Watch Eddie Murphy s Return to Queens in Coming 2 America , Anatomy of a Scene

The best approach for directing a roomful of comedy giants Let them laugh with each other long before saying Action. Thats the route the filmmaker Craig Brewer took for Coming 2 America, the sequel to the beloved 1988 hit starring Eddie Murphy. Murphy reprises his role as Akeem, then a prince, now the king of Zamunda, who realizes he fathered a child from a onenight stand on his previous visit to the States. This scene, narrated by Brewer, includes comedic work in various styles from Arsenio Hall as Akeems friend and righthand man, Semmi; Jermaine Fowler as his newfound son, Lavelle; Leslie Jones as Lavelles mother; and Tracy Morgan as Lavelles uncle. Its a lot of humor to wrangle. When I was younger, I used to think that being a director meant that you constantly have to go in and assert yourself, Brewer said. But Ive found, especially with comedic artists, is what they really want is a safe room. They want to feel like theyre free to try things. Brewer said o