HBO books a "Game Change," and finds its Sarah Palin

Back in 2008, it certainly didn't seem at the time to on paper be exactly the winning formula for a top-shelf political movie. A script from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gilmore Girls" regular Danny Strong, directed by Jay Roach, purveyor of the broadest kind of big-screen comedies?

Anyone who's seen "Recount," their HBO movie about the rather memorable 2000 U.S. presidential election, however, knows (or at least I do) that it was a surprisingly smart, funny and very entertaining political flick, with Laura Dern's sublime performance as Katherine Harris as the very sweet cherry on top.

Now, the two of them are teaming up again for a political flick with even better source material, John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's tome about the 2008 presidential election, "Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime," and wisely simply shortened the title to "Game Change." And they've lined up an intriguing choice to play the most colorful character, Sarah Palin.

Julianne Moore (not Tina Fey) will play the never-boring former candidate for vice president, and assuming she can avoid the battle with bad accents she played out on "30 Rock," she should be great in this. No word yet on the rest of the cast or exactly when this will hit TV, but since this intrigues me, I'm almost certain to pass it on when I find it.

I read a pretty good deal of political books, and can attest that "Game Change" is one of the very best in the genre, so definitely bring this on!

And all I have after that today is the first trailer I know of for "Bad Teacher" the upcoming comedy starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel and, thankfully, Phyllis from "The Office," too. Frankly, it doesn't look all that promising, but since it comes from director Jake Kasdan ("The TV Set," "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and, way back in the day, "Freaks and Geeks," too), I'm holding out hope it will be a whole lot funnier than I'm expecting when it drops June 24. Enjoy the trailer, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Will we really get "The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made"? Here's hoping

If Jason Segel somehow manages to screw up his very-long-gestating Muppet movie, I'd be genuinely surprised, because as the pieces have - very slowly - come together, it all seems to be coming together perfectly so far.

The latest pieces to fit into the puzzle are the humans, apart from Segel, who long ago swiped the human lead in this for himself, and now he's surrounded himself with people I always like to watch. Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and Rashida Jones are all in negotiations to join the cast of what I believe is still titled "The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made."

In the movie, assuming it ever really happens, Adams would play Segel's character's girlfriend, Jones would play a TV executive, and best of all, Cooper would be the big bad, an oil man who - of course - wants to drill for black gold beneath the Muppets' studio.

And along with this casting news, it seems the story from Segel and co-writer Nicholas Stoller has changed in the many months since this was first announced. One of the benefits of making your movie at Disney, I suppose, is you probably constantly have really smart people giving you advice, and it seems that after table reads with Pixar folks like John Lasseter and others, the movie will now be loosely based on a Jim Henson idea originally titled "The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made." In Henson's pitch, Gonzo is hired to direct a film, but ends up blowing his entire budget on the first day, and turns to his Muppet friends to bail him out and help him finish the flick.

Sounds like a classic Muppets premise to me, and though I have no actual idea when filming is set to begin on all this, to be directed by "Flight of the Conchords" vet James Bobin, it still has a release date set of Christmas Day 2011, so Muppet fans like me, keep hope alive!

Just a short report after that today with one more bit of good news, then it's off to a busier than usual Friday on which I have to care for some dogs and cats along with the regular daily grind.

Coming together much faster than "The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made" is "Sopranos" creator David Chase's as-yet-still-untitled first feature film.

He's found his three relative unknowns to star in the rock 'n' roll coming of age flick set (natch) in New Jersey: John Magaro, Jack Huston and Will Brill (mission accomplished, I suppose, because I've never heard of any of them.) Even better, he's now hired guitarman-turned-actor-turned-garage-band-promoting-DJ Steven Van Zandt, aka Silvio on "The Sopranos," to supervise the music for this and serve as executive producer.

The movie, set to begin shooting in January in New York, follows a group of suburban New Jersey guys making their way during the 1960s as a rock band called the Twilight Zones. Many of Chase's "Sopranos" behind-the-camera running mates have followed that up by working on HBO's sublimely entertaining Atlantic City crime epic "Boardwalk Empire," so here's hoping Chase now finds similar success on the big screen.

OK, all I have for the big finale is the first five minutes or so of the upcoming animated (in 3D if you choose, I have to assume) flick "Megamind," set to come out Nov. 5 with the voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill. Judging from this preview of sorts, the film should at least be very funny, and that's really usually all we can ask for from animated flicks nowadays. Enjoy the clip and have an at least excellent weekend. Peace out.

Mid-year report card: One man's picks for the best movies of 2010 (so far)

After a more than slightly disappointing beginning to this movie year, we've been on a real roll of late.

The winning streak started with "Toy Story 3," the perfect ending to a great movie trilogy, and continued with the surprisingly charming "Despicable Me" on through the ambitious mindbender "Inception" (and if you really think you can explain that one to me, bring it on.)

Overall, not nearly as good a movie year as 2009, but it's clearly getting better, and the fall should have some real winners (more on that in coming weeks). Here is one man's opinion about the best movies (so far) of 2010, in order of preference.

10. "Shutter Island": I'd say Leonardo DiCaprio was in a mindbending movie rut if the ones he's been in this year weren't so good. "Shutter Island," a Martin Scorsese movie based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, was a B-movie flick with A-level acting and style. Now on DVD.

9. "Alice in Wonderland": Though many - if not most - of director Tim Burton's adaptations/remakes are tired, this was a welcome exception. It was full of whimsy and surprising restraint from Burton, and for once, Johnny Depp was funny rather than simply creepy in a Burton movie as the Mad Hatter. Now on DVD..

8. "Date Night": This is most certainly the year of Steve Carell on the big screen, and since he's soon likely to quit "The Office," why not? Though this flick with co-star Tina Fey lacked the anarchic spirit of Scorsese's "After Hours," from which it clearly draws inspiration, it was still a fun night out with two very talented comedians. Coming to DVD on Aug. 10.

7. "Despicable Me": Carell again, in a flick that proves Pixar doesn't have the market cornered on mixing wicked humor with heart. After a slow start full of run-of-the-mill jokes, it develops into a thoroughly charming animated tale, and contains my single favorite movie line of 2010 so far: "The physical appearance of the please makes no difference." In theaters now.,

6. "Inception": This is, of course, all anyone is talking about now when it comes to movies, and what more can you ask for than that? Christopher Nolan's dreamscape may well move up on this list over time, but for right now, I need to see it again, because after one viewing it left me with as many questions as answers, and that's far from a complaint. In theaters now.

5. "A Prophet": It has been called "The French Godfather," and though that's clearly a high bar to set, the comparison actually works on many levels. The story about what one man has to do to survive a long stint in prison - from unsavory alliances to even more unsavory activities - is simply mesmerizing from start to finish. Out on DVD Tuesday.

4. "Kick-Ass": Really? Yes, really. Though there are clearly questions about the morality of a 13-year-old, extremely foul-mouthed and even more lethal "Hit-Girl," played by young Georgian Chloe Moretz, there's no denying that it's funny. And this is, after all, a comic-book movie, and one that in the hands of director Matthew Vaughn breathes new life into that very familiar genre. Now on DVD.

3. "That Evening Sun": A definite highlight of the 2010 Macon Film Festival, this stars Hal Holbrook in a revival of the great Southern movie, a genre that's becoming far too much of a rarity. He's angry, ornery and excellent as an old man who escapes from a nursing home to reclaim his former home, now being inhabited by another Macon Film Festival favorite, Ray McKinnon. Not to be missed, and coming to DVD on Sept. 7. And the Macon Film Festival will return Feb. 17, 2011, so stay tuned.

2. "Toy Story 3": Is Pixar's marquee trilogy also now the best movie trilogy of all time? The argument can certainly be made, since it started with a groundbreaking original, upped the ante with a second chapter that was even better in terms of story and humor, and then finished up (we assume) with a final chapter that was both a rousing adventure and a definite charmer, and yes, the ending did make this grown man cry (admit it, you did too.) In theaters now.

1. "Winter's Bone": Debra Granik's movie takes a classic film genre, the film noir, and sets it in just about the bleakest possible setting, the Missouri Ozarks. And though it can often indeed be as depressing as that sounds, it's also riveting as newcomer Jennifer Lawrence tries to unravel the mystery of what has happened to her deadbeat father, who has put up the house she shares with her two young siblings as a guarantor that he'll appear in court on charges of making meth. This is, indeed, the perfect kind of movie for the Macon Film Guild to offer this fall (though I don't have any say in that), and worth seeking out now in select theaters.

Honorable mention: "Youth in Revolt", "Edge of Darkness", "Ghost Writer", "The Crazies", "The Good Heart", "OSS 117: Lost in Rio", "Splice", "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work", "Get Him to the Greek" and "Cyrus"

So, there you have it. Please feel free to share any you think I may have snubbed (and there's surely more than one), and to offer any of your favorites from this movie year so far. 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 ...

Coco's long, strange trip heads to TBS, and I'm with him

The first thing I thought when I heard yesterday that Conan O'Brien had spurned the advances of Fox for more money and, let's face it, surely more job security at TBS, was man would be it great to see another "Late Shift," this time about the rather tawdry adventures of CoCo and the soon-to-be-vanquished Jay Leno (hey, one can dream, right, even though he's clearly more indestructible - but much less funny - than a cockroach.)

If you've never seen that HBO movie, it detailed the war between Leno and David Letterman, and just how Dave ended up walking over to CBS, with comic precision. I'm sure you can still rent it, and it's well worth it.

And even though any new version of the story would surely make for a kinda rough portrait of both its main players, I think the TBS deal is nothing but a winner for O'Brien, and here's why.

Had he somehow managed to swing a deal for an 11:30 show on Fox, he would have been under the same constant pressure that thankfully killed Leno's 10 p.m. adventure, complaints from the affiliates. They were apparently, and rather amazingly, balking at pulling their "Simpsons" reruns or "Cops" or whatever the hell else they have on at 11:30 now, and frankly, who needs that?

At TBS, for which the motto "Very Funny" has so far only expressed itself in almost constant reruns of "The Office" (which is, granted, indeed just that), he's clearly gonna be the lord of the manor.

Here are the details, as I know them. The TBS deal only started coming together last week, after George Lopez called O'Brien (easily the best thing he's done for comedy in many, many years) and asked him to consider coming to TBS. Under the deal, starting in November, Lopez's show (which, in all honesty, I've never watched in its entirety, but I've seen enough to deem it not terribly funny at all) will move to midnight, easing the way for CoCo at 11 p.m.

The as-yet-untitled show will only air Monday-Thursday (because, after all, who wants to work on Friday if you clearly don't have to?) O'Brien will apparently earn about $10 million a year, roughly what he had been making at NBC, and much more importantly, own the show, a la Dave Letterman. There's not much I can say to sum up just how good news this really is, so I'll let Conan himself do it just about perfectly.

“In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly.”

And you have this promise from me: Though I'm pretty strictly an in bed by 11 kinda guy, I'll gladly stretch that for a half hour at least to make room for your return. Welcome back, Conan.

OK, this is technically supposed to be about movie news, so here are four nuggets I found fascinating this morning, before we wrap things up with a couple short videos that are pretty much guaranteed to make you smile.

Did you see "Date Night"? I did, and while it could certainly have been zanier for my taste, it was still pretty darn funny, even in the none-too-brave-or-new-world that is the new New York, and that was almost entirely thanks to the chemistry of NBC's comedy titans, Tina Fey and Steve Carell, though James Franco and J.B. Smoove were very funny in it too.

So, even though their movie somehow lost out to that "Clash of the Titans" remake (which I still haven't seen, and probably won't), it shouldn't come as much of a surprise at all that they're already making plans to team up on the big screen again. According to the L.A. Times, Fey and Carell will appear together in something called "Mail-Order Groom," which was apparently at least partly penned by Fey's hubby, Jeff Richmond.

In the comic premise, Fey would play a lonely woman who orders the titular "Mail-Order Groom," only to get, in the form of Carell, not exactly what she bargained for. I'm laughing at that already, and I can't really see any way in which this won't come together extremely quickly. Stay tuned.

And, keeping things in comedy for another second or two, Vulture has apparently gotten its hands on the script for "A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas," and shared what it will be about. Personally, I thought Kal Penn and John Cho started to lose their comedy buzz more than a little bit by the end of "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," but I'll never get too old for good stoner comedies, so here's hoping they deliver with chapter three this Christmas.

Here's what it will be about, according to Vulture: Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg’s script tracks down Harold and Kumar 10 years after the events of the second film. Now in their 30s, Harold is married and living the idyllic family life while Kumar lives in their old apartment and has just had his license suspended for smoking weed. More importantly, Harold is drug-free, but all that’s about to change when Kumar drops by and burns down a special Christmas Tree — soon enough, the two are on the road to find a replacement.

Excellent. Throw in Neil Patrick Harris and all kinds of fun drugs, and I'll certainly be there.

After that today, things get a little more serious in the form of news about what Froggy directors Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud are cooking up as their followup to "Persepolis" (before it just gets crazy with word of what exactly happened to Craig Brewer, remember him?)

If you haven't seen the animated movie "Persepolis," there really are very, very few rentals I can recommend higher. Based on the Satrapi graphic novel of the same name, it's all about her life growing up in Iran and Europe, and it's just an amazing bit of filmmaking. For the duo's next project, they'll again turn to a Satrapi illustrated novel (which I'll certainly now have to read) called "Chicken with Plums."

All I know about it so far is that the movie will again be about Iran somehow, but this time they will be working in live-action rather than animation, and actor Mathieu Amalric will be one of the stars. In any format, Satrapi and Paronnaud just make movies (or rather, so far, a movie) I love watching, so definitely keep your eyes on this one.

OK, just to end on a crazy note, before a couple of short videos, does anyone remember Craig Brewer? He managed to direct what has become without exaggeration one of my all-time favorite movies with the rap-and-roll fable "Hustle & Flow" and then the simply bizarre "Black Snake Moan" before just about completely disappearing.

Well, know he's back, but not in any kind of form I could have predicted. It seems that whichever big studio had the bright idea to remake "Footloose" has now hired Brewer to direct it, from a script he wrote himself. The project was originally in the much more predictable hands of "High School Musical" director Kenny Ortega (who actually directed quite a few episodes of "Gilmore Girls" too, oddly enough) with Chace Crawford of "Gossip Girl" to star in the Kevin Bacon role (thus sealing his fate in the six degrees game), but now both of them are gone. Brewer, I suppose, makes this a little more interesting, but mostly it's just a depressing tale of just what a guy's gotta do to eat these days.

But enough of that depressing stuff. "Glee" returns tonight, and that's more than enough reason to go out with two things that just made me smile. First up comes a band I had admittedly never heard of called Anamanaguchi (and forgive me, guys, if I'm somehow misspelling that) performing what will apparently be the theme song for the upcoming "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" video game. The movie it's attached to is already surely getting more buzz than it needs, and I'll be doing my very insignificant part to contribute to that, but as for this, it's just two minutes or so of punk-pop bliss, which is just about what I at least needed to start off a Tuesday morning. Enjoy.



And finally today, this 15-second only but still extremely foul (remember, I did warn you) commercial clip for "Kick-Ass" just about perfectly encapsulates what will hopefully be its primal appeal. It's sublimely not safe for work, so if you watch it without headphones, you have only yourself to blame. Enjoy, and have a perfectly bearable Tuesday. Peace out.

Three or four things that hopefully bring the funny this morning

You know, I get a lot of movie reviews that cross my desk (well, appear on my computer, anyway), but rarely these days do I get one that surprises me as much what we got re "Date Night."

It was about noon Tuesday, and there were so far no reviews, never a good sign. But then exactly one showed up, from McClatchy Newspapers critic Christopher Kelly, and he gave it three-and-a-half stars. Exaggerating? Surely, but he made a good case, and I still have enough faith in critics that, even though I was on the fence about this one, I'm now gonna give it a couple hours or so of my Saturday afternoon. And later today, courtesy of Collider.com, come eight or so clips that show the movie starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell (and somehow James Franco, J.B. Smoove and even Taraji P. Henson, a definite Reel Fanatic favorite, too) should have more than a little funny going for it.

But before that today, there were a few other things that caught my eye this morning or perhaps yesterday (speed has never been all that important to me.) First up, what has to be the best premise for a movie I've heard in the last few years or so.

Though mi hermano lives in the land of 10,000 (or however many there actually are) lakes, I have never had the pleasure of going to the Minnesota State Fair or any other such Midwestern variant, and so have never experienced firsthand the glory of butter sculpture, but it has always fascinated me. I would not, however, have been clever enough to somehow tie it to the 2008 presidential election, as a screenwriter named Jason Micallef has apparently done.

The movie, "Butter," will star Jennifer Garner as the wife of a reigning butter-sculpting champion who attempts to follow in his footsteps after he steps down, only to have her path to power blocked by a young black girl with prodigious butter-sculpting talents (I'm laughing at that already.) The rival will be played by a young lady named Yara Shahidi, and Kate Hudson and funny guy Rob Corddry will factor into this somehow too.

Genuine political satire, which this certainly seems to be, is a rapidly dying art, so definitely keep your eyes on this flick set to begin filming later this month. (And for a pitch-perfect recent example of the genre, rent "In the Loop" if you somehow haven't seen it yet.)

And next up today comes up the first trailer I know of for "Dinner for Schmucks," which, given the Steve Carell connection, I have to presume will debut this weekend before "Date Night." The French movie it's based on "Le Diner De Cons," has sat near the top of my netflix queue for many months now, and having just checked, I find it's now actually No. 1, so I'm gonna return something today in hopes of getting it back in time for that to arrive in my mailbox Saturday afternoon. In the meantime, the remake starring Carell and Paul Rudd is set to drop in July, and judging from the trailer, the Jay Roach flick should deliver some pretty serious funny. Enjoy the trailer.



And coincidentally enough, George Lucas has apparently given Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, creators of "Robot Chicken," the green light to pen some further "Star Wars" adventures with a comic touch. That's pretty amazing news given that I just assumed Lucas had no sense of humor at all (or rather the kind that found Jar Jar to be funny), but in the meantime, I laughed right out loud at this "Star Wars"/"Arrested Development" mashup, and hopefully you will too. The best thing about this poster created four years ago or so to promote the Fox show when it was actually still on the air instead of just a constant reunion rumor has to be David Cross, but it's all pretty darn funny. Enjoy.

To wrap things up today, why not something from a movie that actually comes out this week, rather than a show that sadly died quite a while ago? As promised, here are about 7 minutes or so of "Date Night," which will be getting my $6.50 or so Saturday afternoon. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pain-free Wednesday. Peace out.

Now that's how you start a Tuesday morning

If, like me, you consume your music chiefly through Itunes and you're slowly losing what's left of your mind, here's a trick: If you know an album is coming out from one of your favorite acts, order it like a month in advance and, if you're like me, you'll forget all about it until it starts to download, making almost for a surprise.

That's what happened this morning with "I Learned the Hard Way" by the sublime Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. If you're unfamiliar with what they're cooking up, there really are only two or three groups in the world I can recommend higher. If you saw "Up in the Air," it was Sharon and her guys who performed that sensational rendition of "This Land Is Your Land," which really should be the U.S. national anthem (and therefore sung when the Baltimore Orioles - finally! - begin the season today with Kevin Millwood on the mound against the Devil Rays, go O's!)

Deceptively simple and throwback, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings play soul music the way its meant to be played, but with orchestration that makes the sound all their own. Check it out already.

After that today, it's all about three projects by up-and-coming directors who have already managed to direct movies I love, so are well worth keeping an eye on.

First up, in probably the most high-profile project, Peter Sollett has been tapped (apparently knocking out Joss Whedon) to direct a movie based on the graphic novel series "Runaways," not to be confused with "The Runaways" starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. This movie is apparently about a group of young people who discover that, drat, their parents just happen to be archvillians. The titular "Runaways" band together to discover their own powers and fight their own parents, and as silly as that sounds, it should be really great in Sollett's hands.

His best movie, for those who might forget, is easily "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," a movie about bridge-and-tunnel Jersey kids starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings that's way better than it ever deserves to be (if you haven't seen it, just trust me and rent it already.) Almost as good, though on a much smaller scale, was Sollett's first movie, "Raising Victor Vargas." What the two movies have in common is a real ear for the lives of young people - without the skeeviness of, say, Larry Clark - something which should make "Runaways" a real fun ride once this all comes together.

And come to think of it, "Nick and Norah" was a lot like "Date Night" in its "After Hours"-style look at New York City, but why in the world is that flick starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey the only wide-release movie opening this week? Sheesh. But I digress ...

Next up today is a new project from easily one of the funniest guys around today, David Wain. When his last movie, "Role Models," came out, I took a pass, and that was a real mistake. Starring the alwaysveryfunny Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks (and that McLovin kid too), the flick about live-action role playing is a whole lot funnier than most "comedies" that come out nowadays, and I'm certainly glad I finally managed to catch up with it on DVD.

Now, Wain is about to sign on to direct something called "Too Cool to Be Forgotten," also based on a graphic novel, this one by someone named Alex Robinson.

The premise, unfortunately, sounds awfully tired, but in the hands of Wain (a veteran of "The State," in case your doubting his comedy chops), I'm still betting on funny here. It's about a middle-aged man who, after trying hypnosis to stop smoking, is somehow transported back to 1985, where he must relive his awkward teen years. And if you wanna sew up the funny right now, why not sign Rudd for this right away?

And finally (well, almost), comes the craziest story of the day. I rented Lone Scherfig's "An Education" over the weekend (that's not the crazy part, because that movie just gets better and better with age.) It's even better than I remembered, and easily the best ensemble cast movie of 2009.

For her next project, she's lined Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess to star in the rom-com "One Day," based on the novel by David Nicholls (author, by the way, of the screenplay for the extremely underrated "Starter for 10," rent that one right away too.) That story is about two college friends who agree to meet once a year for twenty years, but that's not the crazy either.

Here it comes. After that, and apparently in the belief that Kathyrn Bigelow shouldn't be the only chica in the world who gets to direct action movies (huzzah to that), she'll set her sights on something called "Mob Girl," to star known thespian Jessica Biel. I told you it was coming.

Based on Teresa Carpenter's nonfiction work of the same name, it will apparently be about mob mistress Arlyne Brickman, who infiltrated the mafia before turning over evidence to the state that led to the arrest and incarceration of boss Anthony Scarpati. That all sounds great to me, but Jessica Biel? Really? Stay tuned ...

And really finally, you can consider this the launch of my official push to change the U.S. national anthem, and before you dismiss that as thoroughly crazy too, at least first listen to this clip of Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings performing "This Land Is Your Land" live. I defy you to find it wouldn't be a lot more fun to sing before ball games, and it's just a better song, performed perfectly. And with that, have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

A "Prime Suspect" remake? Terminate with extreme prejudice!

It's probably good for my fairly under control blood pressure that as I'm first hearing about this idiocy, it also comes with word that NBC has - for now at least - shelved this monstrosity, and for the best possible reason.

Yes, the network whose last big brilliant idea was putting Jay Leno in prime time five nights a week (how'd that work out, guys?) was actually considering a remake of the sublime BBC police procedural "Prime Suspect."

And I can certainly understand the temptation. For sheer intensity matched with characters you actually care about, only "The Wire" and - at its best - "NYPD Blue" have even come close to matching "Prime Suspect" on this side of the pond, and almost all of the credit for that has to go Dame Helen Mirren.

Of all the characters of the last 20 years or so, on big screen or small, very few have been taken over as completely as Helen Mirren dived directly into the role of Jane Tennyson and made it entirely her own. And it's apparently their belated realization of just how impossible it would be to replace her that finally led NBC to abandon this madness.

Unable to find the right actress for this, NBC has now shelved it until at least June, and here's hoping forever. If I had to name one actress who could pull this off, the only name that even comes to mind is Anjelica Huston, but as great as she is, I can't even see that working, if God forbid she'd even be interested.

And if you've somehow never seen "Prime Suspect," I can't recommend it highly enough. If you want to get started, the beginning would be best, but if you only want to watch one, No. 3, with David Thewlis and Ciaran Hinds in a truly tawdry tale about child murder and serious police corruption, is the best of all in my book.

Here's hoping that this NBC "idea" gets aborted for good, and from now on today it's all about a trio of clips that at least managed to catch my eye this morning.

First up comes a clip from the upcoming flick "Date Night" featuring Tina Fey, Steve Carell and, in this clip, a shirtless Marky Mark. Even though NBC's current king and queen of comedy would seem to make a dream team on the big screen, I somehow just can't get all that excited about this. I just get the sinking feeling it's gonna lack any of the truly manic appeal of "After Hours" in chronicling a supposedly "wild" night in NYC. Anyways, enjoy the clip.

Next up comes a TV spot for something I'm much more excited about, "The Runaways." On paper, the idea of Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning playing rockers Joan Jett and Cherie Currie just sounds dreadful, but the buzz about this out of Sundance was mostly positive, and it really does seem music video director Floria Sigismondi has come up with something that will rock when this finally comes out March 19. Enjoy.



And finally today comes a surprise that made me genuinely laugh out loud. I've never found Jimmy Kimmel all that funny at all, but Tracy Morgan can really do no wrong in my book (yes, I'm really gonna go see "Cop Out" just to see how funny he can manage to be in it, even though the reviews are dreadful.) In this clip I have to assume appeared on Kimmel's show sometime this week (after my school-night bed time, of course), he and Morgan make a rap video, and it's absolutely as silly as you might imagine. Here's hoping that Kimmel's turn as Lil' Jim puts the final nail in autotune. Enjoy, and have a perfectly bearable Thursday. Peace out.

A visit to the magical world of "Ponyo"

As I woke up Sunday morning, I was more than ready to find out that, yes, Disney had lied to me once again and Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo" would not be playing anywhere even near my little corner of the world, but I was thankfully wrong.

Centerville, about a half hour to the south of me, has actually been good to Miyazaki through the years, showing both "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Spirited Away," and there was practically a packed house for the 1:30 screening of "Ponyo," which I have to say just warmed my extremely cynical heart to see.

Now, "Ponyo" certainly isn't one of Miyazaki's most epic works, but in my book it's still one of his best. I've always liked his stories when they keep things deceptively simple, as with my two favorites, "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Porco Rosso." Like those two magical movies, "Ponyo" is clearly intended for children, and in all the best ways.

For anyone who doesn't already know, our titular heroine, voiced in the Western version by Hannah Montana's brother, apparently, is a goldfish who just wants to be a little girl. And to enjoy this blissfully simple creation, that's all you really need to know.

From there, Miyazaki goes on to explore many of the themes that have flown through his best movies through the years. At the movie's core, it's about friendship and - hokey as it may sound - love, between Ponyo and her new human friend Sosuke (apparently a Jonas of some kind), Sosuke and his mother Lisa (voiced by Tina Fey), and, well, all living things (like I said, you have to swallow a whole lot of hokey to go along with this one.)

But just as important as the story here is that "Ponyo" looks as good as any Miyazaki movie ever has, particularly when he explores one of his favorite realms, the sea. Though I had seen the scene when Ponyo emerges from the sea on the backs of a school of fish on the small screen beforehand, it's still a majestic sight, made all the more magical in the vivid and yes, 2-D strokes that turn Miyazaki's pallet into a watercolor tableau full of beautiful colors.

I'm not sure anyone will pay enough attention ("Ponyo" did manage to crack the top 10, taking in about $3.6 million in week one), but with this and the coming "The Princess and the Frog" Disney has, perhaps unwittingly, entered into an animation war to save the traditionally beautiful art form (and, interestingly enough of course, at direct odds with its almost always better half, Pixar.) In this looming battle, 2-D is sure to lose, but I'll be its champion until it disappears for good.

As with any Miyazaki movie, "Ponyo" does just have head-scratching plot turns that demand you suspend all logic. The most glaring example is that we're to believe an apparently very loving mother would leave her 5-year-old son (and his new goldfish inamorata) at home alone during a very violent storm. But if you're willing to suspend reason for a while and can stand a big dose of sugar, I can almost guarantee you'll enjoy a ride with "Ponyo."

I'll close with the most direct comparison I can think of, to M. Night Shyamalan's "Lady in the Water," easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Though both movies were written explicitly for children - Miyazaki's movie for his grandson and M. Night's crapfest as a supposed "bedtime story" - "Ponyo" succeeds where the other movie fails so miserably because it delights in majestic storytelling rather than simply throwing out ludicrous ideas with no spirit behind them (it's painful to remember, but didn't M. Night cast himself as the writer who can somehow save the world - sheesh.)

Here's hoping Miyazaki has at least a few more movies left in him, because "Ponyo" proves he's still very much near the top of his game. Peace out.

Remember glorious 2-D animation? Miyazaki does, and it looks amazing

Before we get into all that, when I first saw this news, I assumed it had to be a joke, but apparently not. And given how much David Fincher's been a hired hand in his directing career, I guess it kind of makes sense.

It seems that Fincher, who in my book is in need of a winner after the sappy swill that was "Benjamin Button," is in final negotiations to direct "The Social Network," Columbia Pictures' upcoming movie about the creation of Facebook. Take that in for a sec, because it does just indeed seem quite ludicrous.

But the idea of a Facebook flick has a little more merit when you dig into it. The already-written script is by Aaron Sorkin, who before he became infatuated with the religious right was capable of producing some seriously witty stuff. It's based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, and will be set at Harvard, where then-sophomore Mark Zuckerberg and his friends set up the social networking monster (yes, I'm on it, and it does prove to be at least a mild diversion.)

While I can't help but think this will be horribly dated if and when it ever gets made, and I can't fathom what beyond a truckload of cash would draw Fincher to it, something still has me holding out hope that it could be a lot of fun.

In much, much crazier directing news, it seems that Zhang Yimou, who last choreographed that simply insane opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics and hasn't directed a feature flick since 2006's "Curse of the Golden Flower," is now shooting a Chinese remake of the Coen brothers' "Blood Simple."

No, I'm not making that up, and I'm not really sure I could. Called "San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi" - which roughly translates as "The Stunning Case of the Three Gun Shots" - the "thriller-comedy" is set to be released later this year.

Now, I normally rail against remakes as much or more than anyone, but something about a Chinese director actually bothering to take on the Coens' little film noir just makes me smile and laugh, and you can bet I'm gonna see it as soon as I can.

And finally, before we get to the Miyazaki goodness, if you think you're having a bad day at work, just be thankful your boss isn't this guy:


That, of course, is the great Ricky Gervais, and the picture comes from his blog, which you can read here. It's a shot from his upcoming movie, "Cemetery Junction," which will (huzzah!) see him working with Stephen Merchant once again and be about three young men who sell insurance in Reading in the 1970s. "The Office" meets "Mad Men"? I'm there.

But of course, before I got sidetracked, this was supposed to be all about the trailer for Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo," which just made its debut and in just a minute-and-a-half or so looks like a real stunner.

And man do we need it. I know I'm just an old curmudgeon standing in front of a thundering freight train, but I sorely miss the good old days of 2-D animation. It's gonna take a revolution to turn back the clock now, and with the voice talents of Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson and even a lesser Jonas and a lesser Cyrus, plus the power of Disney behind it, I'm hoping this shot from the master will play really wide when it opens Aug. 14 and gets things started.

Who really needs to see this, beyond me, of course, is Pixar's John Lasseter, who, before making the fool pronouncement that his company would from now on only make movies in 3-D, expressed a love and admiration for Miyazaki's work. Here's hoping he sees this flick and has at least a partial change of heart.

Anyways, as you can see from the trailer, this is Studio Ghibli animation at its best. That scene when Ponyo rides out of the sea on the backs of a school of fish is just fantastic, and has me thoroughly jazzed to see this as soon as possible. Enjoy, have a passable Wednesday, and if you have a chance, take a break to watch some of the U.S.A.-Spain Confederations Cup semifinal this afternoon on ESPN. Peace out.

Will Miyazaki's "Ponyo" ever hit U.S. theaters?

Actually, the most depressing news out there is that Jackie Earle Haley has signed on to play Freddie Krueger in Platinum Dunes' remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Digest that for a second.

Now, on paper, Mr. Haley as Freddie isn't that much of a stretch. He certainly has the manic look down, but any news about what Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes company is up to just turns my stomach and makes it do flips.

Remaking fun movies like "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare" aren't exactly bold artistic moves, but neither are they really high cinematic crimes. But the Platinum Dunes folks have no plans to stop there; they've got real classics in their sights too.

Further along is a "retelling" (the dirty little euphemism used to claim you're not making a "remake") of Hitchcock's "The Birds." I'm still hoping this will never happen, but assuming it does it will star Naomi Watts in Tippi Hedren's iconic role and have Martin Campbell of "Casino Royale" fame as its director.

Even more insidious but still in pre-infancy stage (if that's possible) is the company's plan to remake what remains my single favorite horror film, Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby." If anyone out there has the power to stop all this madness, please do!

OK, enough of that. This was supposed to be all about Hayao Miyazaki, a subject which makes me much, much happier.

It seems that not only does his new film, "Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea" (to be retitled simply "Ponyo") finally have a U.S. release date of Aug. 14 (more than a friggin' year after it debuted in Japan!), but it also has some kids in the lead voice roles that just might give it enough cache to even open in my little corner of the world.

Ensuring that Billy Ray Cyrus will apparently be able to live off the talents of his kids forever, it seems there's another little Cyrus running around, named Noah, and he has landed the titular role of the goldfish princess who just wants to be human. Just in case that's not enough Disney for you, it seems that yet another of those Jonas kids, someone named Frankie, will voice the role of Sosuke, the young boy who befriends Ponyo.

I really have no idea who any of those people are, but if that's what it takes to finally bring this to American movie theaters, bring it on. Among the adults involved in this are Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey and Liam Neeson.

And in even better news that only impacts, well, me, I'm off to see "Adventureland" today at 2:15, and I'm fairly confident it's just going to rule. Peace out.

Happy Thanksgiving from me and Ponyo!

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and what could be better news for a holiday than that Hayao Miyazaki's "Gake no ue no Ponyo" is well on course to hitting theaters - maybe even near me! - as "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" as soon as April 2009.

The news from GhibliWorld is that Disney is currently holding test screenings for the U.S. version that includes the following stable of voice talent: Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White, Fankie Jonas, Noah Cyrys and Cloris Leachman.

From everything I've read this one may be even more than most magical Miyazaki movies specifically made for children, but so what? I act like a little kid at least once every day, and I'm sure I'll fall for this tale of a 5-year-old boy's friendship with the goldfish princess Ponyo who only wants to become human, all rendered in beautiful watercolors rather than any CGI crap. (And if Tina Fey were to voice a goldfish princess, wouldn't that just be all kinds of fun?)

There's no firm date yet for a North American release, but all I've read puts it in the first quarter of 2009, and I can only say bring it on! In the meantime, there's no real video clip here, but I defy you to listen to the "Ponyo, Ponyo, Ponyo" theme song and not end up humming it for the rest of the day. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant turkey day!

"30 Rock" almost a week early? I'll take that!

I admit that I was very slow to get on the "30 Rock" train, but now that I've given in I have no idea why I had any reservations in the first place.

The show will probably never be as funny as it was in the pilot episode when Tina Fey is wooing Tracy Morgan to join "The Girlie Show," but despite more than a few rough patch during the strike-shortened season two, the show has remained almost as consistently funny as the Emmy hype would have you believe.

And it certainly returns as partner "The Office" is hitting its stride. Last night's episode had not only the most heart of any in recent memory, but anyone who doesn't enjoy watching Amy Ryan give a devilish "hell yeah" to the prospect of sex or Dwight pining for his lost love just probably doesn't enjoy good TV anyway.

So, what will we get to see when "30 Rock" finally returns to join it next week? Well, thanks to NBC (and well, me), if you don't mind watching it on a really small screen you can find out today. All I'll tell you for now is that Jack is back, Liz's adoption interview is a hoot, and keep your eyes open for the mention of Colin Firth erotica.

I can't think of any more enjoyable way to kill 20 minutes of a Friday, so enjoy this season three premier, and have a great weekend.

Weekend update: What - if anything - is worth watching?

I suppose I'd be extremely remiss if I didn't lead off today with the news that Guillermo del Toro is now officially going to be making "The Hobbit," even if the news does now seem more than a little anticlimactic.

He'll be moving to New Zealand for the next four years because, I suppose, it's now written law that any Tolkein movie with Peter Jackson involved has to be filmed there (and I can certainly think of a few worse sacrifices to have to make.)

The somewhat dubious move, of course, is that they're actually making two movies, one that's the real "The Hobbit" and then a sequel that somehow bridges the gap between that work and the first of the "Lord of the Rings" novels. Since this rather extreme act of hubris means they certainly can't call the sequel "J.R.R. Tolkein's 'The Hobbit'," how about "Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson's imaginary bridge to 'The Lord of the Rings' "? I kid, of course, but I bet they'll both turn out to be simply uber-cool.

Though no release date has been set, Variety - with the four-year window - bets it will be one in 2011 and one in 2012, which seems to make sense.

And, before we move on to this week's movies, two bits of TV news, one nothing but bad and one that could turn out to be surprisingly good.

Just to get the ugly out of the way quickly (it is Friday, after all), NBC has definitely traded down in announcing Jimmy Fallon will take over Conan O'Brien's show when the latter moves into the "Tonight Show" chair. I've been wrong at least once before, and to be honest I rarely manage to stay up until 12:30 a.m. very often any more anyway, but I just can't see any scenario in which I'll do so for Jimmy Fallon. Sheesh.

In better news, Nathan Fillion - a k a Captain Mal from "Firefly" and "Serenity" - has signed on to star in a pilot for ABC called "Castle." Despite that rather mundane title, the premise - a "comic procedural" about a famous mystery novelist (Fillion) who helps the NYPD solve crimes - does hold some promise.

But enough about that ... now lets take a look at this week's offerings (which are all really just filling space until the arrival of "Iron Man" anyway), with the added bonus of a trailer for a flick that should probably have made my previous Summer Top 10 list.

1. Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
I realize that I'm far too old to watch this one in a theater, and I can't with good conscience recommend that anyone else take a chance on anything this juvenile, but I will indeed be there Saturday afternoon. My inner snob led me to pass on "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," but once I saw it on DVD it's just become one of those silly little comfort movies - like "Office Space" or "Super Troopers" - that help erase my mind after a particularly dreary work day. Besides, here's what critic Nell Minow, an always reliable friend to this site, had to say:

Cheerfully offensive, cheekily raunchy, happily outrageous, and often just plain disgusting, the movie avoids the usual sophomore slump by ramping up the political jabs while keeping it all unpretentious and moving quickly.

Sounds right up my rather juvenile alley, so this time, I'll be there for the first round.

2. Deception
I had never heard of this until it showed up at our multiplexes this week, but with a cast that includes Michelle Williams (hearty huzzah), Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman, I might have been willing to take a chance. A quick peek at the Rotten Tomatoes, however, shows it only managed a 6 % positive rating, which seems rather astonishing. Granted, that's only with a few reviews, but the words "predictable potboiler" are enough to stop me (and besides, even "Harold & Kumar" managed to garner 51 % positive.)

3. Baby Mama
I have nothing but love for both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, but I just can't shake the suspicion that this one just won't have enough funny to sustain a feature-length movie. Besides, in the commercial, there's a litmus-test joke, methinks, when Maura Tierney actually wipes something brown off the face of youngun and tastes it to decide if it is "chocolate or poop" (I may be paraphrasing just a bit, but you get the gist.) It's hypocritical I know since I support the often just disgusting "Harold & Kumar," but that joke just kind of makes me sick enough to wait for DVD on this one.

And finally, as promised, the extended trailer for "Hancock," which made its premiere on the TV last night, probably during the rather great "Office" episode with the coke-addled Ryan, but since I fast-forward through the commercials I would have missed it anyway. For anyone else who did the same, here's a look at Peter Berg's July 2 flick about an alcoholic superhero (Will Smith) in need of a makeover from a PR expert (the always funny Jason Bateman.) All those ingredients sound right to me, and the trailer is indeed pretty darn funny. Enjoy, and have a perfectly enjoyable weekend. Peace out.