Yes, please! Eddie Murphy shares that even though he had to drop out of hosting this year’s Academy Awards, he’d still like the chance to do it in the future.  This is great news for those of us who were REALLY disappointed when he had to back out – and was replaced with that freaky plastic surgery snorefest that was Billy Crystal.

“It’s still something that I would like to do one day, because all the best comics have done it. It’s one of the few things I haven’t done in my 35 years in this business, so I would like to have that be part of my resume as well.”

Eddie shared that the plan was to give the Oscars a little more zing that it usually has, but then the whole Brett Ratner stepping down happened and Eddie left with him:

“The other award shows — the Grammys and the American Music Awards — all those music shows, they pop. So there’s no reason why the Oscars can’t pop too. You’ve got 10 songs that are up for Song of the Year, so you should have killer musical performances and so the show should be moving and Brett had all these ideas about it.  He was really gonna direct the Oscars… When he finished telling me about it, [I] was like, ‘Yeah! Let’s do it!’ and that’s what I got excited about doing – like a hipper, faster, choppier version of the show.”

Eddie says he watched “some” of last weekend’s ceremony:

“I thought Billy did a wonderful job. Billy’s done it so many times, he can’t not do a good job. He’s really solid at that.”

Such a gentleman, that Eddie Murphy.

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Wow! This just in - Eddie Murphy has quit as host of the Oscars!

The move comes after his Tower Heistdirector Brett Ratner resigned as Oscars producer after he made gay slurs and other derogatory statements.

“First and foremost I want to say that I completely understand and support each party’s decision with regard to a change of producers for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony,” says Murphy in a statement. “I was truly looking forward to being a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I’m sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job.”

Meanwhile, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak said, “I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well.”

The Oscars will be held on February 26, 2012.

I’m not surprised, but I’m super bummed. Eddie would have been hilarious!

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After years of near-silence, Eddie Murphy gives a rare extensive print interview in the new issue of Rolling Stone, and he opens up about the ups and downs of his long career, his possible return to stand-up, his Oscar hosting plans and much more. Murphy is baffled by his reputation as a near-recluse: “I leave my house all the time,” he says. “But I’m not at all the Hollywood parties. I’m grown, and where else am I supposed to be? I’m supposed to be home . . . If I were out in the clubs every night, they’d be saying, ‘That’s a shame, look at him, 50 years old, he’s still out at these clubs.’ Recluses are nasty, with long nails, don’t wash their ass. . . . I’m too vain to be a recluse. But homebody, absolutely. I’m 50 years old, beautiful house, I’m supposed to be home, chilling.”

Other highlights from the story:

Murphy says that his days of making family movies may be over.

“I don’t have any interest in that right now. There’s really no blueprint, but I’m trying to do some edgy stuff. And I only want to do what I really want to do, otherwise I’m content to sit here and play my guitar all day. I always tell people now that I’m a semiretired gentleman of leisure, and occasionally I’ll go do some work to break the boredom up.”

Murphy has decided not to make Beverly Hills Cop IV.

“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.”

Murphy hasn’t performed stand-up since the late 1980s, but recently, he’s given some thought to trying again.

“If I ever get back onstage, I’m going to have a really great show for you all. An hour and a half of stand-up and about 40 minutes of my shitty band . . . But I haven’t done it since I was 27, so why fuck with it? But that’s just weighing both sides. It comes up too much for me to not do it again. It’s like, when it hits me, I’ll do it, eventually.”

Murphy addresses reports that he stormed out of the Oscars after losing the best supporting actor award.

“What happened was after I lost, I’m just chilling, and I was sitting next to Beyoncé’s pops, and he leans over and grabs me and is like, [solemn voice] ‘There will be other times.’ And then you feel Spielberg on your shoulder going, ‘It’s all right, man.’ Then Clint Eastwood walks by: ‘Hey, guy . . . ’ So I was like, ‘It’s not going to be this night!’ [Mimes getting up] I didn’t have sour grapes at all. That’s another reason I wanted to host the show – to show them that I’m down with it.”

Full story & more pictures here!

Sarah Jessica Parker came out in support of her husband Matthew Broderick’s new film, ‘Tower Heist’. Sarah Jessica wore an interesting dress by Narciso Rodriguez. What do you think? Love it or hate it?

Other stars on hand for last night’s premiere: Paz de la Huerta, Tea Leoni, Ben Stiller and wife Christine Taylor, Serena Williams, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck and Gabourey Sidibe.

Tea looks great, Paz looks stoned, Christine is gorgeous, and Casey looks good!

I’m sorry to say this movie doesn’t look appealing to me at all. All that talent, and it seems like such a waste. Maybe the movie is better than the trailer looks?

Photos: Fame

This is absolutely hilarious!!

Eddie Murphy! This is the best news I’ve heard all day! I think Eddie is absolutely hilarious, and this is genius casting!

The comedian will officially host the 84th Academy Awards. This is Murphy’s first time hosting the esteemed awards show.

“I am enormously honored to join the great list of past Academy Award hosts from Hope and Carson to Crystal, Martin and Goldberg, among others,” said Murphy. “I’m looking forward to working with Brett and Don on creating a show that is enjoyable for both the fans at home and for the audience at the Kodak Theatre as we all come together to celebrate and recognize the great film contributions and collaborations from the past year.”

What do you think of the news?

Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy lead an all-star cast in Tower Heist, a comedy caper about working stiffs who seek revenge on the Wall Street swindler who stiffed them. After the workers at a luxury Central Park condominium discover the penthouse billionaire has stolen their retirement, they plot the ultimate revenge: a heist to reclaim what he took from them.

Queens native Josh Kovacs (Stiller) has managed one of the most luxurious and well-secured residences in New York City for more than a decade. Under his watchful eye, nothing goes undetected. In the swankiest unit atop Josh’s building, Wall Street titan Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda) is under house arrest after being caught stealing two billion from his investors. The hardest hit among those he defrauded? The tower staffers whose pensions he was entrusted to manage.

With only days before Arthur gets away with the perfect crime, Josh’s crew turns to petty crook Slide (Murphy) to plan the nearly impossible…to steal what they are sure is hidden in Arthur’s guarded condo. Though amateurs, these rookie thieves know the building better than anyone. Turns out they’ve been casing the place for years, they just didn’t know it.

I love both these guys – hope the movie is good! This is Eddie Murphy’s first “grown-up” movie since 2006′s ‘Dreamgirls’. Since then he’s been in Shrek and other various childrens movies. I think he’s hilarious, so it’ll be nice to see him in something more like his ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ roles.

Seems like an odd movie for Matthew Broderick, no?