1 of 3 | Left to right, Cast members Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer and Eddie Murphy attend the premiere of “The Pickup” at Regal LA Live in Los Angeles on July 27. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Keke Palmer says she bonded with co-star Eddie Murphy on the set of their action-comedy, The Pickup, by telling the comedy legend how much she loved his 1996 movie, The Nutty Professor.
“I asked him his favorite movie that he’s ever done and it was the same movie of mine that he’s ever done, which is The Nutty Professor, because those characters that he made were so real,” Palmer, 31, said during a recent virtual press conference with the cast.
“Every single character was so truthful. It was comedy, but it was truthful and I really do feel like working on The Pickup prepared me for one of them days, because I got to watch a master class of him continuously playing the truth in every improvisation, every joke. The situation was the comedy and he always knew how to add to it in just the right way. It was an honor. I can’t wait to do it again. Call me, Eddie!”
Murphy, 64, said he was aware Palmer was studying him throughout the entire production.
“I felt that. I felt that,” Murphy laughed. “I was like: ‘There she goes again. She’s always taking little peeps at me.'”
The Pickup premieres Wednesday on Prime Video. It casts Murphy and Pete Davidson as armored truck drivers, Russell and Travis, who are ambushed by a group of criminals led by Palmer’s Zoe.
“I think it’s one of those fun, ‘early 2000s,’ old-school, action-comedies. It’s fast moving. There’s not a dull moment,” Saturday Night Live alum Davidson, 31, said.
“It moves and it’s an hour and 40 minutes of just fun,” he added. “You can watch it with everybody. There’s someone in it for everyone to like, so I think it’s just a ‘right-down-the-middle’ fast ball.”
Murphy chimed in, “I feel the exact same way Pete feels, only it reminds me of the movies of the 1980s, not the 2000s. It reminds me of those ’80s buddy comedies.”
When the press conference moderator agreed The Pickup has a similar vibe and pacing of those beloved blockbusters, Murphy quipped, “And casting because I’m from those movies,” referring to his Beverly Hills Cop and 48 Hrs. franchises.
Director Tim Story — whose credits include The Blackening and Ride Along — said working with this cast was a dream come true, especially since he has spent his career chasing Murphy and trying to make a movie with him.
“It’s the pairing that you didn’t realize you needed so much,” Story, 55, said of Murphy and Davidson.
“Then you add Keke and it was just a bag of riches that just kept coming out and, as they said, it’s a movie of the ’80s and I was an ’80s comedies kind of kid.”
Murphy said the screenplay by Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows was what appealed to him most about The Pickup.
“The script was solid when I read it,” Murphy said.
“Usually, these pieces take years to develop and then I see a bunch of different drafts of the script. But this thing was 90 percent there when I read it the first time,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘Hey, this can work.’ And then we got Tim and I was like, ‘OK, well, we’re making this movie.’ That just came together really quick.”
The project also gave Murphy his first opportunity to act opposite Eva Longoria.
“She’s wonderful and she’s funny and she’s a good actress,” Murphy said of the Desperate Housewives icon, who plays his character’s wife Natalie. “I loved it.”
Murphy said he was also impressed with how Palmer seems to effortlessly move between acting, singing and hosting game shows.
“I was like that when I was your age. I used to do all kinds of [expletive], too,” Murphy told Palmer, who replied: “I’m just trying to be like you, man. It’s hard for us out here. You set the bar so damn high.”
Murphy then compared himself and Palmer to John Wayne and Kim Darby in the 1969 western, True Grit.
“Remember that scene in True Grit when the girl goes across the water and John Wayne says, ‘She reminds me of me’? It’s that kind of experience,” Murphy chuckled.
Eddie Murphy, Keke Palmer attend ‘The Pickup’ premiere
Cast members Keke Palmer (L) and Eddie Murphy attend the premiere of “The Pickup” in Los Angeles on July 27, 2025. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
