Eddie Murphy Joins Ben Stiller In 'Tower Heist'

Well, this is an interesting twist. Eddie Murphy looks like he's set to make his first movie worth caring about in over a decade, joining Ben Stiller in the Brett Ratner-directed "Tower Heist."

Ok, so here comes the interesting part. Way back in the film's earliest development it was being groomed as a vehicle for Murphy (with Chris Rock and Chris Tucker also once attached) passing through a number of screenwriting hands until this year when it became a Ben Stiller vehicle with Noah Baumbach being brought on board to polish the script, particularly, Stiller's character.

It will be interesting to see Murphy actually act in a role that doesn't require him to voice animals, play fifteen different parts or generally pander to five-year-olds in the audience. We also wager his usually high price tag has been brought down considerably to allow him to join the film. Murphy joins Stiller and Alan Alda in the film that will follow an "overworked manager of a luxury building (Stiller) who, along with other staff, lost their pensions to a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook (Alda). It so happens that the fraudster is being held under house arrest in the luxury penthouse apartment upstairs, and the manager and four cohorts figure a heist will make them whole." No word yet on Murphy's part but we imagine he will be one of the crew working with Stiller.

So, could this be the first time in history we're actually sort of looking forward to a Brett Ratner film? Maybe. But we'll wait to see how the rest of the cast shapes up first. [EW]