Today,Molloy is known as one of Australia’s most celebrated advertising directors,but in 1984,he was a nine-year-old kid more focused on footy than films.
That would change when his uncle became one of the few people in town to own a VHS player - “a big deal in Ballarat back then” - and called the family together for a movie night.
Mark Molloy,Eddie Murphy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt attend the Beverly Hills Cop:Axel F world premiere in Beverley Hills.Getty Images for Netflix
And the first film they watched together? “It wasBeverly Hills Cop,” laughs Molloy.
Beverly Hills Cop was a major global hit,launching Eddie Murphy’s career and spawning two sequels,but for Molloy,it proved to be a seminal screening. Forty years later,in a full-circle moment you couldn’t script,the Australian director is making his feature debut withBeverly Hills Cop:Axel F –the latest in the series.
Set to stream on Netflix from Wednesday,Beverly Hills Cop:Axel F will be released thirty years after the previous movie and sees Foley return to Beverly Hills after his daughter’s life is threatened.
Murphy will reprise his role as Axel Foley,alongside fan favourites Judge Reinhold and John Ashton,while Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt join the cast.
Axel is back! Eddie Murphy on set of Beverley Hills Cop:Axel F.Melinda Sue Gordon/Netflix
Beverly Hills Cop:Axel F is the latest franchise revival from producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun:Maverick andBad Boys 4). It cost Netflix an eye-watering $150 million —not bad for a first-timer from Waubra.
“Mate,if you told me this was happening,I wouldn’t believe it either,” says Molloy. “How did a boy from Ballarat end up shutting down Rodeo Drive to shoot a car chase?”
How indeed? Unlike other first-timers,Molloy didn’t pay his way odd-jobbing on film sets but instead made his name in the advertising world,working as a commercial director for the world’s biggest brands,including Samsung,Nike and Toyota.
“When you’re directing a commercial,you’re constantly managing the client,so you learn quickly how to blend what youlike and what theyneed,” explains Molloy. “Which really is useful when you end up working for a big studio on a franchise film.”
In 2023 he directed the widely celebratedThis is Footy Countryadvertisement for Telstra,but it was his series of Apple commercials,The Underdogs that put him on the map. The Apple work garnered more than 157 million views and won the coveted Film Grand Prix at Cannes Lions,but most importantly,they caught the attention of Jerry Bruckheimer.
“I was away shooting a movie overseas,and my agent called me and was like,‘Bruckheimer needs to get on the phone with you,’” says Molloy. “He loved the Apple ads and wanted to work together. He started sending me a bunch of scripts,but none of them felt right,and then one day,Beverly Hills Cop 4arrived in my inbox.”
Within an instant Molloy was transported back to his uncle’s floor,a nine-year-old kid in a small town,dreaming of something bigger:“I wanted to do it,but Jerry had to convince both Netflix and Eddie to take a risk on some guy from Australia.”
Mark Molloy (left) and Jerry Bruckheimer attend the film’s premiere in Beverley Hills,California.Getty Images for Netflix
Molloy was summoned to an address high in the Hollywood Hills for a pitch meeting at Murphy’s house.
“Jerry was running a bit late,so I was just sitting on the couch by myself in Eddie Murphy’s house,” laughs Molloy. “I knew every single word to[Murphy’s films]DeliriousandRawgrowing up,so all I could think was,‘Don’t f--- this up.’”
Thankfully,Molloy’s pitch to deliver a gritty and heartfelt 80s action comedy seemed to hit the right notes,and the next thing you know,a boy from Ballarat is shutting down Rodeo Drive.
Mark Molloy makes his directorial debut in Beverley Hills Cop:Axel F.Andrew Cooper/ Netflix,Inc.
Pitching to Murphy is one thing,but working with him is another,and Molloy admits that being on set with a comedy legend comes with its own challenges. “I’d tell him my perspective,and we’d discuss it,but the comedy stuff was tricky,” says Molloy. “I can’t go to Eddie Murphy and tell him how to be funny because that’s crazy.”
While Netflix decided against a theatrical release,Molloy planned to return home and screen the film at the legendary Regent Cinemas in Ballarat. The venue unexpectedly closed last week,but Molloy still intends to bring Beverly Hills back to where it all began.
“It would be weird not to share it with the town. Plus,people there will tell me exactly what they think of the film,too,I guarantee it.”
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