Beverly Hills Cop (franchise)

Beverly Hills Cop
Directed by
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by
Starring
Music by
Cinematography
Edited by
Production
company
  • Simpson/Bruckheimer (I-II)
  • Eddie Murphy Productions (I-III)
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • December 5, 1984 (1984-12-05) (I)
  • May 20, 1987 (1987-05-20) (II)
  • May 25, 1994 (1994-05-25) (III)
Running time
  • 105 minutes[1] (I)
  • 103 minutes[2] (II)
  • 104 minutes[3] (III)
  • 312 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $85 million
Box office $735.5 million

Beverly Hills Cop is a series of American action comedy films,[4] with characters written by Daniel Petrie, Jr. and Danilo Bach. The films star Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit cop who travels to Beverly Hills, California to investigate crimes, even though it is out of his jurisdiction. There, he meets Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton), and Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox). Ashton and Cox do not appear in Beverly Hills Cop III. Murphy, Reinhold, and Gil Hill, who plays Axel's boss, Inspector Todd, are the only actors who appear in all three films. Harold Faltermeyer produced the now famous "Axel F" theme song heard throughout the series. The series as a whole have been distributed by Paramount Pictures. The films have made a total of $735,534,503 worldwide.

Following a failed attempt at making a Beverly Hills Cop TV series, Paramount has decided to produce another film.[5][6]

Films

Overview

In Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is introduced as a Detroit cop who, after the murder of his friend, travels to California to investigate and track down the killer(s), who he believes operate an arts dealership as a cover in Beverly Hills. He teams up with two reluctant detectives, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton), from the Beverly Hills police department who were supposed to keep a watch on him, especially after seeing Foley's different approach to tackling the situations which were considered unacceptable by the chief of police.

In Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Axel returns to Beverly Hills, after finding out that Captain Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox) was shot. He once again teams up with Detective Billy Rosewood and Sgt. John Taggart, who, reluctantly and against Police Chief Harold Lutz's orders, help Foley to find out the person responsible for Bogomil's shooting. Axel, Billy, and John soon discover that the alphabet crimes, a series of felonies (robberies and Bogomil's shooting) that have been going on in the area, are masterminded by weapons kingpin Maxwell Dent. With this information, Axel, Billy, and Taggart try to find Dent and his lover, Karla Fry (Brigitte Nielsen), (who had shot Bogomil).

In Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Axel returns to Beverly Hills once again. During an assignment, his boss, Inspector Todd is killed, and certain evidence points towards an amusement park called "Wonderworld". Upon arriving in Beverly Hills, Axel looks up his old friend Billy Rosewood who has attained the title of DDOJSIOC (Deputy Director of Joint Special Inter Operational Command). Taggart has retired and a new detective called Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo) is Rosewood's new partner.

Unaired television pilot

CBS ordered a pilot with Brandon T. Jackson starring as Axel Foley's son, Aaron.[7] The hour long crime drama was produced by the critically acclaimed writer Shawn Ryan who created The Shield and The Chicago Code.[8]

In January 2013, Ryan stated, "It's going to be a CBS procedural. We're going to solve a case every week, but we're going to do it with a lot of humor and a lot of fun. And I would say the stealth thing I would like to get in is, in a day and age when income inequality and class inequities dominate a lot of the country, this is going to be an opportunity to put a young working-class kid in Detroit in the middle of Beverly Hills, you can do a lot of stealth social commentary. My approach is to update it and make it feel modern and 2013. The pilot opens with a 4-5 minute sequence which I think is really harrowing and really dangerous, that would be something that you might have seen on Chicago Code or The Shield. I want it to feel grounded in that way. There'll be some opportunities for laughs after that. It's not a laughs come first show."[9]

In February 2013, Kevin Pollak was cast as Rodney Daloof, an irritating and incredibly risk-averse in-house attorney for the Beverly Hills Police Department.[10] David Denman is set to co-star as Brad, a stand-up, extremely likable and socially awkward Beverly Hills detective, formerly a baseball player and a musician.[11] Men In Black and Get Shorty's director Barry Sonnenfeld agreed to both direct the Beverly Hills Cop pilot and serve as an executive producer.[12] In May 2013, CBS decided to pass on the Beverly Hills Cop TV series.[13] In August 2013, Brandon T. Jackson give his reason about the pass:

I think we were very edgy for CBS. I think we were the edgiest as you could've went for CBS. It would have been like a 'Fresh Prince' thing on CBS, like the edgiest you can go on network TV. But it doesn't agree to our franchise man."[14]

In February 2015, Eddie Murphy gives his reason about the pass: "I was gonna be in the pilot, and they thought I should be recurring. I’m not gonna do Beverly Hills Cop on TV. I remember when they tested it — they had this little knob that you turn if you like it or you don’t like it. So when Axel shows up in the pilot, some people turned the knob so much, they broke it. So the network decided “if he isn’t recurring, then this isn’t gonna happen.” So it didn’t happen."[15]

In January 2016, Shawn Ryan also gives his reason about the pass: "The official answer is they decided they liked other pilots better. If you look at what pilots they picked up that year, I think that’s kind of incredible. I would say there were a lot of 400 lb. gorillas involved in the show and sometimes the gorillas don’t always get along.". He also said he's very proud of the pilot and loved working with Murphy.[16]

During late Summer 2013, after CBS decided to pass on the TV series, Paramount decided to move forward with the fourth film.

Cast and characters

Character Film/Series
Beverly Hills Cop Beverly Hills Cop II Beverly Hills Cop III Unaired
Beverly Hills Cop Television Pilot
Beverly Hills Cop IV
Axel Foley Eddie Murphy
Billy Rosewood Judge Reinhold
John Taggart John Ashton
Andrew Bogomil Ronny Cox
G. Douglas Todd Gil Hill
Serge Bronson Pinchot Bronson Pinchot
Jeffrey Friedman Paul Reiser
Jon Flint Héctor Elizondo
Aaron Foley Brandon T. Jackson
Rodney Daloof Kevin Pollak
Brad David Denman

Music

There is a recurring instrumental theme throughout the film series called "Axel F", which was composed by Harold Faltermeyer.[17] The theme became popular with audiences, and has been remixed by Crazy Frog.[18] A new version of the theme was created for Beverly Hills Cop III, with Faltermeyer not returning for the film.[19]

Future

A fourth entry in the series was initially announced for release in the mid-1990s, under the production of Eddie Murphy's own production company "Eddie Murphy Productions", though production later fizzled out.[20] It was re-announced in 2006, when producer Jerry Bruckheimer announced his intention to resurrect the film series, though he eventually gave up his option to produce the film, instead passing production duties to Lorenzo di Bonaventura.[21][22] In September 2006 a script, an amalgamation of several earlier drafts, was presented to Murphy who was reported to be "very happy" with the outline which was described as an attempt to recapture the "feel of the original".[23][24] Murphy admitted one of his motivations for making a fourth Beverly Hills Cop film was to make up for the fact that the third film was "horrible" and that "he didn't want to leave (the series) like that".[25][26]

In May 2008, Rush Hour director Brett Ratner was officially named director, who promised the film would return under the series' standard "R" rating, rather than as a rumored watered down PG-13.[27][28] Michael Brandt and Derek Haas were hired as screenwriters to improve on the existing script in July 2008[29] and completed a new script, under the working title Beverly Hills Cop 2009, which would see Foley return to Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of his friend Billy Rosewood.[20] The script was eventually rejected, leaving Ratner to work on a new idea. In an interview with Empire magazine, Ratner stated "I'm working very hard on the fourth. It's very difficult, especially since there were three before. We're trying to figure out some important things, like where do we start? Is Axel retired? Is he in Beverly Hills? Is he on vacation? Does Judge Reinhold return as the loveable Billy Rosewood? Many questions to figure out, but I'm hoping to have a script before film disappears from our existence."[20] Although Murphy himself committed to the project, it was unconfirmed whether the series' other principal actors, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox or Bronson Pinchot would also return,[30] though Ratner stated in late 2009 that he was trying to convince Reinhold and Ashton to reprise their roles.[31] Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F", however, would definitely be returning for the proposed fourth installment, with Ratner quoted as saying "It'll be back but it'll be a whole new interpretation."[32] On November 15, 2010, Ratner stated in an interview with MTV that there was still a possibility that they will make a fourth film, but that it wouldn't be "anytime soon."[33]

In October 2011, Murphy discussed a possible fourth film, stating, "They're not doing it. What I'm trying to do now is produce a TV show starring Axel Foley's son, and Axel is the chief of police now in Detroit. I'd do the pilot, show up here and there. None of the movie scripts were right; it was trying to force the premise. If you have to force something, you shouldn't be doing it. It was always a rehash of the old thing. It was always wrong."[34]

During late Summer 2013, after CBS decided to pass on the TV series, Paramount decided to move forward with the fourth film. On September 13, 2013, Jerry Bruckheimer, stated he was in talks to produce. On December 6, 2013, it was announced that Eddie Murphy will again reprise the role of Axel Foley and Brett Ratner will direct.[35] On May 2, 2014, Deadline announced that screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec would be penning the screenplay.[6]

On June 27, 2014, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Murphy discussed returning to the edgier type character of Axel Foley after years of making family friendly films. "I haven't done a street guy, working class, blue-collar character in ages so maybe it's like, 'Oh, wow, I didn't remember he was able to do that'" Murphy said. According to studio reports on the film's plot, Foley will return to Detroit after leaving his job in Beverly Hills and he will be faced with the coldest winter on record to navigate the new rules and old enemies of one of America's most tenacious cities. The state of Michigan approved $13.5 million in film incentives, based on an estimated $56.6 million of filmmaker spending in the state. The film will be shot in and around Detroit and is estimated to provide jobs for 352 workers. The film was originally scheduled for a March 25, 2016 release,[36] but on May 6, 2015, Paramount Pictures pulled Beverly Hills Cop IV from its release schedule, due to script concerns.[37][38]

Crew

Film Director Producer Writer(s) Composer Editor Cinematographer
Beverly Hills Cop Martin Brest Don Simpson & Jerry Bruckheimer screenplay: Daniel Petrie, Jr.
story: Danilo Bach & Daniel Petrie, Jr.
Harold Faltermeyer Arthur Coburn & Billy Weber Bruce Surtees
Beverly Hills Cop II Tony Scott screenplay: Larry Ferguson
story: Eddie Murphy & Robert D. Wachs
Chris Lebenzon, Michael Tronick & Billy Weber Jeffrey L. Kimball
Beverly Hills Cop III John Landis Mace Neufeld & Robert Rehme Steven E. de Souza Nile Rodgers Dale Beldin Mac Ahlberg
Beverly Hills Cop IV Brett Ratner Jerry Bruckheimer & Eddie Murphy Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec Dante Spinotti

Reception

Box office performance

Film Release date Box office revenue Box office ranking Budget Reference
United States Foreign Worldwide All time domestic All time worldwide
Beverly Hills Cop December 5, 1984 $234,760,478 $80,600,000 $316,360,478 #61
#39(A)
#193 $15,000,000 [39][40]
Beverly Hills Cop II May 20, 1987 $153,665,036 $146,300,000 $299,965,036 #178
#157(A)
#216 $20,000,000 [41][42]
Beverly Hills Cop III May 25, 1994 $42,614,912 $76,594,077 $119,208,989 #1,305 $50,000,000 [43]
Total $431,040,426 $304,494,077 $735,534,503 $85,000,000
List indicator(s)
  • (A) indicates the adjusted totals based on current ticket prices (by Box Office Mojo).

Critical and public reaction

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metascore CinemaScore
Beverly Hills Cop 83% (42 reviews)[44] 64 (10 reviews)[45] N/A
Beverly Hills Cop II 46% (26 reviews)[46] 48 (11 reviews)[47] A-[48]
Beverly Hills Cop III 10% (49 reviews)[49] 16 (15 reviews)[50] B[48]

Accolades

Beverly Hills Cop[51]
Beverly Hills Cop II[52]
Beverly Hills Cop III

References

  1. "BEVERLY HILLS COP (15)". British Board of Film Classification. December 10, 1984. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  2. "BEVERLY HILLS COP II (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 4, 1987. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  3. "BEVERLY HILLS COP III (15)". British Board of Film Classification. May 13, 1994. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  4. And an unaired television pilot
  5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/29/beverly-hills-cop-4_n_3670262.html July 30, 2013
  6. 1 2 Ditzian, THE DEADLINE TEAM (May 2, 2014). "Paramount Sets 'Beverly Hills Cop' Starring Eddie Murphy For Spring 2016". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  7. Goldberg, Lesley (November 13, 2012). "Brandon T. Jackson to Play Eddie Murphy's Son in CBS' 'Beverly Hills Cop'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  8. Goldberg, Lesley (September 4, 2012). "CBS Lands Shawn Ryan and Eddie Murphy's 'Beverly Hills Cop'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  9. Sepinwall, Alan (2013-01-24). "'Last Resort' co-creator Shawn Ryan on the series finale, 'Beverly Hills Cop' and more". Hitfix. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  10. Goldberg, Lesley (February 5, 2013). "Kevin Pollak to Co-Star in CBS' 'Beverly Hills Cop' Pilot". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  11. Andreeva, Nellie (February 6, 2013). "David Denman Cast In ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Pilot, Donal Logue Joins ‘Copper’ Season 2". Deadline. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  12. Andreeva, Nellie (2013-02-08). "Barry Sonnenfeld To Direct CBS’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  13. Masters, Kim; Goldberg, Lesley (2013-05-10). "CBS Rejects 'Beverly Hills Cop' Pilot as Producers Explore Options". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  14. Duncan, JJ (August 7, 2013). "Zimbio Exclusive Interview: Brandon T. Jackson Talks 'Percy Jackson,' Stand-Up, and Working with Eddie Murphy". Zimbio. Livingly Media. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  15. http://www.playboy.com/articles/the-playboy-conversation-eddie-murphy
  16. http://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/shawn-ryan-on-remaking-the-best-show-youve-never-heard-of/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=MadDogsInterview&utm_campaign=News&adid=social_Twitter_News_MadDogsInterview
  17. "'Beverly Hills Cop'soundtrack". Soundtrack Collector. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  18. "Crazy Frog "Axel F"". Fetchfido. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  19. "Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) Soundtrack". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  20. 1 2 3 "Brett Ratner offers Beverly Hills Cop 4 Update". Retrieved 2010-07-12.
  21. "Murphy Back for Beverly Hills Cop IV". Coming Soon. November 30, 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  22. McNary, Dave; McClintock, Pamela (November 29, 2006). "Murphy back for more 'Beverly Hills Cop'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  23. Davis, Erik (November 30, 2006). "Beverly Hills Cop IV!". Cinematical. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  24. Morris, Clint (May 2, 2006). "Beverly Hills Cop 4 finally underway?". Moviehole. Archived from the original on September 19, 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  25. Adler, Shawn (July 1, 2008). "Eddie Murphy Quashes Retirement Rumours". MTV Movies. MTV. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
  26. "'The Third 'Beverly Hills Cop' Was So Horrible'". MTV. July 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
  27. Morris, Clint (July 1, 2008). "Axel to keep it real!". Moviehole. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
  28. Adler, Shawn (June 3, 2008). "'Beverly Hills Cop 4’ May Be Geared Towards Kids, Says Brett Ratner". MTV Movies. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  29. Williams, Jamie (July 31, 2008). "Writers Attached To Beverly Hills Cop 4". Screenrant. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
  30. Morris, Clint (May 29, 2008). "Axel Foley smells a rat". Moviehole. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  31. Morris, Clint (October 15, 2009). "Exclusive : Ashton in Cop 4!?". Moviehole. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  32. "Axel F Tune Will Be Back For Beverly Hills Cop IV". Internet Movie Database. September 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  33. Ditzian, Eric (November 15, 2010). "Eddie Murphy, Brett Ratner Still Hoping For Fourth 'Beverly Hills Cop'". MTV. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  34. Grossberg, Josh (October 26, 2011). "Shrek's Donkey Done For? The Klumps Killed Off? Eddie Murphy Ready to Get Raw Again". E! Online. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  35. Busch, Anita (December 6, 2013). "UPDATE: Jerry Bruckheimer And Paramount Ink First-Look Deal; Brett Ratner Attached To Direct ‘Beverly Hills Cop’". Deadline. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  36. Masters, Kim; Goldberg, Lesley (2014-06-27). "Eddie Murphy Will Be Back in Detroit for 'Beverly Hills Cop 4'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  37. "Paramount postpones 'Beverly Hills Cop 4'". Detroit Free-Press (Gannett Company). May 7, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  38. Foutch, Haleigh (May 7, 2015). "BEVERLY HILLS COP 4 Pulled From Paramount’s Release Schedule". Collider.com. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  39. "Beverly Hills Cop (1984)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  40. "Beverly Hills Cop Production Budget". The-Numbers.
  41. "Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  42. "Beverly Hills Cop II Production Budget". The-Numbers.
  43. "Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  44. "Beverly Hills Cop". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  45. "Beverly Hills Cop". metacritic.com. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  46. "Beverly Hills Cop II". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  47. "Beverly Hills Cop II". metacritic.com. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  48. 1 2 "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  49. "Beverly Hills Cop III". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  50. "Beverly Hills Cop III". metacritic.com. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  51. "Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Awards". Internet Movie Database. 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  52. "Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) Awards". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-10-17.

External links

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