Oscar voting is less than a month away and one category that has pundits scratching their heads (or wigs, mind you) is Makeup and Hairstyling. Two of those nominees, “Cruella” and “Coming 2 America,” should get voters attention as they each did quite well at the 2022 Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylist Guild Awards on Saturday night. In fact, the latter took a staggering three trophies including Best Contemporary Make-Up, Best Special Effects Make-Up and Best Contemporary Hairstyling.

Continue reading ‘Coming 2 America’ Wins Big At 2022 Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards at The Playlist.

The Costume Designer Guild announced their nominees for the 2022 CDG Awards and there were actually some major surprises. Sure, Jenny Beaven’s work in “Cruella” and Janty Yates’ frocks in “House of Gucci” earned respective category nominations, but few would have expected Derica Cole Washington‘s work in “Zola” or Ruth E. Carter’s designs in “Coming 2 America” to be remembered.

Continue reading ‘House of Gucci,’ ‘Zola’ & ‘Book of Boba Fett’ Among 2022 Costume Designer Guild Awards Nominees at The Playlist.

Having enjoyed a recent comeback on streaming platforms of late, comedian Eddie Murphy has landed another streaming project. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Murphy will star opposite fellow funnyman Jonah Hill (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “21 Jump Street,” “Superbad“) in an untitled family comedy that Kenya Barris will direct (“#BlackAF,” “Black-ish“) for Netflix.

Continue reading Eddie Murphy Joins Jonah Hill In Netflix Comedy Directed By Kenya Barris at The Playlist.

Eddie Murphy has been perfectly comfortable sitting under mountains of prosthetics and makeup to make himself transform into the various characters seen throughout his films for decades. Perhaps that trick has been used best in his two “Coming to America” films. However, for a potential third film in that series, he wants to wait for age to actually catch up to him so that he won’t have to fake like he’s 75-years-old.

Continue reading Eddie Murphy Says His Idea For ‘Coming To America 3’ Will Have To Wait 16 Years at The Playlist.

Over the weekend, Amazon Prime Video released “Coming 2 America,” the much-anticipated sequel to the classic Eddie Murphy comedy, “Coming to America.” While the sequel has a ton of callbacks and cameos from the first film, there is one pretty big difference (other than the age of the characters) between the films—the rating. The sequel sports a PG-13 rating, while the original sits comfortably in the R-rated realm.

Continue reading ‘Coming 2 America’ Director Is “Actually Happy” It’s PG-13 And Not R-Rated at The Playlist.

After dominating the film industry, particularly in comedies, for what seems like three straight decades (’80s, ’90s, ’00s), Eddie Murphy hasn’t been nearly as prolific over the past 10 years. And according to a new interview on the WTF Podcast, Murphy explained that he was just sick of making “shitty movies.”

READ MORE: ‘Coming 2 America’ Loses The Original’s Edge In A Toothless, Overly-Nostalgic Drag [Review]

Last week, Amazon Prime Video released the highly-anticipated comedy, “Coming 2 America.” That film arrived only about two years after his previous film, “Dolemite is My Name.” Before those two films, Murphy had only released 3 films since 2011, a far cry from the nearly annual release of a new film (or multiple per year) since he broke out in the early-‘80s.

Continue reading Eddie Murphy Says He Took A Break From Acting After Getting Razzies For “Sh*tty Movies” at The Playlist.

First off, let’s be clear. While “woke” is often weaponized by the bad faith right as a pejorative—something that will “cancel” you— the entire concept of inclusivity and expanding compassion and understanding for everyone, but specifically the marginalized, overlooked, and those you may not have afforded empathy towards in the past, is inherently a good thing, period.

But when it comes to comedy—often, but not exclusively the arena of mocking, sneering, derision, shocks, provocation, jests, and more— the entire institution these days either feels like it’s a victim under attack, often ready to cry about cancellation, or unsure of what they want to say and how to say it, lest they offend someone.

Continue reading ‘Coming 2 America’ Loses The Original’s Edge In A Toothless, Overly-Nostalgic Drag [Review] at The Playlist.

Pulling off a worthwhile comedy sequel is a monumentally difficult task: after all, for every “Gremlins 2: The New Batch,” there’s a “Hangover Part II.” On March 5, the world will be reunited with Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem, the hero of “Coming To America,” one of the most beloved and most-quoted comedies of the 1980s. In order to be considered a success, Amazon’s “Coming 2 America,” directed by Craig Brewer (“Dolemite Is My Name”), has to achieve the impossible: the film must, somehow, satisfy the original’s legion of fans; at the same time, Brewer’s latest has to stand on its own two feet, as its own movie, over three decades after the John Landis-directed first chapter.

Continue reading Eddie Murphy: The Essential Performances at The Playlist.

It’s been a year since we went into lockdown and while things are slowly beginning to change with the release of the vaccine, many things remain the same, such as how we (don’t) socialize, which, as it has since the beginning, includes movie-going. For many of us this means it’s also been a year since we’ve sat in a movie theater, and while it’s been one of the things I’ve missed the most, one small blessing to this entire situation has been the consistent releases of films through the many, many streaming services and virtual screenings through independents theaters.

Continue reading 10 Films To See In March: ‘Cherry,’ ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ & More at The Playlist.

Without a doubt, “Coming 2 America” is one of the most anticipated comedy sequels of all time. For many, the 1989 original is up there as one of the best comedies ever produced, with so many quotable lines and legendary performances (particularly from its two leads, Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall). Needless to say, you’d have to be a crazy person to want to direct a sequel 30 years later, right?

Continue reading Craig Brewer Talks ‘Coming 2 America,’ Turning Down A Tyrese Cameo & His Idea For An Eddie Murphy Film Universe [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

Jermaine Fowler has already begun making a name for himself in films and TV series. He was the star of the CBS sitcom, “Superior Donuts” and has supporting roles in films such as “Sorry to Bother You” and the recent “Judas and the Black Messiah.” But perhaps the biggest role of Fowler’s career is coming up in the Amazon sequel, “Coming 2 America,” where he plays the long-lost son of Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem.

Continue reading Jermaine Fowler Discusses ‘Coming 2 America,’ His ‘Fifth Element’ Spinoff Idea & His Love Of “Tim Burton Sh*t” [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

Well before the general public went crazy for the fictional African nation of Wakanda, there was another fictional African nation that was most popular—Zamunda. But in the original “Coming to America,” there wasn’t a whole lot of time spent in Zamunda, as the film primarily took place in Queens. Well, for “Coming 2 America,” that’s all changing, as Zamunda gains the spotlight and we have some unprepared Americans trying to adjust to life amongst African royalty.

Continue reading ‘Coming 2 America’ Trailer: Zamunda Takes Center Stage In The Comedy Sequel From Eddie Murphy at The Playlist.

It’s been a royal pain to wait for it, but the first family of Zamunda is back and so it the long-awaited trailer for “Coming 2 America,” the belated sequel to the 1980s comedy classic, “Coming To America,” starring Eddie Murphy.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021

Eddie Murphy is pretty particular and won’t just star in any sequel to his classic films, but filmmaker Craig Brewer (“Hustle & Flow,” “Black Snake Moan“), seems to have earned the comedians trust.

Continue reading ‘Coming 2 America’ Trailer: Eddie Murphy & Zamunda’s First Family Is Back In 2021 at The Playlist.

Prince Akeem is now King Akeem. However, the more things change, the more they stay the same in the upcoming comedy sequel, “Coming 2 America.” Because as seen in the first-look pictures, the sequel looks an awful lot like the original 1988 film.

READ MORE: Amazon Studios Moves ‘Coming 2 America’ To March 2021

Eddie Murphy wears multiple hats, err, crowns in “Coming 2 America,” the new sequel that sees his Akeem character from the original now becoming King of Zamunda but having to once again go to the US for an adventure in Queens, New York.

Continue reading ‘Coming 2 America’ First Look: Eddie Murphy Returns To Queens In Pictures From Amazon’s Highly-Anticipated Sequel at The Playlist.

As the season continues to shuffle and the streaming wars will feature its first big face off on Christmas Day (HBO Max’s “Wonder Woman 1984” vs. Disney+‘s “Soul“), other streaming services are making moves. Once scheduled for December 18, Amazon Studios is now moving the long-awaited comedy sequel, “Coming 2 America,” to March 5, 2021. In its announcement, Amazon makes its purchase of the comedy from Paramount Pictures, revealed earlier this year, official.

Continue reading Amazon Studios Moves ‘Coming 2 America’ To March 2021 at The Playlist.

“Coming 2 America” is now coming to…Amazon. And if you listen closely, you can hear another collective, exhausted sigh of theater owners around the world.

According to Variety, Amazon is now in the process of negotiating the final details with Paramount to bring the highly-anticipated comedy sequel, “Coming 2 America” to Prime Video in December. The deal, when everything is said and done, is reportedly going to worth roughly $125 million and would likely include the transfer of marketing tie-in deals with McDonalds and whiskey brand Crown Royal.

Continue reading ‘Coming 2 America’ Skips Theatrical & Heads To Amazon In Reported $125 Million Deal at The Playlist.