Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy had a simple suggestion about six years ago: Why not make an all-black version of "Ocean's Eleven"? Director Brett Ratner and producer Brian Grazer loved the comedian's idea, and before long, the trio was throwing around ideas about who could star opposite Murphy: Jamie Foxx, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan and Chris Tucker headed the list. The resulting movie, Universal Pictures' "Tower Heist," arrives in theaters this weekend, where it will face solid competition from Warner Bros.' "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.

Cinemark USA Inc., the nation's third-largest movie theater chain, is threatening not to play the upcoming Eddie Murphy-Ben Stiller comedy "Tower Heist" in any of its 300 locations if Universal Pictures goes ahead with its plan to offer the film on premium video on demand just three weeks after it premieres in theaters. The bold move would deprive Cinemark of a substantial share of what's sure to be tens of millions of dollars, and potentially more than $100 million, in box-office receipts.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Wednesday: Eddie Murphy will host the Oscars. ( Los Angeles Times ) And Brett Ratner, who is co-producing the Oscars, said Murphy's selection was "meant to be. " Ratner is also directing "Tower Heist," which stars Murphy. ( Los Angeles Times ) Clint Eastwood's upcoming J. Edgar Hoover biopic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, will open AFI Fest 2011. ( Los Angeles Times ) Former "The Price Is Right" model Lanisha Cole filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging wrongful termination and sexual harassment by producers.

Update: Eddie Murphy's ex-wife, model Nicole Murphy, has sold her Calabasas house for close to its most recent listing price of $5.95 million. It had been on and off the market since 2007, returning in 2009 at $8,495,000. The 9,214-square-foot Spanish hacienda is in a gated community. The open-plan house has a family room with a wet bar and wine cellar, a theater, a game room, an office, seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Other features include six fireplaces, two three-car garages, an elevator, a pool, a spa and a detached casita with a full kitchen.

If you caught Renée Zellweger and Bradley Cooper in their new supernatural horror movie "Case 39," you may have observed that the stars look younger than you might have expected. Although "Case 39" was released in the U.S just three weeks ago, Cooper and Zellweger began shooting the film in the fall of 2006 ? so long ago a young senator named Barack Obama was still nearly six months from announcing his run for the presidency and Facebook was just opening to the general public.

Alain Bernheim, a producer and literary agent who with humorist Art Buchwald sued Paramount Pictures for using their concept for the 1988 film "Coming to America," has died. He was 86. Bernheim, a Hollywood Hills resident, died Friday of complications during dialysis treatment at a hospital in Paris, said his wife, Marjorie. The couple, who were married for 54 years, own a vacation home near the Bois de Boulogne to which they return for several months each year. Bernheim had asked to make the annual trip despite undergoing dialysis for recent kidney failure.

Shirtless and dressed in red leather pants and matching jacket unzipped to his navel, Eddie Murphy sauntered onto the stage of Washington, D.C.'s, Constitution Hall one night in 1983 and changed the face of stand-up comedy forever. At the time, Murphy was "Saturday Night Live's" youngest cast member and a newly in-demand movie star after the success of his action comedy "48 Hrs."

He's a world-famous funnyman who commands $20 million a movie. So what does Eddie Murphy get you at the multiplex? In the case of his new PG-rated comedy "Imagine That," some prepubescent girls -- and not too much else. The year has been brutal for any number of prominent movie stars, as new works from Russell Crowe ("State of Play"), Julia Roberts ("Duplicity"), Will Ferrell ("Land of the Lost") and Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx ("The Soloist") struggled to sell tickets.