NORBIT DVD: An Interview with Charlie Murphy
By Wilson Morales

June 4, 2007

Having performed on stage and appeared in numerous films, Charlie Murphy has done his fair share in the film and comedy circuits, but when you have a sibling that’s a bit more popular like his brother Eddie, sometime his achievements go unnoticed. Hopefully, that will change since Charlie co-wrote the hit comedy, “Norbit”, which in now available on DVD starting June 5th. As hilarious as the film was with Eddie Murphy playing more than one character, some found the humor a little offensive. Comedy has ups and downs and Charlie would be the first to say that their intentions were to make you laugh and not the other around. In speaking with blackfilm.com, Murphy talks about the success of writing a hit films and what to expect from the DVD.

How did you come about in co-writing this hit film?

Charlie Murphy: My brother (Eddie) are always talking on the phone and trying to come up with something we can do together. I happen to be on the internet and there was this video about this guy and his wife and they were having domestic altercation and unlike other situations, the woman destroyed the man like Joe Frazier. She knocked him down like four times. She looked like a professional boxer doing it. Women seeing this had a different reaction than men. She were laughing pretty hard and I said that there had to be something here we can use, and if you can get women to come to the movies, they bring out the whole family, so we started working on it right away, and Norbit came out from it.

How does it feel to know you help create a success?

CM: It puts you in the market. It makes you credible. Now when I go to Hollywood, and say, “I’m Charlie Murphy. I wrote Norbit and this is my idea.” I can be taken seriously. I didn’t have that before Norbit even I had written “Vampire in Brooklyn” and “Paper Soldiers”. Now that Norbit has performed well, it’s a whole new game out there.

Is writing a lot more challenging for you?

CM: Everything was a lot more challenging for me because of who my brother was. If I were in the film, someone would had said that I got the part because Eddie’s in the film. If I wrote a script, folks would say that I didn’t really write that. That Eddie did and I threw my name on it. Anything to discourage you.

I think you have enough work in your credits that your brother is not a part of.

CM: I never went around saying who my brother was. Everybody else was doing that.

How did you come to being a comedian?

CM: It came from the opportunity. Being on the Dave Chappelle’s show and working around those guys and at the end of the season, while everyone was getting ready to go on the road, I was getting ready to go on auditions. I was asked if I get paid to audition and I said no. Meanwhile, my manager, who’s actually my cousin, was getting flooded with calls asking for personal appearance requests from all over the country. I went down to the Laugh Factory and was told to be myself and that was the best advise I ever got. That’s what I did and the people liked me.

Was there any particular scene in Norbit that you wrote that you stood out for you?

CM: I don’t want to sound twisted but I liked the scene where Norbit is getting his butt kicked. That was the scene that started that whole idea. Any scene with Rasputia in it. She reminded me of Kathy Bates’s character from “Misery”. Rasputia was worst than Kathy Bates. Whenever I would see Rasputia act out, all her scenes I enjoyed.

What’s on the DVD that will excite fans of the film?

CM: There are a number of scenes that didn’t make it in the film. A bunch of deleted scenes and outtakes. With this movies besides Eddie Murphy, you also had Eddie Griffin and Katt Williams, some of the funniest guys today. There are a lot of stuff that these guys did that didn’t make it to the final cut. There a number of outtakes with my brother in the different costumes he wore throughout the film. That and the behind-the-scenes section is off the hook.

Sometimes when you make a comedy, some aspects of life are considered fair game. What do you say to those who may have the film a bit controversial?

CM: Well, I’m not going to say that anything’s fair game. There is such a thing of going across the line. This was not meant to offend. I apologize if it did. It was not attention of Eddie Murphy and Charlie Murphy. It was written in a way for people to laugh. Rasputia doesn’t even exist. Eddie Murphy played her himself. He wasn’t looking to get a woman to do it. There are much more things happening in the world for folks to make a big hoopla about this. No one over here is trying to hurt anyone’s feelings. All we want to do is be funny.

I see that you have done a number of films since then. Can you about talk about some of them?

CM: I have a gang of films that I wrapped up and there are mainly independent films that will come out whenever these guys get their game together.

Why should folks go out and rent or buy the DVD of “Norbit”?

CM: Because it’s funny. If you want to laugh, see a comedy. If you want to cry, see a drama and if you want suspense, see a thriller. Norbit is a comedy and it performed very well last year.

NORBIT DVD out in stores starting June 5th, 2007