Richard Pryor to be played by ... a Wayans brother?

I really enjoy reading about all this stuff, even more than I do writing about it when I first wake up in the morning, because very often you just get one of those wtf moments that make me start the day with a smile.

To first give all credit where its due, this info comes directly from Hitfix, and I see no reason to take it as anything but fact.

In February, it was announced that "Dreamgirls" director Bill Condon was going to make a biopic about Richard Pryor (rather imaginatively titled "Richard Pryor"), and Eddie Murphy was going to be the star. Fair enough all that, but apparently not so.

Now comes word that though Condon is still on board, Marlon Wayans will be stepping in to play Pryor, and oddly I see this a potentially really good move.

Don't get me wrong. I can't criticize anything the Wayans brothers have generated as a unit in recent years because I haven't bothered to see anything they were all involved in since the first "Scary Movie," but I did of course way back when see "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." And I did see and quite enjoy the Marlon variety of the Wayans in both "Requiem for a Dream" and "Ladykillers" (yes, "Ladykillers," and I like that movie quite a bit.)

Mostly, though I'm sure Murphy would have loved to do this, this move takes out all that ego and places a potentially very funny guy (as long as he and his brothers aren't behind the camera) in the role of the best comedian (except for maybe Bill Hicks) of all time.

Well, more than enough about that, really, but apropos of just about nothing, here's Wayans in a very funny - and extremely foul - clip from "Ladykillers" to get your Wednesday started right.



Selick out at Laika

Anyone who saw and enjoyed "Coraline" as much as I did (and since it made $75 million domestic, there must be a few of you out there) knows that this is a pretty dark day for Laika, the studio that generated it.

Henry Selick, the "Coraline" director and a master of stop-motion animation, is leaving his post as "supervising director for feature film development" at the studio. Rather ironically, I guess, despite that title, he's leaving because his contract is up and he still didn't have any feature film in sight to direct.

Laika is set to announce its next feature within the month, but here's hoping that Selick finds a new home where his talents can be put to their proper use very soon.

Lauren Graham back on TV?

As a big fan of "Gilmore Girls" (yes, really), I have to say it's just been depressing to see Lauren Graham not be able to find any really good roles - on the big screen or small - since that show ended. Now, however, it seems she's found something that will at least probably last a few years.

Graham is about to step in for Maura Tierney in NBC's upcoming drama series "Parenthood," based at least loosely on the movie of the same name that I just couldn't stand. Tierney had to drop out because she is battling breast cancer.

And why would the TV show be any better than the rather wretched movie? Well, first of all, it was created by "Friday Night Lights" showrunner Jason Katims, and already has a pretty strong cast, including Peter Krause and Craig T. Nelson (as an aside, I just finished watching "Sports Night," and that show was so good I'm surprised it even managed to last two years.)

The show, if it actually makes it in on the air, is set to debut as a midseason replacement.

Another "Vacation"?

As sequels go, I think this one just might work because of the sheer craziness of it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it seems that "Wedding Crashers" director David Dobkin is considering producing and directing (yet another) sequel of sorts to "National Lampoon's Vacation."

Yes, there have already been umpteen spinoffs (I think the only one I've seen was "European Vacation"), but this would instead be a "reboot" (what an awful word), with Rusty now taking his own kids on a similar trip to the original, perhaps to Wally World again for all I know.

Now, National Lampoon is no longer involved (but when's the last time they generated anything genuinely funny?) and no word yet if any of the original cast would be either, but just thinking of that goofy movie again made me smile, so here's hoping something seriously funny comes out of all this.

And speaking of seriously funny, "South Park" is finally back on the air again tonight for what I have to assume will be another seven-episode stretch. Here's the description of tonight's episode from Comedy Central:

"The boys bring in professional ghost hunters to investigate evidence of paranormal activity in the Broflovski house. Powerful forces are tormenting Ike. He’s freaked out and the stress could kill him. Kyle and the boys are doing everything they can to save him, but the poltergeists won’t leave Ike alone."

What that doesn't tell you is that the episode is titled "Dead Celebrities," and as you can see from the very brief clip below, they take their inspiration from a rather obvious source. Enjoy, and have a none-too-bothersome Wednesday. Peace out.

Remember when Eddie was funny?

I know it can be hard to do. And I'm not talking about the family-friendly, super-silly funny of "Daddy Day Care" or "Dave" (actually, I can't confirm or deny that there was anything funny about either of those, since I didn't bother to watch them.)

I'm talking about really funny. Rude funny. "Raw" funny. Well, luckily, Bill Condon - most recently the producer of this year's rather pedestrian Oscars broadcast - does, and he wants to do something about it.

He's currently shopping around a script for the biopic "Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said," with Murphy attached to play the great Mr. Pryor himself. And to me that sounds like nothing but cool.

Richard Pryor, of course, created so many great comic routines, but my favorite was that one about the "big water-head boy." It was just so foul and funny at the same time, and like the best of his routines it made you feel thoroughly uncomfortable as you were unable to stop laughing. Much like Paul Mooney, who was adopted by Dave Chappelle and given a rebirth on Dave's Comedy Central show. I sure wish Richard Pryor had lived long enough to get in on that action.

I couldn't find the "water-head" boy clip anywhere, but I did find that one of Mr. Pryor explaining why (like Mr. Mooney) he's not gonna use the N-word anymore. Enjoy, and relish the thought of a first-rate director leading a once-seriously funny guy in a biopic about one of the true comic geniuses. Bring it on.



Seth Green about to cash in big time

Given all that Seth Green has done in animation with "Robot Chicken," which though it's thoroughly crude and ADD-inspiring is also insanely funny, it's certainly about time he gets to cash in with a big-time animated movie, especially one that sounds as good as this.

Robert Zemeckis is producing a performance-capture movie of "Mars Needs Moms" for Disney, and Green has signed on to voice the lead.

But what is "Mars Needs Moms"? Though I had never heard of it, it's apparently a children's novel by Bloom County creator Berkeley Breathed. The story is about a boy named Milo (of course), to be voiced by Green, who stows away aboard a spaceship to rescue his mom after she's kidnapped by aliens.

That all sounds great to me, and it's just well about time that Oz gets some big-time respect and, of course, cash.

Yes, I watch "Gossip Girl"

It's probably nothing I should ever admit, but I've done so here before, so I suppose that cat's already out of the bag.

And yes, I'm well aware that I'm far too old and male to be among the show's intended target audience, but I just enjoy shutting off my brain after a long day of work and ingesting entertaining trash, and "Chuck" creator Josh Schwartz is a master at delivering it.

When he's not paling around with McG to create the adventures of everyone's favorite accidental superspy, Schwartz is an expert at peddling soapy teen trash, first with the "O.C." and now with the almost-as-good "Gossip Girl." And now, not surprisingly given the CW's appetite for such fare, he's deep into a "Gossip Girl" spinoff coming to the network in May.

It was announced this morning that Brittany Snow will play the lead role in the as-yet-untitled series, which focuses on the teen adventures of Lily van der Woodsen, a k a Serena's mom, who was hopefully for our sake more than a little of a wild child. On the show, Lily has a falling-out with her parents and has to move from posh Montecito to the San Fernando Valley to live with her black-sheep sister and go from private to public school in the 1980s.

I know this means absolutely nothing to most of the people who would bother to stop by and read this site, but it does to me, so thanks for bearing with me, and hopefully this last bit will serve as a bit of a reward.

Go on a "Boat Race" with "I Love You, Man"

The more I see of this March 20 flick starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Jamie Pressly and, thankfully, J.K. Simmons, the more I'm convinced that it's gonna be exactly the kind of R-rated comedy that I love.

And the red-band clip below certainly does nothing to lessen that. Be warned, if you watch until the end, that the finish is as funny as it is simply thoroughly disgusting. Enjoy, and have a fantastic weekend. Peace out.

"Express" aisle: My top 10 favorite sports flicks

Coincidentally enough, a look at the credits for last night's premiere of "Life on Mars" revealed it was directed by Gary Fleder, who also directed this week's "The Express," the inspiration for this list. I haven't bothered to tune in for any cop shows in the last 10 years or so except for "The Wire," but I think this one just might be a winner, based on both the rather remarkable cast (Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol and Michael Imperioli, among others) and fairly innovative story about a cop who does the time warp back to 1973.

And I'm fairly certain I've done a list of at least my favorite baseball movies before, which could certainly also go to more than 10. For this list encompassing all sports (and two flicks that arguably aren't about sports at all), I found I had to leave off a full four boxing movies that just missed the cut ("Requiem for a Heavyweight", "Someone Up There Likes Me" [in honor of Paul Newman], "The Hurricane" and "Raging Bull.") Given that caveat, here are my 10 favorite sports movies, and as always, please feel free to add any of your favorites among the many, many flicks I have snubbed.

"The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg"
Even more than boxing movies, I just love flicks about baseball, and this doco was directed with clear love for a great man by Aviva Kempner. Without taking away AT ALL from what Jackie Robinson accomplished, it will really open your eyes when you see what hammerin' Hank had to go through as the first great Jewish player to slug for the Detroit Tigers.

"Hoop Dreams"
I can still remember watching Roger Ebert just go gaga for this flick when it first came out, and it's almost as good as his orgasmic review made it sound. Spike Lee's fictionalized version "He Got Game" is pretty good too, but it just can't pack as much punch as this true story of two Chicago kids who dream of playing in the NBA.

"Bend it Like Beckham"
Silly? Sure, but also just a heck of a lot of fun. I had to check the IMDB to see what in the world ever happened to director Gurinder Chadha after she made this flick about two girls (Keira Knightley back when she used to eat and Parminder Nagra of "ER" fame) who just want to play soccer and the extremely fun "Bride and Prejudice." It turns out she did indeed manage to direct a feature film in 2008, called "Angus, Thongs and Snogging," which will be added to my Netflix queue at the first opportunity.

"Vision Quest"
Like Matthew Modine, I had visions of becoming a wrestler in high school, but I never took it nearly as serious as he did or got to have Linda Fiorentino hanging around to inspire me. Sure, this one might be an adolescent fantasy, but it's also just a very entertaining flick.

"Eight Men Out"
Granted, "Field of Dreams" (which was on this list before I cut it back to 10 titles) is a much sweeter take on the story of Joe Jackson, but the real story is also very compelling as told by director Jon Sayles with help from John Cusack, John Mahoney, Charlie Sheen, DB Sweeney (as shoeless Joe himself, David Strathairn and even Michael Rooker and Gordon Clapp of "NYPD Blue" (the only cop show I regularly tuned in for between "Homicide" and "The Wire.")

"The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings"
Ben "Cooter" Jones (yes, that Cooter) stopped by our office about two weeks ago to promote his new book about his time on Capitol Hill as a Democratic representative from the great state of Georgia. When he got to me and someone told him I write about movies, he very proudly said he had a small part in this odd little flick about a colorful crew of ballplayers including Richard Pryor and Billy Dee Williams who barnstorm across the Midwest (even though most of the flick was filmed right here in Macon.) I love this one almost as much as Cooter does.

"Breaking Away"
Having sat beside Renee Martinez, who is both a serious cyclist and rather fanatical fan of the Tour de France, at work for the past five years or so means I've been exposed to more cycling than any nonfan should ever have to sit through. Even though I still protest otherwise, I have come to both respect and enjoy the sport of cycling, but not as much as I do this silly little movie about an Indiana "cutter" who just wants to ride with the Italians.

"When We Were Kings"
This is the only boxing movie that made the final cut because it's about a whole lot more than boxing. This Leon Gast doco about the 1974 heavyweight "Rumble in the Jungle" between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire is also about the crazy concert featuring James Brown, B.B. King and others that Mobutu Sese Suko put on to go with it. Add it all up and you've got a whale of a tale well told.

"Searching for Bobby Fischer"
OK, these last two aren't about real "sports" per se, but I defy you to find a better movie about the nature of raw competition than this 1993 flick about a young boy thrust into in the world of competitive chess. Interestingly, this one is one of three flicks directed by Steven Zaillian ("A Civil Action" and "All the King's Men" are the others), who would go on to pen "American Gangster" and soon "I Heard You Paint Houses" for Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro.

"Bring It On"
If you can actually look me in the eye and claim you don't enjoy this one as at least a guilty pleasure, I have to say you, sir or madam, are a liar. Kirsten Dunst, Gabrielle Union and Eliza Dushku as high school cheerleaders? I'm there, and I usually am for at least a few minutes every time this inevitably shows up on TBS' afternoon movie slate.

So, there you have it. Like I said, please feel free to add any of your favorite sports flicks, and have a perfectly pleasant weekend.