Welcome to “Trailer Park,” our regular Friday feature where we collect the week’s new trailers all in one place and do a little “judging a book by its cover,” ranking them from worst to best and taking our best guess at what they may be hiding. We’ve got seven new trailers this week, ranging from family-friendly zombies to haunted hotels to psycho teens; check ‘em out after the jump.
Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon have been known to a lot of people for a lot of things. To some, they’re cherished as members of cult-classic MTV sketch-comedy series The State. To others, they’re the faces behind Deputy Junior and Lt. Dangle from Comedy Central’s reality-cop show spoof Reno 911. What you may not realize is that they’re also extremely successful Hollywood screenwriters, having penned the scripts for commercial hits including Night at the Museum, and Herbie: Fully Loaded. And while they have no illusions about the artistic merit of those films, they also know they’re responsible for over $1 billion in box-office receipts. The two have just released a book, Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too!, which details their experiences and serves as a guide to budding mainstream screenwriters. In our latest interactive video interview, they give us a pitch for the worst movie of all time, reveal what Zac Efron is like in real life, and cover Joy Division, a cappella.
Comedian Michael Showalter has done it all. He’s been a member of one of the most-loved comedy troupes of all time (The State); written, directed, and starred in movies like Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter; released a hilarious album — and now he’s written a book too.
In our exclusive Interactive Interview — where you ask the questions — he talks about his literary inspirations, the possibility of sequels and reunions for some of his projects, and the bizarre rumor that he has a rivalry with fellow comedy sensation Eugene Mirman. Plus, he tells us his real name.
When Michael Ian Black tweets a YouTube link prefaced by the words, “Incredibly rare video of The State in our first office at MTV,” you pretty much have no choice but to click. In case you missed the comedian’s message last night, we’ve got said video below, and it does not disappoint. After the jump, watch Black — looking practically pre-pubescent — and the crew perform a touching ditty called “The Boner Song.” And then just try to get the song out of your head. Perhaps you’ll have more luck than we did.
This morning, we were intrigued and (cautiously) excited to read that Mike Judge may just be preparing a whole new round of Beavis and Butt-head episodes for MTV. Since all things are cyclical, we wonder whether this might mean a winding down of the network’s reality-TV obsession, a return to scripted programming, and, since the pair’s famous music video critiques are an essential part of the show, a platform for actual music to appear on MTV. But mostly, we just can’t get enough of those dimwitted cartoon teens. In fact, we’re thinking that in this age of Whitney Port, the only way to revive MTV is to resurrect some of its classic series. After the jump, 10 shows from the network’s halcyon days that need to make a comeback.
When we heard that Michael Ian Black was doing video interviews to promote his new Comedy Central show Michael and Michael Have Issues and an interesting new live ad campaign for Klondike, we were intrigued. When we found out the whole thing was being video taped (ie., no editing our side of the conversation to sound whip smart), we braced ourselves for the inevitable embarrassment, hit up @flavorpill‘s followers on Twitter for question ideas, and picked up the phone.
Little did we know, we’d be called out on our lack of knowledge of The State, a TV series that we’re giving away on this very site. (We will watch the entire boxset now. We promise.) Warning: This has a few awkward moments. It also makes us feel like someone on laughing gas who phoned in questions to Dr. Phil — if Dr. Phil was as funny as Michael Ian Black. Oh well. Read More »
After a wait of more than a decade and a half, ’90s sketch-comedy series The State is out on DVD.
The State: The Complete Series collects all four seasons and bonus material from the MTV show, which launched the careers of Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, David Wain, and friends. Included on the five discs are all the classic skits — featuring characters like Doug, Louie, and Barry & Levon — as well as more than an hour of unreleased material, the original pilot, cast commentary, interviews, and outtakes.
Members of the troupe went on to create Stella, Reno 911, Wet Hot American Summer, and Viva Variety, and have written, directed, starred in, and produced numerous big-screen and web-based comedies. Read More »
A 1996 Details article asked, “What has 20 legs, 18 balls, and 1 brain?” The answer: The State. This MTV sketch comedy series is an unmatched cult classic; it’s also the show that gave established funnymen like Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain their first big Hollywood break. As of Tuesday it’s available for the first time ever on DVD. Read More »
David Wain has been making people laugh for close to two decades (and most likely longer, if we count his formative years). A founding member of The State and Stella, the funnyman is also responsible for the popular web series Wainy Days on My Damn Channel. The show returns for it’s fourth online season tomorrow, and to celebrate, Wain is bringing it live to the stage at 92YTribeca in NYC, with help from friends including Paul Rudd and longtime cohorts Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black. We caught up with the man behind modern comedy classics Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten, and Role Models to find out what he has in store, as well as his thoughts on his original troupe’s MTV series getting the DVD release fans have been clamoring for since last century.
To comedy fans, the release of The State on DVD has been as long-awaited (and seemingly as likely) as the unveiling of Guns ‘N Roses’ Chinese Democracy. Of course, against all odds, that album did finally come out, so perhaps there’s a domino effect at work here. MTV Networks has announced a July 14th street date for a five-disc DVD set collecting the entire run of the cult sketch-comedy series — over 16 years after the show originally debuted on MTV. After the jump, watch the DVD trailer and clips of some of the series’ best moments. Be sure to share your own fondest State memories in the comments!
(PS: Nice work MTV. Now let’s get the Sifl & Olly set out!)
“ Wow, 1950s Apple Jacks is fucking scary! ” posted on The Evolution of American Cereal Box Design on
“ Djeez, those stores are beautiful. I want to visit all of them. That means: saving a lot of... ” posted on The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World on
“ At swim two birds, by flann o'brien. Considering the great risk of the coming film adaptation, I... ” posted on An Essential Postmodern Reading List on
“ Nothing to say, thought in the same list when I read the title. Great sci-fi movies, the ones... ” posted on The Most Influential Sci-Fi Films on
“ Great post; thanks for the information. I'll be checking back... you have officially been... ” posted on Anti-Domestic Violence Group to Protest Odd Future at Pitchfork Fest on
