Not long ago the strangest unmarked DVD arrived in my mailbox. Actually, strike that, on it were the words, "What Happened to Bruce Willis?" So I popped it in, and -- whaddya know -- it was a very funny scene from the film What Just Happened? featuring Robert De Niro trying to convince Bruce Willis to shave his obnoxious beard for a movie. Since it first premiered back at this year's Sundance Film Festival (read James' review), I've been waiting to see more from What Just Happened? as it featured a reunion between director Barry Levinson and De Niro, who worked together on the very awesome political satire Wag the Dog.

Now, thankfully, the first full-length trailer for the flick has arrived online (see above or over on Moviefone), and while it definitely appears to have the whole "inside baseball" thing going on, it certainly looks entertaining. Heck, with a cast featuring the likes of De Niro, Sean Penn, Bruce Willis, Catherine Keener, John Turturro and Robin Wright Penn, I'd like to think we'll be getting our money's worth from this one. Based on the memoir by producer Art Linson, What Just Happened? follows a Hollywood producer (De Niro) who's struggling to maintain his sanity while juggling his deteriorating personal life and a new movie he's trying to get made. Here's the poster, up there is the trailer -- now tell us what you think ...

What Just Happened? is due in theaters on October 3.

If you're a ravenous movie nerd like me, than there's very little in Barry Levinson's "inside baseball" Hollywood movie What Just Happened? If, on the other hand, you don't know a whole lot about studio politics, the angst of test-market screenings, and the tricks that movie-makers (or, more specifically, movie-sellers) will pull just to get a festival screening and a huge opening weekend, then you'll most likely get a whole bunch of chuckles out of the flick. To those who know about this stuff all too well, the comedy should still make for an interesting enough diversion -- thanks mainly to a massive, colorful cast and a few solid jabs that hit Hollywood right in the kisser.

Based on producer Art Linson's book What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line, the film version tells the story of one very successful Hollywood producer, and the ways in which he juggles multiple professional crises, as well as some prickly domestic issues at the same time. Robert De Niro is our movie producer, doing his best "sly" comedic work since (probably) Wag the Dog. John Turturro is the archetypal agent: skittish, shifty, and packing a nasty ulcer. Stanley Tucci is the writer who needs our protagonist for professional reasons, but pursues his ex-wife (Robin Wright Penn) for other activities. Michael Wincott is the drug-infested director whose ultra-edgy film is being mangled by horrifying studio boss Catherine Keener.

Toss in some supremely amusing "self-mocking" performances from movie stars Bruce Willis and Sean Penn, and you've got the makings of a flick best described as "movie geek heaven." And while What Just Happened? is by all means a colorful and generally pretty funny expose of modern-day Hollywood, it often feels like Levinson and Linson (he also penned the screenplay adaptation) are content to preach to the choir. It's meant to be outrageous and unbelievable how art turns into pure commerce, but there have been plenty of Hollywood satires that demolish the "test screening" mentality, the "beleaguered producer" conceit, and the oh-so-cynical insinuation that Hollywood has no integrity whatsoever. So while much of the material in What Just Happened? is insightful and accurate ... it's just not all that new or shocking anymore.

You might remember this little political satire that came out almost ten years ago. The premise: When a presidential candidate finds himself in a sex scandal, a Hollywood producer is hired to create a fake war to distract the populace. The film was Wag the Dog, and it starred the likes of Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, along with Kirstin Dunst as the faux Albanian refugee (before she wanted the masses to eat cake). It was directed by Barry Levinson, and now he is teaming with De Niro for a new film, What Just Happened?

The movie will be based on Art Linson's memoir about his experiences in Hollywood as a producer. Linson not only directed the first account of Hunter S. Thompson and his lawyer in Where the Buffalo Roam, but he's also produced everything from The Untouchables to Singles. De Niro will star as Ben, a producer based on Linson, who is struggling to get a picture made whilst trying to hold onto his career and not suffer the indignities of numerous Hollywood humiliations.

Basically, it's the Wag the Dog of the cinematic world, and the filmmakers hope that it will impact movie making like Wag impacted politics. The production, which will begin in early March, will also contain a number of Hollywood stars popping in for cameos, as themselves -- the first on the list is Sean Penn. If Levinson and De Niro can channel the magic of its predecessor, this should shape up to be a great film, whether it impacts the business or not.