Despite the fact that absolutely nobody Empire knows is demanding it, The Nutty Professor may be about to make a comeback after eight years away.
Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, the companies behind the first two Eddie Murphy vehicles, have sent out an open call to writers in Hollywood, asking for pitches for a potential threequel.
In a way, we’re surprised it’s taken so long for a third Nutty Professor film to get off the ground. OK, so the sequel, The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps, in which Murphy not only played portly professor Sherman Klump and his avaricious alter-ego Buddy Love but, it seemed, every other character in the movie, didn’t make as much money as the original Nutty Professor (which was itself a remake of the Jerry Lewis comedy), but its take of $160 million worldwide is not to be sneezed at.
Murphy, though, is not yet attached to the project – his participation is dependent on other elements, including approval of the writer and director. But, after Meet Dave, we’d advise him to return to the scene of one of his biggest franchises, quick smart.
So, readers, if you’re a jobbing writer and you have a great idea for a third Nutty Professor, now’s your chance.
You want Empire’s take on it? How about an adaptation of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? called Who’s Afraid Of Sherman Klump? In which a young couple are invited to the home of Klump and his wife Denise (Janet Jackson, reprising her role), only to find that they’re a cranky, bitter, misanthropic pair of alcoholics who abuse each other throughout the evening. Then Sherman disappears to be replaced by a guy called Buddy Love, who’s an absolute monster of a man, who takes them hostage. Can the Klumps come to the rescue?
It’s R-rated. It’s intense. It takes the Nutty Professor franchise in a bold new direction – psychodrama and siege thriller. Hollywood, we await your call.