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Posts with tag ChristopherGuest

Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels Joining Untitled Sam Mendes Comedy

Great day in the morning! Two of my favorite actors on the planet are joining the cast of Sam Mendes' increasingly promising 2009 comedy, which has yet to find a title. According to a Focus Features press release that landed in my inbox, Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara will round out an ensemble that already includes John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Toni Colette, Cheryl Hines and Allison Janney. The screenplay was co-written by McSweeney's founder and Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius author Dave Eggers and novelist Vendela Vida. The film "follows the journey of an expectant couple as they travel the U.S. in search of a place to put down roots and raise a family."

O'Hara is probably the funniest woman on the planet, and Daniels can bring heart and humanity to any film, so this is good news indeed. With Christopher Guest taking a break from making the movies that have been her bread and butter over the years, O'Hara can use the high-profile work; her only screen appearance this year or last has been in the underrated Penelope.

Mendes also has the DiCaprio-Winslet reunion movie Revolutionary Road in the works -- it will headline the 2008 Oscar season -- but this new project will be his first stab at comedy. Eggers co-wrote the adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are with Spike Jonze, which should finally see the light of day next year as well.

Tina Fey & Christopher Guest Want In on Ricky Gervais' 'Truth'!

I was drawn into this whole story by the thought of Tina Fey, but be still my comedic heart, she's not the only one involved. As Jessica posted earlier this month, Ricky Gervais has a blog for his upcoming comedy, This Side of the Truth, and he's just announced the final casting. He writes in an entry: "We are trying to avoid the 'Hollywood actor look'. No botox, perma-tans, or unfeasibly white teeth..."

Who could that mean for casting? Well, there's a short little blip that says Tina Fey and Christopher Guest have signed on, along with Jeffrey Tambor and John Hodgman (The Daily Show). This flick sounded good, but now it's downright irresistible! While I would rather have Guest do more mockuwonders, I won't pass up the chance to see him reunite with Gervais, with a helping of Fey, Tambor, and Hodgman. And, we can't forget the already-cast players -- Louis CK, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, and Jennifer Garner.

Just the thought of these actors taking on Gervais's deceit-creating character... Are there any of you out there who are not itching to see this now?

[via Empire]

Hollywood Looking for Talent on YouTube?

Stop using that YouTube account for good for evil to upload copyrighted material. It will probably just be taken down anyway. Instead, use the web video site to spotlight your own talents with an original program you write, direct and/or star in. Besides the fact that you might acquire an audience and possibly some fans, there's now a chance that Hollywood agents will sign you up for bigger and better things.

In the 1980s, Hollywood supposedly looked at MTV for potential new clients -- this was spoofed in Christopher Guest's first Tinseltown parody, The Big Picture. (Would producers really have been interested in that horrible "Pez People" music video? I doubt it). In the late 1990s, the internet became a new place for agents to scan, as sites like iFilm showcased and popularized new short films. Remember the hype over 405? Well, its filmmakers haven't really blown up yet, but another buzzed-about internet filmmaker, Joe Nussbaum (George Lucas in Love), did break into Hollywood and has been somewhat successful (making teeny-bopper comedies, anyway).

Getting on MTV was often expensive, though, and most early shorts on the internet (the quality ones anyway) also cost a good amount. The thing about YouTube, however, seems to be that anybody can produce a cheap video and put it up for everyone, Hollywood included, to see. The Guardian has an article up this weekend about the new online unit of the United Talent Agency. The plan is not only to find the next big thing for TV and feature film work, but also, as UTA's Head of Digital Media, Brent Weinstein, puts it, to find ways to help internet talent, "monetise their interests and pursuits online." Weinstein doesn't exactly say what online outlets exist for such profits, though.

Continue reading Hollywood Looking for Talent on YouTube?

TIFF Review: For Your Consideration

With his films Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind, director Christopher Guest took the mockumentary approach he used in This Is Spinal Tap and brought it to a whole new generation. Guest assembled a cast of remarkable talent in Guffman, including Michael McKean (with whom Guest has worked for some 40 years), Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Bob Balaban and Parker Posey, and worked with the same cast (adding some new talent along the way, including the spectacularly funny Jennifer Coolidge and perfectly deadpan Jane Lynch, building an almost unbeatable ensemble of comedy.

Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind all took the mockumentary approach, dealing, respectively, with a play in a small town, an eclectic group of characters taking part in a national dog show, and the reunion of 1960s folk singers for a concert. Guest's previous three films with this ensemble worked, not just because of their mockumentary style, but because of the brilliance and energy of the cast, who worked improvisationally, with very little script. With his latest effort, For Your Consideration, Guest and co-writer Levy break away from the mockumentary mold to take a narrative approach, while still retaining the improvisational freedom that give the cast the room to make their characters their own.

Continue reading TIFF Review: For Your Consideration

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