Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Just when I thought the cast of the sci-fi buddy comedy Paul couldn’t get any better, word comes along from SDNN (via The Playlist) that the first lady of sci-fi has joined the cast of Superbad/Adventureland director Greg Mottola’s next film. That’s right…. Sigourney Weaver, who played Ripley in the Alien films, Dana Barrett in the Ghostbusters series, Gwen DeMarco in the underrated Galaxy Quest and the ship’s computer in WALL-E. Weaver will join Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, and Kristen Wiig.
Scripted by Pegg and Frost (the duo from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), the story follows two British nerds, fresh off a trip to Comic Con, who decide to go on a road trip to Area 51. They meet an alien named Paul, voiced by Rogen, who asks them to help him escape from the U.S. Government. On the run from a government agent named Lorenzo Zoil (Jason Bateman), the trio accidentally kidnap a young Christian girl (Kristen Wiig) and pay a visit to an old “crackpot” woman (possibly Weaver?) who not only claims to have witnessed Paul’s crash landing, but even pulled him out of the ship.
Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader Join Greg Mottola’s Paul
Posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Superbad/Adventureland director Greg Mottola’s next film is shaping up to be the funniest geek comedy ever filmed. But before I get into the new casting, let me tell you a little about the movie.
Two More Hilarious TV Spots for Judd Apatow’s Funny People
Posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Yesterday we ran the first television spot from Judd Apatow’s new movie Funny People. As it turns out, television spots usually come in threes (much like everything else in the world). So we’ve returned with two more. The great thing about these advertisements is that they aren’t just “same thing, different edit” but instead feature a bunch of new footage not shown in the trailer.
Also, both of the spots are 1 minute in length and feature footage from Adam Sandler’s character George Simmons’ crappy movie within the movie Redux, which has been described as a “cross between Little Man and 17 Again, except Sandler becomes a six month old baby.” The first spot also features Seth Rogen’s character Ira Wright telling video game jokes to RZA. Watch the new tv spots after the jump.
Judd Apatow’s new movie Funny People hits theaters on July 31st, and Universal Pictures has begun airing television spots for the film. There is a lot of new footage to be seen, giving us a good taste of the comedy/drama tightrope act Apatow is attempting to walk with this film. I like how they even made a joke about Rogen’s recent weight loss, and it’s also worth noting some of the clever t-shirts worn throughout.
I’m very excited to see this film. I’ve heard very good things from people who have seen test screenings. The only minor quibble some people have had is the film’s run time, which in some screenings stretched over 2 and a half hours. I’ve heard that the final cut is tighter, more closer to the 2 hour and 15 minute mark. Watch the new television spot after the jump.
Interview: Martin Starr On His Amazing New Show Party Down, a Freaks and Geeks Reunion, and Having an “Iconic Cock”
Posted on Friday, May 1st, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Over the last decade, Martin Starr has brought a unique ruckus to comedy on TV and in the movies. As an actor, he portrays characters that have settled into their aloof, awkward skins by way of deep thought, nerdy diversion, and hilarious observation. Poofs of weed smoke often chip in. While plagued with girl problems, his characters typically win over audiences until they are subtly recognized as the coolest, smartest dudes on screen.
It was under the guidance of Paul Feig and Judd Apatow—as the lanky, bespectacled and beloved teenager Bill Haverchuck on Freaks and Geeks—that Starr set this precocious M.O. in motion. And it’s a personal belief that had Freaks not been brutally axed in ‘00 during its lone season, Haverchuck would have gone on to land a bevy of moist females. Of course, Freaks is now forever renown for launching a bevy of careers, including those of Starr, Seth Rogen and James Franco. And for being one of the best fucking things ever. Starr has notably followed up with memorable roles in Knocked Up—beard fail—and in the recent, terrific Adventureland, an ’80s time-capsule that stays with you like the killer kiss on a Ferris Wheel that didn’t happen and will not.
Everybody Gets Gondry: Green Hornet News A-Go-Go
Posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
Okay, I know Peter linked to one Michel Gondry interview in the recent Page 2, but there’s a lot of Gondry chat around the web today and, to my mind, much of it is really interesting. Principally, he’s been giving interviews to promote his new, self-published compilation DVD. Like the Director’s Label disc he did a few years back, to one is jammed full of music videos and behind-the-scenes business and, frankly, I’d recommend anyone and everyone to get over to his official site, fire up the PayPal and order a copy of the most essential DVD release so far this year.
Of course, everybody has also been asking about The Green Hornet, and getting lots of good stuff back. After the break I’ll compile the hot snippets from Coming Soon, Total Film, SciFi Wire, AICN and VH1.
Hunter Stephenson’s Movie Review: Observe and Report (A Contender for Best Film of 2009). Essay: The Genius of Jody Hill
Posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
Weekend Update: Due to the amazing bitch-session in the comments: the following article is a combination free-form essay/review on the genius, relevance, and influences of writer/director Jody Hill and his works including The Foot Fist Way, Eastbound & Down, and his latest, Observe and Report. It also deals with the growing trend of incredibly dark and conflicted American male anti-heroes in movies and TV. Oh yeah, it’s also really, really, really long and I didn’t see a need to begin the piece with “If you were expecting Paul Blart, get ready for a crazy rollercoaster not suitable for the kiddies.” Because fuck Paul Blart. No one will remember that movie in five years, until the sequel is released and makes $200 million. My bad?
Let me preface this by saying that I now anticipate Jody Hill’s films more than any other working filmmaker with the exception of Paul Thomas Anderson. And on a particularly excruciating Monday, maybe Tommy Wiseau’s.
“You suck this gun like a dick and then this dick goin’ cum in your mouth and blow your brains all over the street!” – Danny McBride in Observe and Report, um, protecting his legacy
Generally speaking, there are two types of people, and as it lies, two types of moviegoers: Those who go to malls without a second thought and those who go into them only on the rarest of occasions, sucking on an imaginary Klonopin, those who walk around wondering how the fuck this and they and that sign came to be, pregnant with the speeding notion that a loon might as well destroy the entire fucking building or at least high-jack the “raffle car,” peel out through the entrance doors, and drive on to a fabled body of water.
Coming this summer from the makers of Fast & Furious comes a more testosterone filled car film starring Seth Rogen and Andy Samberg. Check out the trailer for The Fast and Bi-Curious after the jump.
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Saturday Night Live ran a sketch featuring The Muppets. It should be an adventure for the ages, but when magic bus runs over an animal, the Muppets are confronted by the law. Seth Rogen stars as Rolf. Watch the video after the jump.
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Seth Rogen Updates on Michel Gondry’s Style for The Green Hornet
Posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 by Hunter Stephenson
While doing press for next month’s shock-and-awesome Jody Hill comedy, Observe & Report, Seth Rogen put up a new quote regarding his superhero caper, The Green Hornet. He told Collider that filming is set for late June, and vaguely elaborated on director Michel Gondry’s vision for the 2010 could-be blockbuster…
“Me and Evan [Goldberg] have actually approached him with ideas like maybe we could do something like this…you could do some of your weird people made out of string and shit like that. He’s like, ‘No, I don’t want to any of that. The fact that you think I want to do that drives me crazy and makes me never want to do anything like that again.’”
Seth Rogen’s 4th grade grammar teacher sighs (also: is jealous). I still find the dumbfounded early reaction to Gondry’s involvement more surprising than the news itself, not that Rogen doesn’t play into it. There’s a dapper, Chinatown-lite sensibility to the character proper that can be gleamed in Gondry’s more bolstered video work, like Beck’s “Deadweight” for example. Per the plot, Rogen added that he is now “embracing” the tenets of an origins story, which is not a bad idea considering that, unlike Batman, the general public is unawares.
The new Seth Rogen R-rated mallcop comedy Observe and Report premiered at SXSW earlier tonight. The reviews will be pouring in from Austin, after the party’s come to an end later tonight (and we’ll give a roundup tomorrow), but for now lets check in with the 140-character buzz on Twitter. Seems like a lot of people thought it was hilarious, insanely quotable and somewhat shocking/awkward, but a couple people didn’t think it was that funny, and even one supposed Seth Rogen fan s tweeted about walking out. Lets go to the tweets:
lola0813: OBSERVE & REPORT report: Fucking awesome. Incredibly funny & smart.
MattDentler: Observe And Report may be the craziest studio movie of the year
thekeller: OBSERVE AND REPORT…. the hardest i have laughed since superbad. one of the funniest movies ever
jennyjacob: “Observe and Report” - not so funny. Left early and I’m a Seth Rogen fan.
jamesrocchi: Observe and Report: Travis Bickle, Mall Cop. Funny, scary, don’t quite know if you should root for Rogen.\
rejects: Alright fine. Observe and Report was dark. Not too dark, but dark. It was also very smart and very, very funny.
More after the jump.
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James Wan Almost Got the Green Hornet Gig - Who Didn’t Seth Rogen Approach?
Posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
Here’s a mildly disorienting development - apparently, James Wan almost got the Green Hornet gig. The Saw director momentarily posted an update on his Facebook profile which was caught by the Eagle Eyes of Larry Carroll MTV’s Splash Page. It read: Damn you Michel Gondry *shaking fists* Oh well the better man won.
That’s right, he did. But it also seems that Wan is likely to work with Rogen in future. The writer-star said:
Well, we were just given the mandate to bring the studio directors we were fans of, and the discussion would begin from there. So yeah we definitely talked to him. I would definitely love to do something else.
