Overview
- Hall told Conan O’Brien’s podcast that Paramount declined the initial pitch for the 1988 comedy.
- He recalled Paramount president Ned Tanen urging that the Americans the prince meets be played by Eddie Murphy.
- Hall said the original pitch lacked the barbershop, the preacher, and Murphy’s old Jewish man, which came after that note.
- According to Hall, Murphy then created the specific characters and asked him to take on multiple roles based on his stand-up.
- The film later earned about $288 million worldwide and led to a 2021 Amazon Prime Video sequel after COVID delays.