Sep 28 2009 'A Christmas Carol' Trailer 2: If Nothing Else, They Owe Ferrell Chest Royalties
This new trailer for Robert Zemeckis's stylelessly-animated A Christmas Carol has a cameo by someone who appears to be a CGI, Christmas-themed version of Terrence Maddox, Will Ferrell's nude male model of SNL fame. Logically, this makes it marginally better than the Christmas Carol trailer that came out two weeks ago.*
*It's possible that trailer included this guy too. I can't pay attention to everything all the time, OK?
Sep 15 2009 'A Christmas Carol' Poster: This Christmas, See This Happen
When your kids beg you to see "the movie with the gaunt, hideous old man straddling a novelty-sized candle snuffer that is flying"--because that's what kids like seeing, and they know how to recognize a giant candle snuffer when they see one--now you'll know what they're talking about.
Bigger version at Cinematical. You can really see the detail the animators put into filling Scrooge's mouth with fillings. This is the start of a revolution in CG dental restorative material.
Sep 14 2009 'Disney's A Christmas Carol' Trailer: Back to the Uncanny Valley
Proving that nearly-realistic, Christmas-themed computer animation can be made slightly creepier than Polar Express when the subject is a deformed old man, here's the new trailer for Robert Zemeckis's adaptation of the well-worn tale of Ebenezer Scrooge.
If you loved the floating feather dancing in the air in Forrest Gump, you'll love the floating snowflake dancing in the air in this trailer. What is Bobby Z's obsession with following delicate, white objects drifting gently to the ground?
Continue Reading " 'Disney's A Christmas Carol' Trailer: Back to the Uncanny Valley "
Aug 10 2009 Stooge Update: Giamatti is Larry, But We Need a New Curly
This is becoming some sort of old comedy film in which everything keeps going wrong! The Boston Globe (via /Film) is reporting Paul Giamatti has filled in the half-bald fro-shaped hole left by Sean Penn's departure from The Three Stooges. Also, Jim Carrey has decided not to gain 50 pounds and shave his head, and is no longer playing Curly:
Peter Farrelly told us that Paul Giamatti has signed on to replace Sean Penn as Larry. (Penn dropped out, citing "personal reasons.")Still to be cast is Curly. There had been reports that Jim Carrey would utter Curly's signature "n'yuk, n'yuk, n'yuk,'' but it's not so. If Farrelly has someone in mind, he didn't tell us who.
Good thing I already made a list of guys who would be a great Curly, Farrelly Brothers. No need to thank me. Seeing Bedridden Curly (my favorite Curly casting option) get some work will be reward enough.
(Thanks, Thundergirl.)
Jul 7 2009 'Christmas Carol' Poster: Behold Scrooge's Flame Top Hat!
Phew! I was getting worried yet another A Christmas Carol adaptation would omit the fourth, lesser mentioned ghost, the Ghost of Christmas a Miniature Altar Boy Who Uses Fire to Simulate How You'd Look in Various Fancy Hats. Probably the least plot-essential ghost, but a good one I think we've all missed. Welcome back, friend.
'A Christmas Carol 3D' Poster [DVDForum.at]
May 19 2009 'A Christmas Carol' Still Pointless and Slightly Repulsive
Disney has released a new image and short clip from Robert Zemeckis's A Christmas Carol, confirming that, yes, the computer-animated rehashing of the Dickens classic still appears to be superfluous and moderately unsettling to look at, and Jim Carrey's wacky, fluctuating voice is not helping:
Continue Reading " 'A Christmas Carol' Still Pointless and Slightly Repulsive "
Mar 25 2009 Penn, Del Toro, and Carrey Probably Your New Larry, Moe, and Curly
The nyucking is all coming together. Variety reports that Sean Penn has officially signed on to play Larry in the Farrelly Brothers' modern take on a Three Stooges comedy; meanwhile, Jim Carrey is in talks to put on 40 pounds to play Curly, and Benicio Del Toro may be getting a bowl-cut:
Studio has set Sean Penn to play Larry, and negotiations are underway with Jim Carrey to play Curly, with the actor already making plans to gain 40 pounds to approximate the physical dimensions of Jerome "Curly" Howard.The studio is zeroing in on Benicio Del Toro to play Moe.
The film is not a biopic, but rather a comedy built around the antics of the three characters that Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Howard played in the Columbia Pictures shorts.
Steve Martin grave robbing the magnifying glass from Peter Sellers' cold hands has got me used to the idea of modern actors recreating iconic roles. I'm numb to it. Even though I'd say this is far more heinous, being that the actors who played the Stooges are completely synonymous with these roles, I'm willing to let this stand as a misguided tribute.
What worries me, though, is the standard this is setting for the future. In 40 years, when I'm taking my grandchildren to see the latest Ice Age movie (this one has prehistoric mammals, dinosaurs, and jets), I don't want to be greeted with a trailer for a new Austin Powers, with some new actor shouting familiar catchphrases through prosthetic teeth. If we're going to let Three Stooges: 2010 stand as a precedent, the possibility seems too real for comfort.
Feb 27 2009 Carrey, Gyllenhaal Are Damn Yankees
Grandma's always like, "Let's watch the the 1958 musical Damn Yankees!" and you inevitably respond, "But Grandma, I'm young; I only want to watch Ace Venture: Pet Detective!" It's so hard to meet halfway with movie viewing in your Family Matters-esque grandma-present home. Until now! From Variety:
New Line Cinema is playing ball with Jim Carrey and Jake Gyllenhaal on "Damn Yankees," attaching both actors to star in a contemporized film transfer of the classic musical."Damn Yankees," which bowed on Broadway in 1955 and won seven Tony Awards, focuses on Joe Boyd, a happily married middle-aged man whose devotion to a hapless pro baseball team prompts him to make a Faustian bargain with the devil to help the team. He's transformed into slugger Joe Hardy, in exchange for Boyd's soul. Boyd can break the deal, but the deadline occurs during the World Series. For good measure, the devil engages Lola, a gorgeous lost soul, to seduce the slugger and seal his fate.
The plan is for Carrey to play the devil, and Gyllenhaal to play Boyd. It's the first musical for each.
Can we get some kind of assurance that Carrey will wear Grinch-like prosthetics for his part? I feel like that's still needed to fully push this past the realm of good sense. Either that or the announcement that actual Yankee A-Rod will co-star as part of a rehabilitation agreement.
Jan 8 2009 Jim Carrey, as Animated Scrooge, Wearing a Translucent Baggy as a Sleeping Cap
Filmz.ru has posted the first look at Jim Carrey as Scrooge in Robert Zemeckis's A Christmas Carol. Like Zemeckis's last project, this film is entirely motion-capture animation, taking the creepy, empty faces of Beowulf and combining them with the creepy, awful faces of the elderly. I'm probably going to throw up during the trailer.
Oct 24 2008 Columbus in Talks for 'Ripley's': Believe It!
Chris Columbus is in talks to take over Ripley's Believe it or Not, a Paramount project with Jim Carrey set for the lead. From Variety:
After being unplugged months before a 2007 production start in China with Tim Burton at the helm, "Ripley’s Believe It or Not!" is getting a complete overhaul, based on a concept that Columbus pitched. Both Paramount and Carrey sparked to it, and the China-based storyline will be scrapped.Once Columbus’ deal is closed, the studio will hire a writer to draft the project, which remains a Par priority: The studio is aiming for a 2011 release and is hoping the pic spawns a franchise. Columbus, who most recently wrapped "I Love You, Beth Cooper," is next expected to direct "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief," based on the Rick Riordan book.
Well, this project just took a bite of shit sandwich. A Tim Burton Ripley's Believe It or Not meant a decent probability of some twisted freaks, horrible mutants, and a cameo by Johnny Depp as conjoined twins. A Columbus Ripley's Believe It or Not reeks of broad family fun and a trailer that says, "this Christmas, let a half-man fill your heart..." I'd better get to see some freaks, buddy.
Aug 26 2008 Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor Are So Gonna Kiss
The first shot from I Love You Phillip Morris (described as "Catch Me if You Can meets Brokeback Mountain," due to madcap criminality and the presence of gayness) has been released, bringing to life your erotic fan fiction where Ace Ventura falls through a portal and ends up doing it with a young and curious Obi-Wan Kenobi. Yes, we all know about that.
First Look: Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor in I Love You Phillip Morris [First Showing]
Jul 23 2008 'Yes Man' Trailer Actually Completely Unagreeable
Well, here's the teaser trailer to Jim Carrey's Yes Man. As Videogum pointed out, it seems a lot like Liar Liar, except instead of telling the truth he has to keep saying "yes," and also, if you pay attention, there is a subtle plug for Red Bull.
Is kissing someone and realizing you have their gum in your mouth really still a joke? The trailer claims it is, but I would have sworn that died around the same time as similarly outdated and unfunny kissing jokes like "braces getting stuck together" and "closing your eyes to kiss only to open them to something surprising, like finding out you're kissing a dog."
Continue Reading " 'Yes Man' Trailer Actually Completely Unagreeable "
Jan 11 2008 Watch a Scene from 'Yes Man' (Different Than CBS's 'Yes, Dear')
In the newfound tradition of giving out Best Screenplay-hopeful scripts for free, here's a page I've constructed of a scene from Yes Man, sure to be a contender in next year's Oscar race.
EXT. BUILDING - DAY
A man stands on the edge of a building, like how people about to commit suicide do in movies. He is hispanic, chubby, has the face of one of those Muppet ogres--a LUIS GUZMAN TYPE.
Enter our YES MAN. He is Jim Carrey, or maybe Adam Sandler--really, anyone you found moderately amusing in junior high will do.
LUIS GUZMAN TYPE: I'm gonna do it! Don't try and stop me!
YES MAN: OK.
LGT: What do you mean, 'OK'?
BOTH: (unintelligible muttering)
YES MAN suddenly has a guitar. He begins singing and playing Third Eye Blind's 1998 hit, JUMPER. LGT joins in, eventually abandoning his suicide plans because of the catchy post-grunge hook.
And, what do you know, here's video of the actual scene.
Dec 18 2007 McGregor Playing Carrey's Prison Love Buddy
After the success of Brokeback Mountain, I fully expected a slew of heterosexual actors to come out of the woodwork to show that they too would kiss a dude if it meant a possible Oscar nomination. Back in June, Jim Carrey announced he'd be doing just that, joining the cast of I Love You Phillip Morris, the story of a man finding surprisingly consensual love behind bars. Now Ewan McGregor has signed on to play the titular love interest.
At first, the true story of guys falling in love in prison seemed like too easy a premise to me. Much crazier stuff happened in pretty much every episode of Oz, and in that world it would definitely end in a shanking. But now that they're explaining the methods the guy used to escape from prison, I'm getting more interested:
His love for Morris motivated his escape from prisons four times, once by using a green pen and bucket of water to change his prison outfit into what appeared to be surgical scrubs, another time by faking his death from AIDS and signing his own death certificate. Morris eventually got out, but Russell's escapades got him a 144-year sentence.
Seriously, making your clothes look vaguely like scrubs can get you out of prison? How does that work? "Hey, guards, I'm just a surgeon wearing scrubs that looks suspiciously like a prison uniform. Don't know how I got here. So could you let me, a non-criminal surgeon, out?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. Weird how a surgeon stumbled in here, but these things happen. Good day, doctor."
After hearing of this and the recent Shawshank Redemption-style prison break in Jersey, I'm starting to think anyone who stops sexually assaulting for a few minutes can manage to escape from prison.
Carrey finds his 'Love' interest [Variety]
Dec 14 2007 'Horton Hears a Who' Trailer is Surprisingly Watchable
After Jim Carrey turned Dr. Seuss's The Grinch into a pointless, disturbing horror show, I was a little upset to learn he was teaming up with the makers of Ice Age to try it with Horton Hears a Who. Yet, somehow--probably through the voice-over of Steve Carell and the co-opted Beetlejuice music--this seem like it could be a reasonable adaptation of the original work.
Nice try, Carrey, but you're going to have to get up pretty early in the morning (for extensive makeup work and the attachment of fur prosthetics) if you want to horribly misinterpret another Dr. Seuss book.
Horton Hears a Who Trailer [Apple]
Nov 6 2007 Jim Carrey On Set of 'Yes Man'
It must be a terribly painful moment when you finally hit that point of utter disgust and self-loathing at your tired face-making schtick, and your sad realization instinctually externalizes itself as yet another stupid face.
Just such a moment was captured on the set of Yes Man, a comedy (also starring Zooey Deschanel) in which Carrey challenges himself to say "yes" to everything for a full year. Or it might just be a hilarious scene where he says "yes" to shitting in a gas can.
Jim Carrey Can't Say No [JFX Online]
Oct 24 2007 AM Poster Post: 'Horton Hears a Who' One-Sheet
I apologize for the quality of this poster, but this is he best version I could find, and I thought it was more important to report whatever incident has gone on between Horton and this gentleman in the front.
I don't know exactly what happened, but it's clear from their expressions that some violation has occurred here.
Horton Hears a Who Poster [IMPA]
Jun 29 2007 Jim Carrey to Poke Fun at Addiction
"Growing up in Canada, all I ever wanted was to be in Miami Vice"
Jim Carrey will be the star and producer of the upcoming comedy Sober Buddies. What's it about? Glad you asked, douchebag!
Andrew Kurtzman is writing the script, about a hard-partying software exec assigned a court-appointed Sober Buddy to keep him under control during a critical business trip to Las Vegas. A perfect plan falls apart when the Sober Buddy (Carrey) falls off the wagon.
What can I say, Jim Carrey has made some funny movies, and I'm one of the few people who think he's decent as a dramatic actor (Eternal Sunshine). Still, Fun with Dick & Jane was probably the most painfully unfunny movie since Corky Romano. Can the writer of Down Periscope and See No Evil Hear No Evil get him back on track? Who cares, I'm drunk. It's Friday, you don't have to wait till noon. I think Jesus said that.
