Amazing Friday comedy move News
IFC Buys James Gunn's SUPER at TIFF
Posted by: Michael
I am a huge fan of James Gunn and actor Rainn Wilson so I am quite pleased to report that IFC has just bought the new film SUPER which is a James Gunn film with Rainn Wilson of The Office fame starring.
In SUPER James Gunn plays a man who turns to crime fighting after his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer. He becomes Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, though he lacks for heroic skills.
Super Stars Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Rainn Wilson. I am a big fan of this genre of films the 'wannabe' superhero. Kick Ass really brought it to the mainstream and was a fantastic film but other great films that you should also checkout include Mystery Men and Woody Harrelsons Defendor. Equally fantastic films. Below you can checkout a NSFW clip for Super.
Win Ashton Kutchers KILLERS on DVD
Posted by: Michael
Time for another contest this time sponsored by Lionsgate and Ashton Kutchers new film KILLERS which is now on DVD. Jen Kornfeldt (Heigl) thinks she has found the man of her dreams. He’s smart, charming and funny. So what if he’s also…an international spy? Fresh off of a sudden break-up, Kornfeldt reluctantly accompanies her parents on a vacation to the French Riviera. Unexpectedly, she stumbles upon the perfect guy, the too-good-to-be-true and incredibly handsome Spencer Aimes (Kutcher).
After three wonderful years of romance, the newlyweds prepare to celebrate Aimes’ 30th birthday. However, events are cut short when bullets start flying, and his little secret is revealed. Confronting the news head-on, Kornfeldt is determined to discover what else he might be hiding – all the while trying to dodge bullets, keep up neighborly appearances, manage the in-laws, and work out some major trust issues. …And you thought suburban life was easy!
Actors: Katherine Heigl Ashton Kutcher Tom Selleck
When we first see Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts) shooting himself up with anabolic steroids, the sense is that he's some kind of bulk-obsessed juicehead. As we watch him move through the crooked world of the Belgian cattle industry, he becomes a frightening creature: immense, inarticulate and volatile as a truckload of nitroglycerine. He's primed to explode. But even before we learn why he's transformed himself into a true raging bull, we feel for the beast. Jacky seems helpless and heartbroken. Someone made him this way.
The best-left-undisclosed trauma of Jacky's childhood sets in motion the tragedy of Michael R. Roskam's absorbing debut film, BULLHEAD. On one hand, it is a noir told from the perspective of the muscle. But it is also a procedural that guides viewers through the largely unexplored subculture of Flemish growth hormone trafficking. It is an ambitious, sometimes sprawling film, but Roskam never loses sight of the burly lug at the center of narrative. This isn't a crime film about getting over, nor is it a simple revenge narrative; though BULLHEAD toys with noir conventions throughout, it also owes a great thematic debt to monster movies like KING KONG and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.
After making a good deal of noise on the festival circuit, BULLHEAD is finally opening in U.S. theaters this Friday. It is also a nominee for this year's Best Foreign Film Oscar, which will be handed out next Sunday. Last week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Roskam, who's finally nearing the end of a press tour that began last February at the Berlin Film Festival. He was fighting a cold, but was still plenty lucid as we discussed the real-life inspiration for his film, the influence of everything from KING KONG to RAGING BULL, and how Bruce Wayne's transformation into Batman parallels Jacky's journey from boy to bull.
Bruce Willis Interview, RED
Posted by: Sheila Roberts
Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich), and Victoria (Helen Mirren) used to be the CIA's top agents -- but the secrets they know just made them the Agency's top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history.
MoviesOnline caught up last weekend with Bruce Willis at the press conference for Red at Comic Con in San Diego. Here’s what the star had to tell us about his exciting new film that combines action with adventure, mystery, suspense and comedy:
Q: It’s been great to see the Bruce Willis action movie come back. We’ve got Live Free or Die Hard, Surrogates, Cop Out and now we’re looking forward to Red. What do you think it is about now that makes it the right time for what you do?
Bruce Willis: That’s a good question. I always question whether it’s the right time for anything because I rely a lot of times on my own choices for the stories I’ve had and the scripts that I like. This film was always ambitious right from the very start. It could have just been defined as an action movie or as a comedy or as a romantic comedy and the studio and the story always was about them and stayed there. And it always felt ambitious and everyone you talk to that sees the film, the guys would say “It’s an action movie” and some people say “It’s a comedy” or “It’s a romantic comedy.” But it weaves all these things together in a way that doesn’t move you off of liking the action or liking the comedy or liking the romance or it being a romantic comedy. So it seems creatively I am pleased with this choice.
Q: Can you talk about Robert Schwentke as a director and this combination of action with humor and tension? What it was like working with him?
Bruce Willis: I think Robert had a lot of things he juggled and I think it would be intimidating for almost anyone to have to work with as many talented actors and big movie stars and Robert managed every day with a lot of grace and a sense of humor and got the work done.
Q: What about how the film evolved from the graphic novel?
Bruce Willis: I knew these guys wrote a pretty well thought out story that already had drama that showed up long before it ever made the transition from a graphic novel to a film. So we had to take 66 pages of the graphic novel and turn it into a 110 or 115 page script and trying to film 90 minutes of that and it was very ambitious and there would be many days where I’d say “Where are we in the story?” and Robert always knew the answer. He always knew exactly where we were, what we were doing, what this scene was about. But I think this story was already really dramatic and very easy to play and very easy to understand.
Q: This film really explores the concept that there are heroes older than 50 years old and that people over a certain age can actually be viable and relevant and, when pushed to the extreme, are capable of what they are doing. Can you talk about that?
Bruce Willis: The word is certainly used and used in the title of the film -- retired, extremely dangerous -- and it’s commented on a couple of times, but when you see the film it’s right now. It’s hip. Karl (Urban) and I went at it in one of the toughest fights I’ve ever fought in my life and contact was made. I wasn’t going “I’m a little too old, I can’t fight this hard.” It was definitely crafted along the lines of mixed martial arts. We were throwing each other around, I mean literally, and doing things that are very cool and very right. I don’t see anyone who’s is reported to be retired in this film that wasn’t sexy and hot and romantic and funny.
Q: What is the one thing that drew you to this project? What made you say I’ve got to do this?
Bruce Willis: I was talking with Lorenzo (di Bonaventura) about this I think two years before we started shooting. There was never any way you or I could ever have imagined the richness of what a film could be that has a huge cast of characters in it when all those characters are played by actors you already know and I was already a fan of for a long time. I was excited all the time. What? Who’s? Oh. Just excited. I think we’re just starting to talk about it now. We’re starting to talk about it and get a response and find out how to respond in this film, but one thing that’s going to be talked about a lot more is just the phenomenon of having this many actors and this many movie stars in a film being told, a good story, and telling an ambitious story that’s fun and funny and has action in it and is very satisfying.
Q: This is a brilliant adaptation of a wild ride graphic novel. One of your dearest friends has come out with an action mish-mosh type movie with another cast. Do you call each other back and forth and bust each other’s chops like dueling banjoes of movies coming out?
Bruce Willis: I hadn’t thought about it like that but I’m still a fan of films. I still go to movies all the time. I like to see what’s out there. I don't know about you guys but I never think there’s any competition between films. I hear it said but I root for everybody’s film. I especially have a fond place in my heart for graphic novels, for comics. What’s really cool to me about coming here and seeing Comic Con and seeing 7000 people who all dig the same kind of thing is I’ve never seen it. I’ve never seen any other slice of the audience that’s all in one place and all really excited to be here. I think it’s a really cool thing to see.
Q: Are you feeling more and more the vibe of the creators of the actual written portions of the storylines or having more control of the film adaptations of those being truer and truer to the original storyline?
Bruce Willis: I think we all try to live up to the storyline and I would hope that [we do]. I’d rather have you ask the guys that came up with the idea, did we live up to what that story was? Did we live up to taking that piece of material and art in one genre and translating it to another? I think I was always much more interested in what they would think of how we take the story and what we turn it into.
Q: You mentioned loving graphic novels. Do you collect them?
Bruce Willis: I don’t collect them but I’ve done a couple movies that are based on them. They all turn out to be really fun projects and fun to do. There’s just more character in it. There’s just more stuff that’s already there that you can go to. For the most part, people would expect actors to fill in blanks anyway, but when the blanks are not blanks anymore and there’s a specific story and characters and things that you’re upset about and what is your beef in this film, what is my beef in this film, it’s always a lot easier.
Q: At this stage in your career and your life, is there anything that still scares you?
Bruce Willis: It’s my favorite part of making movies. There are lots of different parts of moviemaking that I take part in and that’s talking about the project prior to the time they turn the camera on and doing work after the film’s been made and talking about it afterwards and participating in the marketing of it and getting the word out there. My favorite part is the making of it. I’m scared every day. I keep thinking that somebody’s going to throw me the ball I’m going to go “Oh wow, oh god, I just messed that up.” It’s not fear so much as excitement and not that thrill of you have to create something out of 115 typewritten pages and make it be human and lifelike. I am afraid of other things. I thought you were just talking about filmmaking. There’s that kind of fear. I’m afraid of a lot of other things in the world. I think I’m much more afraid of making a mistake in raising my daughters than I would be of any work that I do as an actor. It’s a much higher scale of fear, raising kids.
Jason Segal Interview, Despicable Me
Posted by: Sheila Roberts
A newcomer to the world of animation, Jason Segal was excited for his first time out to play a delicious villain named Vector in Universal’s inaugural 3-D CGI feature, Despicable Me. He also enjoyed having the chance to tap into his geeky side when he came up with the voice for his character.
Currently on hiatus from his CBS hit comedy series, How I Met Your Mother, Jason tells us it’s very cool to be part of an animated film that adults and kids alike can enjoy. In Despicable Me, he stars opposite Steve Carell who plays Gru, a villain who’s on track to become the greatest villain of all time by committing the crime of the century. But Gru’s nemesis, the nerdy Vector (Segel), has other ideas and tries to thwart Gru’s plans.
MoviesOnline sat down to talk with Jason at the Los Angeles press conference for Despicable Me. He told us how voicing an animated character compares to voicing a puppet, the challenges he faced coming up with funny lines and staying on-story while alone in the animation booth, and how he drew on his sense of humor and improv style for inspiration.
Jason also updated us on his work on The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made, described the post-apocalyptic finale he envisions for How I Met Your Mother, and shared what it was like dancing the conga line with co-stars Steve Carell and Miranda Cosgrove.
Q: Can you tell us what it's like to play such a delicious villain, and what you drew on for inspiration?
Jason Segel: I was given a sketch very early, and I have a bit of a background in puppetry. So coming up with a voice to match this sketch I was given was my real inspiration. I had a few months to come up with a voice, and I came up with a few and I went in and they helped me choose. These guys are such geniuses. The one they ended up choosing was perfect.
Q: Obviously, you look nothing like your character, but did you see any mannerisms that they picked up from you?
Jason Segal: I'm going to answer that question twofold. One, I was very excited, the whole thing that drew me to doing an animated film is that you're freed from the physical limitations of your physical body. All of a sudden you get to be something that has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a 6' 4", kind of lumbering dude. And that was really exciting; puppetry is very similar. And then this guy is based almost wholly on insecurity. He just wants to prove to his dad that he's worthy, in this case the most evil person alive. So I kind of drew from there. It was very freeing. I think for all of the cast, you'll probably notice, that nobody is doing their voice. Steve, myself, Russell, Julie… no one is talking like they normally talk, and it's because all of a sudden you're freed from the physical limitations of how you look, which is amazing.
Q: Speaking of the physical look of your character, he looks like Bill Gates…
Jason Segal: He does look a bit like Bill Gates!
Q: You saw the character before you started finding the voice, but did he change at all during the process?
Jason Segal: No, I got a sketch very early on that looked exactly like he ended up looking, and I came up with two voices, really -- one that we used and one that was totally counter to the way he looked, which was like, "Hellooo. What do you think YOU'RE doing here?" And we ended up choosing the one that I think was appropriate. I couldn't be more proud of the way the producers and directors made this film, it's beautiful.
Q: Which one of Vector's gadgets did you love and wish was real?
Jason Segal: Which was real? None of them were real! Which do I wish I had? I wouldn't mind the shrink ray, because I would like to make a lot of foods bite-sized so that I could eat them constantly. [Laughs]
Q: How is voicing an animated character different or similar to voicing a puppet?
Jason Segal: Well they're very similar experiences. Like I said, the thing that ties them together is the idea that you're not tied to your physical body. So being able to voice a character that looked nothing like me was very exciting. If I did that voice as an actor, you would call b.s. You would say, no, that's not what he sounds like. But all of a sudden I could be 5' 3", wear an orange jumpsuit, and be nerdy. You know, in real life I'm, like, SUPER good looking. And so to all of a sudden play a character that was nerdy was very exciting to me. [Laughs]
Q: Where does this fit in with your sense of humor, as far as the improv style you use and sometimes going blue, as in Forgetting Sarah Marshall?
Jason Segal: Well, what's cool about doing this animated film -- this is the only one I've done, so I have no other frame of reference -- is that you go in for three hours every few months. I probably went in six times over two years, something like that. And I think the goal is, from their standpoint, for me to give them as much material as I can possibly come up with, and they choose the funniest and the best and the most on-story. So every time it was just three hours of intense effort, trying to be as funny as I could and be on story and improv and give them as much material as I possibly could.
Q: Does it fit with your sense of humor?
Jason Segal: Yeah -- I actually am more proud of this movie than anything else I've ever done. There's something very special about the idea of a family being able to go to a movie and everyone enjoying themselves, genuinely. It's something The Muppets did beautifully and The Simpsons kind of does it, but parents aren't placating their kids when they take them to this movie. They're enjoying it as well. So there's something really great about the idea of a family walking out of a theater and everyone's had a really great experience and is enjoying themselves. I think a family getting along for a few hours is a special thing, funny enough.
Q: When are we going to get a chance to hear your music again?
Jason Segal: I'll play it for you later, tonight. [Laughs] I wrote some of the music for Get Him to the Greek. I wrote "Bangers and Mash" and "Supertight." You know, that's a real side job for me but I enjoy it. I taught myself to play piano when I was 17 to pick up girls. When you try to pitch a real musician these songs, they write them too musically, and when you try to pitch them to comedians they write them too funny. And I somehow found a middle ground because I'm not that good a musician and I'm not that funny. So it ends up being perfect.
Q: Did it work to pick up girls?
Jason Segal: Well, I remember the first thing I did was I found a really not-that-intelligent girl and I told her that I wrote "Your Song," by Elton John. I was like, "I wrote this for you." And then I lost my virginity.
Q: Do you think that animated movies are like an actor's workshop, in a sense?
Jason Segal: It's a very unique experience in that you're not working with any of these actors in any of these scenes. You're alone in a booth. To me it felt like a test; if I could be funny and good and on-story. On-story, to me, is a big part of improv. It's very easy to come out and say funny lines that you've thought of the night before, but to be on-story is the real challenge. So you're in there for three hours trying to give them material they can actually use. I have a million jokes I could say, but to try to make it on story and valuable to them was something that was a challenge, and I really enjoyed that idea. It's just you alone, which is kind of awesome because a lot of the time, other actors really slow me down, because they're not quite as good as me. [Laughs]
Q: We heard you did a conga line with Miranda Cosgrove and Steve Carell for the film…
Jason Segal: Yeah, we got to play with the minions a bit, who I think are the cutest element to the movie. The minions are Steve Carell's/Gru's assistants, kind of the architects of his plan. We did a little conga line with them. It was a bit awkward, because, to be honest, it's midgets in outfits. And at one point I had to come up with something funny, and I said, "Hey, can I throw this ball off of your head and see if it bounces back to me?" And one of the guys in the outfits said, "You've got to remember, I'm a real human being." And then I felt really awkward.
Q: Is that your "despicable" moment?
Jason Segal: Yes, that's my worst moment. To date.
Q: Would you talk about the music in this movie that was done by Pharrell?
Jason Segal: The thing about this movie in general is that everything has been done to perfection, to some extent. With the exception of me, they hired the best actors that they could possibly imagine, the best comedians. The music is perfect and the story is so beautifully written. You watch this and you kind of expect a kids' movie, it's about villains fighting, but there's such an underlying sense of heart to this movie. I cried at the end. I'm not a real cryer, but at the end of the movie, Gru -- Steve Carell, who did his part to perfection -- reads a story to these kids, and part of the theme is that even the coldest heart can be melted by love. That really got me. The movie is perfect.
Q: How did you become attached to Despicable Me?
Jason Segal: John Cohen, one of our great producers, came to my house and told me about the story. Then he gave me a sketch of Vector and I was hooked instantly. Like I said, the story is so beautifully told. There was no doubt I was going to do the film.
Q: When you alter your voice and go at it for a long time, does your voice tire or do you have a hard time keeping it up?
Jason Segal: That's my real voice. This is an affect I do for press conferences.
Q: What from this film has informed your work on The Muppets and how's it coming along? How terrifying is it to have to live up to Jim Henson's legacy?
Jason Segal: Well that part is very intimidating. What I do think is if I approach it with a real sense of respect… I'm very earnest about the way I approach it. There's no sense of irony with me, going into The Muppets. I don't think it's funny that I'm doing The Muppets. I truly love them. But what I learned from this film is the idea of a family being able to bond over seeing something together, and walking out with everyone in a great mood. It's a very special thing; for a family to walk out of a film satisfied and happy, and then go have lunch or dinner together feeling happy and talking and laughing -- it's a very rare thing. Family dynamics aren't easy, so the notion of anything drawing them together, especially a movie like Despicable Me, I think is a very special thing.
Q: We all know you're perfect and wonderful now, but where did you find your inner dork to play Vector?
Jason Segal: I've been 6' 4" since I was 12. I was 6' 4", 100 lbs. I looked like Jack Skellington. And kids used to stand around me in a circle and one by one they would jump on my back and the rest would chant, "Ride the oaf! Ride the oaf!" It's true. So you either become funny, which is hopefully what I did, or you become a villain, which is where I got the idea for Vector; he's a guy who was horribly picked on and this is where he's ended up.
Q: When you go back to work on "How I Met Your Mother," what's in store for Marshall and Lily?
Jason Segal: I don't know the storylines. Allegedly, from what I've heard, I'm going to get even funnier. Which seems impossible. But that's the plan. I think there might be a kid in our future, if I had to guess -- but I'm truly guessing -- but I always pictured myself and Marshall a bit like the Abominable Snowman from the Bugs Bunny cartoons: "I'll hug him and squeeze him and kiss him all over" -- I picture me holding a baby upside down by the leg, shaking it.
Q: Are the producers amused by your idea for a post-apocalyptic finale?
Jason Segal: [Laughs] I just think, if the narration takes place in the future, there should be a reveal where they open the window and it's horrible out there. I just think that's a hilarious idea. But no, they're not amused by anything I do. A lot of these ideas come from the fact that I'm a bizarre human being.
Q: Both Vector and Gru have parent issues. Do you have any insight into why they both have these despicable qualities?
Jason Segal: I think they could be siblings. You only see Gru's mom and you only see Vector's dad. Despicable Me 2: This Time It's Personal?
Q: Do you support any specific charities or are you affiliated with any green organizations?
Jason Segal: I think recycling is a myth - an Internet myth. I don't think it's real. [Laughs] No, the charity I'm most associated with is the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which I think is just a beautiful association.
Q: In the film, you and Steve play nemeses; in real life, who is your celebrity nemesis?
Jason Segal: I think it's probably Ryan Reynolds, in that we have very similar comedic tastes and all that, and our bodies are so [similar] that it's basically a rivalry over who can be in better shape. At this point, I think I'm winning.
Q: What's your best advice for writing comedy?
Jason Segal: To write a drama. I'm not joking. That was the first advice I got from Judd Apatow, and I think it's why his movies are so brilliant. He told me when I was writing Forgetting Sarah Marshall, "I want the first draft you give me to be a drama. We'll make it funny. It's going to be funny because we're funny, and we're going to add jokes, and the people you cast will be funny. The reason people will see it -- and see it again and again or connect to it -- is because there's an underlying drama." So that's the best advice I can give when you're trying to write a comedy: first write a drama, and then make it funny.
Q: So how do you write a drama?
Jason Segal: You go from real experience. Almost everything I've written is somehow tied to something I've gone through. You try to hit a universal theme; Sarah Marshall's about how complicated break-ups are, which everyone has gone through. The next thing I'm writing is about engagement and love, and everyone has gone through that. Hitting a universal theme -- this movie does it perfectly. The idea of somehow opening yourself up to something in your life is universal, and that's what everyone relates to.
Q: Growing up, did you have a favorite animated film?
Jason Segal: That's a good question. I was really drawn to the early Disney villains -- and funny enough, this movie is about villainy. They managed to be really terrifying without scaring kids. If you think about Ursula from The Little Mermaid, that's a terrifying character! The Cinderella witch -- they're all witches, for the most part in the Disney [universe]. But they're really terrifying, terrible and intense for the heroes, but somehow your eye was always drawn to them.
Q: Does your height ever hinder you in getting roles?
Jason Segal: Not now. It hindered me when I was a kid. I remember when I was 18, I was allegedly really close to playing Dustin Hoffman's son. I knew I wasn't going to get that part. I'm like eight inches taller than Dustin Hoffman! I might be a foot taller than Dustin Hoffman. It just wasn't going to happen. So it hindered me then, when I was playing a boy. Now that I'm playing a man, it's a bit easier. Girls have heels. Dustin Hoffman in heels isn't a good look.
