What’s this? A Paul Rudd/Jason Segel vehicle not produced by Judd Apatow? Is that even possible? Just as Seth Rogen can leave the fold to co-star in a Kevin Smith movie, Rudd and Segel are evidently free to work with other people sans fear of punitive spanking from The Apatow. Actually, Rudd already does plenty … Continue reading
The Crop: Year One The Studio: Columbia Pictures The Director: Harold Ramis The Writers: Harold Ramis, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg (based on a story by Ramis) The Cast: Jack Black, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Oliver Platt, David Cross, Vinnie Jones and Juno Temple The Premise: It’s an historical conflation of Biblical distortions! When two … Continue reading
I’m incredibly happy to see the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York City Film Critics Online go for Paul Thomas Anderson’s unremittingly bleak There Will Be Blood as the Best Picture of 2007, but the last time the former group concurred with the Oscars for the top prize was in 1993 with … Continue reading
I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but the thought of Gary Winick directing Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson in a comedy about two friends who have it out over conflicting wedding dates makes me kind of happy. Not to hype him up as the next Howard Hawks, bit I thought Winick evinced a shockingly light … Continue reading
If there is ever going to be a box office hit based on economic theory, it will be Freakonomics. Based on the bestselling tome by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, which utilizes Levitt’s economic expertise to illuminate "mysteries of everyday life", the film is shaping up as a sort of documentarian all-star effort. … Continue reading
Mark Wheaton is taking over the trades! Yesterday, we received word from The Hollywood Reporter that Samuel L. Jackson had become attached to the once and future Smilin’ Jack Ruby’s Unfinished Country, a South Africa-set hospital drama. Today, it’s Hilary Swank who’s gettin’ in the Wheaton business with an adaptation of John Marks’s Fangland. Actually, … Continue reading
Fans of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, rejoice! New Line has just thrown up an extremely ribald red-band (i.e. R-rated) trailer for Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay! As for everyone else… I actually recommend that you give it a watch. ‘Cuz when you see The Pineapple Express next August, you’ll have … Continue reading
Gus Van Sant’s Harvey Milk biopic, bluntly titled Milk at present, got popular in a hurry. Somehow, I think the casting of Sean Penn in the lead role had something to do with that. Though they’re still "in negotiations", I’m pretty confident that the agents/managers/attorneys/dog walkers for Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and James Franco will … Continue reading
Time to break out the Champale once again! Former CHUD superstar Mark Wheaton (aka Smilin’ Jack Ruby) has got another screenplay headed for the big screen! And this announcement is especially gratifying because the script in question, Unfinished Country, has been a passion project for Mark for several years. Set in the Soweto slums of … Continue reading
Whatever its eventual flaws (and if it’s anything like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, it’ll have lots of ’em), it appears that Prince Caspian will at least look like a studio-produced fantasy epic. Amazing what a $744 million wordwide box office gross will get you. Location-wise, the saga still seems kinda small, but … Continue reading