Lisa “Lisa” Velez, Was Offered The Lead Role In “Coming To America” But Her Ex-Husband Said: :mjpls:

[kingofnyc]

Murphy was a megastar. He still has the record for highest grossing stand up comedy performance. He did it in 1987 and it still stands today.

48 hours, Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop were all cross over movies. And Beverly Hills Cop 1 & 2 grossed more than Coming To America.

If anything Coming To America was a hit because of Murphy. You acting like that movie made him when it was the other way around.

tomato … tomato

Like I said after coming to America, he was a bona fide mega star for several reasons
because it was a low budget comedy movie that broke all sorts of records … unlike …. a huge budget action movie

 

[ThrobbingHood]

interesting
with that said vanessa Bell Calloway gave an interview a few years ago saying she was supposed to get the role of Lisa McDowell but J Landis selected Shari Headley … her opinion was colorism because she was too dark to have that leading role

I’m sorry I’m just never gonna buy that Eddie offered her leading role for this blockbuster movie …. Lisa, Lisa and cult jam was a pretty good decent solid group back in the days and I just can’t see him offering her that role with her having no or maybe lil acting … . It’s not like she was Janet Jackson or Paula Abdul who were major stars at that time.

Yeah, I made a thread on Vanessa Bell Calloway not getting the lead role too. That definitely sounds more believable.

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/vanessa-calloway-i-didnt-get-the-role-of-lisa-mcdowell-in-coming-to-america-because-of-colorism.833246/

I would’ve loved to have seen her in the lead. Shari Headley was good but Vanessa would’ve added more to the role IMO.



Well, she still had a good career in spite of not getting the lead. Same can’t be said for Shari.

 

[kingofnyc]

ya might wanna go do some research. Some would say that was his peak. He had already dropped classic movies and comedy specials by then.

i said megastar … before that he was a superstar

I don’t understand why this is being brought up over and over

 

[Ethnic Vagina Finder]

tomato … tomato

Like I said after coming to America, he was a bona fide mega star for several reasons
because it was a low budget comedy movie that broke all sorts of records … unlike …. a huge budget action movie

48 Hours was a low budget comedy. Lower than Coming to America and it catapulted Murphy into a movie star. Beverly Hills Cop solidified him. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

If you look at the movies Murphy made directly after Coming To America, his star power faded. The two movies he did after that movie were Harlem Nights and Boomerang.

He didn’t have another run until Nutty Professor.


I don’t think you understand Eddie Murphy’s run in the 80’s.

 

[kingofnyc]

Exactly. The only other thing she could’ve possibly played if not the lead would’ve been like one of the women at the club when he was trying to find a women, or like some rando person in New York. She couldn’t have played one of the rose bearers, or the bathers, or the woman they tried to make him marry in the beginning… This wouldn’t even be a big deal if it wasn’t the Lisa role.

if u listen to the interview, the man starts out by saying
is it true that you was offered a role in coming to America & Eddie Murphy asked you to be in it



i believe that role was going to be the club scene … and she was gonna be one of them girls

 

[TEH]

She's not finer than Lisa McDowell

You got to give it to Eddie … his taste was impeccable …

 

[ThrobbingHood]

if u listen to the interview, the man starts out by saying
is it true that you was offered a role in coming to America & Eddie Murphy asked you to be in it



i believe that role was going to be the club scene … and she was gonna be one of them girls

Why would her husband have an issue with her playing a small role in the club? It was clearly the romantic lead.

 

[kingofnyc]

Yeah, I made a thread on Vanessa Bell Calloway not getting the lead role too. That definitely sounds more believable.

https://www.thecoli.com/threads/vanessa-calloway-i-didnt-get-the-role-of-lisa-mcdowell-in-coming-to-america-because-of-colorism.833246/

I would’ve loved to have seen her in the lead. Shari Headley was good but Vanessa would’ve added more to the role IMO.



Well, she still had a good career in spite of not getting the lead. Same can’t be said for Shari.

well Shari at least got married to Play from kid and play

 

[kingofnyc]

48 Hours was a low budget comedy. Lower than Coming to America and it catapulted Murphy into a movie star. Beverly Hills Cop solidified him. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

If you look at the movies Murphy made directly after Coming To America, his star power faded. The two movies he did after that movie were Harlem Nights and Boomerang.

He didn’t have another run until Nutty Professor.


I don’t think you understand Eddie Murphy’s run in the 80’s.

 

[Marco Zen]

if u listen to the interview, the man starts out by saying
is it true that you was offered a role in coming to America & Eddie Murphy asked you to be in it



i believe that role was going to be the club scene … and she was gonna be one of them girls

This is believable over that "lead role" shyt

 

[kingofnyc]

Why would her husband have an issue with her playing a small role in the club? It was clearly the romantic lead.

I don’t know. I only can assume that her husband didn’t want his wife on set of a movie featuring Eddie Murphy - no matter what role she was going to be playing. because Eddie was the biggest bachelor in Hollywood & having an infamous reputation of smashing damn every female in the game

remember, this is the 80s him Arsenio Magic Tyson were like wolves

 

[Tribal Outkast]

if u listen to the interview, the man starts out by saying
is it true that you was offered a role in coming to America & Eddie Murphy asked you to be in it



i believe that role was going to be the club scene … and she was gonna be one of them girls

I mean i was saying that would only make sense. Why would they make a big deal over this scene though? If this is true then her husband is definitely a supreme hater. You’re only worried about her getting with Eddie if there’s a kissing/love scene involved and he ain’t kiss none of those women: If he couldnt handle her being in the room with Ed then man he’s crazy

 

[Thurgood Thurston III]

yall right , he was a superstar but after this movie he became a megastar


i’m still confused on how so many of y’all automatically assumed the role was Lisa McDowell
like do you realize how much the budget to that movie was back then ? and placing a mid success artist as the leading role for that blockbuster movie wouldn’t make sense at all

She said LEAD role.

That's either Prince Akeem or Lisa McDowell.

Literally every other female character in that movie plays a very small role. None of them have even half the lines Lisa has.

I can recite the movie from beginning to end. Lisa is the only character she could've played that is a LEAD role.

Also, Shari Headley wasn't a well-known actress either, so I don't understand your last point. IN FACT, Coming To America was her second role ever.

 

[Leasy]

Glad she wasn’t in the movie. It’s crazy how racist fukk their money up because of their hatred. her boyfriend was definitely scared being around Eddie etc

 

[TripleAgent]

Eddie would have been enjoying the titties in record time. Smart man