Is Jared Hess still a funny guy?

Although I haven't much at all liked anything Jon Heder has done since "Napoleon Dynamite" (except for maybe his voice work in "Monster House"), I think I'll always have time for creator Jared Hess.

I know he lost more than a few people with the super-silly "Nacho Libre," which is really a litmus test of just how much Jack Black you can stand, but I laughed my way through just about all of that one (even at those hairy little midget wrestlers, as wrong as that was.)

And now Mr. Hess is back with a story that, if not a little autobiographical, at least seems to be perfectly tailored to his natural geek sensibility. Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano and Jemaine Clement (I can't say I've ever heard of the last two dudes) are set to star in "Gentlemen Broncos," which is about a high school outcast (natch!) who attends a fantasy writers' convention and gets his story ripped off by a legendary novelist (I'm kinda laughing at that already.)

Angarano plays the teen, while Clement is the author named Ronald Chevalier. Rockwell will play the fictional story's title character who appears in book-come-to-life sequences under two guises: one in the teen's story and one in the author's story.

Though he's doing it rather quietly, it's hard not to be impressed with what Hess and co-conspirator (and very funnyman) Mike White are doing here. Their comedies will never be as racy (or probably as funny) as the stuff coming from Camp Apatow, but I'm glad there's room in the world for directors who can make clean (Hess is a Mormon, in case anyone didn't know) but still solidly entertaining flicks without preaching to us about the filth that too often makes up the rest of our entertainment slate. 'Nuff said.


Can't the body get cold first?

I read the New York Times for many reasons, but it's never better than in its obituaries of complicated people, and the recent one for chessman extraordinaire Bobby Fischer was one of the best in many years.

As most everyone already knows, and as wrong as it is to speak ill of the dead, Fischer was both a genius and too often a right proper prick. Turning his back on the United States after his big victory over Boris Spassky in the World Championship in 1972, Fischer went into hiding and emerged from time to time to unleash increasingly virulent tirades about Jews (none of which I'd ever bother to reprint here.)

Sounds like a natural choice for the hero of a biopic right? Even so, Universal and Working Title have signed Kevin MacDonald of "Last King of Scotland" fame to direct "Bobby Fischer Goes to War," which will focus on Fischer's showdown with Spassky and hopefully a lot more. The flick is scripted by Shawn Slovo, son of the ANC activist and writer of the extremely underrated "Catch a Fire" (please watch this South African flick on DVD if it's somehow passed you by thus far.)

All this will have to come after MacDonald completes filming "State of Play" with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Helen Mirren (hearty huzzah!), but once they finally get started, I certainly don't think you could do much better for a Fischer than Mark Ruffalo. Any other suggestions?

Sci-Fi seeks "Sanctuary"

Mostly because I'm a techno-phobe who clings to fading gadgets with ferocity (I still, for example, don't have a cell phone, and don't see any particular need for one), I have yet to watch one single TV program on the Web (unless you count the very funny stuff being made by Michael Cera and Clark Duke here.)

Which surely means I've missed out on some cool stuff. "Sanctuary," which is about to be ripped from the Web and brought to us old-fashioned folks via our TV boxes by the Sci Fi Channel, certainly fits that bill.

The show, which will be the first television series to use live-action actors against virtual sets in the style of "300" and "Sin City," hails from the creators of "Stargate SG-1" and is about an enigmatic doctor on a quest to track down, aid and protect strange creatures that walk the Earth (I often think I'm one of those, but I'll have to assume they mean something a bit more, well, extraterrestrial.)

Sci Fi has ordered a full 13-story arc, and it sounds like a lot of fun to me. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to read through, spell-check and perhaps add photos to this before Blogger goes down in about T-12 minutes. Peace out.

A fairly cool music biopic, but why not the Stax story?

Though I enjoy a well-constructed music biopic, I think a major fault with most of them is the subjects too often are titans we already (or at least think we) know everything about.

There are plenty of stories to be told from the world of music if you look beyond Ray Charles or Johnny Cash. "Control," the story of Joy Division's Ian Curtis, is one I'm certainly eager to see, but I'll probably have to wait for DVD (or maybe New York at the end of the year.)

What I really like, though, and we don't see nearly enough of, are movies about the often seedy business of making and promoting music. Now, however, there's one such flick just starting to take shape that definitely has me intrigued.

Matt Dillon has signed on to play Leonard Chess, who founded Chess Records and first recorded many of America's greatest blues singers. And now, in even better news, Jeffrey Wright has signed on to play bluesman Muddy Waters in the flick, titled either "Cadillac Man" or "Cadillac Records," depending on who you ask (the title refers to Chess' habit of selling records from the back of his Caddie while scouring the South for new talent to sign.)

If I were to put together a list of the 20 or so actresses/actors the world simply can't continue without (not a bad idea, actually), Mr. Wright would have to be near the top. And If I had to pick one role I've liked him in more than any other, it would have to his riffing with Bill Murray as Winston the would-be mystery writer in Jim Jarmusch's "Broken Flowers."

But as cool as this flick, being directed by Darnell Martin and filming in January in New Jersey and Chicago, sounds, there's one other that would really get me jazzed: A Stax Records movie.

Now, there have already been several documentaries made about this great little soul label, including one just out on DVD titled "Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story." But what I'm talking about is a grand biopic about the label that launched Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, Sam and Dave and many other great acts.

In case anyone has a little cash lying around and wants to run with this idea, I've even got what I think is a can't-miss casting tip for you. In the right light, Wesley Snipes (who surely needs the work) could easily be a doppelganger for the late great Big O. There, I've got you started.

And, at the end of this post (if you make it that far}, I've included a clip of my favorite Stax act, Mavis and the Staple Singers, singing "Reach Out, Touch a Hand, Make a Friend" at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1981.

Sci Fi plots a "Revolution"

Any glimmer of original sci-fi, and I'm not talking about rehashing old ideas like "The Bionic Woman" here, is reason to cheer, and the Sci-Fi Channel might just have its hands on a real winner.

The channel has just greenlighted "Revolution," a two-hour futuristic action-drama pilot from writers Ed Redlich and John Bellucci, with Simon West in negotiations to direct.

Redlich described the project to the Hollywood Reporter as "re-envisioning the American Revolution 200 years in the future." Cool enough. It's set in New America, a distant colony on an Earth-like planet struggling for its independence from an increasingly hostile homeland, the United State.

"It centers on two multigenerational families related by marriage - a loyalist family and a family that is leaning toward rebellion - and how the impending revolution impacts their lives," said Redlich.

The pilot is slated to begin production in January. If it is picked up to series, Sci Fi is eyeing a summer debut. This is definitely one worth keeping an eye on.

"The Office": The funniest (U.S.) show ever?

I'm not sure I'm ready to go there just yet, but Andy's pitching woo to Angela with "Take a Chance on Me" in three-part harmony has pushed it right to the brink in my book. The hour-long episodes, unfortunately, end after tonight's, but we have at least three more new episodes coming in a row. Here are the descriptions from NBC:

Tonight: “Money”
As Jan (Melora Hardin) renovates the condo, Michael (Steve Carell) confronts his growing debt every way he can, which includes pressuring his employees for a loan. Pam and Jim spend a night out on Dwight’s (Rainn Wilson) family farm, now a bed and breakfast (I'm laughing already just reading that.)

Oct. 25: “Local ad”
When the Scranton branch is asked to participate in a Dunder Mifflin ad, Michael seizes his chance to exhibit his creativity. Meanwhile, Dwight explores the online world of Second Life.

Nov. 1: “Branch Wars”
When Karen (guest star Rashida Jones) tries to woo Stanley (Leslie David Baker) away from Scranton, Michael fights back, dragging her ex, Jim, into his war. Meanwhile, the existence of a “Finer Things Club” further disturbs Dunder Mifflin’s calm.

Nov. 8: “Survivor Man”
After Ryan (B.J. Novak) excludes Michael from a corporate wilderness retreat, Michael heads into the woods for his own survival adventure with nothing but the suit on his back. Back at work, Jim tries to revolutionize the office birthday party.

Visual proof that Sly should just hang it up

The fine folks at the great Froggy film site Cinempire.com have posted the entire press kit of photos for Sylvester Stallone's "John Rambo," but I'll spare you the full blow and just post this one.

In it, you'll see a look that's way too familiar. Bass players seem to get it, especially if they play in jam bands. It is, to be as crude as possible, "dump face," and it certainly doesn't look too good on a 61-year-old (yes, really) man trying to act way younger than his age. To be fair, I thought "Rocky Balboa" was fantastic, but there's just no way you'll be able to drag me to this one. Here's the pic (and remember, I warned you):


And, finally, if that hasn't caused you to lose your lunch, wash it down with this promised clip of the fabulous Staple Singers and have an entirely suckfree Thursday.