Beverly Hills Cop is a series of American action comedy films and an unaired television pilot based on characters created by Daniel Petrie, Jr. and Danilo Bach. The films star Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detriot cop who travels to Beverly Hills, California (USA) to investigate a crime, even though it is out of his jurisdiction. There, he meets Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton), and Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox). Ashton and Cox do not appear in Beverly Hills Cop III. Murphy, Reinhold, and Gil Hill, who plays Axel's boss, Inspector Todd, are the only actors who appear in all three films. Harold Faltermeyer produced the now famous "Axel F" theme song heard throughout the series. The series as a whole have been distributed by Paramount Pictures. The films have grossed a total of $712 million at the worldwide box office.
Following a failed attempt at a television series based on the films, Paramount decided to produce another film with a currently unknown release date.
Description[]
The films center around Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a streetwise Detroit cop who investigates multiple murders in and around Beverly Hills, California to investigate crimes, even though it is out of his jurisdiction. There, he meets Detective Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton) and Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox). Ashton and Cox do not appear in Beverly Hills Cop III. Murphy, Reinhold and Gil Hill, who plays Axel's boss, Inspector Todd, are the only ones who appear in all three films.
Harold Faltermeyer produced the now famous "Axel F" theme song heard throughout the films. All the films in the series have been distributed by Paramount Pictures. The films have made a total of $735,534,503 worldwide. Following a failed attempt at making a TV series based on the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, Paramount has decided to produce another movie, which has a tentative release date set for March 2016.
Overview[]
In Beverly Hills Cop, Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is introduced as a Detroit cop who, after the murder of his friend, travels to California to investigate and track down the killer(s), who he believes operate an arts dealership as a cover in Beverly Hills. He teams up with two reluctant detectives, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton), from the Beverly Hills police department who were supposed to keep a watch on him, especially after seeing Foley's different approach to tackling the situations which were considered unacceptable by the chief of police. In Beverly Hills Cop II, Axel returns to Beverly Hills, after finding out that Captain Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox) was shot. He once again teams up with Detective Billy Rosewood and Sgt. John Taggart, who, reluctantly and against the police chief Harold Lutz's orders, help Foley to find out the person responsible for Bogomil's shooting. Axel, Billy, and John soon discover that the alphabet crimes, a series of felonies (robberies and Bogomil's shooting) that have been going on in the area, are masterminded by weapons kingpin Maxwell Dent. With this information, Axel, Billy, and Taggart try to find Dent and his lover, Karla Fry (Brigitte Nielsen), (who had shot Bogomil). In the 1994 sequel, Beverly Hills Cop III, Axel returns to Beverly Hills once again. During an assignment, his boss, Inspector Todd is killed, and certain evidence points towards an amusement park called "Wonderworld." Upon arriving in Beverly Hills, Axel looks up his old friend Billy Rosewood who has attained the title of DDOJSIOC (Deputy Director of Joint Special Inter Operational Command). Taggart have retired and a new detective called Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo) is Rosewood's new partner.
Films[]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beverly Hills Cop | December 12th, 1984 | Martin Brest | Daniel Petrie, Jr. | Danilo Bach Daniel Petrie, Jr. |
Don Simpson Jerry Bruckheimer |
| Beverly Hills Cop II | May 20th, 1987 | Tony Scott | Larry Ferguson Warren Skaaren |
Eddie Murphy Robert D. Wachs | |
| Beverly Hills Cop III | May 5th, 1994 | John Landis | Steven E. de Souza | Mace Neufeld Robert Rehme | |
| Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley | July 3, 2024 | Mark Molloy | Will Beall | Jerry Bruckheimer Eddie Murphy | |
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)[]
- Main article: Beverly Hills Cop (film)
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is introduced as a Detroit cop who, after the murder of his friend, travels to California to investigate and track down the killer(s), whom he believes operates an art dealership as a cover in Beverly Hills. He teams up with two reluctant detectives from the Beverly Hills Police Department, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton), who were ordered to keep a watch on him, especially after seeing Foley's differing approach to police work, tactics considered unacceptable by the chief of police.
Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)[]
- Main article: Beverly Hills Cop II
Axel returns to Beverly Hills, after finding out that Captain Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox) was shot. He once again teams up with Detective Billy Rosewood and Sgt. John Taggart, who, reluctantly and against incompetent and verbally abusive Police Chief Harold Lutz's (Allen Garfield) orders, help Foley to find out the person responsible for Bogomil's shooting. Axel, Billy, and John soon discover that the alphabet crimes, a series of felonies (robberies and Bogomil's shooting) that have been going on in the area, are masterminded by weapons kingpin Maxwell Dent (Jürgen Prochnow). With this information, Axel, Billy, and Taggart try to find Dent and his lover, Karla Fry (Brigitte Nielsen), who had shot Bogomil.
Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)[]
- Main article: Beverly Hills Cop III
Axel returns to Beverly Hills once again. During an assignment, his boss, Inspector Todd (Gil Hill) is killed, and certain evidence points towards an amusement park called "Wonderworld". Upon arriving in Beverly Hills, Axel looks up the detective Billy Rosewood, who has attained the title of DDOJSIOC (Deputy Director of Joint Special Inter Operational Command). Taggart has retired and a new detective called Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo) serves as Rosewood's new partner.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley[]
- Main article: Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley
A fourth installment was initially announced for release in the mid-'90s, under the helm of Murphy's production company, though this never came to fruition. The project was announced once again to be in development in 2006, with Bruckheimer once again serving as producer. This changed when Lorenzo di Bonaventura stepped in as producer. After various versions of the script had undergone rewrites, Brett Ratner signed on to direct. By July 2008, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas were hired as screenwriters to rewrite the existing script. After the script was completed, it was decided that the story needed another rewrite.
By October 2011, the fourth film was shelved in favor of a television series centered around Axel's son, Aaron (Brandon T. Jackson). Murphy signed on as producer for the series, citing issues with the script as the reason that the film was not being made. In December 2013 after filming a pilot episode, and when CBS passed on a series order, Paramount revived Beverly Hills Cop IV. Ratner was once again hired to serve as director, with Murphy reprising the role of Axel. By May 2014, Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec were hired to write the screenplay. The state of Michigan approved $13.5 million in film incentives, based on an estimated $56.6 million of filmmaker spending in the state. The film, intended to be shot in and around Detroit and was estimated to provide jobs for 352 workers, was originally scheduled for a March 25, 2016, release, but was later pulled due to script concerns.
In June 2016, it was announced that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were hired to replace Ratner as co-directors. In September 2018, the filmmakers expressed their interest in having Tom Hardy or Channing Tatum cast in supporting roles. In October 2019, Murphy announced that principal photography would commence, once Coming 2 America had finished production. In November 2019, Paramount announced that they had licensed the property to be distributed by Netflix, with options for an additional sequel thereafter. By May 2020, after delays in the filmmaking business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Arbi and Fallah confirmed they are still attached and that a new screenwriter was working on a new script. In February 2022, the film entered pre-production and received a California state tax credit of $16,059,000 total. In April 2022, it was announced that Mark Molloy would replace Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah as director of the film. In the same article, Will Beall was announced to have written the screenplay. In August 2022, Jerry Bruckheimer revealed the fourth installment is set to begin filming late August-early September. The same month, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige were cast. In the same month, Paul Reiser and John Ashton were confirmed to reprise their roles as Det. Jeffrey Friedman and Sgt. John Taggart, respectively. In September 2022, it was confirmed that Judge Reinhold and Bronson Pinchot would reprise their roles as Det. William "Billy" Rosewood and Serge, respectively.
Television[]
CBS ordered a pilot with Brandon T. Jackson starring as Axel Foley's son, Aaron. The hour-long crime drama was produced by critically acclaimed writer Shawn Ryan (The Shield, The Chicago Code).
In January 2013, Ryan stated, "It's going to be a CBS procedural. We're going to solve a case every week, but we're going to do it with a lot of humor and a lot of fun. And I would say the stealth thing I would like to get in is, in a day and age when income inequality and class inequities dominate a lot of the country, this is going to be an opportunity to put a young working-class kid in Detroit in the middle of Beverly Hills, you can do a lot of stealth social commentary. My approach is to update it and make it feel modern and 2013. The pilot opens with a 4–5 minute sequence which I think is really harrowing and really dangerous, that would be something that you might have seen on Chicago Code or The Shield. I want it to feel grounded in that way. There'll be some opportunities for laughs after that. It's not a laughs come first show."
In February 2013, Kevin Pollak was cast as Rodney Daloof, an irritating and incredibly risk-averse in-house attorney for the Beverly Hills Police Department. David Denman was cast as Brad, an honest and likable but socially awkward detective, formerly a baseball player and a musician. Director Barry Sonnenfeld agreed to both direct the Beverly Hills Cop pilot and serve as an executive producer. In May 2013, CBS decided to pass on the Beverly Hills Cop TV series. In August 2013, Jackson gave his reason about the pass:
I think we were very edgy for CBS. I think we were the edgiest as you could've went for CBS. It would have been like a Fresh Prince thing on CBS, like the edgiest you can go on network TV. But it doesn't agree to our franchise man."
In February 2015, Murphy stated that his cameo appearance in the pilot ironically doomed the show's chances: "I was gonna be in the pilot, and they thought I should be recurring. I'm not gonna do Beverly Hills Cop on TV. I remember when they tested it — they had this little knob that you turn if you like it or you don't like it. So when Axel shows up in the pilot, some people turned the knob so much, they broke it. So the network decided 'if he isn't recurring, then this isn't gonna happen'. So it didn't happen." Four years later, in 2019, Murphy reiterates this statement:
The reason that didn't get picked up was because [the studio] thought that I was going to be in this show, because [the lead] was my son: "And you're going to pop in every now and then". I was like, "I ain't popping in shit". "Well, we ain't making this TV show". I was in the pilot, but they wanted me to be there every week. The pilot was really good. It tested where they have these knobs [that you] turn if you like it. And whenever I came on the screen, Axel Foley would come on the screen, they turned it so they literally broke the knobs on the thing. It was like, "Damn, they breaking knobs?"
In a January 2016 interview, Ryan blamed personality clashes with the network: "The official answer is they decided they liked other pilots better. If you look at what pilots they picked up that year, I think that's kind of incredible. I would say there were a lot of 400 lb. gorillas involved in the show and sometimes the gorillas don't always get along." He also said that he was very proud of the pilot and loved working with Murphy.
During late summer 2013, after CBS passed on the series, Paramount decided to move forward with the fourth film.
Music[]
There is a recurring instrumental theme throughout the film series called "Axel F", which was composed by Harold Faltermeyer. The theme became popular with audiences, and has been remixed by Crazy Frog. A new version of the theme was created for Beverly Hills Cop III, with Faltermeyer not returning for the film. The trilogy's soundtracks have been praised, giving rise to such hit songs as "The Heat is On", "Stir it Up" and "Shakedown".
Future[]
A fourth entry in the series was initially announced for release in the mid-1990s, under the production of Eddie Murphy's own production company "Eddie Murphy Productions", though production later fizzled out. It was re-announced in 2006, when producer Jerry Bruckheimer announced his intention to resurrect the film series, though he eventually gave up his option to produce the film, instead passing production duties to Lorenzo di Bonaventura. In September 2006 a script, an amalgamation of several earlier drafts, was presented to Murphy who was reported to be "very happy" with the outline which was described as an attempt to recapture the "feel of the original". Murphy admitted one of his motivations for making a fourth Beverly Hills Cop film was to make up for the fact that the third film was "horrible" and that "he didn't want to leave (the series) like that".
In May 2008, Rush Hour director Brett Ratner was officially named director, who promised the film would return under the series' standard "R" rating, rather than as a rumored watered down PG-13. Michael Brandt and Derek Haas were hired as screenwriters to improve on the existing script in July 2008 and completed a new script, under the working title "Beverly Hills Cop 2009", which would see Foley return to Beverly Hills to investigate the murder of his friend Billy Rosewood. The script was eventually rejected, leaving Ratner to work on a new idea. In an interview with Empire magazine, Ratner stated "I'm working very hard on the fourth. It's very difficult, especially since there were three before. We're trying to figure out some important things, like where do we start? Is Axel retired? Is he in Beverly Hills? Is he on vacation? Does Judge Reinhold return as the loveable Billy Rosewood? Many questions to figure out, but I'm hoping to have a script before film disappears from our existence." Although Murphy himself committed to the project, it was unconfirmed whether the series' other principal actors, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox or Bronson Pinchot would also return, though Ratner stated in late 2009 that he was trying to convince Reinhold and Ashton to reprise their roles. Harold Faltermeyer's "Axel F", however, would definitely be returning for the proposed fourth installment, with Ratner quoted as saying "It'll be back but it'll be a whole new interpretation." On November 15, 2010, Ratner stated in an interview with MTV that there was still a possibility that they will make a fourth film, but that it wouldn't be "anytime soon."
In October 2011, Murphy discussed a possible fourth film, stating, "They're not doing it. What I'm trying to do now is produce a TV show starring Axel Foley's son, and Axel is the chief of police now in Detroit. I'd do the pilot, show up here and there. None of the movie scripts were right; it was trying to force the premise. If you have to force something, you shouldn't be doing it. It was always a rehash of the old thing. It was always wrong." CBS ordered a pilot with Brandon T. Jackson starring as Axel Foley's son, Aaron. The hour long crime drama was produced by the critically acclaimed writer Shawn Ryan who created The Shield and The Chicago Code.
In January 2013, Ryan stated, "It's going to be a CBS procedural. We're going to solve a case every week, but we're going to do it with a lot of humor and a lot of fun. And I would say the stealth thing I would like to get in is, in a day and age when income inequality and class inequities dominate a lot of the country, this is going to be an opportunity to put a young working-class kid in Detroit in the middle of Beverly Hills, you can do a lot of stealth social commentary. My approach is to update it and make it feel modern and 2013. The pilot opens with a 4-5 minute sequence which I think is really harrowing and really dangerous, that would be something that you might have seen on 'Chicago Code' or 'The Shield.' I want it to feel grounded in that way. There'll be some opportunities for laughs after that. It's not a laughs come first show."
In February 2013, Kevin Pollak was cast as Rodney Daloof, an irritating and incredibly risk-adverse in-house attorney for the Beverly Hills Police Department. David Denman is set to co-star as Brad, a stand-up, extremely likable and socially awkward Beverly Hills detective, formerly a baseball player and a musician. Men In Black and Get Shorty's director Barry Sonnenfeld agreed to both direct the Beverly Hills Cop pilot and serve as an executive producer. In May 2013, CBS decided to pass on the Beverly Hills Cop TV series. In August 2013, Brandon T. Jackson give his reason about the pass:
I think we were very edgy for CBS. I think we were the edgiest as you could've went for CBS. It would have been like a 'Fresh Prince' thing on CBS, like the edgiest you can go on network TV. But it doesn't agree to our franchise man."
During late Summer 2013, after CBS decided to pass on the TV series, Paramount decided to move forward with the fourth film. On September 13, 2013, Jerry Bruckheimer, stated he was in talks to produce. On December 6, 2013, it was announced that Eddie Murphy will again reprise the role of Axel Foley and Brett Ratner will direct. On May 2, 2014, Deadline announced that screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec would be penning the screenplay.
On June 27, 2014, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Murphy discussed returning to the edgier type character of Axel Foley after years of making family friendly films. "I haven't done a street guy, working class, blue-collar character in ages so maybe it's like, 'Oh, wow, I didn't remember he was able to do that'" Murphy said. According to studio reports on the film's plot, Foley will return Detroit after leaving his job in Beverly Hills and he will be faced with coldest winter on record to navigate the new rules and old enemies of one of America's most tenacious cities. The state of Michigan approved $13.5 million in film incentives, based on an estimated $56.6 million of filmmaker spending in the state. The movie will be shot in and around Detroit and is estimated to provide jobs for 352 workers. The studio is targeting a March 2016 release date for the film.
In other media[]
Novelization[]
- 1987: Robert Tine: Beverly Hills Cop II: A Novel, Pocket; Mti edition, the ISBN is 978-0671645212
Video games[]
- Beverly Hills Cop – Based on Beverly Hills Cop. Released in 1990
- Beverly Hills Cop (2006) – Based on Beverly Hills Cop franchise. Released in 2006
Awards[]
Beverly Hills Cop[]
- Academy Awards - nominated for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) - Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie, Jr.
- British Academy Film Awards Nominated for Best Score - Harold Faltermeyer
- Golden Globe Awards Nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Nominated for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Eddie Murphy
Beverly Hills Cop II[]
- Academy Awards Nominated for Best Music, Original Song - Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey and Bob Seger
- Golden Globe Awards Nominated for Best Music, Original Song - Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey and Bob Seger
- Golden Raspberry Awards Winner for Worst Original Song - George Michael
Beverly Hills Cop III[]
- Golden Raspberry Awards - Nominated for Worst Director - John Landis Nominated for Worst Remake or Sequel
See also[]
- The main theme music for the series titled "Axel F", which was composed by Harold Faltermeyer, was covered and remixed by Crazy Frog.
- In the NTSF:SD:SUV:: episode, titled "Wasilla Hills Cop" is a reference to the movie franchise.
External Links[]
