You know that little thingy in your brain that stops you from saying everything you are thinking about out loud? Well, not one character in this movie has that. This provides and interesting experiment in acting but unfortunately a terrible film comes along with it.
20 years ago, this would have been the funniest movie ever made.
Unfortunately, it's 2009, and an awkward Michael Cera and a crazy eyebrowed Jack Black are not enough to keep this movie's humor from being very, very outdated.
Some of you may have seen the quick TV spot that aired during the Superbowl yesterday for the Harold Ramis/Judd Apatow film Year One. I blogged about it months ago, and now you can finally see some footage.
Some of you may have heard his sly, likable voice stringing you along a joke as though he were Mitch Hedberg. Others may have seen him on Human Giant. Others may have seen him pop up in countless internet shorts.
Well Mr. Aziz Ansari is now popping up onto the silver screen. Soon to be released are I Love You, Man, Observe and Report, and Funny People, three movies where he will be linked to funny men we know well. Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, and Judd Apatow have found a way to include Aziz in their cinematic antics, and it probably won't be too long until he has his own starring role.
For those of you who have not had a chance to listen to any of his stand-up comedy, do yourself a favor and go for it. He's a very talented comedian, and I can't wait to see what the future holds in store for him.
Yes, Paul Rudd was fantastic in Role Models but his days as a leading man have just begun.
Soon he and Jason Segel will star in I Love You, Man, a film that Rudd refers to as a "bromantic comedy". The film will be written and directed by John Hamburg (Along Came Polly, Meet the Parents), and produced by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Road Trip). Since Hamburg wrote a couple of episodes of the cancelled TV show, Undeclared, it's nice to see him and Jason Segel collaborating again.
Paul Rudd plays a guy who is getting married and realizes one crucial thing: he has no friends. Because he has mostly been a friend to girls in his life, this creates a challenge when trying to find a "best man". The film centers on him searching for a best man, and ultimately meeting Sidney (Jason Segel), who becomes not only his best man, but his best friend.
The film also stars Jon Favreau, Jamie Pressly, Carla Gallo, Rashida Jones, Jo Lo Truglio, Thomas Lennon, and Andy Samberg.
Basically, this movie is gonna rock. When a trailer hits the internet, I'll post it.
If you are reading this, you probably have heard of David Wain, and if you haven't... well... you have now. David Wain is an actor/writer/director behind such films and shows as Stella, Wainy Days, Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten, The State and now Role Models (Opening Friday).
I got the chance to interview Mr. Wain regarding Role Models and some other ventures, so without further ado... here it is!
MW: Where did the idea for Role Models come from? Were you ever in a similar situation to Danny and Wheeler?
DW: The main thing I relate to from Danny & Wheeler's situation is being suddenly forced, perhaps later in life than most others, to take an interest in a child's welfare over my own. For me it was because I had my first child this year. Role Models had been in development for years before I got involved, so I can't take credit for the idea!
MW: How much of the film's dialogue is improvised? Who were some of the actors that were consistently surprising?
DW: I'd say in the final cut, about 15-20% was improvised. The amount varied widely depending on the scene and the combination of actors and most of all on how good the script was! For example we were never quite happy with our script for a big dinner table scene between Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Ken Marino and Paul Rudd, so we wrote up a few bullet points on a piece of paper and entirely improvised. All the actors were funny and surprising in different ways throughout. One memorable example was Joe Lo Truglio, whose character "Kuzzik" was barely written on the page, but he kept throwing in the funniest things and we just kept rolling.
MW: As a screenwriter you have worked with Ken Marino in the past. What was it like also working with Timothy Dowling and Paul Rudd on the screenplay?
DW: Paul Rudd I'd worked with creatively on The Ten, where he was one of the producers, and to a lesser extent on everything else we've done together (Diggers, Stella, Wet Hot, etc), so it was an easy transition to be also writing with him, for both me and Ken. We didn't actually work on the film at the same time as Timothy Dowling. He did many drafts of the script, and created the broad storyline of the film, but was no longer involved when I came on board.
MW: How drastically did the film change from the 1st draft of the script to the version of that we see on screen?
DW: Well the very first draft of the script (then titled "Big Brother") was a drama (not a comedy) about a man named Tom and a boy named Lewis. Aside from the existence of a mentoring program, I don't think anything from that draft is in the final movie - BUT full disclosure, I never read that first draft.
MW: Since you have worked with Paul Rudd in the past, was the part of Danny written for him or did you hold auditions?
DW: Paul and Seann were both on board long before me. But I know that Paul re-conceived his character from scratch in his initial draft, and then the three of us (Rudd/Wain/Marino) developed and further fleshed out the Danny character in our subsequent passes.
MW: What was it like working with Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Bobb'e J. Thompson who play the two kids in the film? How is it different working with young actors than older ones?
DW: Well the two of them are very different from each other. Chris was 18 years old at the time, out of high school, so not really a kid at all. Even though it was only his second movie, he was very professional, funny and great. Bobb'e is a unique comedic actor - regardless of his age. He's also been in so many things that he was very comfortable on our set and my job was kind of to watch him go! Sometimes I would forget, however, that he's also an eleven-year-old kid, and kids sometimes need more attention to swings in energy, mood, etc.
MW: I noticed you have a cameo role in the background as another role model. How did you decide to cameo in that role?
DW: Basically I just wanted to be in the movie, but I didn't want to give myself too big a part so I could mainly concentrate on writing & directing.
MW: What films and other media inspired you to become a writer/actor/director?
DW: I listened incessantly to Steve Martin as a kid. And I watched his specials and SNL appearances over and over. Also all the Woody Allen movies. Those were the biggies for me as a kid. Then in college I was really inspired by Robert Altman & Spike Lee.
MW: Are there any projects coming in the future from you that you can comment on?
DW: I do the main voice on Superjail every Sunday night on Adult Swim; going on tour with STELLA comedy troupe starting November 30th; producing a web show called Children's Hospital coming in December; working on a TV version of my web series Wainy Days - all the latest on that stuff is at davidwain.com. Then I'm working on scripts for the next movie but don't know yet when or what that will turn out to be.
MW: If you were ever to pick another genre of film to work with, what would it be?
DW: I'd like to make a dark(ish) relationship drama along the lines of Husbands and Wives or Sex, Lies & Videotape.
MW: Do you have any words of advice to share with young filmmakers who may want to pursue a career similar to yours?
DW: There's certainly no one route to getting started in this business. But I'd repeat some advice I heard Woody Allen give, paraphrasing - work your ass off, and stay true to your voice, and don't focus on the money. If you do the work, you have any talent, and you keep your eyes on the prize, the money will come sooner or later.
Go see Role Models tomorrow in theaters everywhere! Read our review for Role Models HERE!
Hey look it's the Ghostbusters! Thank goodness you guy are here! Wait a sec.... are you Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd? You're not the Ghostbusters I remember...
That's because, soon you will begin to hear a lot about the new Ghostbusters, for the upcoming film "Ghostbusters 3" In case you have no idea what I am talking about, Ghostbusters was an 80's film franchise that starred Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis in 2 films that were pretty much about them building intense machinery and using it to catch ghosts in traps.
This is them.
Okay, now that we are all caught up to date with 80's comedy franchises lets bring this full circle. Harold Ramis wrote and starred in "Ghost Busters" and "Ghostbusters II" (yeah the first movie is two words, the second movie is one word), then many years later he played Seth Rogen's dad in "Knocked Up", which was directed by Judd Apatow.
Judd Apatow is producing Ghostbusters 3.
I think that it will be a very interesting blend as long as Ramis' writes this new installment so we keep the original style of the films. I feel that Apatow is a brilliant choice of producer, because he and his gang of actor-friends essentially is a reincarnation of the 1980's comedy troupes, and even while Apatow has filthy humor, the films essentially progress in similar ways with just as much heart which is why we loved 80's comedies so much.
It is speculated that this film will have the old Ghostbusters come out of retirement in response to a new threat, but when they are too old to handle the occurrence, they bring in some newbies to train. Presumably, those newbies will be: Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, and either Bill Hader or James Franco. Then we will see the fun and games of old Ghostbusters teaching new Ghostbusters who also have their own life problems to deal with but pulling through at the end to stop the threat. And who knows... maybe with the good visual effects that exist these days, we'll get to see what happens when you 'cross the streams'.
More on this when it develops...
I'd get a major kick out of it if Jack Black would make an appearance singing the song below:
Maybe the movie's plot will be about trying to find Rick Moranis... because nobody knows where he has been for the last 7 years... Now that would be a cool cameo.
If you want to see more Ghostbusters sooner, check out the upcoming video game which was written by and stars all the original Ghostbusters!
To give credit where credit is due, the art was done by jhroberts and dr-gore on DeviantArt.com Check out their stuff!
It seems that the old 80's comedic forces of Harold Ramis are back, and this time under Judd Aptatow's wing.
Year One is the result.
Harold Ramis is writing and directing this new primordial romp, and he and Apatow are sticking in a great looking cast. Starring in the two main roles are Jack Black and Michael Cera as Zed and Oh, respectively. They play two cavemen who go looking for the meaning of life.
Cera and Black have said that the movie is basically a Monty Python style comedy instead of a 'Knocked Up' style comedy, and set in biblical times.
Other Apatow favorites such as Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Paul Rudd, and Bill Hader have been cast, as well as many other great names in comedy like Hank Azaria, David Cross, Vinnie Jones, and Oliver Platt.
Year One hits theaters Summer '09, and I will definitely be there.
Wilder Shaw is a writer, actor, and comedian who enjoys long Italian food on the beach.
Role Models is the story of two energy representatives Danny (Rudd) and Wheeler (William Scott) who, after a over stimulating day, find themselves faced with the option of prison or joining a child mentorship program known as 'Sturdy Wings'. Paired with Augie (Chris Mintz Plasse {Superbad}), a shy nerd obsessed with a real life role playing game known as L.A.I.R.E, and Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson {That's So Raven}), a young boy with an obsession for breasts and foul language. Danny and Augie get caught up in a crazy world of L.A.I.R.E, headed by the fictional/proud King Argotron (Ken Jeong {Knocked Up}), and Wheeler exposes Ronnie to a players life of sex, drinking, and women. But raising someone else's kid's is harder than it seems, and soon, to Danny and Wheeler, the idea of 30 days in jail does not seem that bad.
In an interview with MTV's Movie Blog Paul Rudd mentioned that an Anchorman sequel is very possible after Adam McKay finishes his next project, Channel 3 Billion which is slated for a summer 2010 release date. He told MTV...
"Last I heard they were starting to write it and they were thinking about setting it in the eighties, [But] I know when we were shooting it [director] Adam [McKay] said if they ever did something it would have to be really weird like we were on the moon or something. I think it has to go even further if it was to work.”
at the Movie Watch, we'd advise taking this tidbit with a grain of salt. McKay's Channel 3 Billion will have a futuristic sci-fi dystopian television theme to it and to go immediately to an Anchorman sequel on the moon would seem a little too soon for the director. It could wind up being a minor quirk in the movie much like how in the original script there was planned to be a scene where Ron Burgundy would be singing with sharks in an Aquarium. With the release date so far off, anything can really happen.
Role Models is the story of two energy drink sales representatives (Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott), who after some bad judgement calls find themselves forced into a child mentorship program. Danny (Rudd) is assigned Auggie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a dungeons and dragons / medieval obsessed kid, and Wheeler (William Scott) is assigned Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson ), who seems to be a 8 year old version of Dave Chappelle, who no 'Role Model' has ever been able to tame. Hilarity ensues as they take care of these kids and presumably learn a little about themselves along the way.
Directed by David Wain (The Ten). Written By Timothy Dowling, Paul Rudd, Ken Marino, and David Wain. Also with Jane Lynch, Elizabeth Banks, Nicole Randall Johnson, Nate Hartley, Ken Jeong, and Joe Lo Truglio. Role Models hits theaters November 14th.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is written by and stars Freaks and Geeks Alumni, Jason Segel. It is produced by Judd Apatow, and Directed by Nick Stoller. Basically the story of the film is that Peter Brenner (Segel) and Tv Superstar Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) are in a romantic relationship. After a week away, Sarah returns home to a naked, love sick, Peter, where she promptly breaks up with him. It turns out there is another man in her life and Pete is not the one for her any more.
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