This image was lost some time after publication.

Is it possible that one of Hollywood's biggest comedic stars — who has had handlers and publicists coddling him with tales of his own greatness for years — has actually developed some self-awareness? Shocking as it may seem, it sounds like that's what's going on with Eddie Murphy. For example, why is he making a fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie? Not because of something so crass as money, but because "the third Beverly Hills Cop was horrible! I didn't want to leave it like that. The first two were cool and the third one was shitty. [Let's] get the franchise fixed again, clean up this old mess and do a good movie."

Pretty fancy talk from the dude who made The Adventures Of Pluto Nash, Metro, Holy Man, Norbit, Daddy Day Care, Showtime, I Spy and Vampire in Brooklyn, but at least it's a step in the right direction. So, what brought on this sudden desire to make watchable films? Find out after the jump.

Says Murphy:

"Over the last 20 years or so, because of the studios, everybody figured out there's a PG-13 audience, you know, and that's the biggest piece of the pie. And a bunch of artists, myself included, got put in this PG-13 box — artists that aren't PG-13 artists! Then comedies like Superbad, Knocked-Up, and Juno come out and people go, 'Oh, this is the brilliant shit.' And it's just people acting like real people, talking like real people. And those movies are making all the money now."

Aha, so it does all come back to money! But at least Eddie finally realizes that good movies can sell tickets too. And you can catch him practicing this new-found sense of realism in Meet Dave, coming soon to a theater near you.