Today’s spotlight on Brett Ratner is apparently so intense that it’s even pulling Chris Tucker out of the shadows, with Variety reporting that Ratner’s Eddie Murphy pro tem is now up for two high-profile films, after spending an entire decade making nothing but Rush Hour sequels. In David O. Russell’s The Silver Linings Playbook, Tucker could play a mental patient and “spirited friend” to Bradley Cooper’s depressed high school teacher, which suggests Tucker will get the chance to yell a lot, something he’s definitely good at. In the Akiva Schaffer-directed Neighborhood Watch, Tucker may play a suburban dad who—along with Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill—accidentally uncovers an alien plot to destroy the world, which should also give him a chance to yell a lot, this time at aliens. It’s certainly a lot of forward momentum for Tucker, who began suggesting to people that he still existed earlier this year when it was rumored that he might be up for the lead in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, then embarked on a stand-up tour to prove it. And while Tucker’s comeback has nothing to do with Ratner directly, think of it as just one slippery tentacle of the Ratner octopus that’s currently gripping the industry.
Join the discussion...