Muppet mania, the cover song edition, plus lots more fun stuff

A free preview of the Muppets-inspired "Green Album" is indeed the highlight around here today, but before that, there's a lot of fun news out there this morning, so let's just get right to it.

To start, no one I can think of is in more need of a genuinely funny comedy than Jason Bateman. Well, to be fair, I suppose there's at least a slight chance that it's "The Change- Up," but so far I've managed to avoid that, so I'll never know.

Much more likely should be something he's just signed up for with veryfunnywoman Melissa McCarthy, who's become one of the summer's true breakout stars with her rather outrageous (and sublimely funny) performance in "Bridesmaids." The two are set to star in "The ID Theft," and all I really know so far is that Bateman will play the victim of the titular ID theft by McCarthy's character. Stay tuned for more when I find it ...

And in other movie news, if I'm not mistaken, there are at least two Jeff Buckley biopics in the works, and now one of them has found its leading man.

Actor/singer-songwriter Reeve Carney, Broadway's Peter Parker in "Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark," has signed on to play Buckley in the as-yet-untitled biopic being directed by Jake Scott. The movie would certainly have to go better than that "Spider-Man" debacle has so far, and they apparently have full rights to Buckley's memoirs and music, so here's hoping something good springs from this.

After that it's almost exclusively about TV news before we finally get to the promised Muppets goodness, starting with a taste of what's to come on "The Office," courtesy of the seriously TV-obsessed James Hibbert of Entertainment Weekly.

With Steve Carell now gone, "The Office" should probably just be shuttered for good, in my opinion, but it does at least sound like they're trying to come up with some fun stuff for when James Spader takes over as the new boss. Here's a somewhat-spoilery taste:

* An established character will be promoted from within to take over as permanent Scranton branch manager subsequent to Robert California’s (Spader) promotion to CEO.
* Dwight will build a Productivity Machine that will evolve into something of a Doomsday Device.
* Riddled with hormones thanks to a second pregnancy, Pam will grow so paranoid she will come to rely on Dwight as the only individual she can trust to be honest with her.
* The entire Scranton warehouse staff will win the lottery and quit. (Something tells me somebody forget to offer Daryl his usual stake now that he’s no longer working in the warehouse.)

The Pam and Dwight stuff in particular should be a treat, so if you're interested, tune in again to find out how this all pans out on Sept. 22.

In other TV news, it's not terribly surprising that HBO is keeping its hands on director Todd Haynes, since it always holds on to talented people and his first HBO project, "Mildred Pierce," was just an Emmy nomination magnet (and awfully entertaining, if you haven't yet seen it.)

Now it seems he's signed for a full series, and one that could possibly reunite him with Julianne Moore. "Dope," based on the novel by Sara Gran, is about a recovering heroin junkie in 1950s New York, and certainly seems like material that's suited to Haynes' usually fully trippy style.

OK, I've buried this last TV bit at the end not just because it comes full circle with Jason Bateman news, but because as with all talk of an "Arrested Development" movie, it should be believed at your own peril. Screen Rant, however, has what it says is the plot line for an "AD" movie, so here goes.

According to the site, the movie follows the Bluth clan's attempts to make their own movie about their lives to compete with one narrator Ron Howard is working on. That said, it of course perfectly matches up with where the show itself left off, so this could just be another false start. Keep hope alive ...

Whew. This really has gone long enough already, I suppose, but there's at least one very funny video out there this morning, so I'll share it with you before we finally get to The Muppets. A YouTube user with the handle of pleatedpants and clearly enough time on his or her hands to match the imagination, has created this video that compiles scenes from "25 Actors Before They Were Famous in Three Minutes." It's pretty much as fun as that title implies, and definite highlights include Sarah Jessica Parker on "3-2-1 Contact" (huzzah!) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt on "Roseanne." Enjoy.



OK, I really do have some things to do before work today (including voting and swimming), so we're almost finished. To introduce the Muppets tribute album, there's first some fresh news about something the Jim Henson Company is cooking up with reality TV pioneers Bunim/Murray. And it sounds like a heck of a lot more fun than any reality TV show I've ever heard of.

"History Of," which as far as I can tell has yet to find a specific TV home, would have pop culture events re-enacted by Henson puppets, not necessarily, but possibly, including Muppets. According to The Wrap, Chris Regan, a former writer for "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," has signed on to be showrunner and the show will feature surprise celebrity cameos.

Not terribly surprising, since the Muppets and their friends will be everywhere in advance of the November release of "The Muppets," the new movie starring Jason Segel, Amy Adams and all their little friends. One other arm of the marketing machine is "The Green Album," a collection of Muppets favorites covered by popular artists of the day. There are hits (Weezer's faithful but fun "Rainbow Connection" and Andrew Bird's "Bein' Green"), and a few misses, but the whole things wraps up in around a half hour, just like an episode of "The Muppet Show."

NPR is streaming the album, due for release Aug. 23, now, and I've embedded their player below. First, the track listing, followed by the streamer itself, so enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

1. Muppet Show Theme Song OK Go
2. Rainbow Connection (feat. Hayley Williams) Weezer
3. Mahna Mahna The Fray
4. Movin' Right Along Alkaline Trio
5. Our World My Morning Jacket
6. Mr. Bassman Sondre Lerche
7. Halfway Down the Stairs Amy Lee
8. Wishing Song The Airborne Toxic Event
9. Night Life Brandon Saller
10. Bein' Green Andrew Bird
11. I Hope That Something Better Comes Along Matt Nathanson
listen 12. I'm Going to Go Back There Someday Rachael Yamagata

"The Office" gets its new boss

First things first, the rather intense photo above is of John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe in James McTeigue's (let's go with "V for Vendetta" rather than "Ninja Assassin") thriller "The Raven," set to come out March 9. In the flick, Poe joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis for a string of brutal murders. Should be pretty darn fun, and it seems like forever since I've seen Cusack in anything.

It would certainly be better if that were actually filmed in the great city of Baltimore rather than in Serbia, but oh well. Moving on, there certainly are more important and sometimes indeed more disappointing things in life than TV, but there really wasn't anything more disappointing in last season's finales than the dud that was delivered by "The Office."

With each potentially very funny guest star getting at most two minutes to work with almost universally blah material, it was much more like a pilot looking for its funny rather than a well-established show making an essential transition. Now, however, it seems they've at least picked the guest who made the most of his time, James Spader's Robert California, to be the new boss.

The thrall he has over Jim, Dwight and others should make for a big dose of fun on a show that's sorely in need of it, but Spader's character apparently has bigger plans than taking over Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch. According to Entertainment Weekly, he'll soon move on up to replace Kathy Bates as CEO of parent company Sabre, leaving another void to fill.

And, according to EW, the favorite to replace him then would be my favorite candidate going into the finale, "Doctor Who" vet Catherine Tate (who also appeared in the charming little British romantic comedy "Starter for 10" - rent that one if you can find it.) Combined, these two developments should bring some new life back into a show which, in my opinion, has fallen to the bottom of NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, with them being, in my order, "Parks and Recreation," "Community," "30 Rock" and then "The Office."

For a taste of what Spader could bring to "The Office," here, courtesy of Hulu, is the first half of last season's finale with, unfortunately, way too many commercials. Enjoy, and then stick around for word about a fun new project for "Office" funnyman Ed Helms.



"The Office" star Ed Helms has the distinction of starring in one of my favorite comedies of the year in "Cedar Rapids," but also easily the worst I've seen, "The Hangover Part II." and now comes word of a new pitch that could be a lot of fun.

The project pitched by writer-director Rob Pearlstein will be titled "True North," and it's set to star Helms as a high-powered, workaholic talk show host and father who slips into a two-year coma after suffering through a horrific plane crash. Upon emerging from the coma, the once-debonair man finds that he has undergone reconstructive facial surgery and looks nothing like his former self. He then must track down his family and reconnect with his former life.

Sounds like pretty deep stuff for a comedy, so stay tuned for more on this whenever I can find it.

And to close, bringing things back to TV, "True Blood" returns to HBO this Sunday, and for the premiere episode it will be bringing along a fairly groovy new tune by Neko Case and Nick Cave. Actually, it's just a cover of the Zombies' "She's Not There," but it still sounds great. Enjoy this audio-only clip, and if you like to laugh, go see Jake Kasdan's "Bad Teacher," which for raunchy fun is a whole lot better than most critics make it out to be. Peace out.

Why it's time to shut down "The Office," plus a visit from Conan O'Brien

"If you're going to jump a shark, jump a big one."

Say what you want to about Ricky Gervais, but as easily one of the funniest people on the planet, he certainly should know when something is genuinely funny and when, well, it simply isn't. And, unfortunately, as he correctly pointed out, the latter was very often the case with Thursday's "The Office" finale.

It wasn't just the piling on of guest stars and giving them each about two minutes at most of screen time, but on top of that they gave almost all of them nothing to work with. James Spader was OK, and Jim Carrey arrived at the very end to provoke one of the only real laughs, at least from me, of the entire show.

And you know, it didn't really even annoy me by the end (BIG SPOILER AHEAD) that they didn't even bother to pick a new boss after all that build-up, because it really didn't feel like a show I want to keep watching anyway. It was, awkwardly and often painfully, more like a muddled pilot for a show still trying to figure where it wants to go, and for one that's been on so long, that's just pretty pathetic.

The best possible scenario now? Darryl gets the job, because Craig Robinson is still a very funny dude, and perhaps he can salvage this mess, but it's going to be a rather epic task.

As for me, I'm most likely done with "The Office," but not with everything on NBC's Thursday night lineup, because if you stuck around for the hour-long "Parks and Recreation" finale, you saw a show that's still fresh and genuinely funny, often wickedly so.

The first half was good, but once poor Lil Sebastian died and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) decided to reorganize the office (putting Ron Swanson in that great captain's chair), it was all comedy bliss from there.

I have to assume Aziz Ansari will be back, and the promise of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler, who I've grown to like a whole lot more than I did before this show) running for office means I definitely will be too.

And to wrap things up today, here's the first trailer I know of for "Conan O'Brien Can't Stop." Though I would have ponied up for a straightforward documentary about when he took his comedy show on the road, this instead promises to be a much more behind-the-scenes kind of look, which should be even better. I have no idea when or if this is going to make a theatrical run, but keep an eye out for it if you live in a bigger corner of the world than I do, and have a great rest of the weekend. Peace out.

What's next for Danny Boyle?

This is only a rumor I've seen at one site, Deadline, so far, but it's pretty friggin' great, so I'm gonna go with it.

Unfortunately, the next thing that Danny Boyle will be directing that anyone will be able to see will be the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics in London, but before and again after that he's apparently returning to the grittier kinds of movies that he was known for in the early days.

Per Deadline, he's going to begin directing the thriller "Trance" in London this September, and here's what the site says it's about:

"I'm told it's an art heist gone wrong, and it's got the dark, sexy, hard-edged tone of Boyle films like Shallow Grave and Trainspotting," says the site.

Not much to run with there, but "Shallow Grave" is indeed one of my favorite movies of all time, and though he's made plenty of great movies since they started to take on a much more optimistic tone (except for "Sunshine," man did that suck), a return to the early days for Boyle should be nothing but fun. Unfortunately, with the Olympics coming, he's going to begin the filming this Fall, but then put this on the shelf for a while, and then pick it up again for a potential March 2013 release. Bummer there, but still mostly good news. Stay tuned ...

In other movie news, the animation company Laika, which with "Coraline" has made what is still the only animated movie I've really enjoyed watching in 3-D, is joining up with Focus Features for a new stop-motion offering. Unfortunately for them, "Coraline" mastermind Henry Selick has moved on to Pixar (I think), but it still sounds like what they're cooking up now should be a lot of fun.

"Paranorman" is a comedy/thriller about a small town being attacked by zombies and has a voice cast featuring, among others, Casey Affleck, Tempestt Bledsoe, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Elaine Stritch.

And though Selick is nowhere to be found, this seems to be in good hands with "Flushed Away" director Sam Fell and Chris Butler, storyboard supervisor for "Coraline," teaming up to direct this. Butler also wrote the screenplay.

OK, after that today, a fairly brief look at what's ahead on "The Office," segueing into a couple of videos that caught my eye this morning.

After watching the departure of Michael Scott, which if Will Ferrell hadn't been on it would have been just about perfect, I think it would have been, frankly, a great place to simply end the show for good. Nothing against Ferrell in general, because I often like him quite a bit, but he's simply not funny on "The Office," and the truly nonfunny scenes with he and Andy (Ed Helms) just took away from Michael's pretty universally great goodbyes (having Creed hoist his "World's Greatest Boss" mug was an especially nice touch).

So, now that he's gone, what's ahead? Here, courtesy of NBC, are the synopses for the next three weeks, going until the end of the season.

Tonight: "The Inner Circle"
Deangelo’s true management style is finally revealed; he plays favorites by creating his own “inner circle.” Guest stars: Will Ferrell, Cody Horn.

Next Week: "Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager"
Dwight takes over as acting manager and applies draconian tactics to the office. Meanwhile, Gabe tries to win Erin back. Guest star: Kathy Bates.

May 19: "Search Committee"
Season Finale. Double episode. Guest stars: Jim Carrey, James Spader, Will Arnett, Ray Romano, Ricky Gervais, Catherine Tate.

That's a lot of star power, obviously, but my money and my fan heart are still on Catherine Tate, simply because that would be the best possible outcome since the show apparently must go on.

And to prove that I really, in general, have nothing against Will Ferrell, he returned as George W. Bush (of course) just in time for the death of Osama Bin Laden for this Funny or Die video. The whole thing is pretty great, so I won't spoil it with any more words from me except to say stick around until the end when he explains why this is "a great day for America." Priceless.

And finally, I had been pretty skeptical that "Green Lantern" would amount to anything but thoroughly silly, but while it certainly will be that, judging from this first trailer, it should be pretty epicly fun too. Starring Ryan Reynolds and "Gossip Girl" Blake Lively and being directed by Martin Campbell, it's set for release June 17. Enjoy the trailer, and if you'll excuse me, I'm off now for a swim and then headed back to the Atlanta Film Festival. Peace out.

Atlanta Film Festival review: "Terri"

Think - when's the last time you saw a new movie that is truly unique? For me it had been quite a while, but I managed to catch one with Azazel Jacobs' "Terri," the opening night movie for this year's Atlanta Film Festival 365.

And what makes that all the more amazing is that it comes with such a familiar structure - the lovable authority figure who reaches out to the high school misfit and teaches him or her how to live life (another of one those? Sheesh.) But both the greatest strength and simultaneously a weakness is that "Terri" doesn't initiate a grand, transformative experience for the titular hero here, just gives a bit of dignity to a kid who sorely needs some.

When you first meet Terri, you'll see, however, just how much of an accomplishment even that will be. Jacob Wysocki, who I had never seen in anything before, plays the rather rotund kid who wears pajamas to school because, well when you see him, I think you'll understand. It's just one of the many uncomfortable situations that Jacobs plays for a mix of humor and drama that, while it never really picks a side, doesn't have to. And Wysocki, from the way he runs as Terri to the contempt for the world around him he expresses in his face, is a natural comedian and someone you'll fall in love with from the start.

Not surprisingly, Terri has few friends at the high school he only bothers to turn up to sporadically at best. Who has time for that when he has to concern himself with catching the mice who roam the attic in the shack he shares with his senile uncle, Creed Bratton of "The Office" fame in a restrained performance that will catch you by surprise.

The job of drawing Terri out of this rut falls to school principal Mr. Fitzgerald, played by John C. Reilly in another fairly great performance in his second career act as a comedian. This isn't, however, the broad kind of role he delivered in taking over "Cedar Rapids," though he does do some yelling in an attempt to convey at least a smidgen of authority. He just plays a guy who's clearly in over his head, but still tries to reach out to the misfits (or, as Terri calls them, "monsters") who cross his path each day. The best scenes in "Terri" involve Reilly and Wysocki squaring off and looking for some common ground, which they eventually find they have more of than either expected.

Jacobs' movie, based on a screenplay he wrote with novelist Patrick Dewitt, is more than a bit too episodic in its first half, but it gets better as the scenes grow longer, culminating in one completely uncomfortable take on the "Breakfast Club" scenario of the outcast summit. I don't want to spoil any of what happens when Terri eventually finds two friends in Heather (Olivia Crocicchia), the pretty girl with a bad reputation, and Chad (Bringer Zadina), a kid so angry he can't find much else to do than constantly pull his own hair out. These kids definitely aren't all right, and what happens when they come together with a bottle of whiskey and some of Terri's uncle's pills will be the most polarizing aspect of this movie, assuming anyone gets too see it when it gets at least some kind of theatrical release in July.

In the end, though it could certainly use some more narrative drive, what Jacobs' movie has is plenty of humanity, and in that it reminded me of the movies of Thomas McCarthy, one of my very favorite directors (probably also admittedly because I saw "Win Win" yesterday, and that was sensational.) If you get the chance to see it, I think you'll enjoy this tale of a genuine misfit searching for a little bit of dignity. I know I did.

Harry Potter, X-Men and much more on a jam-packed Thursday

Before we get into some truly fun trailers for smashes coming this summer and fall, there's some other movie news out there, and for me it all starts with the news that "Rabbit Hole" playwright David Lindsay-Abaire is headed back to the big screen.

If you haven't seen "Rabbit Hole," it's out now on DVD, and there really are very few recent movies I can recommend higher. It features a sublime performance from Nicole Kidman and just tells a great story very well, with touches of wicked humor throughout.

And now, Lindsay-Abaire will have another great leading lady to work with as he adapts his current Broadway hit, "Good People," for the big screen. Frances McDormand, who plays the lead role on Broadway, will do the same for the movie.

So, what's it about? Well, it's set in Boston's working-class Southie neighborhood, and McDormand plays Margie Walsh, a high school dropout and single mother of a mentally disabled daughter struggling to make ends meet. On Broadway at least, Tate Donovan plays a successful former classmate of Margie's who enters into a relationship with her, but no word yet on whether he will reprise that role for the movie.

"Rabbit Hole" focused on similarly odd relationships, so this should be a real winner. And just in case you need any more convincing, here's a clip of McDormand in the play on Broadway. Definitely stay tuned for more on this.



In other news, you know, I can really take or leave Sacha Baron Cohen. Like most of the world, I loved "Borat," but I couldn't even bring myself to watch "Bruno" (and if I'm somehow missing on some kind of comic masterpiece with that one, please let me know.)

His next collaboration with co-conspirator and "Seinfeld" veteran Larry Charles, however, sounds like something I'll definitely be into, especially since he's whittled his candidates for the female lead to, for my money, probably the funniest two women in movies, plus one other solid choice from TV.

The duo are working on "The Dictator," "inspired" by "Zabibah and the King," a novel purportedly written by Saddam Hussein. Cohen would play dual roles of a goat herder and eventually the titular dictator, and now comes word that he's down to Anna Faris, Kristen Wiig and Gillian Jacobs to play the female lead.

Anyone who's been here before knows that I'm extremely partial to Faris and Wiig, but am a big fan of "Community," too, so any of these comediennes would make what already sounds like a very funny movie even better. But for my money, if I had to choose, I'll take Anna Faris every time.

OK, now on to some great clips for a Thursday morning, starting with a couple of trailers for sure-to-be summer smashes. In fact, if I were a betting man (and I no longer am), I'd put my money on "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" being the highest-grossing flick of this summer. My favorite among both the books and movies will always be "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," but part one of the finale was fantastic, too, and I can't wait to see the saga finally come to a close July 15 (though, for me at least, certainly not in 3D!) Enjoy the trailer.



Next up comes the first trailer I've seen that really has me thinking that Matthew Vaughn will deliver something fairly great when "X-Men: First Class" really launches Summer when it drops June 3. Enjoy what should be the final trailer for it.

Does the world really need another "300"? I really don't, but even if this trailer for Tarsem Singh's "Immortals" seems to promise just about exactly that, I still have enough faith in Singh to be looking forward to this. If you've never seen his "The Fall," there really are few better examples of truly imaginative filmmaking, and I recommend watching it as soon as you can. And with an eclectic cast that features Superman Henry Cavill, Freida Pinto and somehow Mickey Rourke, too, this should be nothing but fun when it finally drops Nov. 11. Enjoy the first trailer I know of for it.



And finally today, tonight will indeed bring the final appearance of Steve Carell's Michael Scott on "The Office," and NBC has stretched the episode out to 50 minutes to make room for it (though I'm looking forward to the also-extended episode of "Parks and Recreation" that will follow just as much.) The run-up to his departure has been some of the show's funniest stuff in years, and tonight should be no different. I probably won't watch it until next week, though, because today I'm off to the Atlanta Film Festival 365 for the first of two weekends, and really looking forward to it. Enjoy this short clip from tonight's episode of "The Office," and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Cannes lineup a sign of great things to come

Actually, before I get into any of that, there are two bits of very good news out there today, so let's get right to it.

First up, pretty easily the best coup that PBS' "American Masters" documentary series has pulled off so far: Two nights with Woody Allen, coming this fall. At least two hours on Woody's career, with his participation? Yeah, I'm definitely in.

And even better, one of my favorite books is being made into a movie this summer, and it's even being filmed right here in Georgia. If you've never read Warren St. John's "Outcasts United," I really can't recommend a piece of nonfiction much higher, even if you're not as big a soccer fan as I am.

The book tells the story of a team of mostly African refugee kids whose families, if they have one, have been relocated to Clarkston, Ga., a community very happy to take the government money that comes with them, but not always as keen for the new residents that come with it. It's just a great story about modern America, and it should make for a fantastic flick.

"Under the Tuscan Sun" (which I haven't seen) director Audrey Wells is the helmer for this, which is somehow being financed by Universal, even though it will of course star a group of unknown African kids. And who knows? If I finally get off my ass and answer one of the calls for extras that go out for all the movies filmed here (hey, we even had "Zombieland"!), you might even see me sitting in the stands watching one of the games. Definitely keep an eye on this one.

OK, on to the main event, before we wrap things up with a couple of great videos. The full lineup for the Cannes Film Festival has just come out, and as usual it features a lot of movies from directors I've never heard of and a few that stand out immediately.

The biggest player is Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life," starring one Brad Pitt, but Pedro Almodovar should also garner plenty of attention with "The Skin that I Inhabit," as should Lars Von Trier with "Melancholia," starring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg. One other that stands out to me is "The Kid With a Bike," the latest creation from the Belgian Dardenne brothers, who made the simply sublime "L'Enfant" and "Le Fils," among other movies.

The Un Certain Regard category features Gus Van Sant's latest, "Restless," starring Mia Wasikowska. And the Out of Competition list has plenty of star power, with Jodie Foster's "The Beaver," starring that wacky Mel Gibson, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" with Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz, and even "Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom." Here's the complete list:

In competition:
* The Skin That I Inhabit – Pedro Almodovar
* L’Apollonide – Betrand Bonello
* Foot Note – Joseph Cedar
* Paterre – Alain Cavalier
* Once Upon A Time In Anatolia – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
* The Kid With The Bike – The Dardenne Brothers
* Le Havre – Aki Kaurismaki
* Hanezu no Tsuki – Naomi Kawase
* Sleeping Beauty – Julia Leigh
* Tree of LIfe – Terrence Malick
* La Source de Femmes – Radu Mihaileanu
* Polisse – Maïwenn Le Besco
* Harakiri – Takashi Miike
* We Have A Pope – Nanni Moretti
* Melancholia – Lars Von Trier
* This Must Be The Place – Paolo Sorrentino
* Drive – Nicholas Winding Refn
* We Need To Talk About Kevin – Lynne Ramsay

Un Certain Regard:
* Restless – Gus Van SantMartha Marcy May Marlene – Sean Durkin
* The Hunter – Bazur Bakuradze
* Halt auf freier Strecke – Andreas Dresen
* Skoonheid – Oliver Hermanus
* Hors Satan – Bruno Dumont
* Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro – Robert Guédiguian
* The Days He Arrives – Hong Sang-Soo
* Bonsai – Christian Jimenez
* Tatsumi – Erik Khoo
* En maintenant, on va ou? – Nadine Labaki
* Ariang – Kim Ki Duk
* Loverboy- Cătălin Mitulescu,
* Toomelah – Ivan Sen
* Yellow Sea – Na Hong-Jin,
* Miss Bala – Gerardo Naranjo,
* L’exercice de l’Etat – Pierre Schoeller,
* Oslo, August 31st Joachim Trier
* Travailler fatigue – Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra

Out of Competition:
* The Beaver – Jodie Foster
* The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
* Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – Rob Marshall
* La Conquete – Xavier Durringer
* Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom Of Doom – Jennifer Yuh

Special Screenings:
* Labrador – Frederikke Aspock
* Le maître des forges de l’enfer – Rithy Panh
* Un documentaire sur Michel Petrucciani – Michael Radford
* Tous au Larzac – Christian Rouaud

OK, now as promised, on to the videos, starting with Peter Jackson's first production diary for "The Hobbit," and at 10 minutes it's a real treasure. With shooting about to begin, he offers a tour of some of the sets and introduces some of the cast. As great as the "Lord of the Rings" movies are, I've always had a very soft spot for "The Hobbit," both because it's just much more of a kids story and because I learned to play the pianos to those great songs from the animated flick. Enjoy the clip.



And to wrap things up today, just a silly little clip leftover from the most recent new episode of "Parks and Recreation," featuring Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones. If I'm not mistaken, all four of NBC's Thursday night comedies will be new tonight, with the beginning of Will Ferrell's short run on "The Office" a definite highlight. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Thursday. Peace out.

Robert Redford to resurrect the big baseball movie

Where to start in a baseball season in which, while the Orioles have lost a game, they're still in first place in the American League East, and for once by power of something besides sheer alphabetical order? With talk of a grand baseball movie, of course.

It seems that Robert Redford, who has been shopping the idea of a Jackie Robinson movie for some time now, is finally getting things rolling with the choice of a writer/director, Brian Helgeland. And being Robert Redford, he's scooped up a choice role for himself: Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager who brought Robinson to the big leagues.

The movie will apparently focus on the complicated relationship of Robinson and Rickey rather than specifically on Jackie's breaking of the MLB color barrier, but no matter what the focus, there are few genres of flicks I love more than the big baseball movie, so bring it on!

It will be a short report today because I was up rather late (well, by my standards, anyway) watching "Spamalot" (thanks, Stephanie!), and therefore got up late too. There is, however, some big news out there about just who might be the new boss of "The Office" when Steve Carell steps down at the end of this season.

Following Michael Scott's rather nifty proposal to Holly (Amy Ryan), it was revealed that Will Ferrell will at least be serving as an interim boss, but that's apparently only for a few weeks. Shame, because he's a better candidate than just about anyone else set to interview on the show's season finale (or at least better than anyone who could actually get the job.)

Now scheduled to interview to be the next boss of Dunder Mifflin, according to the seriously TV-obsessed Michael Ausiello, are these five people: Ricky Gervais, Gob Bluth, Ray Romano, James Spader and Catherine Tate.

While having Gervais be the boss for a season or two would certainly be a scream, I really can't see him doing that. And, as Ausiello points out, Ray Romano already has a fairly great show of his own with "Men of a Certain Age," and Arnett is already committed to some kind of other pilot for NBC.

That leaves Spader and Tate, I suppose, and I'd have to say the latter would be the FAR superior choice. Nothing against Spader, who could potentially be very funny, but Catherine Tate is simply great. Perhaps best known for her role as Donna Noble on "Doctor Who," she was also fantastic in "Starter for 10," a rather criminally underseen British romantic comedy starring James McAvoy and Rebecca Hall (rent that one already!) She certainly gets my vote, but no matter how it turns out, this should just be a really fun finale.

OK, I was going to post the New Yorker's profile of veryfunnywoman Anna Faris, but it's behind a pay wall, but just trust me: If you don't get the magazine, it's worth buying this issue, just for that.

And the last thing I have today is the latest Funny or Die production which, though it starts a bit slowly, falls solidly into the former category once it gets going. The "When Harry and Sally 2" of sorts clip stars Billy Crystal, Dame Helen Mirren, Rob Reiner, Adam Scott and even Mike Tyson (but no Meg Ryan), and is pretty sublimely silly. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

When Harry Met Sally 2 with Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren from Billy Crystal

A trip to "Cedar Rapids"

I was genuinely excited when the midstate got its third and fourth first-run theaters with the Houston Lakes Stadium Cinemas 10 in Warner Robins and the Edge 14 replacing the former Regal Rivergate 14 here in Macon. After all, more theaters means more movies, right?

It really hasn't worked out that way too often yet, but now at the Galleria Mall Stadium Cinemas 15 in Centerville (or at least if it lasts more than one week), we've got in "Cedar Rapids" a low-key but genuinely likable comedy worth checking out before it disappears.

Director Miguel Arteta's fish-out-of-water comedy stars Ed Helms of "The Office" as a small-town Iowa insurance salesman who gets his big break when he gets to attend the big annual conference in the titular "Cedar Rapids" (what happened to the guy he replaces is something I won't go into in this column that also appears in a family newspaper - let's just say its one of the many ways that Arteta mixes in some raunch in this generally and genuinely otherwise sweet tale.)

From the outset, Arteta and screenwriter Phil Johnston, a native Iowan, both embrace the oddity of the American Midwest and at the same time poke fun at it consistently, starting with the thrill that Helms' Tim Lippe gets from simply going through airport security. Once he reaches the "big city," Helms does what he does best on "The Office," mainly react to others. And "Cedar Rapids" is full of funny folks for him to bounce off of, starting with John C. Reilly's Dean Ziegler, who steals every inch of screen he's given.

He's so natural a comedian now that it's easy to forget Reilly was once a fairly serious character actor, even garnering an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of "Mr. Cellophane" in "Chicago." Since then, however, he's buddied up with one Will Ferrell, and has adopted many of Ferrell's best comedy touches and combined them his own hangdog appeal. He gets his best character yet here in Dean Ziegler, the ultimate buffoon-with-a-big-heart, and as much as he'll make you cringe (stick around through the closing credits for another joke so tasteless there is, again, no way it can be repeated here), he also makes you cheer as he and Helms make a mismatched buddy team of sorts.

The main ensemble is rounded out by Anne Heche, funnier than she's been in years as a married woman on the prowl, and Isaiah Whitlock Jr., who played sleazy pol Clay Davis on "The Wire" and gets plenty of mileage here out of subverting the expectations for his character by channeling one of that show's other most beloved (and extremely violent) characters. Very good in supporting roles are the always-welcome Stephen Root as Lippe's boss and mentor, and Alia Shawkat of "Arrested Development" as a hooker who bonds with Lippe as she works the convention crowd.

In all, the movie could use a little more edge, never really reaching the satiric level of the best movies of Alexander Payne, who is one of the producers of "Cedar Rapids." But it does have a real heart and humanity that's sorely missing in most of what passes for comedy nowadays, and like the best of Arteta's movies ("The Good Girl," "Chuck & Buck" and "Youth in Revolt"), it's packed with genuine characters that he embraces even as he ridicules them.

And for that, plus plenty of low-key laughs, it's well worth the 20-minute-or-so drive down the road for Maconites to check out "Cedar Rapids" in Centerville while you still can.

Is it time for NBC to shut down "The Office"?

Actually, before we get into that, if I had to put money on what David O. Russell will direct next, I'd say it will actually be a sequel to "The Fighter," simply because that movie was so good and because the next chapter in the life of Micky Ward - his epic trilogy of fights with Arturo Gatti - is a gold mine of source material. However, if that doesn't happen, Fox Searchlight is eyeing him for something that could be almost as fun.

Deadline is reporting that the studio has offered to buy for him a biopic based on the life of B-movie king Russ Meyer. Take a second to think about the melding of those two personalities. "Temple Grandin" (and man did I like that movie) scribe Merritt Johnson will write the script. Who knows which path Russell will take next, but here's hoping he just chooses something very soon.

After that today, at least before we get to a trio of fun clips, it's all about TV, and why it's really time for NBC to close "The Office." Now, as a fan of the show from the beginning, it brings me no joy to say that, but even the best of things on TV have a shelf life, and it just seems like the workplace comedy's time has come.

What got me thinking about all that was the news that NBC has just renewed "The Office," "Community" and "Parks and Recreation" for next season. Not found in that news release were two other good things: "30 Rock," which as last night's Queen Jordan episode proved is still sublimely funny, was renewed long ago, and as of yet at least, "Outsourced" has not yet been picked up. Please, please, please keep it that way.

"Community," while losing a bit of the comic edge it had in season one, is still consistently good from week to week, but the best of the bunch this season has been "Parks and Recreation," which, according to NBC at least, is up 17 percent over last season in the 18-49 bracket. The dry humor and near-perfect ensemble that make "Parks and Recreation" work so well are exactly the same ingredients that worked for "The Office" until fairly recently.

The problem with "The Office," along with a simple dropoff in the overall level of funny, is that the characters, through no fault of the people who play them, are just way too familiar by now, and no matter how hard they try, there's just nothing surprising any more.

That will change, of course, at the end of this season as a new Dunder-Mifflin manager is named to replace the departing Michael Scott (Steve Carell). Carell is clearly far from a dumb guy, and if he knows its over, everyone else will probably figure that out by the end of next season, by my guess.

OK, enough about that. It's not only Friday morning, but one beginning a weekend with two theater movies I actually want to see, the comedies "Paul" and "Cedar Rapids" (the latter of which just opened a half hour down the road in Centerville), so let's move on to something more fun with videos. First up comes a genuinely crazy clip from James Gunn's "Super," set to open in at least a couple of theaters - and hopefully on IFC On Demand on cable nearly simultaneously - April 1. In it, you'll see where exactly Rainn Wilson's character gets his inspiration to become a demented superhero of sorts, and if anything, this just proves that, thankfully, the movie should be just nuts. Enjoy.



OK, next up, and this really needs very few words from me, is a behind-the-scenes look at part two of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," which will finally bring the boy wizard's saga to an end starting July 15. I loved the first half, so this should just rule. Enjoy.



And, clearly saving the best for last, Funny or Die has really been on a roll of late, and this Darren Aronofsky clip is among its best. In it, Aronofsky talks about his original idea for "Black Swan," which started out as "The Deli Manager," about the character played by comedian Todd Barry in Aronofsky's "The Wrestler." Even better, at the end, Barry acts out some of his scenes from the early version. Priceless. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

Todd Barry and Darren Aronofsky: The Original Black Swan from Darren Aronofsky

Can women really have fun in movies?

Before we get into any of that, the two oddest things I came across this morning both involve Tyler Perry, who I almost always enjoy, but most of all when he's behind the scenes rather than in a fat suit and drag.

That certainly won't be the case for "Madea's Big Happy Family," coming to theaters April 22. It should be a return to broad comedy along with the big drama, which would be a welcome shift after "Colored Girls" (which I mostly enjoyed until I finally felt beaten down by it all.) This time out, he's got Bow Wow (no longer Lil, and don't knock it unless you've seen him in one of my favorite movies, "Roll Bounce"), and a bunch of regulars like David and Tamela Mann, plus even that Old Spice guy.

A truly nightmarish visual bit about that flick at the end, but in the meantime, in an odd case of trading down (in acting, at least), it seems that Tyler Perry has somehow replaced Stringer Bell (aka Idris Elba) in the coming reboot of the Alex Cross series on film.

In the past two Alex Cross movies, "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came a Spider," the role of the detective and psychologist was played by Morgan Freeman, making this an even odder transition. In the new movie, "I, Alex Cross," with a script penned by James Patterson, who wrote the the Alex Cross novels, our hero tracks the rapist who may have murdered his pregnant wife years earlier.

This all begins shooting in June, and I suppose I shouldn't be so skeptical, since I've liked almost all of Perry's movies so far, but once he's donned that Madea suit, I just really can't see him being taken terribly seriously in this. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

But on to the main event. Kristen Wiig has a new movie coming out in May, "Bridesmaids," and as you can see from the first trailer below, it's squarely from the Judd Apatow (who's a producer) camp of comedy - except that it's all women in the main roles. I realize that shouldn't be much of a surprise, but unfortunately it is. When's the last time you can remember women getting to have this much fun in a big-studio, hopefully raunchy summer (well, almost) comedy?

And besides all that, except for a truly unfortunate joke at the end of the trailer (still worth sticking around to the end for to see just how bad it is), this all looks truly rather funny. Along with Wiig, who along with writing the script for this plays the maid of honor charged with putting it all together, it also stars fellow "Saturday Night Live" star Maya Rudolph as the bride, plus veryfunnywomen Melissa McCarthy (aka Sookie on "Gilmore Girls" and one half of CBS' Monday night show about fat people) and Ellie Kemper (Erin on "The Office"). It's also directed by "Freaks and Geeks" vet Paul Feig, so here's hoping this girl's club turns out to be as funny as it should be. Enjoy the trailer, then stick around for, as promised, a truly nightmarish vision of Madea.


Bridesmaids
Uploaded by ThePlaylist. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

Say what you want about Tyler Perry's movies, but he always manages to at least grab people's attention with the posters, and this one for "Madea's Big Happy Family" is no exception. As if "Black Swan" weren't already scary enough ... enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Remember, it's Will Smith's world, you're just visiting

Anne Hathaway as Catwoman? Nothing I can say to make that any more amazing, so 'nuff said.

In other news, just in case you had any doubt that Will Smith's kids can point at anything in the world and make it theirs, he's putting his paws on another cherished property to remake for one of his offspring.

I never bothered to see what became of "The Karate Kid" remake starring Jaden Smith, but not really out of animosity. It's just that summer is a crowded time for movies, and occasionally, I even have something else to do.

Now, however, it's apparently Willow's turn (is it possible she's named after the adorable witch from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"? Probably not, but if so, bully), and so he's gearing up a remake of the Broadway stage classic "Annie" for her star turn.

I actually saw "Annie" on Broadway when I was a wee lad, so have some affection for the musical itself. However, it's already been made into two movies, one I've seen (the 1982 version with Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan and Albert Finney as Daddy Warbucks), and one I haven't (a TV movie version for the Disney Channel in 1999, apparently).

So, why do it again? Because your Will Smith, right? And besides, the 1982 movie wasn't particularly great, so maybe its time. The oddest and most interesting thing about all this is that Jay-Z is somehow involved, too. An at least slightly hip-hop "Annie"? Probably not, but we'll have to wait and see. Coincidentally enough, I'm listening to Hova's masterpiece, "The Black Album," right now, and since I've already written way more about this than I intended, I'll just share the video for Jay-Z's "Annie" homage, "Hard-Knock Life," and move, as the man himself says, on to the next one(s).



In the first of two other tidbits of very good TV news, both involving NBC, it seems the network has picked up the pilot for a new series from "Battlestar Galactica" mastermind Ron Moore.

I've seen it described as "Harry Potter for grownups," but as someone who's supposed to be an adult most of the time and who has read all the Harry Potter books, that's just insulting. What it is is something called "17th Precinct," and its about cops who work in the town of Excelsior, where "the world is ruled by magic instead of science." It's been forever since a good fantasy series was on network TV, so bring it on.

And also, not tonight but next week, straight off his much-reviled (but not by me) Golden Globes performance, Ricky Gervais will be visiting the American version of "The Office" for a cameo as his character on the original U.K. title, David Brent. Following all of that?

Is it possible he's there to fire Michael Scott, bringing about Steve Carell's departure from the show? Impossible, I guess, since Dunder Mifflin is now owned by Sabre, but whatever he's coming to do, it should be nothing but funny.

And with that, I'll leave you, but not before sharing this video that's very appropriately titled "Leonardo DiCaprio freaks out," since it's four-and-a-half minutes of exactly that. It's not nearly as funny as the collection of Nicolas Cage losing his s@#%, but it's just about equally not safe for work, so definitely watch it with headphones on. Enjoy the clip, and have a perfectly enjoyable Thursday. Peace out.

Buffy's back .. sort of .. and a lot of other fun Saturday morning stuff

Actually, there's no possible bigger news out there now than what Ridley Scott is cooking up with Damon Lindelof of "Lost" and "Star Trek" fame, and since this is nominally supposed to be a movie site, let's just start there.

Rumors have been flying for months that Scott would, for his first science fiction movie in 30 years, be making either a sequel or prequel or some kind of extension of "Alien," but instead it sounds like he's thankfully taking on something much more ambitious.

Details are scant so far, but instead Scott and Lindelof are at work on an original idea, and they've made at least one truly great decision so far by casting Lisbeth Salander, aka Noomi Rapace, in the lead. Anyone who's been here before knows that I have more than a slightly unhealthy obsession with her, so bully.

Little more beyond that is known except it will be titled "Prometheus," there are at least four other major roles to fill, and this is set to be released March 9, 2012. Here's a bit of what Scott had to say about it:

“While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn't be more pleased to have found the singular tale I'd been searching for, and finally return to this genre that's so close to my heart.”



Nothing but awesome there, but frankly, Scott has been a really hit-and-miss director for me. He's certainly made great science fiction with "Blade Runner" and "Alien," but without exaggeration I really think there's a pretty strong argument that his "Robin Hood" was the single worst movie of 2010. Even so, this news is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

But getting to the main event here today, Sarah Michelle Gellar is finally coming back to TV, and it sounds like she just might have something worth watching this time.

Coincidentally enough, during this time of hardly any new TV (except for FX's fairly brilliant boxing drama "Lights Out" - watch it), I've been going back to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" via Netflix streaming, and it's at least as good as I remember. Season six, which I originally thought was a bit of a weak link, has been surprisingly strong, with crazy Willow at the end being even more fun than I remembered.

And here's what SMG (worst initials ever? perhaps) will have appearing on TVs next fall (I assume.) CBS has given a pilot greenlight to something called "Ringer," from "Supernatural" writers Eric Charmelo and Nicole Snyder, and it just sounds like a heck of a lot of fun.

On the show, Buffy will play a young woman who is on the run from the mob, and to hide herself, assumes the identity of her wealthy twin sister, only to find out sis has a bounty on her head too. If I have this right, SMG will be playing two parts. Bring it on!

I tried to remember the last time I've seen her in anything that wasn't "Buffy" or "Angel," but off the top of my head couldn't. After cheating with an IMDB check, it turns out to be "The Grudge" in 2004. While that was a fun little flick, she's pretty much disappeared since, so I can only say welcome back, Buffy!

And in other news, via Michael Ausiello's truly great TV Line site, it seems that Michael Scott, and therefore Steve Carell, will be leaving "The Office" well before this season ends. Here's what executive producer Steve Daniels told Ausiello:

“Steve is leaving earlier than the [season finale]. The big ‘Goodbye, Steve’ thing will be before [May] sweeps.”

While that's a bit of a surprise, the battle to replace him should then take over the end of this season, and it should be a blast (and frankly some much needed new life to what is becoming the weak link in NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup - excepting "Outsourced," which I simply refuse to acknowledge at all). My heart is with Dwight here, but I have to assume they're gonna bring in an outsider, and last I heard Danny McBride was in the running, which would be perfection. Here's more of what Daniels had to say about it:

“Our basic plan is to see the jockeying and interviewing [for Michael's job], and not have that happen off-camera and suddenly present America with the choice. We’d rather play out the stories of the various characters who want that seat, and show them fight for it.”

The new boss will be revealed in what I have to assume will be an hour-long season finale, so let the Dunder-Mifflin infighting begin!

OK, I know I'm all over the place today, but I want to wrap this up with a couple more cool things before I dash off the pool for a swim. Artist Sam Smith, with whom I agree on half of his choices for the best 10 (well, actually 11) movies of 2010, has come up with a simply stunning series of posters for his choices. He can't sell them, but he has posted them all here, and they're very well worth checking out. For a taste, here's his great poster for my single favorite movie of 2010 by a pretty wide margin, "Winter's Bone."



And finally today, perhaps some karmic rooting for Peter Weir's "The Way Back" to play wide enough to reach my little corner of the world when it opens in six days. Considering the only other offering is "No Strings Attached" with Natalie Portman and Demi Moore's beau, the odds are actually fairly good. The movie itself will be epic even by Weir's standards, telling as it does the story of a small group of multi-nationals who travel through five hostile countries after escaping from a Russian gulag in 1940. Here, courtesy of Collider, are seven clips from the film, which stars Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan and Ed Harris. Enjoy the clips, and have a fantastic weekend. Peace out.



Next up comes new trailer for "Splice," which I think will be the surprise hit of this summer. And I noticed the Warner Bros. imprint at the beginning, meaning this will hopefully play wide enough to even reach my little corner of the world when it opens June 4. As you'll see below, Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody star as two scientists who mess with human DNA and, rather predictably I suppose, get some disastrous results. Enjoy.


Splice in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

And finally today comes the first trailer I've seen for a flick I had never heard of until this morning, a Disney biopic about "Secretariat." I can't say that sounds all that thrilling to me, but anything that can breathe new life into horse racing is only a good thing in my book. Actually, for a slight digression, my fellow cubicle slave Randy Waters had a great idea for the Kentucky Derby, coming Saturday: Move it to prime time and watch the ratings skyrocket, at least for the magical two minutes or so. In the meantime, enjoy Diane Lane and John Malkovich in this trailer for "Secretariat," apparently coming October 8, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.