With the holiday season in full swing, it’s easy to get burned out — cable stations are running crappy movies like Jingle All the Way and The Santa Clause 24/7, saccharine holiday music is blasting out of every speaker, and you’ve still got like half your list to buy, and what the hell do I get these freaks?
Calm down. Have an eggnog. Put some rum in it. And enjoy some of our favorite anti-Christmas movies — not films that hate the holiday, per se (though a couple of them do), but ones that cut through all that warmth and good feeling and get at the darkness underneath. Our contrarian Christmas viewing list is after the jump. Read More »
Nestled among this week’s new theatrical releases is The Big Year, a rather syrupy looking Bucket List riff co-starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson. Let’s be clear: we have not yet seen it. But we’re not holding out much hope for a movie that puts those three guys together and cannot find one single laugh to put in a trailer.
How could you combine three men as (granted, not always reliably) funny as these and not come up with a laugh riot? Quite easily, turns out. The recent cinema is all but littered with pictures that teamed up established comedic talents and thus sounded like sure-fire crowd pleasers, but which ended up tickling the funny bones of neither critics nor moviegoers. After the jump, we’ll run down ten comic combinations that misfired.
This fall, there are plenty of great movies to look forward to. Surprisingly, the announcement that Ghostbusters would return to theaters in October means the sci-fi comedy classic just got bumped to the top of our list. Many of the movie’s fans were too young to see it in the theater initially, but even after all these years it feels like the movie could be a decent attraction during the Halloween season. There are few details, save for a brief posting on the movie’s Facebook page, which reads: “Alright, Ghostbusters fans. It’s time to get your cats and dogs together and prepare for mass hysteria: This October, for the first time in over 25 years, the original and unforgettable Ghostbusters makes its triumphant return to theaters!”
As Ain’t It Cool News points out, the impetus is surely so the studio can assess public interest in the Ghostbusters franchise as they continue trying to put together a Ghostbusters 3. The threequel has been in development for ages and seems to hinge largely on Bill Murray’s casual indifference to star in another adventure. Fans of the movie win because they get to see it, unaltered and unchanged — the word 3D was nowhere to be found — on the big screen. But if it does well, it means they lose because they’ll have to watch Egon, Spangler and Venkman pass the torch to Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd or whomever is the flavor of the moment. [via slashfilm]
Well, if you thought that it couldn’t get much worse than Blues Brothers 2000 (which currently sits at a lackluster 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), you were wrong. Today brings the news that Dan Aykroyd — who apparently has nothing better to do at the moment other than wait for Ghostbusters 3 not to be made — is hoping to spin-off the comedy franchise into a new primetime TV series. Note: He co-owns the TV rights with John Belushi’s ex-wife, Judy; Universal Pictures owns the film rights.
According to Variety, the story will focus on Elwood Blues’ search for his real dad, each episode will have a musical number, and while major casting has yet to be determined, Aykroyd will provide the voice of Jake and Elwood’s parole officer (and presumably remain off-screen). “We’re not trying to replicate Dan and John but Jake and Elwood,” explains former Saturday Night Live scribe Anne Beatts, who co-wrote the pilot. “It would be Route 66 meets Glee, and it all goes to hell in a handbasket.” What are your thoughts? Is there any chance that this could actually work? [via The Playlist]
Bill Murray was wearing a proton pack when he accepted the “Best Horror Movie” Award on behalf of Zombieland at the 2010 Scream Awards over the weekend. While he has previously stated that a third Ghostbusters film is a myth, according to IMDb, it’s really happening, with Murray joining original cast members Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson. Perhaps this is a sign that Dr. Venkman has finally been won over? We can only hope. [via /Film]
1. Country music star/sausage magnate Jimmy Dean died in front of the TV over the weekend at the age of 81. In homage, Gawker rounded up some of the Sausage King’s grossest breakfast meals.
2. While the first image from season four of Mad Men doesn’t tell us anything new, Matthew Weiner has revealed that the theme this year is “Who am I?” [via Movieline]
3. James Franco was spotted at LA Gay Pride with video artist Kalup Linzy; they’re making a short film as part of his upcoming return to General Hospital. [via World of Wonder]
4. If you couldn’t handle four hot days in Tennessee, you can now hear lots and lots of archived clips from the 2010 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. [via NPR]
5. Glee‘s Lea Michele will voice Dorothy in the upcoming animated 3-D musical Dorothy of Oz. Jim Belushi has signed on to play the Lion; Dan Aykroyd, the Scarecrow; and Kelsey Grammer, the Tin Man. [via Variety]
1. Former Saturday Night Live “presidents” Will Ferrell, Fred Armisen, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Dana Carvey, and Darrell Hammond, have joined forces for a skit encouraging financial regulatory reform. (video) [via HuffPo]
2. Check out this short documentary about Ryan Gosling‘s band, Dead Man’s Bones. [via Pitchfork]
3. Is 8-year-old Brazilian talent show contestant Laura Montana a.k.a. “Baby Gaga” going to be the next Susan Boyle? [via The Awl]
4. Martin Scorsese has announced that he’s working on a documentary about writer/social commentator Fran Lebowitz. [via The Playlist]
5. The American Ballet Theatre has canceled its fall season, citing the need for rehearsal time for a new production of The Nutcracker and lack of funds. [via WSJ]
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Use Yahoo! Search to find an interesting link about Saturday Night Live, and drop it below in the comments. Our favorite entry will receive 39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There, and more importantly, be entered to win a VIP trip for two to Coachella. Topics will be changing throughout the week, so get your search on and keep playing to increase your chances of winning!
As we’ve told you before, there’s an upcoming live action/CG-animated Yogi Bear movie currently in the works. In negotiations to star are Dan Aykroyd (to play the voice of Yogi), Justin Timberlake (Boo-Boo), and Anna Faris, who would play a nature documentarian following the bears for her latest project. Then there’s T.J. Miller. He wants the part of Ranger Jones, and decided to bring a bear along on his audition to give the director context.
1. Word is that Bono’s Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark musical will live. Look for previews come July. Maybe. [via Vulture]
2. Anna Faris, Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake are all in talks to join the cast of Warner Bros.’ live-action/CG animated Yogi Bear. Faris would play a documentary filmmaker, while Aykroyd would voice Yogi; Timberlake, Boo-Boo. [via Variety]
3. Event organizers put up a barrier to prevent non-ticketholders from getting views of U2, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z performing at an MTV Europe VMAs concert celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall. [via The Daily Beast]
4. J.J. Abrams wants to direct the pilot of Undercovers, his new NBC show that channels Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity. It will be the first time he’s directed for TV since the Lost pilot. [via Reuters]
5. Check out the trailer for Brothers, a family drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, and Tobey Maguire. [via Yahoo]
, and more importantly, be entered to win a VIP trip for two to Coachella. Topics will be changing throughout the week, so get your search on and keep playing to increase your chances of winning!
