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Chris Tucker wants to ‘do something different’


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He won’t be joining African-American Rat Pack
He’s not, however, interested in being a part that blue-collar heist comedy Eddie Murphy wants Ratner to direct. The dream cast for this untitled would include Murphy, Tucker, Rock, Jamie Foxx and Dave Chappelle. And even though it sounds a little Rat Pack-ish, this combo plate would be the ultimate comedy buffet.

“I’m not going to do it because for me I’m trying to build a body of work and that won’t do anything for me,” Tucker said. “This movie is good because Jackie is Asian and I’m black. Jackie is known around the world and right away from ‘Rush Hour’ I was know around the world. It was just a perfect blend. With everything I do, I try to take it to another level and do something different. But me being punched up with a bunch of other comedians ain’t gonna do nothing for me.”

Besides, when a man makes $25 million a picture, travels around the world on private planes with former presidents, kings and rock stars and is more interested in saving future generations of Africans, he no longer has to settle or play the game.

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“Being a big star and being known, making movies and a lot of money — that really doesn’t interest me,” he said. “That’s not why I got into this. I really loved what I was doing being creative and being funny as a stand-up comedian. And when I reached that — I reached it really fast — it sort of wasn’t what I thought it would be. It started going in another direction. I wanted to do something different but that different stuff didn’t come to me.

“So, I stepped back because I didn’t want to be like a robot, and when I did that, I did that out of faith. And when I stepped back a whole other world opened up. I think my life is a movie and your life reflects your work. I think all the knowledge and all the travels that I’ve done, I’m going to do a lot of great work in the future.”

Miki Turner is a freelance TV producer/writer in Los Angeles. She can be reached at .

© 2009 msnbc.com.  Reprints


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