Saturday morning funnies, with Louis CK, Ricky Gervais and Warwick Davis

Speaking of funny, for men (and women, of course) of a certain age like me, "Moonlighting," for the five seasons or so it ran on ABC, was pretty much the very definition of it for TV, so the return of Glenn Gordon Caron to the realm of private eyes can only be good news.

Among other things since "Moonlighting" went off the air in 1989, Caron has developed the series "Medium," but now he's getting back to something that should be more fun, a series based on real-life private investigator Pamela Slaton, who specializes in reuniting clients with long-lost loved ones.

So, not quite the same thing, but I'm still betting on something worth watching coming from all this.

And comedy of a very different - and much darker - sort will surely come with Roman Polanski's "Carnage," and will hopefully even come to my little corner of the world when this opens Dec. 16. Having seen Yazmine Reza's great play, on which this is based, in Minneapolis, I can tell you that it is indeed savagely funny, and with Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz all starring in the movie, it should be a real treat. Here is the first trailer I know of for it:



Next up today comes the first teaser trailer I've come across for "American Horror Story," the new series that "Glee" and "Nip/Tuck" creator Ryan Murphy has developed for FX. Delivering solidly on its "Snakes on a Plane"-style title, the show is indeed about an American family that moves into a house that is rather haunted. The fairly phenomenal cast features definite Reel Fanatic fave Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Francis Conroy and even, oddly enough, Jessica Lange. Keep an eye out for the show on Oct. 5, and enjoy the trailer.



OK, now on the promised Saturday morning funnies, starring for my money two of the funniest people in the world. In fact, though I'd still put Bill Murray No. 1, with what he's doing on his "Louie" sitcom of sorts, also on FX, Louis CK has vaulted into the second slot for me. If you've never seen it, you're really missing out. Granted, his humor isn't for everyone, since, as you'll see from this clip in which Conan O'Brien wisely just lets him riff, he's the kind of person who, like me, finds children auditioning for "Shindler's List" or (as in the clip he shows from "Louie") dressing up in black face to be very funny. Enjoy the interview.



And finally today, there are very few things I enjoy watching more than Ricky Gervais and the Muppets, so why not combine the two for some sadistic humor? Gervais' humor is indeed more than a bit mean, and his latest foil, Warwick Davis, is clearly in for some punishment on their mockumentary series "Life's Too Short," which will hopefully be coming to HBO sometime soon. To say any more would spoil this, so just enjoy it, and have a great rest of the weekend. And anyone considering seeing the "Fright Night" remake, know that it was written by "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" vet Marti Noxon, and while never close to as funny as that, it's much better than the average horror movie remake. Not a ringing endorsement, I know, but it's at least worth a Saturday afternoon matinee. Peace out.

Don't fear "The Ides of March," or the season of Clooney

Yes, the first trailer for for George Clooney's political thriller is the main event here today, but since I've had a week from hell and haven't been able to even visit here until today, there's some other catching up to do too.

In other movie news, production starts this week on an intriguing project starring three of my favorite actors, Bill Murray, Laura Linney and the truly great Olivia Williams (most recently seen on the big screen by me in another fairly great political thriller, "Ghost Writer," but most famously of course Ms. Cross.)

"Hyde Park on the Hudson," filming in London, stars Murray as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Williams as Eleanor Roosevelt in the period piece that focuses on the first visit of the British monarchy (in this case, King George VI (Samuel West) and the queen (Olivia Colman) to the United States. Stammering George is there to drum up American support for England's looming war with Germany, but FDR just happens to be distracted by ... his distant cousin, Daisy, played by Linney, with whom he develops an intimate relationship.

Juicy stuff there, and seeing Murray play a serious (though surely not too serious) FDR should just be a treat. Stay tuned ...

And there's also a bit of TV news out there about my current favorite network sitcom, "Parks and Recreation."

Poor Ron Swanson. First he (definite Reel Fanatic fave Nick Offerman) gets the single biggest Emmy snub of this awards season, and now, when "Parks and Rec" returns on Sept. 21, he'll encounter Tammy 1, his first ex-wife, so scary a character that she even makes Tammy 2 (Megan Mullally) quake with fear.

Poor Ron's torment, however, should be our delight, because in what should be a great comic turn, Patricia Clarkson will play Tammy 1 in two episodes starting with the premiere.

Should be pretty close to comedy bliss there, and in other TV news, HBO has set the fall premiere dates for two returning shows I'll definitely tune in for.

First up, the best thing about the new season of "True Blood" is that just about as soon as it ends, the second season of "Boardwalk Empire" will start right up. I used to have a lot of time for "True Blood," but though I still tune in during this summer dead period for TV, the utter randomness of it is really starting to drive me more than a little nuts.

That's certainly not a problem with "Boardwalk Empire," which tells the tale of early 20th century Atlantic City and the rise of "Nucky" Thompson (heavy Emmy favorite Steve Buscemi) with a clinical (and sometimes too perfect) precision. Keep an eye out for season two beginning Sunday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m.

And even better than that, in a rare move off of HBO's regular Sunday night home, the third season of "Bored to Death" will make its debut for an eight-episode arc beginning Monday, Oct. 10, at 9 p.m. The show, which springs from the twisted mind of novelist Jonathan Ames, is far from the deepest thing you'll ever see, but the often doped-out adventures of a would-be private eye played Jason Schwartzman with his buddies, a long-suffering cartoonist played by Zach Galifianakis and, best of all, a truly loopy Ted Danson as magazine editor socialite George Christopher, all around NYC is just exactly my kind of funny.

OK, we really are getting to "The Ides of March," but also this week came the first proof that the once-great Cameron Crowe is actually still making movies. No visual proof that I know of from the feature film he's apparently wrapping up now, "We Bought a Zoo," starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson and set for release this Christmas.

There is, however, a trailer for a documentary that finds the "Almost Famous" director on familiar turf, "Pearl Jam Twenty." Pearl Jam was never exactly my kind of rock (far too earnest for me), but I love what Eddie Vedder did for the "Into the Wild" soundtrack, and I'm always up for a good rock doc, which this certainly looks like it should be. Enjoy the trailer, and keep an eye out for this flick in at least some cities Sept. 20.

Pearl Jam Twenty from Pearl Jam on Vimeo.

And now finally on to the main course. Say whatever you want to about George Clooney's persona, but I really couldn't give less of a flip about all that. The man knows how to pick good movies, and when he manages to direct them they usually turn out to be even better.

The last thing I saw him in was "The American," a first-rate but low-key thriller from Anton Corbijn that would make a perfect rental if you've never seen it, and now this fall he has two movies coming up that are both near the top of my list of must-see flicks for the rest of the year.

Now moved up to Nov. 23, he's starring in the long-time-coming return of director Alexander Payne with "The Descendants," in which Clooney plays a man who tries to put his family back together after his wife dies in a car crash.

Even better, and set to drop before that on Oct. 7 hopefully wide enough to reach even my little corner of the world, will be "The Ides of March," an old-fashioned political movie directed by Clooney and featuring a truly first-rate cast.

In it, Ryan Gosling plays a conflicted political strategist working for a presidential candidate played by (natch) Clooney himself. As you'll see from the trailer, all kinds of political games ensue, and the movie somehow also stars Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood.

It's been far too long since I've seen a good political thriller, so this one is definitely circled on my movie calendar. Enjoy the trailer, and have a great weekend, which for me will at least include seeing "Crazy, Stupid, Love" and maybe "Cowboys and Aliens" too. Peace out.

When you're Will Smith ...

Actually, first off, just in case you're having any doubts, go see "Thor" if you're a fan of big, cheesy and thoroughly fun summer flicks. It's all three, and I loved it.

OK, moving on to the main attraction today, when you're Will Smith, I suppose getting to work with Quentin Tarantino is simply the logical next step, but if he indeed signs on for what QT is cooking up now, as the Hollywood Reporter reports he's likely to do, it should be nothing but cool.

For anyone who needs a catch-up, Tarantino's next flick will be a Western (though, as he himself has said more than once, it's indeed more of a "Southern") titled "Django Unchained." In it, if he takes the part, Smith would play the titular freed slave who teams up with a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz, natch) to reunite with his wife, and the two eventually set their sights on Django's former owner. Samuel L. Jackson is apparently on board to play the house slave of an "evil" plantation owner.

Sounds more than a bit crazy, right? Certainly, but look at the plot for "Inglourious Basterds" on paper, and that seemed ludicrous too, but it turned out to be by a pretty wide margin my favorite movie of 2009, with several scenes that are still permanently burned on my brain. Definitely stay tuned for more on this whenever I find it ...

In one more bit of movie news before what has to be best trailer I've seen all week, Bill Murray will be joined by one of my favorite actresses when he plays Franklin D. Roosevelt in an upcoming movie. Mull over for a second or two just how good Murray as FDR could be ...

The movie is called "Hyde Park on the Hudson," and it focuses on FDR's love affair with his cousin and is set during a June weekend in 1939 when the British King and Queen visited his upstate New York cottage in the first-ever visit to America by a member of the British monarchy. Juicy stuff that, and now comes word that definite Reel Fanatic fave Laura Linney has signed on to play the cousin, with Roger Michell (who back in the day directed still my favorite Jane Austen adaptation, that "Persuasion" starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds) directing.

Sounds like slightly more serious stuff for Murray, but he'd be funny at a funeral, so I'm sure he will be here too.

And finally today, to wrap up a short Saturday morning report, I had never heard of this flick from "Man on a Wire" director James Marsh until I found this trailer this morning, but it looks fantastic. "Project Nim" follows the real-life project in the '70s that set out to teach a chimpanzee sign language and embed him in a family of humans.

As you can imagine from that scenario, it got more than bit crazy (as one of his keepers points out in the trailer, Nim liked "alcohol and driving fast.") It was also an important experiment, however, and it looks like a fascinating flick. Enjoy the trailer, keep an eye out for this in at least some markets July 8, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend. Peace out.

Don't blame the messenger: No "Mad Men" this year

Actually, before and after anything that depressing, why not some really good movie news to make it all go down sweeter?

First up, the certifiable funniest man on the planet (Bill Murray if you didn't know) has signed on to play Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a movie based on a real oddity, a radio play written in 2009 by someone named Richard Nelson (bully for still making those.)

"Hyde Park on the Hudson" tells the story of a true-to-life affair Roosevelt had with a distant cousin, and its set during a 1939 visit from King George VI, the first time in history that a British monarch had traveled to the U.S. Sounds like nothing but juicy fun there, so bring it on.

OK, an end to the good news for now, but I promise more of it, about two movies I really want to see, is coming. But before that, "Mad Men," already delayed until at least fall, now won't be coming on this year at all, and in case you can't tell yet, that makes this one man just mad as hell.

According to Deadline, show mastermind Matthew Weiner is holding out on three issues that, if this were a lesser show, I'd certainly deem worth fighting for. Per Deadline, those are: integrating product placement into the series, cutting two minutes from each episode's running time in favor of more commercials and eliminating/reducing two regular cast members to save money.

Again, all noble goals, but so is compromise. Though I'm obviously not in the room for this, if I were, of those three I'd think that cutting two minutes would be a lot less onerous than the other two demands, particularly the product placement, which would likely just be an awkward mess.

And there's of course a higher goal here, new episodes of "Mad Men"! No good word on that yet obviously, but as soon as I hear anything like that, you will too.

OK, enough of that gloomy stuff, so how about the opposite in two movie projects that could have been doomed to DVD getting at least a small release window?

First up is "The Rum Diary," which I had almost forgotten about because it's been on the shelf so long. Now, however, it's been picked up by FilmDistrict and even given a release date of Oct. 11 THIS YEAR, and with one Johnny Depp as the star, hopefully that means wide enough to even reach my little corner of the world.

The movie comes from "Withnail and I" director Bruce Robinson, definitely one of my personal favorites, and stars Depp as an American reporter who heads down to Puerto Rico, where he gets involved in a love triangle involving a married woman (Amber Heard) and her shady businessman husband (Aaron Eckhart). The film's been long finished, so bring it on already.

And for anyone who's never seen "Withnail and I," here's a taste of exactly why you should as soon as possible (and I believe it's streaming on Netflix).



And perhaps even less likely than a new movie from Bruce Robinson is one from Whit Stillman, who it's easy to forget managed to direct three very smart comedies in "Metropolitan" (a definite favorite around here), "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco" before pretty much disappearing from the face of the planet around 1998. Well, now, he's finally back with something called "Violet Wister's Damsels in Distress," and even better, it's been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, with a release date still to be determined.

So, what's it about? The story, which sounds perfect for Stillman's wit, is about a group of young women who come up with a code of conduct for a grungy east coast university. It's probably a whole lot better than I'm making it sound here, so here's hoping the flick starring Greta Gerwig and Adam Brody gets some kind fairly wide release soon.

OK, after that, a few tidbits from Pixar, and then something so silly for the finish that you really just have to give in and embrace it.

Up next for Pixar this summer is something I really can't manage to get excited about at all, "Cars 2." It's bad enough that the studio is now seemingly solidly in the sequel business, but everything I've seen from this particular one just looks like the height of banality.

After that, however, things should get interesting again. In Entertainment Weekly, Pixar has released concept art and the story for its 2012 fairy tale, now called "Brave" and formerly titled "The Bear and the Bow." And the best news of all about it is that it features the voice of Kelly Macdonald of "Trainspotting," "No Country for Old Men" and, most recently, "Boardwalk Empire" fame. Bully.

So, what's it about? Per EW, it involves Princess Merida (Macdonald) who one day breaks a sacred custom of her kingdom, led by King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), that brings disorder to the land. To try to rectify the situation, Merida seeks out a Wise Woman (Julie Walters), who grants her a wish that turns out to have unlucky consequences.

Along with this being Pixar's first female heroine, it will also be the first Pixar movie to be directed by a woman, Brenda Chapman, director of "The Prince of Egypt." Definitely keep your eyes on this one. Here below is the best of the concept art featured in EW, which presumably features Macdonald's character:


Unfortunately, for 2013, Pixar is jumping right back into the sequel game, but at least this time it's for one of the studios funnest movies. "Monsters University" will again feature the voices of John Goodman and Billy Crystal as Sully and Mike, and will presumably be about their education. That could I suppose be fun, but I'll close today with one sequel that thankfully will go no further than the blissfully Funny or Die parody below. Tara Reid was rightfully mocked last year when she claimed, with no proof at all, that a sequel to "The Big Lebowski" was in the works, but you definitely have to give her credit for being able to make so much fun of herself in this video. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

The Big Lebowski 2 with Tara Reid from Tara Reid

I suppose that was Parkinson's, too?

In case anyone was wondering, yes that is a thoroughly inappropriate and equally funny Larry David joke that's featured in the video at the bottom of this post. Nothing like a good tease ...

But before the videos, most of which have to do with HBO, there is a bit of news out there today, starting with the photo at the top of this post. Just to get the particulars out of the way, it features, from left, Michael Fassbinder as Magneto, Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert, January Jones as Emma Frost, Jason Flemyng as Azazel, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Lucas Till as Havoc, Zoe Kravitz as Angel Salvadore, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and James MacAvoy as Charles Xavier.

And they are, of course, the stars of "X-Men: First Class," which is set to come out in June. If you ask me, they all look more than a little awkward and rather unhappy to be there, but if director Matthew Vaughn brings any of the true comic book sensibility he did to "Kick-Ass" to this, it should just be a whole lot of fun.

After that, just a couple of tidbits I found interesting, starting with the fact that Robert Downey Jr., once he's finished bitching about Ricky Gervais' very funny Golden Globes performance (from what I watched, anyway), will be starring as Mr. Peabody in Dreamworks Animation's big-screen "Mr. Peabody and Sherman."

Surely you remember the genius dog and his pet boy from "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show," usually the funniest thing about the show each week. I should probably know to just say no to these by now, but I just have a sneaking suspicion this could turn out to be pretty darn funny.

And something I can almost guarantee you will be funny, if it ever comes to series, is what Fox has just ordered from Rob Thomas in pilot form. After creating the sublime "Veronica Mars," which you can watch in its entirety on Netflix streaming, bully, he also made the wickedly funny "Party Down," which surely would have lasted more than two seasons if it hadn't lost Jane Lynch and then Adam Scott to "Glee" and "Parks and Recreation," respectively.

The point is, the man knows funny, so I have high hopes next fall for "Little in Common," a new comedy from Thomas that centers on families whose children play little league sports. Not being one of those myself, I always find it funny when parents take something much more seriously than their children, so this could be a hoot.

OK, I do have to get ready for work, so as promised, to close just a quartet of videos. The thing I'm most psyched for on the big screen this spring is that one of my favorite novels, Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants," is hitting theaters in movie form in April. As you'll see from this New Zealand trailer, if you didn't know already, Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz make up the three sides of an odd love triangle at the circus, and definite Reel Fanatic fave Hal Holbrook also makes an appearance. Enjoy the clip, and definitely see this when it comes out.



And just to solidify its hook on me until at least next fall, HBO will be premiering "Game of Thrones," based on the series of novels by George R.R. Martin, on April 17. This should just be epicly good, and just in case you need any further inducement from me to watch, at least the first episode was directed by Thomas McCarthy, director of "The Visitor" and "The Station Agent." Enjoy this clip which rather briskly introduces some of the main players, and then stick around for two doses of, yes, Larry David.

The Game Begins

Most sane people simply accept the fact that Bill Murray is the funniest man on the planet, but I think there are two people who can give him a run for that title, Larry David and Ricky Gervais. So, when you put them together, as this behind-the-scenes clip for season eight of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" promises, I would hope hilarity would, by force, ensue. I'm not sure when the new "Curb," which brings Larry back to New York, will premiere, but it usually seems to pop up around August or so. Enjoy this clip and, even better, the Godzilla spoof that follows, and have a perfectly endurable Wednesday. Peace out.

The best movie of 2010 getting all kinds of kudos

Though Pixar's "Toy Story 3" comes in a close second, I haven't seen a better movie this year than Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone," and now that it's awards season, that great flick is starting to garner some very well-deserved recognition.

First this week, it really came up big at the Gothams, winning the awards for Best Feature and, perhaps even better, Best Ensemble Performance, because Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes also delivered the best two performances I've seen on screen this year.,

In the Best Feature category, it prevailed over some heavy hitters in "Black Swan," "The Kids Are All Right" "Blue Valentine" and "Let Me In." (I don't want to be hateful about it, but I thought "The Kids Are All Right" was severely overrated - at best a TV movie with exceptional acting from Annette Bening. And as for "Let Me In" even being on this list, that's a disgrace.)

On a personal side note, I was disappointed to see that "Summer Pasture," a truly odd but endearing documentary about Tibetan nomads that I saw at the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, didn't win in the category of Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, which went to something called "Littlerock."

And now on top of that, "Winter's Bone" has also notched the most Independent Spirit Award nominations with seven, and in all the major categories (including for Lawrence and Hawkes.)

In case anyone's curious, here are the nominees in the major categories:

Best Film
* 127 Hours
* Black Swan
* Greenberg
* The Kids Are All Right
* Winter’s Bone

Best Director
* Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
* Danny Boyle – 127 Hours
* Lisa Cholodenko – The Kids Are All Right
* Debra Granik – Winter’s Bone
* John Cameron Mitchell – Rabbit Hole

Best Actor
* Ronald Bronstein – Daddly Longlegs
* Aaron Eckhart – Rabbit Hole
* James Franco – 127 Hours
* John C. Reilly – Cyrus
* Ben Stiller – Greenberg

Best Actress
* Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
* Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
* Greta Gerwig – Greenberg
* Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
* Natalie Portman – Black Swan
* Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine

Best Supporting Actor
* John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
* Samuel L. Jackson – Mother and Child
* Bill Murray – Get Low
* John Ortiz – Jack Goes Boating
* Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right

Best Supporting Actress
* Ashley Bell – The Last Exorcism
* Dale Dickey – Winter’s Bone
* Allison Janney – Life During Wartime
* Daphne Rubin-Vega – Jack Goes Boating
* Naomi Watts – Mother and Child

Best Foreign Film
* The King’s Speech
* Kisses
* Mademoiselle Chambon
* Of Gods and Men
* Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Best Documentary
* Exit Through the Gift Shop
* Marwencol
* Restrepo
* Sweetgrass
* Thunder Soul

Best Screenplay
* Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg – The Kids Are All Right
* Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini – Winter’s Bone
* Nicole Holofcener – Please Give
* David Lindsay-Abaire – Rabbit Hole
* Todd Solondz – Life During Wartime

And if you haven't seen "Winter's Bone," I really can't recommend a rental any higher. I think it's sitting on my local redbox right now, so I plan to watch it again this weekend.

Granik's film, which takes place in the Ozarks, drops you deep into a side of America that I have to assume just about anyone who happens to read this has never seen.

As it starts, Rhee Dolly (Lawrence) gets a knock on the door of the home she shares with her two younger siblings, and a sheriff's deputy says her deadbeat father, who is due in court in a few days, has put up their house as a guarantor of his appearance.

From there, it's part film noir, part coming-of-age very fast in extremely tough circumstances and all very entertaining. Just watch it already.

And all I have after that today is something that's pretty old by now, but it's so cool that I just have to finish with it. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I'll never be able to stop paying for HBO. "Boardwalk Empire" has just gotten better and better this fall, and shortly after wraps up will come something even better, "Game of Thrones." I still have no idea when exactly this will hit the air, but it will be in winter or spring of 2011, and you can be sure I'll be eagerly tuned in for every episode of this series based on the books by George R. R. Martin. Enjoy the trailer below, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

What will Wes Anderson's next movie look like?

I guess it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that with Wes Anderson about to get busy on a new movie, there are plenty of stars ready to sign up for it. And in even better news, unlike the disastrous "Darjeeling Limited," it seems like this one might even have a proper story behind it.

Anderson is expected to start shooting his next film, "Moonrise Kingdom," in the spring, and he's apparently in negotiations with regular partner in crime and funniest man alive Bill Murray, plus Frances McDormand, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton and even Bruce Willis.

And even though he's again working with co-writer Roman Coppola, who was with him for "Darjeeling Limited" (sorry to keep bringing it up, but I really hated that movie), it indeed sounds like this flick will have something actually going on in it.

In a story set in the late 1960s, two young adults fall in love and run away, and leaders in their New England town go in search of them. Norton will play a scout leader who brings his charges on a search. Willis is in talks to play the town sheriff who’s also looking, and who is having an affair with the missing girl’s mother, the role McDormand is in talks to play. Murray will play the girl’s father, who has his own issues.

Oooohh, drama. Since Anderson has managed to make four movies I have nothing but love for with "Bottle Rocket," "Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (and also two real duds, but enough about that), I'll definitely be keeping track of this one, so stay tuned for more on this soon.

A fairly short report today because, after all, I am on vacation (but, of course, watching movies, since I'm at the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival.) The only other real bit of news before a couple of clips today is something that just makes me giddy: The Muppets movie taking shape painfully slowly is finally starting to line up some seriously funny people.

Along with writing the movie, Jason Segel, of course, gets to cast himself as the main human in this operation, and it's already been announced that he'll be joined by Amy Adams, as his girlfriend (rough gig for Segel, eh?), and Chris Cooper as the big bad, an oil man who wants to drill below the Muppets' theater. But now surrounding them is when things are starting to get really good.

Lady Gaga will make an appearance (why not?), and her entourage will be made up of veryfunnyguys Ed Helms, John Krasinski and Eric Overstreet (a recent Emmy winner, and deservedly so, for "Modern Family"). Also in the mix will be Jack Black, Paul Rudd and "Community" uberfunnyman Donald Glover in unspecified roles, Jane Lynch as a prison guard and Danny Trejo as her prisoner (why a prison guard would have a personal prisoner I don't know, but anything can happen with the Muppets!), and Zach Galifianakis as Hobo Joe.

Whew. Is that enough funny for you? The flick, being directed by James Bobin of "Flight of the Conchords," isn't set to come out until two Christmases from now, but you can already count me as thoroughly psyched for this.

OK, that's all the real news I have today, so here are couple of clips to wrap things up. First up comes the first trailer I've seen for "Barney's Version," based on the comic novel by Mordechai Richler and, thankfully, starring Paul Giamatti. The story is about the life of the titular Barney, or at least his version of it, which includes three wives, two continents and any number of possibly true adventures. It's probably much better than I'm making it sound here. Enjoy the trailer and keep an eye out for this in at least some corners of the world Jan. 14.

And I'll leave you today with the trailer for a magical movie I saw last night here in Rehoboth, a 2009 Indian movie titled "Harishchandrachi Factory." Directed by Paresh Mokashi, it's a humorous look at the life of impossible dreamer Dabasaheb Phalke who, in 1913, made "Raja Harishchandra," thus launching India's feature film industry. It really is a movie made for people who love movies, and though I have no idea if it's coming to DVD in the Western world any time soon, definitely see it if you get a chance. Unfortunately, this trailer was the only one I could find that has the English subtitles, but it also has a truly unfortunate voiceover. It still gives you an idea of the spirit of this great movie, so enjoy the clip, and have a great weekend (and if you happen to live in Macon, of course, please go see the Macon Film Guild's presentation of my favorite flick of 2010, "Winter's Bone," Sunday at 2, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Douglass Theatre.) Peace out.

This just in: "The Blues Brothers" is a classic

Complaining about the vuvzelas is embarrassing. It's part of their game and we are their guests. Suck it up and stop whinging. Hooooooooonk!

Amen, brother. Not surprisingly, Simon Pegg gets it exactly right in that tweet. Do the vuvuzuelas really bother you that much, or more to the point, how are they any more annoying than thunder sticks, the wave or any other obnoxious thing we do at sporting events?

But, one paragraph in, already I digress. Just watch the World Cup already, and enjoy it as I am.

Here today, however, it's all about a startling discovery by the Vatican, well known for it's cutting-edge pronouncements on film and everything else. Its latest directive, issued in the Vatican's official newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano," in honor of the 30th anniversary of John Landis' movie, calls "The Blues Brothers" a "Catholic classic" and says it should be recommended viewing for Catholics everywhere.

Well, duh. The only way you could make that statement more accurate would be to make it say "film and comedy lovers" everywhere, but how in the world could the tale of Jake and Elwood, on a mission from God to save a Catholic orphanage, among other pursuits, not be a classic? Way to finally get on board, guys ...

And just in case you want to get all your viewing advice from the Vatican, here are a few others they have endorsed (and though I haven't seen "The Passion of the Christ" and won't, I can confirm that the rest of these are indeed very good, if not particularly edgy, movies): "The Blues Brothers" joins the list of dozens of films recommended by Catholic authorities that includes Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments," "Jesus of Nazareth" from Franco Zeffirelli," Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ," Victor Flemming's "Joan of Arc," and "It's a Wonderful Life" from Frank Capra.

OK, from here on out today, before we get to a few trailers, it will be all about comedies to come that will hopefully bring the serious funny, starting with a bold pronouncement from Ricky Gervais, who is the king of comedy in my book.

Anyone who's seen the original "The Office" or "Extras" knows that Gervais and writing partner Stephen Merchant have already established themselves as purveyors of very good observational comedy. So, when you see a statement like this, even if it's obviously self-promotion, you have to get at least a little excited:

"It's the funniest thing we've done," Gervais said while attending the Banff World Television Festival. "It's pure funny."

So, what's he talking about? Well, it's "Life's Too Short," and it's a show he's doing now for BBC2 (and hopefully HBO or some other American medium soon enough) starring the truly great Warwick Davis as a little person with "a small-man complex."

According to Gervais, among the real-world experiences shared by Davis are using a broom handle to retrieve out-of-reach supermarket products, or being forever touched by ordinary people for good luck, as if he were a leprechaun (just go ahead and admit it - you laughed at that last bit too. It's OK, because it's just plain funny.)

Bring this on already, and as soon as possible. If the aforementioned list of my funniest people in the world were expanded a bit, it would certainly include Tina Fey, Bill Murray, Dave Chappelle, Kristen Wiig and Larry David, and not too long after that, Danny McBride, so you can count me as psyched any time he sets up a new project.

Mandate has picked up "Bullies," from an original McBride idea and to be penned by "Yes Man" scribes Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul (so I suppose they're due for a winner, right?) The comedy, which one would have to assume will also star McBride, centers on two brothers who have bullied people their whole lives and finally get what is coming to them.

Sounds good to me, and for fellow Danny McBride fans, 2011 should be a very good year. He's just wrapped "Your Highness," a stoner/knights in armor comedy also starring James Franco, Zooey Deschanel and Natalie Portman, and directed by David Gordon Green (and if you've seen "Pineapple Express" and that didn't make you smile at least a little bit, why the heck not? If you haven't seen it, rent it immediately.)

He's also now shooting the second season of HBO's "Eastbound and Down" with director Jody Hill (yes, the South is rising again, in very good comedy.) I may be the only person in the world who's psyched that this seriously bitter show about a washed-up former pro baseball player (McBride, natch) got a second season, but I certainly am.

And finally, he'll also star in "30 Minutes or Less," director Ruben Fleischer's follow-up to the rather insanely funny "Zombieland." The dark comedy also starring veryfunnyguy Aziz Ansari is about two fledgling criminals who kidnap a pizza delivery man and strap a bomb to his chest to make him rob a bank. I said dark, right?

OK, enough of that. All I have after that today is a trio of trailers for flicks that look like they'll certainly be worth catching. First up, does anyone remember the "Chronicles of Narnia" series? The flicks certainly seem to be lost in our current sea of bad 3-D and thoroughly unnecessary sequels/prequels/remakes/reimaginings, but I loved "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," and thought "Prince Caspian" was even better. So, you can certainly count me as jazzed for "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," set to come out this Christmas. Enjoy the first trailer I know of for it.



OK, since you must be using the Internet to read this, I have to assume you've been on it at least once, and have probably noticed that along with the musing of movie fans, you can also count on it as a pretty solid source of pornography of just about any kind you can imagine (if you somehow didn't know that, go ahead and take a few minutes to find out - I won't tell anyone.) Well, it wasn't always that way, and this next flick, "Middle Men," which I had never heard of until this morning, stars Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi and takes a clearly tongue-in-cheek look at one of the pioneers of turning the Internet into a moral wasteland (congrats!) Seriously, though, this looks like it could be really good when it drops in August. Enjoy.



And finally, since I declare my love for "This is Spinal Tap" in the permanent sideboard of this site, I should at least give the benefit of the doubt to the first movie Rob Reiner has both written and directed since that true gem, right, even if he has made a ton of stinkers in between? "Flipped," as you'll see below, is a sweet-looking tale of kids growing up in the 1950s and discovering that, yes, boys and girls can have all kinds of fun together. It will make you obviously think of "Stand By Me," and it does somehow have veryfunnyguy J.K. Simmons in it, so here's hoping this will far from suck when it also comes out in August. Enjoy, and if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch some World Cup before I have to go to the job that I somehow still get paid for. Peace and futbol ...

Now here's a comic-book movie that should truly kick a**

As a very small part of my paying job, I have to compile the "movie caps," or summaries of those movies that are still surviving in Middle Georgia multiplexes, which brought me to this sad fact yesterday: Matthew Vaughn's "Kick-Ass" has already left Macon theaters.

Now, just to put that in perspective, I see a good deal (probably way too many) of movies, but outside the festival circuit I've seen exactly three very good to great ones this year: "A Prophet" (which damn well should have won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language flick), "That Evening Sun" with Hal Holbrook and Vaughn's sublimely silly "Kick-Ass" (actually, you should probably make that four, because I enjoyed Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" IN 2-D quite a bit too.) Which just makes it thoroughly depressing that "Kick-Ass" is gone in no more than a month.

Just to make it even odder, still vying for viewers' attention (though not mine) is "Death at a Funeral," quite possibly the most thoroughly unnecessary remake of all time (with stiff competition from the upcoming redo of "Let the Right One In.") Hell, even "Furry Vengeance" gets at least one more week.

Which finally brings us to today's rather glorious news: 20th Century Fox has signed a deal with Vaughn to direct "X-Men: First Class," with the mutant prequel already getting a release date of June 3, 2011. Bryan Singer, who had been originally booked to direct the flick and is still a producer, apparently made the case for Vaughn, so bully for him.

Though "Wolverine" was nothing but average, and that was unfortunately a massive improvement on Brett Rather's abortion that was "X-3," I'm still extremely confident that Vaughn can make magic from the origin stories of Professor X, Magneto and all their fellow young cohorts. As I've said here before, with "Kick-Ass" Vaughn created the best comic-book movie I've seen quite in many a year, so this should be nothing but tons of fun.

And when it comes to "Kick-Ass" the comic by Mark Millar, there's actually even better news on that front. Millar is teaming up with fellow funnypeople Jonathan Ross, Frankie Boyle and others to launch CLiNT, a new anthology magazine that I will certainly be subscribing to as soon as I can figure out how, especially since the first issue will featuring nothing less cool than "Kick-Ass Volume 2: Balls to the Wall."

Here's how Millar described his new venture in an interview with Bleedingcool.com:

“I want this to be edgy and irreverent, the kind of thing guys will be passing around lunch-halls and common rooms, and there’s nobody I’d rather have creating new characters for CLiNT than Jonathan and Frankie. They’re both brilliant writers and will surprise a lot of people with this stuff. The last thing you’d expect from Jonathan, for example, is a vampire strip, but he pulls it off amazingly. People are going to love this.”

OK, I'm officially in. Best as I can tell, the first issue of this will be available Sept. 2 in the UK and then will be available later by subscription in the U.S.A.

And now for something completely different ...

Though 2009's "Broken Embraces" wasn't one of Pedro Almodovar's best movies, it was certainly one of his funnest to watch, and the film noir works nearly perfectly as a valentine to moviemaking (well, more specifically, a valentine to making Almodovar movies, but the man's certainly earned the right to brag a bit by now, right?) If you haven't seen it, I recommend it very highly, and you can indeed rent it now.

And today comes word about Almodovar's next movie, which won't feature regular muse Penelope Cruz, but will mark a reunion with Antonio Banderas, who got his start way back when in Almodovar flicks like "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down" (man, do I love that movie.)

Their new project is called "La Piel que Habito" (literally translated "The Skin I Live In.") It's based on the novel "Tarantula" by Thierry Jonquet, which I'll now have to read, and is scheduled to shoot this summer in Spain and elsewhere. Ever the enigmatic one, Almodovar really didn't reveal much at all about what it's about when he first spoke of this to the Spanish daily El Pais (for you kids, that means daily newspaper, of course):

"The film will be a terror film, without screams or scares. It's difficult to define and although it comes close to the terror genre -- something that appeals to me that I've never done -- I won't respect any of its rules. It's the harshest film I've ever written and Banderas' character is brutal."

An Almodovar "horror" film? I'm already there. More specifically, it's apparently about a plastic surgeon's revenge on the man who raped his daughter, but if you know any more than that, please do let me know.

OK, all I have after that is two videos via my Facebook friends that are indeed just perfect for a Wednesday because they're guaranteed to make you nothing but smile and laugh (and if not, please do get yourself checked out as soon as possible.) First, courtesy of a head's up from Movie Mom Nell Minow comes the first teaser trailer for a movie called "Easy A." Coming in September, it will be an update on the classic "The Scarlet Letter," and as you'll see below it will star easily one of my favorite comediennes working today, Emma Stone. I won't tell you anything else about the teaser except that the Wall Street Journal's Kara Swisher called it and Stone both rightly "adorkable." Enjoy.



And what could possibly top that? The tagline for this last one, which came to my attention courtesy of Bob, just sums it up perfectly: "Bill Murray reads poetry to construction workers at Poet's House." It's a bit long at six minutes plus, but it really is a joy to watch man of the people Murray cutting up with all the working folk and reading, among other things, a poem by Emily Dickinson. Just the perfect thing to get you and me through even the most dreary of Wednesdays. Peace out.

Atlanta Film Festival report No. 3: "The Good Heart"

Since when I'm not on vacation (like I am now), this is often about movie news, here's first a tidbit that intrigued me this morning.

If I were list say, 10 or so favorite directors, I think Greg Mottola would make the list somewhere in the bottom half. His movies are far from complex works of art, but I have unconditional love for "Superbad" and almost as much for "Adventureland," so I'm certainly a fan.

He'll be back this summer (I believe, but I've allegedly been wrong at least a few times before) with "Paul," which sounds like nothing but a big geeky ball of fun. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost star as a couple of British blokes on a cross-country tour of the U.S. on their way to Comic-Con who encounter and sort of adopt the titular alien on a visit to Roswell. Count me as thoroughly psyched for that, whenever it will actually be coming out.

And now comes word of his next project, which will be a romantic comedy but likely less raunchy (but hopefully nearly as fun) as what he's done this far. He's signed on to write and direct a movie based on the novel "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion and Jewelry" (the title of which rather wisely will be shortened to simply "Important Artifacts.")

The movie, is set to star Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman (sheesh, can a movie just be too good looking?) in a tale described as "a fictional estate auction catalog full of personal items and photographs from the four-year romance between a male photographer and a younger food columnist." Like I said, fairly heady stuff for Mottola, but I'm still intrigued.

However, since I'm a guest at the Atlanta Film Festival, this is supposed to be about the pretty uniformly great sights I've seen there, and I'm certainly happy to share them (I suppose this would feel more like "working" if I were ever to get paid for it.)

We start (and perhaps finish, depending on how long I go on about this flick) with "The Good Heart," which I was thoroughly psyched to see on the strengths of its two leads, Brian Cox and Paul Dano, who would both make any short list of my favorite actors. And, unlike with most of the movies being shown at the festival, you can probably see this one right away for a few bucks using the On Demand function, depending on your cable provider.

And, despite some qualms (the ending is ludicrous!), I'd say it would be well worth it for an evening rental. I deliberately read nothing about the movie going in except for the barest of plot structures: Cox plays a cantankerous bar owner who takes in a young homeless man (Dano) and tries to make him his protege. Within that loose framework, however, what you get is much more of an intense character study than you usually find in movies nowadays, and a real showcase for its two stars.

The two are brought together after Cox's Jacques, who is none-too-slowly drinking and smoking himself to death, suffers what is apparently not his first heart attack and meets Dano's Lucas, who has tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide, in the hospital. It would be hard to find two sadder sacks, so they form an immediate bond, and Jacques decides to help Lucas out (and get in the process an indentured friend, of course.)

Most of the joy in watching "The Good Heart" comes in seeing the two of them spar with each other and slowly adopt to each other's idiosyncrasies, which are many. In lesser hands, the story arc - Jacques slowly lowering all of his hostility and Lucas realizing there's something to live for - would be pretty seriously hallmark stuff, but here it never fails to engage. Most of the credit for that goes to Cox, who clings to Jacques' maddeningly inane fixations, like how to make the perfect cup of coffee, and makes you almost understand why he lives that way even as you just want to shake him and yell "wake up!" Dano, however, holds up his half of the successful equation too, letting his nerve build up at a steady pace until he finally stops taking all of Jacques' considerable abuse.

But there wouldn't be enough for a feature-length movie with just the two of them, so a temptress inevitably enters the picture to compete for the attention and affection of Lucas in the form of Sarah, played with vibrant appeal by Stephanie Szostak. Even better, however, are the bar regulars (none of them played by anyone you would recognize, so I'm not gonna bother to try and track down their names) who turn this into something we haven't seen since "Barfly," a genuine drinker's movie. And though that may not sound terribly appealing, I promise you that you'll be surprised by just how perfectly writer/director Dagur Kari knows this world, and how quickly what seem like deep bonds can be revealed as the empty shells they are, especially when a patron manages to piss off Jacques for what is inevitably the most trivial of "infractions."

OK, as predicted, I went on about that longer than I had planned, but it would be a real disservice if I didn't mention that the ending, which I won't reveal, will either bewilder you (as it did me, though not nearly enough to not like this movie) or seem like a natural fit. All I'll say is that if you think about the title a bit while you're watching this, it won't seem like nearly as much of a slap in the face as it did to me.

This one isn't showing again at the Atlanta Film Festival, to which I'll be returning Thursday, but like I said, you can probably find it on cable On Demand, and if you like Paul Dano and Brian Cox (and if you don't, why the heck not?), I hope I've made enough of a case to make you want to check it out.

And I'll leave you today with the trailer for a movie that looks like it will appeal to me in the same sort of way. Called "Get Low," it stars Robert Duvall as a man who decides he wants to plan his funeral party so he can attend it, and Bill Murray as the attorney who helps him plot this madness. It's set to come out in at least some corners of the world on July 30. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

div>

Free Tom Waits and a ton of fun news

The best thing I can possibly think of to start a Wednesday morning on which it's pouring outside would be some new, free music from Tom Waits.

The great Mr. Waits is about to put out a double live album recorded on his Glitter and Doom tour (which I didn't get to see), and he's released an eight-song preview through his Web site that you can get by clicking here and giving up your e-mail address (hey, nothing's really totally free, right?) Listening to it as I am now, I can confirm it's well worth checking out, and even contains one of my favorite Waits songs, "Fannin Street."

R.I.P. Johnny Fontane

Before I get into anything approaching the news of the day, it's sad to report that crooner Al Martino, a k a Johnny Fontane, has died at the age of 82. Before he became the entertainer at Connie's wedding and the reason for the horse head in the bed in "The Godfather," the south Philly singer also had a string of fairly big hits. Rest in peace, Mr. Martino.

Shaun and Dr. Who a comedy dream team?

According to Bloody Disgusting, David Tennant, a k a Dr. Who, has signed to co-star with Simon Pegg in "Burke and Hare," set to be directed by John Landis. Any flick starring those two and about the true story of two 19th century graverobbers who provided cadavers to an Edinburgh Medical School is certainly one I'm going to keep my eyes on.

Zombie Joe Pesci?

If you'll bear with me today, I'm certain it could seem like I'm more than a bit schizophrenic as I flit from topic to topic, but there's a lot of good stuff out there, including the inside dirt from Hitfix about how easily the funniest cameo of this summer almost didn't come to be.

I'm just gonna have to assume that everyone who cares knows by now that Bill Murray makes a hilarious appearance about halfway into "Zombieland" that wakes the movie up and makes it hum along right to the finish (which was, a co-worker tells me, filmed at Great Adventures in Valdosta, taking advantage of the Peach State movie-making tax incentive, so bully to that.) Here's what Mr. Murray, apparently quite seriously, had to say about Joe Pesci and the part he passed up.

"I just thought playing yourself as a zombie was irresistible. And I thought Pesci was a fool. Pesci would be a spectacular zombie. Just imagine that guy with super-human zombie powers. He's already like that. In a way I thought, 'He missed the boat on this one.' Even while we were shooting, 'Why did he not do this? This is crazy.' "

Indeed. Oh well, there's certainly gonna be a "Zombieland" sequel or two since it's made so much money already, so maybe Mr. Pesci can get in on the fun next time. I'm certainly glad he passed this time, though, because Murray was just the definition of funny.

Kudos for Kendrick

Just a quick word about this, but anyone who's been here before knows that the charming Anna Kendrick is a big favorite around here, so I wanted to share it. Kendrick, who you may have seen in a certain little movie called "Twilight" and in the much, much better "Rocket Science," co-stars with George Clooney as a fellow downsizer in Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air," has been rightly honored by the 21st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival with its Rising Star Award. Huzzah.

"Golden Suicides" for Van Sant

As morose as this new project sounds, it also seems to be just about right for Gus Van Sant, who will team with author Bret Easton Ellis to pen "The Golden Suicides."

Based on a Vanity Fair article, it will be the story of the double suicides of Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake, respectively a video game designer and "digital painter." The couple descended into a paranoid spiral when the artists developed a consuming belief that government and religious organizations were conspiring against them. She killed herself in 2007. Blake found her body on the floor of their bedroom, and walked into the Atlantic Ocean a week later, ending his life.

No word on whether or not Van Sant would direct this, but I'd have to assume so, and like I said, it seems like just about a perfect fit.

"Gilmore Girls" creator coming to HBO

Given how much I loved "Gilmore Girls" (yes, really, and you would too if you had watched it), I really should have led with this news.

It seems that "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has signed on with HBO to create an as-yet-untitled show which "chronicles the complicated relationship between three adult sisters, all writers sharing the same upper east side apartment building, and their mother, a domineering literary lioness who reserves most of her affections for their ne'er-do-well brother."

Sherman-Palladino has already made one post-"Gilmore" effort of sorts with the truly execrable "Return of Jezebel James" on Fox (if I remember correctly), but given her easy ear for family dynamics and the loose confines of HBO, I think this could be a real winner.

And finally, "Friday Night Lights"

If I had to pick one single favorite current TV show, it would certainly be "Friday Night Lights," edging out "Chuck" by a nose (it amazes me that NBC, the same network that makes eyeballs bleed with Jay Leno five nights a week, is also capable of airing such great shows - when it gets around to it.)

As fans of "Friday Night Lights" know, season three (the best yet, in my opinion) ended with a schism - Coach Taylor shipped out to coach at the new East Dillon High while Tami is left behind as the principal of Dillon. It also meant the graduation and departure of a lot of favorite characters, so it will be fascinating to see how they rebuild - though I won't get to see it until sometime next year.

For those of you who may have DirecTV, however, the show is about to return Oct. 28. Below is a sort-of-making-of featurette for a DirecTV promo, followed by the promo itself. I know that doesn't sound like much fun, but it's just nice to see all the characters again, and if you don't mind me saying, I think I'd be entertained by simply watching Connie Britton eat a box of crackers. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Yes, there will be a new Wes Anderson movie

After his last two flicks I wasn't completely sure I really wanted this day to come, but it seems there really will be another Wes Anderson movie, and it will indeed be opening the London Film Festival in October, and then supposedly get a very wide release in the U.S. beginning Nov. 13

And to that I can at least conditionally say bring it on, in large part to the new gallery of photos from "Fantastic Mr. Fox" that they've just put up at the movie's official site, which so far has little else on it.

The pictures, however, are well worth a visit, because they reveal an attention to detail, especially in the Fox family home, that compares favorably to - and I know I'm getting my hopes up way too high for what is an animated children's story, albeit a classic one - the Tenenbaum home in "The Royal Tenenbaums," by a nose my favorite Anderson movie.

With George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson and even Jarvis Cocker providing voices, it should at least hopefully be a lot of fun.

And in other good news, I was proven even more wrong than usual when - even after the positive reviews came pouring in - I just couldn't believe that any movie directed by Ben Affleck would be fairly great. Well, anyone who's seen that flick, "Gone Baby Gone," will probably agree that it was one of the best of 2007, and now he's back with a cast that sounds really promising.

Affleck will star in and direct "The Town," based on the novel by Chuck Hogan, and he'll be joined by Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" and, in even better news in my book, Rebecca Hall of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (and, I like to point out, "Starter for 10," just because it's a fun little British teen romantic comedy very few people have seen.)

Affleck is playing a bank robber who becomes smitten with the teller of a bank he held up (Hall, natch), and Hamm is an FBI agent on his trail. The teller, of course, makes the robber want to go straight, but she is also the FBI's golden ticket to catching Boston's most wanted bank robber.

Sounds pretty standard to me, but with that cast, I'm in.

And fans of "How I Met Your Mother" - of which you can still count me one, even if it slipped a bit last season - might be curious to know that Ted himself, Josh Radnor, has apparently directed his first movie.

Radnor also wrote the script for "HappyThankYouMorePlease" (wow is that a bad title), which stars Malin Akerman, Kate Mara, Richard Jenkins (huzzah!) and even Buster Bluth, Tony Hale.

In what sounds a heck of a lot like "HIMYM" itself, the comedy "follows the lives and loves of six New Yorkers not quite ready to embrace adulthood. Sounds awfully meh to me, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

And speaking of "Mad Men," I'll close with an extended Comic-Con clip from AMC's coming update of "The Prisoner," which I had thought was going to premiere directly before or after "Mad Men" finally returns Aug. 16 (the day after I get back from Mexico!)

It now seems AMC's "new" show won't appear until November, but with Sir Ian McKellen as the mysterious interrogator I'm gonna tune in for at least a few episodes, and the nine-minute-or-so clip (I did warn you) actually raises some hope that this might have been a good idea in the first place. And with that, it's off to the salt mine. Peace out.

Jim Jarmusch gets by with a little help from old friends

When I found this news this morning, my first thought was that it's been a really long time since we've heard anything at all from Jim Jarmusch, and indeed it has been almost three years since the release of his last, mostly satisfying flick, "Broken Flowers."

Now comes word that two of the stars of that flick, Bill Murray and one of his paramours, Tilda Swinton, are along for the ride in "Limits of Control," the road movie/thriller Jarmusch is shooting in Spain. As several ladies I work with would want to know, Gael Garcia Bernal factors into this somehow too.

As best as I can gather, the flick centers on a mysterious loner as he attempts to complete a criminal job, and it's set to start shooting this month in Madrid, Seville and Almeria, Spain. Even better for anyone who's a fan of Jarmusch's work is that the great French actor Isaach de Bankole, a regular in many of Jarmusch's films (notably as the ice cream man in "Ghost Dog"), plays the loner.

If that makes it sound more than a little similar to the aforementioned "Ghost Dog," that would be just fine by me, since I own that one on VHS and have probably watched it at least into the double digits in times.

And I know plenty of people whose opinions I certainly respect who had serious issues with the ambiguity of "Broken Flowers," but I thought it suited Murray's character just fine, and the would-be mystery writer Winston played by Jeffrey Wright was just a seriously funny comic creation. Here's hoping this latest project from old friends leads to something at least as fun.

Emile Hirsch finally gets some love

The most constant and amazing snub I've noticed in this awards season is that Emile Hirsch, the star of Sean Penn's "Into the Wild," has gotten almost no recognition at all, at least until now.

In March, Hirsch will take the title of Male Star of Tomorrow at ShoWest, which, despite that rather odd title, I would have to assume is also in recognition of his most recent work too, especially since all he has on the menu for this year that I know of is the Wachowskis' almost-surely-to-be-disastruous "Speed Racer."

And if you somehow missed out on seeing "Into the Wild" in theaters (and since it played in my little corner of the world for exactly one week, I couldn't say I blame you), you'll soon get the chance to see it on DVD starting March 4. The saga of Christopher McCandless is a challenging tale, and one that I took a while to warm to, but once I did it ended up on my list of the top five movies of 2007 (along with "Ratatouille," "No Country for Old Men," "Once" and "The Savages.")

And now I'd like to wrap this up kinda quick today, but I'll leave you with this clip of RZA and GZA of the Wu Tang Clan talk with the great Mr. Murray about that most magical of combos, "Coffee and Cigarettes." It's kinda long at almost eight minutes, but I think it would go just great with just about anyone's lunch. Peace out.