Eddie Murphy Quotes

The 'Muppets' were a very big part of my childhood, and 'Flight of the Conchords' definitely has elements of the 'Muppets' in it, specifically the way we mixed music and comedy.

Hosting 'SNL' was something I'd always wanted to do. The show allowed me to play to my strengths - mixing music with comedy seemed like a way into that world.

Everyone needs an escape, whether that is through music or humor. My personal escape is through both of those things so I thought why not combine them? But not in a cringe way, I don't want to make parody songs. I just want my music to have a humorous edge to it.

For me, the music is always speaking from the point of view of the characters. Rarely do you score an event.

When certain people hear "'SNL' comedy," rightfully so, you expect it to be a certain kind of goofiness.

I think both of those: the subject matter, pop culture... the talent, I don't think... there's no Jim Belushi in Saturday Night Live, for me. And probably, you know, possibly the material. They've done everything over the years.

Performing music is a way to do comedy, but without the obligation to do a solid hour, hour and half of a standup. I could intersperse it with music, so it became a really good format for me.

I think when I was getting into directing, or wanting to be a director, when I was a teenager, the two films that really inspired me were Raising Arizona and Evil Dead II. And in the case of the former, I thought, "Wow. Why don't all comedies look like this?" And then as I started doing comedy, particularly when I started doing it on TV...

I enjoyed living in New York City, I liked the premise of the show [Saturday Night Live], I liked working with a different host every week and different musicians. I always thought, "This is great. I never expected to get this in the first place, so I'm just happy being here."

I'm a big believer in supporting the action on film with the appropriate music. It covers a multitude of sins. It's gotten me out of a lot of jams, over the years. So, music for me is a very big thing in films and I use it unashamedly.

Dana Carvey is hilarious. He's a really, really funny, talented guy. You know, I can't think of anything I've ever done that I regret doing, and I certainly don't regret doing Master Of Disguise, because I got to hang around Dana.

I think a lot of good directors listen to music while they're working. The songs just don't become a part of the film. They're replaced.

Comedy's been really liberating for me because I've been able to sneak the singing part in through the back door.

From National Lampoon, you go directly to Saturday Night Live, because it's a lot of the same people.

I've never considered myself a comedian. I'm a comedic actor.

[Wayne's World and Tommy Boy] was all from hosting Saturday Night Live the first time [in 1990]. I just had such a great time, and I had such a simpatico relationship with Mike Myers. And Lorne [Michaels]. I'll always be grateful for Lorne, who saw me as funny.

I had great affection for Dana Carvey, and I think we all thought, "Dana's the guy. There's the comic genius."

Life without music is unthinkable.

Funny songs, that’s my ticket. I can’t remember when it started or why it started, it’s just something that I NEEDED.

I've been making films with almost no dialogue (laughs), so sound and music become a very powerful character to tell the story. It's almost like with sound and music and images, it's your tool to tell the story, especially when I decide to structure the film in a way that usually goes against the conventions of the three-act structure which most films are made out of.

Everybody is different. Some comedy is more musical like Steven Wright. His is a pillar of comedy to me. He invented a whole form and all his jokes are poems. So it's different. I wanted to do it like George Carlin. Now I do it like me.

Music’s the soundtrack of my life and has been since I was a teenager. There’s always music. If I’m not playing it, I’m listening to it. With my writing... sometimes it inspires a story, sometimes it highlights something I’m working on, sometimes it simply helps me stay in the narrative mood.

Growing up, there was always music around, whether across the street, or on the next-door neighbor's stereo. So, as in life, music is always around, and it helps to heighten any emotion. Music is amazing.

I loved musicals, love them still. But also, I'm really inspired by comedy music.

In all my works, light is an important controlling factor.