posted
I am doing research about unproduced Star Trek material with the hope of eventually compiling this information on a new Web site.
I was curious if anyone has come across a script or treatment for the version of Star Trek IV that was supposed to star Eddie Murphy. I seem to remember from the rumors floating around about that time (1984-85) that Paramount did have a script, but negative fan reaction caused them to go with a different script and drop Murphy.
Plus, if anyone has any scripts or treatments for the unproduced Starfleet Academy movies about the younger Kirk, McCoy and Spock, I would be interested in seeing this material.
PS---
Mr. Neutron, were you ever successful in locating a script, or other material, for Star Trek: Planet of Titansnot already published in the Star Trek: Phase II book?
Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged
posted
Eddie Murphy? Seriously? Sounds... interesting.
-------------------- "I am an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman, which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch when it suits me." --Jubal Harshaw
Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged
posted
Yep, Eddie Murphy said that he was a Trek fan and wanted a part in the next "Star Trek" film, which at this time was the yet unproduced Trek IV. This was when he was at the zenith of his career with the recently released Beverly Hills Cop and 48 Hours. A time when his films actually made the studio money before flops like Pluto Nash. (By the way, was that film ever released? Saw a coming attraction documentary about it, and then heard of it again.)
The idea of Eddie Murphy in a Trek film was quickly torpedoed by fans who vehemently opposed it in a letter writing campaign. Paramount relented.
So one of things that I would like to determine is was the Eddie Murphy role serious or comedic? I would also like to determine if the Eddie Murphy-included script is substantially different from the shooting script of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
PS--
I would also be interested if anyone had access to unproduced material from any of the Trek iterations, I don't intend to be exclusive to the TOS cast. I just know a little bit more about the unproduced TOS material.
A few years later we heard rumors that Christian Slater was a huge Trek fan and wanted a role in Trek VI, which he got, although small.
Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged
I suppose given the 'lighter' feeling of STIV (the final version) it's possible he might have fitted in, at least in a minor part. Or not. Probably not...
-------------------- "I am an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman, which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch when it suits me." --Jubal Harshaw
Registered: Feb 2002
| IP: Logged
Cartman
just made by the Presbyterian Church
Member # 256
posted
Yeah... as a guy dressed in tight red spandex doing stand-up, and Spock would be fascinated by the way he laces his language with colorful metaphors, and then he would be all like "one motherfucking minute admiral" and it would be a riot!
Registered: Nov 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
According the DVD commentary, Murphy was only going to have a minor role in ST:IV and that it ultimately didn't materialise because he (or his agent) thought it would be better for his career if he stared in "The Golden Child" instead. Which is obviously what he did. This seams believable enough to me since I find it doubtful that a mere letter writing campaign would scare a studio away from featuring a box office success (at the time anyway) like Murphy from a relatively low budget Sci-Fi film that he wanted to be apart of. To my mind the only reason why the studio might drop him would be if he was asking for too much money, which in this case I also doubt.
I'd be very surprised if his supposed part would have been significant to the plot, probably just a cameo like Christian Slater's part in ST:VI. Maybe he was going to be Gillian Taylor's boss, the Plexi-Glass guy or the bloke who sold Sulu the helicopter.
capped
I WAS IN THE FUTURE, IT WAS TOO LATE TO RSVP
Member # 709
posted
the story i read involved Murphy playing some kind of con-artist type rogue who would interact with Kirk & Co. in some way
Registered: Sep 2001
| IP: Logged
posted
Thanks for the information. I haven't had a chance to rent "The Voyage Home" yet. Its not one of my faves so I wasn't planing to replace my worn out VHS copy from the box set with a fresh DVD when the Director's Edition came out.
I have heard these rumors repeated so often over the years that they start to get a life of their own and begin to sound like fact. Heresay, or fan invention, has crept into the Trek production story so often. It has gotten very difficult to separate the myth from the facts.
For example, did the US Navy really take a look at the TOS bridge set for ideas to improve the layout of bridges aboard ships? I never thought it was true, but I have heard it repeated so often.
I remember that Starlog reported the Eddie Murphy rumor, and I seem to recall many letters to the editor voicing displeasure of the casting decision.
There are times that I wish that we could send an e-mail, or make a telephone call, to Harve Bennett or Leonard Nimoy to prove or disprove get the real story about some of these things. The second best thing we have are commentary tracks recorded several years after the films release. It seems with time, the participants are more willing to be frank about the production and their experiences during the making of the movie.
Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged
posted
I suggest you read Shatner's Star trek Movie Memories which offers one version of events. There was no female love interest for Kirk, instead Murphy played a man who discovers their presence in the 20th century, first tries to expose them, then ends up helping them in their quest to get some whales. Apparently Paramount felt that to combine two of their biggest franchises - Trek plus Murphy - would end up as less than the sum of their parts, box-office wise. So the role survives as a female. . . er, whale-ologist?
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
It has gotten very difficult to separate the myth from the facts.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
