Funnyman Paul Feig gets busy

Paul Feig may just be the funniest man that almost nobody's ever heard of.

You want proof? Well, he was Judd Apatow's partner in crime for the sublime "Freaks and Geeks," writing six episodes, including the finale, "Discos and Dragons." He then went on to direct seven episodes of "Arrested Development." And now he's getting into movies in a big way.

The first flick he directed and rewrote, "Unaccompanied Minors," has potential. It's about a group of kids who wreak havoc after getting snowed in at Chicago's O'Hare airport, and though I've never had an ounce of fun at an airport, I'll give this one a chance in December (especially since AD's Tony Hale is in it, at some point.)

Confident of its success, Warner Bros. has now signed up Feig to rewrite and direct "Smooth Operator," a comedy about a bumbling CIA agent being trained to pitch woo so he can seduce the ladies. As long as this doesn't star Jon Heder, it could be very funny.

"It's like a high-tech version of 'Cyrano,' " Feig told Variety, "or like a 'Hitch'-meets-'Rush Hour.' "

Well, that's a little scary. But after seeing the nearly flawless "Stranger than Fiction," I've got a hankering for smart comedy, and the world could certainly use more of Paul Feig.

Cohen officially in for "Sweeney Todd"

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading these stories about people suing "Borat." No matter how drunk you are, if you actually say into a camera that you would like to own slaves, there's a very large chance that you're just an asshole. Nuff said.

But on a different topic, it seems the very funny Sacha Baron Cohen is now definitely on board for Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd," to play Signor Adolfo Pirelli, a barber who becomes the nemesis of Sweeney Todd. Todd (Johnny Depp is the barber who teams with the murderess Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) to kill people, grind them up and use them in her meat pies.

I'm beginning to believe there's no way this won't be fun. Cohen is also on course to shoot "Bruno," based on the Austrian fashion reporter character from "Ali G," next year, plus star in two more flicks. He'll be appearing in the Tina Fey-scripted "Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill" and the remake of the Francis Veber comedy "Dinner for Schmucks." Bring em all on.

Eva Green and Paul Auster

This one is in French from my new favorite movie site, Cinempire.com, so bear with me.

If I'm getting this right, Eva Green will be the main star of the upcoming "In the Country of Last Things," to be based on the book of the same name by Paul Auster.

Eva will star as Anna Blume, who goes on a journey in search of her missing brother. What she finds is an American city in the near future, populated almost wholly by street dwellers, squatters in ruined buildings, scavengers for subsistence. I get nervous when I see the word post-apocalyptic in any language, but this could be interesting. It will be directed by someone I had never heard of named Alejandro Chomski.

Eva, of course, will wow the world as the newest and possibly most enchanting Bond girl yet, Vesper Lynd. I found it hard to watch Bertolucci's "The Dreamers" for many reasons, but the main one was I simply couldn't take my eyes off her, no matter who else might be on the screen. And Paul Auster wrote "Smoke," which Wayne Wang managed to turn into one of my favorite movies. So, no matter how creepy this futuristic vista turns out to be, I'll follow these two at least that far.

"Friday Night Lights" stay on

It's one of the great crimes in TV scheduling that "Friday Night Lights" is on simultaneously with the "Gilmore Girls," meaning I never get to see the great gridiron drama.

Lorelai (big spoiler following, though it was pretty much revealed in a commercial last night; if you don't want to read it, stop now and skip to the next paragraph) and Chris are getting hitched tonight in Paris, so there's absolutely no chance I won't be tuning in for that too.

However, having seen the first two episodes of "Friday Night Lights" on DVD, I know it has the makings of a great series. The pilot revels in sports cliches yet manages to suck you right in, and the second episode is even better. It deserves a full season, which it has just been granted by NBC. This means that, next August or so, I'll be able to rent the full season on DVD, which is the way I really like to watch TV now anyway. Huzzah.