Sep 30 2009 New 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Trailer: The Cuss You Won't Watch This
New trailer for Wes Anderson's The Fantastic Mr. Fox, people. Let it wiggle into that fox-in-a-corduroy-blazer-shaped hole in your heart and fill it with stop-motion love:
Continue Reading " New 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Trailer: The Cuss You Won't Watch This "
Sep 2 2009 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Behind-the-Scenes: Stop-Motion Animation Appears Labor Intensive
Here's a Fantastic Mr. Fox featurette, hosted by Jason Schwartzman. If you want to see how laborious it is creating feature-length stop-motion of some well-dressed wildlife, this is just the thing for you. And if you want to see George Clooney roll around on the ground whistling, strangely this is also just the thing for you:
Aug 26 2009 New 'Bored to Death' Trailer: Jason Schwartzman, P.I.
Boasting an impressive cast of actors of the comedy genre, HBO's Bored to Death begins airing next month, so the network has released another trailer to promote the September 20 premiere. The series stars Jason Schwartzman as a private investigator, with supporting parts from the always-funny Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson, who may have finally redeemed himself after Becker. His Curb Your Enthusiasm run nearly did it, but I still harbored resentment from the NBC miniseries Gulliver's Travels. This could be it:
Continue Reading " New 'Bored to Death' Trailer: Jason Schwartzman, P.I. "
Jul 30 2009 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Trailer: Kids' Movies Are Suddenly Really Great
Oh, if only to be a child again. Not me as a child--I was an idiot who spent most of his time re-enacting scenes from Ghostbusters--but a child with discerning enough taste to recognize and enjoy that this fall marks a quality family film renaissance. In October comes Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are, and in November we get Wes Anderson's adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox--a film that places the director's wit and stylized direction in a realm more accepting of abstraction: the world of Rankin/Bass-like stop-motion animation.
We've already seen how good Wild Things looks, and now a trailer for Fox has finally been released. It's basically Roald Dahl's Bottle Rocket:
Continue Reading " 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Trailer: Kids' Movies Are Suddenly Really Great "
Jul 9 2009 New 'Funny People' Trailer: It's Funny
My computer's MMX processor isn't powerful enough to properly watch it, but hey, there's a new, red-band (cussin'!) trailer for Funny People! From what I could tell through the stuttered audio and slideshow-esque video that I was able to see, this film still looks funny (but not too funny, you know?) and genuine, so try to look past your seemingly-arbitrary resentment of Judd Apatow & Friends and let's all agree this looks pretty good:
Jun 18 2009 'Bored to Death' Trailer: The Next HBO Series You'll Try to Eventually Watch
Hey, everyone, the Jonathan Ames-written, high-concept HBO series that stars Jason Schwartzman as an alcoholic writer operating illegally as a would-be detective is coming out this September, and the network has released a trailer to remind us how Zach Galifianakis, Parker Posey, Ted Danson, and Kristen Wiig are also involved.
With a cast like that, we have to give it a chance. By law. Even if it does give off a strange, unexplainable aura of being from the mid-'90s:
Continue Reading " 'Bored to Death' Trailer: The Next HBO Series You'll Try to Eventually Watch "
May 29 2009 'Yo Teach...!' Clip and Behind-the-Scenes!
Every group of underachieving, inner-city high schoolers needs a Michelle Pfeiffer, or a Pryzbylewski, or a Steve Harvey to show them that someone cares, that rapping is like funky poetry, and that dice is like math. This fall on NBC, one such group will get theirs in Mark Taylor Jackson, the "wise-cracking mentor of Yo Teach...!"
As this clip and behind-the-scenes featurette demonstrate, the show looks hilarious. And heartwarming:
Continue Reading " 'Yo Teach...!' Clip and Behind-the-Scenes! "
Feb 23 2009 'Funny People' Trailer is Going to Live After All
Is there a second Adam Sandler movie I want to see in my adult life? I think there might be! Funny People may be a formulaic finally-truly-living-after-nearly-dying romantic comedy, but how can you resist Adam Sander, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, and others all acting not-that-hammy in a Judd Apatow film? You can't. Unless you're one of the people who are sick of the overexposure of Judd Apatow and all of his cronies, in which case you'll hate this:
Continue Reading " 'Funny People' Trailer is Going to Live After All "
Feb 18 2009 Rushmore is Probably Gideon in 'Scott Pilgrim'
A photo of a tell-tale eyebrow above a 7/? fusion on Edgar Wright's blog appears to confirm earlier rumors that Jason Schwartzman will play Gideon, the seventh evil ex, in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Schwartzman is usually good in things, so let's be happy. There's also a photo of Chris Evans "in character," but since we already knew he was playing that character and he's already looked like a douche in almost every movie, that isn't as exciting. Except for how there appears to be someone's upside down legs behind him. The upside down person is marginally exciting.
Jun 13 2008 Eric Bana is 'Funny People,' Proves It by Wearing Wigs
Nowadays, we tend to think of Eric Bana as Munich, The Guy From Troy Who Wasn't Brad Pitt, or Oh, Right, The Hulk. But prior to any of those stateside roles, Bana was a comedian, and even had his own sketch show--like Amanda Bynes! Thus, he's been cast alongside other well-known funnies in Judd Apatow's Funny People, a dramedy looking at the world of standup comedy. From Variety:
Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill have joined the ensemble of "Funny People," which will be co-financed by Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures, with Universal distributing worldwide next summer.Apatow set Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Leslie Mann in the comedy earlier this year.
The filmmaker, who last wrote and directed "Knocked Up," was deliberately vague about subject matter, allowing only that the movie takes place in the world of standup comedy and the focus is on a comedian who has a near-death experience.
Below the cut, see a promo for 1997's silly-wig filled The Eric Bana Show, and learn that, as it turns out, Bana does an alright Columbo.
Continue Reading " Eric Bana is 'Funny People,' Proves It by Wearing Wigs "
Dec 12 2007 See The Beatles in 'Walk Hard'
Regardless of how funny Walk Hard ends up being, this scene with The Beatles, as played by Jack Black, Jason Schwartzman, Justin Long, and Paul Rudd, should go down with I'm Not There as one of worst yet funniest group impressions in history.
Oct 5 2007 Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman Interview Proves Awkward
Of all the things learned through this interview with The Darjeeling Limited writers, the best was the reminder that Wes Anderson is just as much of an awkward geek as I want him to be. There was barely any arrogance to be seen amidst the stammering and involuntary sneering. In contrast, any interview I've seen with Michael Bay is full of bravado, and he never seems to think it's necessary to explain his idiotic '80s yuppy hair. Is it wrong that, after artistic talent, geeky humility is my next favorite directorial attribute?
If you'd rather read the interview in a condensed format, it's here. But why?
Sep 27 2007 Schwartzman and Murray Predictably Join 'Mr. Fox'
Speaking to MTV Movies, Wes Anderson revealed some details about his upcoming adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox, including the addition of Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray to the voice cast. The director said:
George Clooney is going to be Mr. Fox. Bill Murray has a part. Jason [Schwartzman] is doing a voice. That’s our team.It will take a couple years to do the animating. It’s stop-motion. It’s like ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ or those Christmas specials. These [characters] have fur, so it’s not like claymation.
The settings will be very natural. We want to use real trees and real sand, but it’s all miniature.
Now, if I'm not mistaken, I do believe Wes Anderson has used these actors before. If this entire week hadn't already been spent tearing him apart for making movies with the same themes, actors, and style of deadpan comedy, I'd probably have more to say about this, but now it just seems like shooting fish in a barrel. Will Owen Wilson play the estranged father character's voice, Wes?
Wes Anderson Enlists Bill Murray For ‘The Fantastic Mr. Fox’ [MTV]
Sep 26 2007 'Hotel Chevalier' Free on iTunes
The Darjeeling Limited won't find limited release until Saturday, but you can get the 13-minute prologue, Hotel Chevalier, on iTunes this very second. It's just as sexy and charming and touching as people were saying, and will surely rule the sexiness category of your iTunes at least until Justin Timberlake makes another album.
And if that doesn't convince you, you also get to see Natalie Portman's bare heinie.
Hotel Chevalier [iTunes]
Sep 24 2007 'The Darjeeling Limited' Clip Provides Exactly What's Expected
As everyone, perhaps none so pointedly as The Onion, keeps saying, The Darjeeling Limited looks to be more of the same highly-stylized, deadpan comedy we've come to expect from Wes Anderson. But you know what else is always just what you expect? Masturbation. And, like a Wes Anderson film, I treat myself to it about once every three years and it's phenomenal. So let's all just cool out and enjoy this minute of slow-paced footage, then maybe have another minute to yourself.
Sep 4 2007 Natalie Portman Looks Good in Darjeeling Ltd.
The first shot from Hotel Chevalier, the short prologue to The Darjeeling Limited, has been released, giving the first look at Natalie Portman's character. Let the image remind you that Natalie Portman will always look better in a "Caesar" haircut and a robe than either the actual Caesar or a lounging ER-era George Clooney. Plus, she's the only one of the three not involved in affairs with boy-servants.
Nat in Hotel Chevalier [NataliePortman.com]
Aug 22 2007 Darjeeling Limited Opening with Short
Why did no one tell me Wes Anderson's new film The Darjeeling Limited will be opened by a 12-minute short, Hotel Chevalier, which will work as an epilogue, telling a love story between Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman? Is it because you knew I'd start giddily flapping my arms, squealing, and acting in other ways that would be humiliating in your presence? If that's the case, then thank you for saving us both from some unnecessary embarrassment.
Jul 24 2007 Darjeeling Limited Trailer
After long last, the much-anticipated Darjeeling Limited trailer is now online. Hopes I have for this movie:
1. That it wasn't just an excuse for Wes Anderson to play grab ass in India for three months. Seriously, dude loves India.
2. That it will give Adrien Brody something cool to be known for besides making out with Halle Berry.
3. That Jason Schwartzman's performance will further postpone me hating him for being a Coppola.
4. That if it turns out to be really good it won't become a hipster phenomenon and thus force me to hate something I love.
5. Maybe the dick in the popcorn trick will finally pay off? Thankfully, elementary school girls keep getting gullibler.
Jul 20 2007 Darjeeling Limited Poster
With the deliberate photography, quirky props and costumes, fine attention to detail, and three distinctive noses, it must be the poster to Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. I could pretend I'm not completely enamored with this, but then I worry no one will send me tickets to the New York Film Festival (Darjeeling is opening it), which I'm fairly certain will happen if I keep waiting patiently.
Supposedly the trailer will be attached to Once and Sunshine this weekend, so I'll have to head out to Sunshine, since I'm slightly more of a nerd than a wuss.
Jun 6 2007 Wes Anderson Commercial Gets Award, Posted on Blog
The Association of Independent Commercial Producers' 2007 AICP Show reel premiered last night at the MOMA in New York - which really isn't that interesting, but it did give me an excuse to post this American Express commercial directed by Wes Anderson that I thought was kind of cool.
Also appearing were the Geico Cavemen. Anyone else think they kind of look like Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay?
