All Things:Comedy

Online Sales of Louis C. K. Special Cross $1 Million Mark - NYTimes.com

Having told Mr. Fallon that he’d never had $1 million all at once in his life, and then dismissing his electronically earned largess as “a $5 impulse that 220,000 people had,” Louis C. K. explained that he would use $250,000 to pay for the special (as he has said previously), spend another $250,000 in bonuses to people who work for him and give $280,000 to five charity organizations: Fistula Foundation, which works with women injured in childbirth; Green Chimneys which gives outdoor and animal therapies to children; charity: water, which provides clean drinking water; the Pablove Foundation, which sponsors pediatric cancer research; and Kiva, which provides small loans to people around the world. The remaining $220,000, Louis C. K. said, would go to himself, providing a colorful pantomime suggestion of the physical improvement he planned to purchase with the money.

Really glad to see this is working out for him.
 


THE BABYMAKERS Movie Trailer

The first trailer for director Jay Chandrasekhar’s (Super Troopers, Beerfest) comedy The Babymakers has arrived in the form of an extended NSFW look at the film. The movie centers on a young married couple who is having trouble conceiving a child. They decide the only way to have kids is to break into a sperm bank in order to retrieve the specimen the husband donated as a young man. Paul Schneider (Lars and the Real Girl) stars as the husband and Olivia Munn plays his wife. While I quite enjoyed Chandrasekhar’s previous Broken Lizard entries, this trailer is painfully unfunny. They’re basically making the same dick jokes for over three minutes and I couldn’t even crack a smile.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Written by Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow (Ice Age: The Meltdown), the film also features quite a few Broken Lizard regulars despite not being an official “Broken Lizard film”, with Paul Soter, Kevin Heffernan, Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, and Chandrasekhar himself all appearing.

Looks like the next best thing to a Broken Lizard flick.
 
Looks like the next best thing to a Broken Lizard flick.

As much as I love Super Troopers and Beerfest and as much as I appreciated Club Dread....

I saw Slammin' Salmon and I'm not so sure that's a good thing anymore...
 
As much as I love Super Troopers and Beerfest and as much as I appreciated Club Dread....

I saw Slammin' Salmon and I'm not so sure that's a good thing anymore...

SS was a misfire, but it was also done quick and on the cheap because the boys wanted to get back to their diy kinda roots. It's the weakest in their filmography but it's not without it's moments(most of them owned by Michael Clarke Duncan). This looks funnier than I expected, but that may just be a benefit of cramming good stuff into a trailer. I remain hopeful because I love these guys.
 
Louis C.K. Snags Correspondents' Dinner Gig - Des Moines News Story - KCCI Des Moines

The comedian has been selected as the featured speaker for the 68th Annual Radio & Television Congressional Correspondents' Dinner, to be held in June.

According to a press release, the black tie event is "traditionally attended by the President, the Congressional Leadership, media executives, Capitol Hill broadcast journalists and prominent newsmakers."

Cool. Hope the mp3 makes its way to my hard drive.
 
Dimension Picks Up THE BLACK MARKS Starring Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon

Dimension Films has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to the Canadian production The Black Marks. Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon and Jay Baruchel star in the heist comedy about “a third rate motorcycle daredevil (Russell) and semi-reformed art thief, [who] agrees to get back into the con game and pull off just one more lucrative art theft with his untrustworthy brother Nicky (Dillon).” I love a good heist film, and Russell as an oddball at the center sounds delightful.

Jonathan Sobol will write and direct—this is the follow-up to his debut feature A Beginner’s Guide to Endings. Nicholas Tabarrok and Jeff Sackman are producing. Hit the jump for the full synopsis:

Via Heat Vision:


“Crunch Calhoun (Russell), a third rate motorcycle daredevil and semi-reformed art thief, [who] agrees to get back into the con game and pull off just one more lucrative art theft with his untrustworthy brother Nicky (Dillon). Crunch reassembles the old team and comes up with a plan to steal a priceless historical book, but the successful heist leads to another, far riskier, plan devised by Nicky. What the brothers don’t realize is they each have their own agenda and their plan goes awry in this con movie about brotherhood, honor and revenge.”

Motorcycle daredevil???? Art heist???? What is it 1970 all over again. This sounds like a movie that only I will love...and thats ok!
 
Emma Stone to Star in LITTLE WHITE CORVETTE

Emma Stone has signed on to star in Little White Corvette. Michael Diliberti‘s Black List script centers on “a nerdy guy and his wild older sister who travel to Miami to try and sell a million dollar stash of ’70s cocaine they found in the trunk of their late father’s car.” No director is currently attached but Deadline reports that shooting is schedule to begin late this summer. Diliberti co-wrote the story with David Branson Smith, and this is the third recent sale for Diliberti. His pitch The Big Saynora was picked up by Fox as a directing vehicle for John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (Crazy, Stupid, Love.) , and he has another pitch being produced by Todd Phillips for Warner Bros.

Stone is one of my favorite young actresses working today and any movie is made better by her presence. She’s also in talks to star in the comedy He’s ****in’ Perfect. Stone will be seen later this year in The Amazing Spider-Man and in the 1940s crime-thriller Gangster Squad.

Not sure if this will be a comedy per se, but until we find out otherwise I am sticking it here
 
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein to Script HORRIBLE BOSSES 2; Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis Expected to Return


I placed Horrible Bosses on my Top 10 of 2011 because not only was it hilarious, but because it had staying power. New Line Cinema is now moving forward on a sequel and have re-hired original writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. According to THR, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis are also expected to return, and New Line is also trying to bring back director Seth Gordon. I’m glad Daley, Goldstein, and possibly Gordon are returning, but what sells me on a sequel is brining back the Bateman, Day, and Sudeikis. I don’t mean to diminish the work of the screenwriters or director, but Horrible Bosses works because of the chemistry between those guys. I have no idea where a sequel could go, but as long as the lead trio is back, I’ll stay interested.

Bosses was a strong hit with a worldwide gross of $209 million off a $35 million budget. Daley and Goldstein have stayed hot with their screenwriting; the duo was hired to pen the sequel to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and they also wrote the upcoming comedy Burt Wonderstone starring Steve Carell and Jim Carrey.
 
Owen Wilson and Christopher Walken Join Paul Rudd in Errol Morris’ FREEZING PEOPLE IS EASY; Kristen Wiig May Co-Star

Last July, we reported that Paul Rudd would star in Errol Morris‘ non-documentary feature based on the memoir We Froze the First Man and a This American Life story about Bob Nelson, a California TV repairman who was obsessed with cryogenically freezing humans in order to resurrect them later in the future. Deadline now reports that Owen Wilson and Christopher Walken are set to co-star, and Kristen Wiig may join the film, which has been titled Freezing People Is Easy, but she first has to wrap her season on Saturday Night Live and she’s also considering other offers.

Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction) wrote the script and the production is eyeing a mid-2012 start date. It sounds like a fun premise, I’m eager to see what Morris brings to the project, and I dig the cast that’s being lined up to star. Click here to go listen to the This American Life episode about Nelson, “Mistakes Were Made”.
 
Universal May Do BRIDESMAIDS 2 without Kristen Wiig

Kristen Wiig co-wrote her own breakthrough role in last year’s Bridesmaids. The film is Universal’s highest-grossing romantic comedy ever and naturally the studio would love to have a sequel. However, Wiig tells THR, “We aren’t working on that. Annie [Mumolo] and I aren’t planning a sequel. We are writing something else.” There’s some speculation that Wiig and her co-stars were unhappy with the $100,000 bonus they received for the movie even though it ended up grossing $288 million worldwide. Universal reportedly offered Wiig and eight-figure payday to return, but she declined the offer and now the studio is looking to hang the sequel on Bridesmaids‘ other breakout star, Melissa McCarthy.

In addition to Wiig and Mumolo passing on the sequel, producer Judd Apatow may bow out as well. A source tells THR, “I don’t think [Judd] would proceed without Kristen and Annie’s full participation.” Apatow released a statement explaining his hesitation:

“The key is we have to come up with an idea that is as good or better than the first one. We don’t want to do it unless it can be great. I don’t think anyone has had the brain space to think about it yet. Hopefully that can begin this year.”

The studio would obviously like to have a big R-rated comedy franchise on its hands like Warner Bros. does with The Hangover, and Universal has shown its willingness to move forward on sequels even if the lead actor won’t return (Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, The Bourne Legacy). There’s also the possibility director Paul Feig would also pass on the sequel, so the only returning elements would probably be some or all of the supporting cast members.
 
BD Horror News - Seth Rogen's 'The Apocalypse' To Be Cameo Laden

Sony Pictures is in negotiations to finance and distribute The Apocalypse, the end-of-the-world comedy that is serving as the directorial debut of Seth Rogen and longtime writing partner Evan Goldberg, says THR.

Rogen wrote the script with Goldberg. The project is inspired by a short called "Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse" that featured Rogen and Jay Baruchel playing themselves, holed up in an apartment as they dealt with the end of the world.

The project's scope has expanded slightly from its days as a short, as Rogen and Baruchel will now be joined by James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson, all playing themselves as they are stuck in Franco's apartment in Los Angeles facing an apocalypse. The filmmakers also are hoping to populate the movie with cameos.

A spring production start is being eyed.

A stoner-buddy comedy-end of the world flick...with Danny McBride AND Craig Robinson???? Please let this be the movie that YOUR HIGHNESS sadly was not.
 
Mark Wahlberg Talks Seth MacFarlane’s TED

Ted marks the feature directorial debut of Seth MacFarlane. The film, also written by MacFarlane, tells the story of a grown man (Wahlberg) whose wish that his childhood teddy bear (played by MacFarlane using motion-capture) would come to life comes true. However, the bear turns out to be a swearing, pot-smoking mess and wreaks havoc on the man’s life. As expected, the script is riddled with salacious material, and when asked if there was anything Wahlberg had to debate over whether or not to actually say out loud, the actor replied “quite a few things,” adding:


“I want a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie saying that all these things are written by Seth MacFarlane not me (laughs), and I didn’t improvise any of it and he’s gotta take full responsibility for all the people he’s offended. But it’s off the charts.”

This was MacFarlane’s first time in the director’s chair, but Wahlberg has high praise for the first-timer:


“Working with him was a dream. He’s such a sweet guy, such a generous guy, I just had a blast. It was one of those occasions like an Adam McKay or a Tim Burton where you just can’t wait to get to get to the set and be around the guy and watch him do his thing, it was one of those special occasions.”

It sure sounds like we’re in for a treat with Ted (both in explicit content and professionalism), and I can’t wait to see what a Seth MacFarlane feature film looks like.
 
THE COMEDY Poster Sundance 2012

ve been sent the exclusive poster for The Comedy starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. The film will play at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. For those unfamiliar with the movie, here’s the logline: “Indifferent even to the prospects of inheriting his father’s estate, Swanson whiles away his days with a group of aging Brooklyn hipsters, engaging in small acts of recreational cruelty and pacified boredom.” Ah, recreational cruelty: the very best kind of cruelty. Rick Alverson directed and co-wrote the film with Robert Donne and Colm O’Leary. The Comedy will be one the Sundance 2012 movies starring Heidecker and Wareheim; the other is Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie.
 
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