Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Slow News Day: Would You Believe Alan Arkin?, Venture III, Andy's Bar, Animania Strikes Again

ITEM: Fresh off his Oscar win, Alan Arkin has signed on to play the Chief in the film update of Get Smart with Steve Carell. He'll be joining Anne Hathaway, the Rock, and Terence Stamp in the 2008 release, which is unfortunately brought to you by the writers of Failure to Launch and the director of Anger Management.

ITEM: Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer have announced that The Venture Bros. has been greenlit for a third season, and a fourth is almost definite. (Hell yeh!) But...the third season probably won't begin until next spring, due to the enormous amount of time the show takes to animate. (Hell naw...)

ITEM: The usually reliable Andy Ackerman (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm) is working with the usually shitty Scott Silveri (Friends, Joey) on an untitled new sitcom for CBS, about a group of late-night bar regulars. Meh...

ITEM: The third volumes of the beloved Saturday morning relics Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain will hit DVD on June 19, which will finally complete your Pinky collection and push you over the halfway mark on the other.

Jack Black Wants You to Watch Him, Control Him, and Create For Him



A couple months ago, we announced that Jack Black, Rob Schrab and Dan Harmon, and VH1 were teaming up to create a multimedia program called Acceptable TV, based on Schrab and Harmon's popular Channel 101 website. We now have a date for the premiere: March 23. We could either explain how the whole thing works again, or we could let Jables himself tell you in these amusing promo spots.

Schrab and Harmon, who recently wrote the Oscar-nominated Monster House and are now pulling various strings behind The Sarah Silverman Program, previously worked with Black on the popular unaired pilot Heat Vision and Jack (check your favorite illegal video site), and will work with him again in the CGI Kung Fu Panda. Black also has Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind and Noah Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding in post-production.

Down with the Thunder



Tropic Thunder, already one of the most exciting comedies in development due to Stiller's return to directing and the involvement of Etan Cohen and Justin Theroux, has just gotten an extra kick of thunder with its latest casting news. Robert Downey Jr. will play Kirk Lazarus, a multiple-Oscar-winning acting legend who gets caught up with several other performers in a real-life war scenario armed only with the fleeting, oversimplified training skills taught to them in a Hollywood boot camp to prepare for film. Undeclared's Jay Baruchel has also come on board as a rookie actor on the team. Filming is schedule to start in July.

RDJ, as we like to call him, will be bringing his lizard-like quirks to all manner of major upcoming thrillers and superhero flicks, but for the purposes of this particular news channel, his next relevant project will see him playing a high school principal and foil to the Ferris-Bueller-esque title character in Charlie Bartlett. Baruchel will be seen this fall in Knocked Up, which could likely set him up with Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, and Martin Starr as a new generation of Frat Packers called "The Roommates." He'll also headline the dark comedy Pushing Up Daisies and the fanboy comedy... Fanboys, and his titular role in I'm Reed Fish is playing at U.S. Comedy Arts Festival this week.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Slow News Day: Kimmel Forever, AndyRichter.com, God's Debut, Coogan's Doo Doo, 1 Trailer for the Price of 10

ITEM: Quickly stunting rumors of his impending doom, ABC has signed a deal with Jimmy Kimmel to keep him on through 2010, which may include bumping up his start time to compete with Conan after Leno's departure in 2009.

ITEM: NBC will post the entire first season (a half-order six-episode run) of producer/co-writer Conan O'Brien's anticipated Andy Barker P.I. on its website before the TV premiere next month, following a similar move by FOX for The Winner. The sixth episode will be exclusive to web viewers.

ITEM: The previously reported improv game show Thank God You're Here will premiere on April 18, taking the Friday Night Lights spot, and they've added Fred Willard, Jason Alexander, Tom Green, Fran Drescher, and Tom Arnold to the already impressive guest list.

ITEM: Variety reveals that Steve Coogan is working with up-and-comer Charlyne Yi on adapting her Kaufmanesque, kid-friendly variety show The Doo Doo Show, but they have no details on what exactly that means. Will it be a movie, a series, or another live incarnation? We have many more questions than answers.

ITEM: There's a strange-ass new trailer for The Ten (#7 on our 30 Most Anticipated Comedies of 2007) that takes the well-worn comedy teaser concept of "pretend you're dead serious, and just when the audience is fooled, reveal the big stupid comedy" to an almost dangerously ambiguous level...if that's even what they're going for. You can check it out right here:

Asspen!



Tomorrow, HBO kicks off its week-long annual U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, generally considered to be the largest and most anticipated venue for established and upcoming stand-up, writer's panels, and comedy film screenings. You'll have to visit the website for the full, massive schedule, but here are some of the highlights.

Stand-Up:

George Carlin
Steven Wright
Michael Showalter
Marc Maron
Mary Lynn Rajskub
Nora Dunn
Alan Zwiebel
Andy Milonakis
John Oliver
Josh Blue
Dave Hill
Daniel Tosh
Charlyne Yi

Films:

The Don Rickles Project, a new documentary on the comedian directed by John Landis.

The Host, the beloved Korean monster dramedy, which opens in theaters March 30.

Severance, a slasher comedy set in the world of office team-building retreats.

Selected scenes from The Comebacks, a football spoof from the producers of Wedding Crashers, starring David Koechner.

Colour Me Kubrick, starring John Malkovich as a Stanley Kubrick impostor.

Certifiably Jonathan, a new documentary about Jonathan Winters, featuring Robin Williams, Jeffrey Tambor, Sarah Silverman, Tim Conway, Nora Dunn, Rob Reiner, and Ryan Stiles.

Eagle vs. Shark, an oddball New Zealand romance that won over many a Sundance fan.

Rocket Science, another Sundance favorite about a stutterer who becomes a debate team champ, from the director of the Spellbound documentary.

A screening of Buster Keaton's The General with a live orchestra.

I'm Reed Fish, starring Apatow favorite Jay Baruchel as a radio advice guru, also starring Schuyler Fisk, Alexis Bledel, DJ Qualls, and Chris Parnell.

Death at a Funeral, Franz Oz's new dark comedy about a dysfunctional British family, starring Alan Tudyk and Peter Dinklage.

Delirious, starring Steve Buscemi as a shameless paparazzi, also starring Michael Pitt, Alison Lohman, Gina Gershon, and Elvis Costello, from writer-director Tom DiCillo (Living in Oblivion).

Heckler, Jamie Kennedy's new documentary on handling hecklers and critics, featuring Dave Attell, Bill Maher, Patton Oswalt, Judah Friedlander, Mike White, Carrie Fisher, George Lucas, Rob Zombie, and Ron Jeremy.

Cook-Off!, an improvised mockumentary about a chef competition, starring the Reno 911! trio of Wendi McLendon-Covey, Cedric Yarbrough, and Niecy Nash, plus Stephen Root, Diedrich Bader, Phil LaMarr, Mo Collins, Louie Anderson, and Sam Pancake. McLendon-Covey worked on the "scriptment" as well.

Closing Escrow, a real estate satire featuring Wendi McLendon-Covey and Cedric Yarbrough (again.)

Goodnight, Vagina, a short film with Cheryl Hines as a woman getting a...new vagina?

Starter for 10, starring James McAvoy as a British university student who dreams of being on the institution's TV quiz show team, from producer Tom Hanks.

American Fork, about an obese bag boy who dreams of becoming an actor, starring William Baldwin and Mary Lynn Rajskub.

The Valet, from the writer of La Cage Aux Folles, about a parking attendant who has to live with a beautiful supermodel in order to keep her adultering boyfriend's wife unsuspicious.


The festival will also feature Q&As with the creators and stars of Entourage and the new The Winner, as well as the presentation of HBO's Man of the Year award to Stephen Colbert. As always, if you get to attend any of these events, and have videos, pictures, or comments to share, drop 'em by the office. Or the comments section. Whatever's closer.

This Week in Funny 2/26/07-3/4/07

Monday, February 26:

Jim Gaffigan on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC)

Tuesday, February 27:



New on DVD: Stranger Than Fiction (click here to buy)
New on DVD: Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (click here to buy)
Steven Wright and Tracy Morgan on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)

Wednesday, February 28:

New The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show: “T-Bones TV” (Comedy Central)
Billy Connolly on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)

Thursday, March 1:

New Scrubs: “My Night to Remember” (NBC)
New 30 Rock: “The Source Awards” (NBC)
New The Sarah Silverman Program: “Muffin’ Man” (Comedy Central)
Seth Macfarlane on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)
Rob Corddry on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC)

Friday, March 2:



New Monk: “Mr. Monk Goes to the Hospital” (USA)
New Psych: “Scary Sherry 2: Bianca’s Toast” (USA)
Charles Grodin and Dan Naturman on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Patrick Warburton on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)

Sunday, March 4:



New The Simpsons: “Yokel Chords” (FOX)
Series Premiere The Winner: “Pilot” (FOX)
New Family Guy: “Airport ‘07” (FOX)
New The Winner: “The Single Dates” (FOX)
New Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!: “Salame” (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)
New Saul of the Molemen: “Fun King” (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)


Live Comedy Watch:



2/26: Zach Galifianakis at Juanita’s in Little Rock, AR
2/26: Todd Barry at Lolita Bar in NYC
2/26: Demetri Martin at Ohio State in Columbus, OH
2/26: Maria Bamford at Tigerlily in Los Feliz, CA
2/27: Ricky Gervais at Portsmouth Guildhall in Portsmouth, UK
2/27: Zach Galifianakis at University of Arkansas Alltell Ballroom in Fayetteville, AR
2/27: Comedy Death-Ray with Bob Odenkirk, Andy Blitz, and Todd Glass at UCB Theatre in LA
2/27: Emo Philips at 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, CA
2/28: Ricky Gervais at Colston Hall in Bristol, UK
2/28-3/3: Emo Philips at Punch Line in San Francisco, CA
3/1-3/2: Ricky Gervais at International Centre in Bournemouth, UK
3/1-3/4: Harland Williams at the Improv in Chicago
3/1-3/3: Louis CK at Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia, PA
3/1: America’s Best Comic with Matt Besser and Andrew Daly at UCB Theatre in LA
3/1: Tig at University of N. Iowa in Cedar Rapids, IA
3/2: Jerry Seinfeld at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, VA
3/2: Zach Galifianakis at Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, PA
3/2: The Benson Interruption with Doug Benson, Todd Barry, Aziz Ansari, Graham Elwood, and Arj Barker at UCB Theatre in NYC
3/2: Stephen Lynch at Shriver Hall in Baltimore, MD
3/2: Billy the Mime at UCB Theatre in LA
3/3: Zach Galifianakis at Lisner Auditorium in Washington DC
3/3-3/4: ASSSSCAT 3000 DVD Taping with Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Matt Besser, Horatio Sanz, Sean Conroy, Chad Carter, and Andrew Daley at UCB Theatre in LA
3/3: Stephen Lynch at SUNY in Albany, NY
3/4: The Whitest Kids U’Know at Pianos in NYC


For more live dates this week, watch for our Aspen U.S. Comedy Festival breakdown tomorrow!

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Slow News Day: Obscure Apocalyptic Comedies, Dilbert Movies, and Megabitches

ITEM: Ain't it Cool News is spreading the word on a new film called Santos, a Chilean superhero comedy about the end of the world, which happens to look absolutely incredible.

ITEM: Divisive director Chris Columbus has announced his plans to make a live-action feature based on Scott Adams' long-running Dilbert strip, which was previously made into a short-lived animated series featuring Daniel Stern and Chris Elliott. Wasn't The Drew Carey Show already a live-action Dilbert?

ITEM: The great Rob Schrab has posted a new video on his website called Megabitch Meltdown. It was written and directed by his significant other but his name is all over the whacked-out editing. Best wishes to Schrab at the Oscars tonight...

Tim and Eric's Bogus Journey



Tim and Eric, creators and stars of Tom Goes to the Mayor and the new Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, are taking their act to the streets with an 8-date American tour, which will include "a 70-minute mix of live segments and video clips pulled mainly from their two Cartoon Network shows, video podcasts, and website." Check 'em out:

New York (February 26) – Knitting Factory
Philadelphia (February 27) – Franklin Institute
Chapel Hill (February 28) – Local 506
Atlanta (March 1) – Earl
Seattle (March 3) – Crocodile CafĂ©
Portland (March 4) - Someday Lounge
San Francisco (March 5) – Rickshaw Stop
Los Angeles (March 6) – Echo

The duo will also be appearing at the South by Southwest festival on March 17. If you don't live in any of these fine cities, do not start crying. The Atlanta show will be webcasted live on the Adult Swim site for all to enjoy.

Meanwhile, their new show is currently airing new episodes each Friday on adultswim.com and on Sunday on Cartoon Network. So far, the episodes have featured appearances John C. Reilly, Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, and co-producer Bob Odenkirk, and future episodes have already tapes with the likes of David Cross, Fred Willard, Neil Hamburger, and "Weird Al" Yankovic. If you're not familiar with the program, allow this incoherant promo to explain it to you:

Friday, February 23, 2007

TBS Gives New Web Shows to Every Comedian Ever



TBS has launched a new broadband channel called Super Deluxe, which aims to be the largest website of its kind and will surely provide our ongoing Battle of the Cheap-Ass Web Shows with some stiff competition.

"Cheap-ass" couldn't apply enough here, as nearly every webisode we took time to watch couldn't possibly have cost more than a good toothbrush. But TBS may have finally found the secret to web-TV success. They've taken all the money they could have spent on expensive sets, costumes, special effects, or even writers, and they've just called up a fucking laundry list of alternative and underground comedians and let them do whatever they want.

The lineup already features Dave Foley, Eugene Mirman, Maria Bamford, and dozens of rising performers and sketch troupes. The comics seem to be able to upload whatever they want, however often they want, and they've already fallen into semi-regular programming such as Foley's Can't Sleep, a show he seems to literally film in his bedroom after his wife falls asleep. Meanwhile, Mirman hosts a talk show from the moon in Space Talk from the Planet Eugene. Clicking around the many, many offerings, we couldn't exactly find anything hilarious yet, although Bamford's one-woman camera-mugging "my mother freaks me out" routine is far better than it sounds on paper.

But this is just the beginning, and TBS has high hopes for the future, continuing to add even bigger (funnier?) celebrities to their roster, including David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (separately, not reunited), Horatio Sanz, Dave Attell, Jay Johnston, and even Wayne Brady. We'll safely bet that the recent rumor about UCB's Matt Besser working on a TBS project had something to do with this too.

It's cheap, it's messy, and it's not even on real TV, but let that all sink in for a minute. Key members of Mr. Show, Kids in the Hall, and Upright Citizens Brigade have brand new recurring shows for you. There's bound to be something funny in there somewhere, right?

The so-called professional clips will mix in with viewer-submitted content, all of which is subject to the same user rating system, putting everyone on an equal playing field, which is actually kind of cool. Expect CBS' Innervision, Comedy Central's Motherload, and all the other billions of online stations popping up all over the place, to attempt to match TBS' gusto.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Slow News Day: Bateman Joins Juno, Reno Cops Speak Out, Stewie's New Show, Fatboy Trailer, Zahn Cleans Up, Aqua Teen Poster

ITEM: Jason Bateman has joined fellow Arrested Development refugee Michael Cera in Juno, Jason Reitman's follow-up to Thank You For Smoking. The film stars Ellen Page as a the titular character, a teenage girl whose life becomes endlessly complicated when she finds herself pregnant with Cera's child. Bateman will play the husband of Jennifer Garner, who is interested in adopting the bastard child. Allison Janney (of The West Wing, Strangers with Candy, and Drop Dead Gorgeous) has signed on to play Juno's stepmother.

ITEM: Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant, who have been only appearing in character as Jim Dangle and Travis Junior to promote Reno 911!: Miami, recently dropped the act to talk to The Onion AV Club about the final days of The State, their improv methods, and how to keep Comedy Central from harrassing you. Most interestingly, they finally speak out (for the first time?) about their non-illustrious side careers doctoring screenplays for major shitfests such as Taxi and The Pacifier, revealing that somewhere, there exists a totally hilarious first draft of Herbie: Fully Loaded.

ITEM: Variety reports that FOX is developing an online Flash series for MySpace featuring Family Guy's Stewie and Brian as talk show hosts interviewing real celebrities. What a novel idea. The first show will premiere on Oscar night with guest Rob Corddry, promoting his new sitcom The Winner, also written and developed by Guy scribe Seth Macfarlane.

ITEM: Ain't it Cool has posted a bizarre and not especially funny trailer (if that's even what it's supposed to be) for Run, Fatboy, Run, a new comedy starring Simon Pegg, written by Michael Ian Black, and directed by David Schwimmer.

ITEM: Steve Zahn will join Alan Arkin, Amy Adams, and Emily Blunt in Sunshine Cleaning, a dark comedy about a crime scene clean-up company.

ITEM: We think the new poster for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters is pretty fucking awesome.

Tenacious D Announce D-VD, Launch Lamest Viral Video Site Yet



The less-than-well-received Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny comes to DVD on February 27, and will include commentary from the band and Liam Lynch, as well as some of the ample unused footage from the film, including the cut "The Goverment Totally Sucks" sequence, starring David Koechner as a surplus army store clerk. The disc will also feature music videos and a behind-the-scenes documentary, which is probably just going to be recycled from the amusing Hell O'Clock News segments on the official site.

In celebration, Sony has set up a pointless "video mixer" that allows users to sign up for an account and string together random clips of the "Pick of Destiny" and "Classico" music videos. If we're wrong, and this actually has some useful or even mildly entertaining purpose, please let us know what we're missing.

In other news, KG side project Trainwreck has a new EP out, simply entitled The EP, featuring the tracks "TV Theme," "Rock Boulder Mountain," and "John Bartholomew Shredder," which can all be heard for free on their MySpace page. If you haven't yet made their acquaintance, Trainwreck features Jason Reed (best known as Lee to D fans) as the cowbell-smacking lead singer of a parody 80s M.O.R. Southern rock band. They put on a pretty damn funny live show, if you get the chance. The EP is a warm-up for a full-length debut album that will come out later this year, produced by Kyle and frequent collaborators the Dust Brothers.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

This Week in Funny 2/19/07-2/25/07

Monday, February 19:

Jim Carrey on Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
David Steinberg on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)

Tuesday, February 20:



New on DVD: For Your Consideration (click her to buy)
New on DVD: Fuck (click here to buy) (documentary featuring George Carlin, Bill Plympton, Hunter S. Thompson, Billy Connolly, Drew Carey, Bill Maher, Janeane Garofalo, Eddie Murphy, Kevin Smith, and more)
New on DVD: The Second City - First Family of Comedy (click here to buy)
Bill Maher on Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC)
Lewis Black on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC)
Richard Lewis on The View (ABC)

Wednesday, February 21:



Jim Carrey on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC)
Harland Williams on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC)

Thursday, February 22:

New My Name is Earl: “Guess Who’s Coming Out of Joy” (NBC)
New The Office: “Cocktails” (NBC)
New Scrubs: “My Therapeutic Month” (NBC)
New 30 Rock: “Hard Ball” (NBC)
New The Sarah Silverman Program: “Not Without My Daughter” (Comedy Central)
Tom Lennon and Ben Garant on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)

Friday, February 23:



New in Theaters: Reno 911!: Miami
New Monk: “Mr. Monk and the Really, Really Dead Guy” (USA)
New Psych: “Poker? I Barely Know Her” (USA)
Tom Green on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC)
Jim Gaffigan on Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
William H. Macy on Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC)
Ken Davitian (fake Borat producer) on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)

Sunday, February 25:

New Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)
New Saul of the Molemen (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)

Live Comedy Watch:



2/20: Tenacious D at Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancoucer, BC
2/20-2/21: Ricky Gervais at City Hall in Newcastle, UK
2/20: Todd Barry in Here’s the Thing at the Pit in NYC
2/20: Paul F. Tompkins and Dana Gould in Comedy Death-Ray at UCB Theatre in LA
2/21-2/24: Emo Philips at Dr. Grins in Grand Rapids, MI
2/21: Michael Showalter at UCB Theatre in NYC
2/21-2/25: Marc Maron at Cap City Comedy Club in Austin, TX
2/22-2/23: Ricky Gervais at City Hall in Sheffield, UK
2/22-2/23: Kevin McDonald’s Hammy and the Kids at UCB Theatre in LA
2/22-2/25: Mike Birbiglia at the Improv in Brea, CA
2/22: Doug Benson, Paul F. Tompkins, and Andy Kindler in the Benson Interruption at UCB Theatre in LA
2/23-2/24: Todd Barry at Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse in Arlington, VA
2/23: Michael Showalter at UCB Theatre in NYC
2/24: Zach Galifianakis at Irving Plaza in NYC
2/25: Michael Showalter and Eugene Mirman in Tearing the Veil of Maya at Union Hall in NYC
2/25: The Whitest Kids U’Know at Pianos in NYC
2/25: Free ASSSSCAT at UCB Theatre in NYC
2/25: Free ASSSSCAT at UCB Theatre in LA

Friday, February 16, 2007

A Little More Crow Info



One of the more promising out of many recent pilots ordered by Adult Swim was Drinky Crow, based on a character from underground comic-book hero Tony Millionaire's Maakies strip, who also showed up in a series of Saturday Night Live shorts, and all over merchandise for They Might Be Giants. Millionaire recently updated his fans on the show's progress, saying the pilot is complete and may air as early as March, at which point Adult Swim will guage the public reaction with their own feelings, and decide whether or not to order a full run. The aforementioned Giants have recorded the theme song, and voice cast is rather excellent, featuring V.O. favorite Billy West in the titular role, plus Dave Herman (best known as Michael Bolton in Office Space and for his work on Mad TV) and Tom Kenny (best known from Mr. Show and...well, he's Spongebob). Not shabby, Mr. Millionaire! Not shabby at all.

Adult Swim has no new pilots or premieres listed on the schedule for now, but they presumably have That Crook'd Sip, Super Jail, I Know - Let's Blow Up the Moon, Gemberling, Western Times, and Let's Fish waiting in the wings, and possibly full-season pickups for the previously aired pilots Korgoth of Barbaria and Lucy: Daughter of the Devil.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Will Arnett Invades Last Week's Top Story



Will Arnett will produce and star in Space Invader for the fledgling young-adult-friendly Fox Atomic company. The story is being kept somewhat under wraps, but it is known to involve an astronaut love triangle. Writers Mike Lisbe and Nate Reger began work on the screenplay months before the recent crazy-diaper-stalker-bitch story that swept through America last week, but it must have still been quite a coup for the project, which went through a brief bidding war on Monday before landing on six figures.

Reger and Lisbe have a healthy decade of TV writing experience behind them, working on Just Shoot Me, Norm Macdonald's A Minute with Stan Hooper, and the vastly underseen comic gem Manhattan, AZ. Variety mentions that they also have two features, The Wrong Nine Year Old and Little Orphan Anthony, but a little digging shows that the former, about a man whose life is suddenly intruded on by a slighted fourth grade classmate, was sold in 2002 and doesn't appear to have moved forward since, while the latter, about a couple who mistakenly adopts the world's oldest orphan, as played by Anthony Anderson, seems to be only one year younger and just as dead.

Arnett has a lot of projects of questionable existence of his own, including The Ambassador, Jeff the Demon, Get 'Em Wet, Dad Can't Lose, and Most Likely to Succeed, but he will definitely be appearing in The Brothers Solomon, Blades of Glory, Spring Breakdown, Semi-Pro, Hot Rod, and On Broadway. And we're getting tired of posting that massive list every time he signs on to something else, which is every couple of days.

LINK

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

This Week in Funny 2/12/07-2/18/07

Monday, February 12:

Bill Maher on Tavis Smiley (PBS)

Tuesday, February 13:



New on DVD: Mutual Appreciation (click here to buy)
New on DVD: School for Scoundrels (Unrated Widescreen Edition) (click here to buy)
Harry Shearer on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)

Wednesday, February 14:

New The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show: “Salute to America” (Comedy Central)
Marc Maron on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC)

Thursday, February 15:

New My Name is Earl: “The Birthday Party” (NBC)
New The Office: “Business School” (NBC)
New Scrubs: “My Perspective” (NBC)
New 30 Rock: “The C Word” (NBC)
New The Sarah Silverman Program: “Positively Negative” (Comedy Central)
Jim Carrey on Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC)

Friday, February 16:



New Psych: “Game, Set, Muuurder?” (USA)
Tracy Morgan on Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant on Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC)
Barry Levinson on Tavis Smiley (PBS)

Sunday, February 18:

New Extras: “Episode 12” with Jonathan Ross (HBO)
New The Simpsons: “Springfield Up” (with guest star Eric Idle) (FOX)
New King of the Hill: “Blood and Sauce” (FOX)
New Family Guy: “The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou” (FOX)
New American Dad: “Black Mystery Month” (FOX)
New Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim)
New Saul of the Molemen (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim)

Live Comedy Watch:



2/13/07: Ricky Gervais at Carling Apollo in Manchester, UK
2/13/07: Tenacious D at Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara, CA
2/13/07: Mike Birbiglia at Mo Pitkins House of Satisfaction in NYC
2/13/07: Doug Benson at UCB Theatre in LA
2/13/07: Comedy Death-Ray with Human Giant, Andy Kindler, and Chris Hardwick at UCB Theatre in LA
2/13/07: Marc Maron at Comix in NYC
2/14/07: Paul F. Tompkins and Marc Maron at You’re Welcome at the Meta Theater in LA
2/14/07: Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman at Rififi in NYC
2/15/07: Ricky Gervais at Opera House in Blackpool, UK
2/15/07-2/18/07: Nick Swardson and Tig at the Improv in Houston, TX
2/15/07: Eugene Mirman at PA’s Lounge in Somerville, MA
2/15/07: Human Giant at UCB Theatre in LA
2/16/07: Tenacious D at Paramount Theater in Seattle, WA
2/16/07-2/17/07: Emo Philips at Historic University Theater in Seattle, WA
2/16/07-2/17/07: Eugene Mirman at the Comedy Studio in Cambridge, MA
2/16/07-2/17/07: Paul F. Tompkins and Morgan Murphy at Aimee Mann’s Valentine’s Day Revenge at Largo in LA
2/17/07: Sarah Silverman at House of Blues in Las Vegas, NV
2/18/07: Tearing the Veil of Maya with Michael Showalter and Eugene Mirman at Union Hall in NYC
2/18/07: Free ASSSSCAT at UCB Theatre in NYC
2/18/07: Free ASSSSCAT at UCB Theatre in LA

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Ghostbusters News Roundup



Ghostbusters is inarguably one of the funniest films ever made, so a comedy-themed news site can't possibly ignore the strange flux of recent news about the property, no matter how dubious and shaky it all sounds.

Many reputable movie news sites have been reporting that Ghostbusters 3 is all but in the can, based on something Dan Aykroyd said on some random country music station. But no one seems to have actually listened to the interview, so we transcribed exactly what was said.

"Well, I wrote a script called Hellbent, uh, Ghostbusters go to Hell, basically. The premise is that it's Manhelltan. There's Manhattan and there's Manhellton, and if you can basically build an interdimensional phase system so you can go from one dimension to another - we've succeeded in doing that, and we go to the Hell side of Manhattan. It's downtown, Foley Square, it's where the cops are, they're all blue Minotaurs. Uh, Central Park has these green demons with black Onyx thousand-foot-high apartment buildings with classic red devils, you know, very wealthy. We go and visit a Donald Trump-like character, who's Mr. Siffler. You know, Luke Siffler, Lucifer, Luke Siffler. So we meet the devil in it. Now it won't happen as a live-action, because Billy will not come on in a live-action stage anymore for it. But he will voice his part, and we're looking to do it as a CGI animated project. It lives. It loves today. Last year too. With CGI animation and the way cartoons are done, we can just do everything I ever wrote in that script for much less money."

While all his information matches up completely with previous reports of the third script, there's nothing else solid in this entire block of text. Aykroyd says he's "looking to do it," which he's been saying for years. The key moment is where he says it lives, and it lived last year too. In other words, nothing is different this year than last year, or any other year. It's still the same script being touted around Hollywood, and Aykroyd doesn't drop any studio names or any budget numbers to suggest that it's had any sort of forward movement, except that he's ridiculously reconvieved it as a CGI project to try and fix the main problem they've always faced, which is that Bill Murray thinks a sequel is a terrible idea, and no one in the world wants to watch a Ghostbusters movie without Bill Murray.

Still, it's good to hear Aykroyd is still excited about it all. His work on the script most likely accounts for a huge portion of what makes the original film so great, because of his ridiculous commitment and belief in the supernatural world. Listening to him rattle off "blue Minotaurs" as if everyone knows they exist is pretty good evidence that Aykroyd is still crazy enough to make this work. But we're just sayin' - don't get your hopes up.

In only slightly less impossible news, Ain't it Cool ran two stories on a series of clips posted on YouTube from an independently developed Ghostbusters video game, which featured impressive graphic representations of the original characters, complete with movie soundbites. The creators, ZootFly, were ordered to remove all the clips and to stop development on the game, but they're "working actively on resolving the conflict." So look for that in stores...about...probably never.

About the only solid news on the boys in grey is that you can definitely, 100% buy the fucking Ecto-1, if you're definitely, 100% filthy rich.

More on all this news as it doesn't develop.

Adam Sandler Returns to Funny After 10-Year Absence



When you hear that Adam Sandler is working on a movie about an Israeli spy who fakes his own death to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a hairstylist, it doesn't exactly merit excitement. Fantastic, a film that will allow Sandler to ham up both a gay accent and an Arab accent in one big sloppy run.

But when you hear that Sandler wrote the screenplay with Judd Apatow and Robert Smigel...well, that changes things entirely. That's cause for a celebration.

You Don't Mess With the Zohan starts filming this summer, after Smigel finishes a quick rewrite, and Columbia Pictures hopes to have it ready for next summer.

LINK

Fanboy Scourge Defaces Dream Detective Project



While the rest of the film community is up in arms over Shawn Levy signing on to direct The Flash, he's fucking up the Comedyblog's week for a different reason. The humorless, family-friendly cut-and-paster behind Steve Martin's Pink Panther and the unfortunate blockbuster Night at the Museum is in serious talks to hold the clipboards on The Hardy Men, the second of Ben Stiller's long-time dream projects to be resurrected this year.

Stiller is hoping to star with Tom Cruise (?!) as the grown-up versions of popular paperback heroes the Hardy Boys. It's the sort of story that writes itself, and perfectly matches Stiller's frequently squandered gifts. Who doesn't want to see these kids still living in their police chief father's house and leeching off his cases? And although Cruise seems like a strange choice at first, since he's such a giant tool and all, remember that the two did some pretty amusing work together at the MTV Movie Awards a few years back, and besides, it could be a hell of a good time watching Cruise play up his persona as an overzealous, naive goofbox. Throw in any standard alt-goddess (say, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Jenna Fischer, or Kristen Wiig) as Nancy Drew, and you've got yourself an amusing little movie.

So why is FOX predestinating it to suck by considering throwing the worst director in Hollywood on board?

LINK

Monday, February 5, 2007

This Week in Funny 2/5/07-2/11/07

Monday, February 5:

Tom Lennon and Ben Garant on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)
P.J. O’Rourke on Tavis Smiley (PBS)

Tuesday, February 6:



New on DVD: The Science of Sleep (click here to buy)
New on DVD: Running With Scissors (click here to buy)
New Campus Ladies: “Foreign Exchange” (Oxygen)
Naked Trucker on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)

Wednesday, February 7:



New The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show: “Gold Watch” (Comedy Central)
Chris Elliott on Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Jonathan Katz on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC)
Bob Saget on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)

Thursday, February 8:

New My Name is Earl: “Blow” (NBC)
New The Office: “Phyllis’ Wedding” (NBC)
New Scrubs: “My Road to Nowhere” (NBC)
New 30 Rock: “Up All Night” (NBC)
New The Sarah Silverman Program: “Humanitarian of the Year” with guest star Zach Galifianakis (Comedy Central)
Steve Martin on The Ellen Degeneres Show (Syndicated)

Friday, February 9:

New Monk: “Mr. Monk Visits a Farm” (USA)
New Psych: “Cloudy Chance of Murder” (USA)
Tenacious D on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)

Sunday, February 11:



New The Simpsons: “Little Big Girl” (FOX)
New King of the Hill: “SerPunt” (FOX)
New Extras: "Episode 11" with Ian McKellen (HBO)
Series Premiere Saul of the Mole Men (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)
Series Premiere Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! (Adult Swim/Cartoon Network)

Live Comedy Watch:



2/5/07-2/6/07: Ricky Gervais at Brighton Centre in Brighton, UK
2/5/07: Matt Besser and Andrew Daly host America’s Best Comic at UCB Theatre in LA
2/5/07: Paul F. Tompkins, Dana Gould, and Andy Kindler at Largo in LA
2/6/07: Laugh Don’t Destroy with Michael Showalter, Eugene Mirman, and Jon Benjamin at Union Hall in Brooklyn
2/6/07: Comedy Death-Ray with Patton Oswalt, Greg Proops, and Aziz Ansari at UCB Theatre in LA
2/6/07: See You Next Tuesday with Paul F. Tompkins and Morgan Murphy at UCB Theatre in LA
2/7/07: Ricky Gervais at New Theatre in Oxford, UK
2/7/07: Invite Them Up with Eugene Mirman at Rififi in NYC
2/7/07: Show & Tell with Andrew Daly and Hard ‘N Phirm at UCB Theatre in LA
2/7/07-2/8/07: Maria Bamford at Irvine Improv in Irvine, CA
2/8/07-2/9/07: Jerry Seinfeld at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN
2/8/07-2/9/07: Ricky Gervais at Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, UK
2/8/07: Human Giant, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Andy Blitz at UCB Theatre in LA
2/9/07-2/10/07: Sarah Silverman at Cobb’s Comedy Club in San Francisco, CA
2/10/07: Nick Swardson at Spreckles Theater in San Diego, CA
2/10/07: The Thrilling Adventure and Supernatural Suspense Hour with Paul F. Tompkins and Dave “Gruber” Allen at Mbar in LA
2/11/07: Tearing the Veil of Maya with Michael Showalter, Eugene Mirman, and Tig at Union Hall in Brooklyn
2/11/07: Sarah Silverman at the Showbox in Seattle, WA
2/11/07: Free ASSSSCAT at UCB Theatre in LA
2/11/07: Free ASSSSCAT at UCB Theatre in NYC

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Richter Finally Barks Up Right Tree



You may remember Andy Barker P.I. from last year's pilot season announcements, where it was being developed as a mid-season replacement for NBC and subsequently never spoken of again. Fortunately, it's been thrust back into being, premiering on March 15 while 30 Rock takes a short hiatus until April 19, at which point Barker will either jump to a new timeslot, or be tossed in the trash like the much-lamented Andy Richter Controls the Universe and the not-so-lamented Quintuplets.

Richter plays an accountant who moves into a mall office formerly occupied by a private investigator, and decides to indulge himself by taking on cases from the detective's belated customers. It also stars Arrested Development's Tony Hale, and most excitingly reunites Richter with former staring contest partner Conan O'Brien, who will serve as executive producer, and co-wrote the pilot episode with Jonathan Groff.

The show's website used to feature a clip, but it's been removed. We tried to do some detective work of our own to track it down, but the search was fruitless, so you'll just have to wait until March.

There's still no news on Conan's other pilot, Haskett's Chance, which would follow a seedy, dishonest politician who gets a second chance on life when he's killed and reincarnated as a homeless man. The (unproduced?) pilot features Cary Elwes, Dylan Baker, and Missi Pyle, with Tim Blake Nelson directing. It's also been announced as a drama, but between O'Brien involvement and Elwes' terrible acting, there's bound to be a few laughs in there.

LINK

Friday, February 2, 2007

Sit Down, Stand-Up, Ha, Ha, Ha



The new season of Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg will premiere on TV Land's website on February 19, with guest Jerry Seinfeld, landing on the regular network two days later. You may have caught the popular director and golden-year comedian's chats with Larry David, Martin Short, or Bob Newhart. The show is largely family-friendly and nearly as mellow as Charlie Rose, but it does have the advantage of featuring only one, frequently legendary guest for Steinberg to spend a healthy chunk of time drilling to their core.

Other guests this season include Garry Shandling, Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Roseanne Barr, and Ray Romano, so...you know...grab a seat.

Make It a Bud.TV



Anheuser-Busch has launched a new web channel that will feature a parade of frat-boy-friendly exclusive webisodes. Right now, Bud.TV only has previews up for ridiculous chimp-themed reality shows and hoaky CGI sci-fi soaps, but it will be full-blast right after the Super Bowl this Sunday, with at least two potentially interesting premieres.

One is Finish Our Movie, a new concept from the creators of Project Greenlight, which allows viewers to submit the middle section to an incomplete short film written and directed by veterans of Saturday Night Live, Da Ali G Show, Everybody Hates Chris, The Man Show, and Mad TV.

The other is the insipidly titled Happy Hour, a sketch show from another SNL writer, which has already lined up guest spots from the likes of Chris Parnell and Tim Meadows.

The service will also feature the requisite "fake news" program, as well as various comedy clips, including footage from Vince Vaughn's recent Wild West Comedy Show tour.

Drink up.

LINK

Thursday, February 1, 2007

The Mooninite in the Room

The Comedyblog tries to make a habit of not reporting news that you'll also see on any other website, but it feels a little strange to not mention today's top news story since it involves our 5th most antipated comedy of 2007, and one of our most frequently discussed topics, the Aqua Teen movie.

So to compromise, we'll throw up the funniest but least-known aspect so far, which is the off-topic press conference given by guerilla advertisers Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens.



Somehow, we're guessing this movie might be bumped up from a limited release. You can't buy this kind of publicity.