It’s the first official day of summer, and therefore the longest day of the year, and a withering 95 degrees outside my window. (But it ain’t the heat; it’s the humidity.) So what better time to talk about one of the best summer comedies? David Wain‘s Wet Hot American Summer was made on a relatively small budget and greeted by a seemingly disinterested audience in 2001. But the film has found an enthusiastic cult audience, and one of the tenets of cult movie enthusiasm is holding out hope for a sequel, no matter how unlikely.
In this case, blame the film itself for some of the sequel dreams — it actively advances the idea of a sequel by having the characters end the movie joking about organizing a ten-year reunion. And so, almost every time David Wain gives an interview the question comes up: where’s the sequel? But the movie didn’t do well ten years ago and Universal doesn’t seem to think it will do well now. (Don’t expect a feature-laden anniversary DVD release.)
That doesn’t mean the idea of another movie with the characters (played by Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, Zak Orth, A.D. Miles, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Molly Shannon, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Amy Poehler, and Bradley Cooper) is 100% out of the realm of possibility, however. It’s probably only about 98% impossible. Read More »
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UPDATE: As co-writer/director Matt Besser has explained in the comments below, the trailer went public prematurely and it’s been taken down until a release date has been secured. We’ll update when it’s live again.
For all those who have grown weary from the constant surge of spoofs that rely more on topicality than actual jokes, this could be the antidote. From the creators of the Upright Citizens Brigade comes Freak Dance, a self-described “hilarious, in-your-face major motion picture musical about good, evil, dance, saving dance from evil for good, and the greatest love story ever told…about dancers”.
If the film bears any similarity to the Wayans brothers’ latest spoof Dance Flick, pay no mind. The UCB — a frequently hilarious improv and sketch comedy group whose TV show ran for three seasons on Comedy Central in the late ’90s — first developed Freak Dance as a live show well before that movie existed, and it played so well that now they’ve made it into a movie. Watch the trailer after the break. Read More »
There are a lot of Award shows in Hollywood. Some of them are serious presentations, awarding accomplishment and talent: the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes..etc. Other award shows are nothing more than pure spectacle. The MTV Movie Awards falls into the latter category. Every year we post the award winners, and every year we complain about how some tween heartthrob, this year – Zac Efron, beats out some insanely talented actor, this year Robert Downey Jr, for Best Male Performance. Or how Twilight beat out both The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire to win Best Movie.
But truth is, we love to bitch about the MTV Movie Awards, which explains why I’m posting these results. It’s certainly not that we give credence to this list of winners. Any award show which gives out five statues to Twilight can’t be taken seriously. So leave your comments below. Be smart, clever, funny, and biting.
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Last Saturday Night—as countless unseen choppers flew overhead—a pair of maracas suddenly appeared in the capable hands of host Will Ferrell. Like magic. They gathered: Tom Hanks (on sax!), Paul Rudd, Anne Hathaway, Peggy and fellow SNL vets like Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Norm MacDonald (!), and Artie Lange (in jeans. Wait, wth?). Not to mention, a band best known for “Longview.”
Ferrell, knee-deep in a yuppie’s faux-VietNam flashback, lead one and all in a touching rendition of Billy Joel‘s wartime classic “Goodnight Saigon.” The meaning behind the lyrics, “Yes, we would all go down together,” in terms of the show’s legacy, its cast future and past, and our shaky times is subjective. But most everyone will agree that the sketch ended the 34th season on a categorically awesome note. Ferrell was in the zone. At this point, he probably bathes there.
One request from /Film for the 35th season: Hire more guys who have to shave. At least once a week. Enough with the good private school genes already. Also, a poll pitting Ferrell’s “Goodnight Saigon” against 3o Rock‘s lame shark-ramp “Kidney, Now!”? Boo.
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Universal has sent us the first photo from the new comedy Baby Mama, which stars Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, and Sigourney Weaver. Writer turned director Michael McCullers‘ (Austin Powers 2 and 3) feature film debut tells the story of “two women, one apartment and the nine months that will change their lives.” Yeah, doesnt sound that interesting to me either.
Tina Fey is funny, and good to look at on screen, but her true talents are behind a computer keyboard. Her work writing SNL was a highlight of the show, and Fey wrote (er adapted) one of the best teen comedies in the last 10 years: Mean Girls (remember when Lindsay Lohan was still “family friendly”?). If Fey was attached as writer, than I’d have a lot more faith. But truth be told, Baby Mama was penned by the same guy who wrote both the 2004 big screen adaptation of Thunderbirds and Undercover Brother.
I received an email last month from someone who claimed to have seen a test screening of the film. This is what he said: “It’s an average, decent comedy. Like Knocked Up but nowhere near as good.” Take that for whatever it is worth. Check out the full photo and newly released plot synopsis after the jump.
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The trailer for the computer animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who premiered on selected prints of The Golden Compass and is now online. I love the look of this thing. Fox has perfectly captured the Seussian style without going off the deep end. And this is coming from a guy who hated the Ice Age movies (Pixar they are not). I wonder how this will compare to the 1970 2-D animated Chuck Jones television short film. Lets hear what you guys think. Watch the new trailer after the jump.
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Carol Burnett, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Isla Fisher, Dan Fogler, Amy Poehler, Dane Cook, Jaime Pressly and Jonah Hill will join Jim Carrey and Steve Carell in the computer animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who.
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Naomi Watts will star in an adaptation of Amy Sutherland’s Kicked, Bitten and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World’s Premiere School for Exotic Animal Trainers for First Look Pictures. Todd Louiso (Love Liza) and Jacob Koskoff are scripting it into a romantic comedy.
Former SNL Weekend Update duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will co-star in the comedy Baby Mama. Fey will play a single executive whose desire to have a child and keep her career leads her to hire a surrogate mother, played by Poehler. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me co-writer Michael McCullers will make his directorial debut.
Rob Schneider is in talks to join frequent collaborator Adam Sandler in You Don’t Mess With the Zohan. The script by Judd Apatow, Robert Smigel and Sandler centers on a Mossad agent (Sandler) who fakes his death so he can move to New York and become a hair stylist. Schneider would play an East Yistannen cab driver.
Rapper Busta Rhymes’ new movie Order of Redemption started shooting yesterday WITHOUT Rhymes. Apparently the NYPD scared the rapper away: “The production agreed that Busta Rhymes would not be participating in the scenes shot here after the Police Department raised public safety concerns.” Director Jeff Celentano is pissed: “This is tremendously unfair to Busta, who has been nothing but professional during this project. This is a bigger loss for the city of New York.”
Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men) is in negotiations to direct and Ashton Kutcher is in talks to co-star in Screen Gems’ thriller Lakeview Terrace, which follows an LAPD officer (Samuel L. Jackson) who will stop at nothing to force out the interracial couple (Kerry Washington & Kutcher) that moved in next door.
