, who at the time had only experienced minor success with House Party, to help him capture the essence of the story. Boomerang was being heralded as his impending comeback despite him still being a big name at the box office. “Comeback?” he sneered when asked by Entertainment Weekly. “From where? Where am I coming back from? What does that mean, comeback? Am I viewed as this cat who used to be funny and isn’t anymore and this is my last shot to be funny? If I was perceived that way, no one would tell me.” His hope for the film was to mainly focus on black talent. The film subtly drew the spotlight to the power and allure of black women, so casting the legendary Eartha Kitt as Lady Eloise—the aging overly sexual figurehead of the cosmetics company made perfect sense. Grace Jones as Strangé, the outrageously disrespectful and demanding model that was written specially with her in mind, effortlessly steals every scene she’s in.

“Eddie needs to flex his muscles that can help black people get into this industry. Clout isn’t just getting the best table at Spago. How’s that helping your people?” —Spike Lee, LA Times 1989

At the height of Eddie’s career, he began to get criticized for not shining the spotlight on other black talent. He responded to Lee’s critique specifically: “Progress is a gradual thing in this town. We’ve made lightyears of progress in the past five years. And Spike, Keenen, and Robert Townsend are great examples,” he told LA Times. “Ten years ago, those guys couldn’t have gotten pictures made in this town. But since I’ve had success at the box office, every studio has been looking around for a black guy of their own who could make hit movies.” He added, “I’ve made lots of contributions to help my people prosper. But I’m not a politician. I’m a businessman and a film maker.” This was right before the release of Harlem Nights; another star-studded black film that starred Murphy, Richard Pryor, and Redd Foxx, released just three years before Boomerang. Eddie was in a comfortable position, but the pressure was on.

”If it makes a huge amount of money, they’ll go, ‘Well, it’s not really a black film. It stars Eddie Murphy. If it fails — which it won’t — they’ll call it a black film. It only becomes black if it fails.” —Director, Reginald Hudlin

After Boomerang‘s release on July 1, 1992, the reviews were mixed, but mostly positive. While some publications praised Murphy’s stripped-down performance, others focused on the racial composition of the film. Two weeks after it’s release, Murphy wrote a piece for LA Times, where he said the film is the “latest outlet for those critics who feel it necessary to demean and simplify the achievement of black people.” He added: “Boomerang is a romantic comedy revolving around the lives of successful black people who work for a successful black company. Some people obviously have a problem with that, for the movie has been called a ‘fantasy’, a ‘reverse world’ and ‘racist’.”

Although aiming to uplift black culture, the film was pelted with plenty of unfair criticism. Ultimately it grossed over $131 million in total, and paved the way for plenty of black rom-coms to come. The film was called “imbalanced” and “uneven,” but highlighted both upscale and new talent in a way that hadn’t been exemplified before.

The story is still a relevant reality in dating, and deserves more praise for it’s relatable characters. We know a “woke” friend or two like Tyler, or a friend as timid and hesitant as Gerard, with embarrassing parents that love to coooordinate. We know a sweet, shy, and artsy girl like Angela with attitude, and we even know a guy like Marcus, who might be looking for love in the wrong places. And just around the corner is a girl like Jacqueline, waiting to turn his world upside down.