Danny McBride Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I am trying to keep my expectations very low for Your Highness, the medieval comedy headed by Danny McBride and James Franco, but it's so hard, especially since they keep adding such promising cast members. Now The Hollywood Reporter says they have added another fair maiden to keep the testosterone levels down: Zooey Deschanel.

To refresh your memory, Highness centers on a lazy, arrogant prince (played by McBride, naturally) who must go on a knightly quest to save his father's kingdom. Joining him is his heroic brother, played by James Franco. (And he's so perfect for this with those Pre-Raphaelite looks of his.) Natalie Portman plays a warrior princess, who wins the heart of McBride, while Deschanel plays Belladonna, Franco's virginal bride. It's not clear if she goes along on the quest, but something tells me she's probably left behind in a tower, and abandoning her chastity belt.

Directed by David Gordon Green, it's set to begin shooting this month in Northern Ireland. I'm keeping my expectations low because fantasy / medieval comedy is one of those things that sounds great in theory, but often comes off pretty lame. (Who has pulled it off besides Chaucer and Danny Kaye?) But McBride and Franco just keep hitting it out of the park, so bring on those hobbit weed jokes. And the photos. I can't wait to see the costumes.

Wonders never cease... At an early age, I got used to the strange looks from my friends when I listed the actors and stars I was most attracted to -- especially once I saw Dead Zone and became enamored with Christopher Walken. From then on, I steered clear of discussions about hot stars, or prepared for the horror-filled recoil if I did pipe in. It's gotten better over the years, but was never fully defeated until now.

I'm not sure how it's happened, but Nerve compiled a list of the "twenty sexiest ugly people alive" -- those people with unusual features who still have oodles of lusty charisma -- and none of my faves are on there. No Walken, Eric Roberts, Gary Oldman, Elias Koteas... I must be losing my touch. Instead, their picks in the movie world include Danny McBride, Danny Trejo, Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Steve Buscemi, and Mickey Rourke -- with the massacred face. Some of the guys I'm right there with, but man, Swinton? Not only did she make the list, but she's the only actress on there (excluding Sandra Bernhard's acting stints and Courtney Love's fleeting gigs). Ouch.

Do you agree with their picks? Better yet -- who are the names that hit you right to the core while passerby look on with confusion? And why? For years, I couldn't discern my own taste until a friend said: "You love larger than life men." And that was just it. When that charisma seeps out of the screen, no scar or sneer can fight it.

Do you have a favorite sexy ugly star, or are you purely a fan of the perfectly hot and symmetrical?

In spite of the some rather negative early reviews, I plan on plunking down my cash to see Land of the Lost this weekend. It's a silly move, but I can't help myself; I blame my addiction to Danny McBride. Plus, I wasn't around for the original series, so it's not like Ferrell can mess up any childhood memories. But it did get me thinking; sci-fi and comedy are two genres that usually work pretty well together, right? So what does any movie geek do in this situation? That's right, we make a list. So now I present in no particular order, my top ten sci-fi comedies:

1. Hellboy
So technically, maybe not a pure sci-fi flick (it has gadgets...does that count?). But you definitely can't argue with funny; and it made for a nice departure for those of us tired of seeing our heroes 'brood' all the time.

2. Innerspace
Most people I know hate this movie; and to be fair, it hasn't aged well. The F/X are a little creaky, and Meg Ryan is downright annoying, but when I saw this film as a kid it was the height of hilarity -- score one for nostalgia.

3. Idiocracy
How could you not love Mike Judge's vision of a dystopic future where the #1 rated TV show is Ow! My Balls!

4. Ghostbusters
When it comes to sci-fi comedy, Ghostbusters is the granddaddy. To this day I consider it one of the funniest films ever made; and thanks to Bill Murray, I grew up to be the smart-a** that my family and friends know and love.

5. Sleeper
Woody Allen and sci-fi probably aren't two things that most people think would work well together. But Allen transplanted his nebbish New Yorker into the future, and still managed to make jokes about sex and health food stores.

After the jump; the final five...

Because of the commercial pressures Hollywood places on filmmakers these days, many directors adopt a sort of "one for them, one for me" career strategy that allows them to exercise their creativity while maintaining a degree of viability at the box office. Brad Silberling, despite an array of films that really do run the gamut from intimate character studies to effects-laden opuses, seems to have effectively synthesized the two more and more effectively with each subsequent effort. Starting with straightforward studio fare like Casper, he quickly graduated to meatier projects, including the semi-autobiographical Moonlight Mile, before tackling an adaptation of the first book in Daniel Handler's Lemony Snicket series.

But he seems to have truly captured both his own creative idiosyncrasies and the demands of a summer blockbuster with Land of the Lost, a sprawling, bizarre big-screen reimagining of the Sid and Marty Krofft TV series from the 1970s. The film stars Will Ferrell as a disgraced scientist trying to rebuild his reputation while dodging aliens, dinosaurs, and oversized crabs, and Silberling brilliantly brings the film's fantastic world to life. Cinematical recently spoke to the director via telephone from the film's Los Angeles press day, where he discussed the prospect of making a madcap, foul-mouthed summer movie, explained how (and why) he managed to include an extended homage to "A Chorus Line," and talked about the summer movie that inspired him to become a filmmaker.

I really enjoy Natalie Portman when she cuts loose and has some fun (albeit not in that Manic Pixie Dream Girl sort of way) outside of her dramatic indie fare. So color me happy that she's just signed onto a comedy. It's not just any comedy either, as Variety reports that she's joined Your Highness, the medieval farce starring James Franco and Danny McBride.

As you might remember, Your Highness teams McBride and Franco back up with their Pinapple Express director, David Gordon Green. McBride (who penned the script with Ben Best) plays an arrogant, lazy prince who teams up with his brother (played by Franco) to complete a quest, save the kingdom, and Franco's fiancee. Portman will play "a warrior princess" that McBride's prince falls in love with. So, you know what this means -- Portman will be clad in strategically placed leather and chainmail, and that sound you heard was the lustful groan of a million fanboys imagining her doing high kicks. Well played, McBride. Well played.

The film begins shooting this July in Ireland. As you wait for the first photos to emerge from production, you can start Photoshopping Xena: Warrior Princess and Red Sonja outfits on Portman, and see how close fantasy matches reality.

Last year, few people really knew who Danny McBride was. It's actually kind of sweet to search back through our archives for photos, and see our Erik Davis predicting that he'd be a household name after Tropic Thunder. One season of Eastbound and Down and several movies later, McBride is the toast of the town. Look for no further proof than this -- he's getting a comic book movie.

Variety reports that Warner Bros has nabbed Adam Beechen and Manny Bello's graphic novel Hench as a starring vehicle for McBride, who will also be penning the script with his Eastbound collaborator Shawn Hartwell. It's the story of Mike Fulton, an ex-jock who lacks a lot of career options. Desperate to feed his wife and kid and make ends meet, he opts for a criminal lifestyle -- and not just any criminal career, but one doing the bidding of supervillains. Fulton is the anonymous muscle who you don't even notice until he gets his ass kicked by Superman and Batman.

This is just the kind of "real world" comic property I was hoping we'd see more of after Watchmen. You couldn't find a better part for McBride either, as he's got a knack for those thuggish types who you find yourself laughing at and sympathizing with. This will be one to watch out for, especially if they can rack up a good ensemble cast for all the heroes and villains that populate it.

It looks like David Gordon Green has added another actor to his oft-used cast list, which already boasts the likes of Danny McBride, and it's one super-sweet addition. According to Variety, James Franco is re-teaming with Green and McBride for Universal's upcoming comedy Your Highness -- the film that kicked into gear almost a year ago.

While the project might be just one Seth Rogen away from a complete Pineapple Express re-team, this idea is quite different than killer pot and killer pot dealers -- even if the title can be interpreted in a Mary Jane sort of way. Believe it or not, Your Highness will follow "two spoiled and arrogant princes" living in a fantastical medieval setting when some evil wizard comes along, steals the older prince's fiance, and puts a spell on their dad, spurring them to go out on a quest to save their family and kingdom. Oh yes, McBride and Franco as brothers, princes, and possibly, heroes.

As a fan of Franco in anything other than Spider-Man (nothing against the guy -- the character is just too annoying to enjoy), this sounds insane enough to be fun. And while it's still a bit more mainstream than the direction Green's mentality seems to sway, at least this project has some original promise.

The answer to that question appears to be everything! In a piece entitled Danny McBride, We Don't Get You!, writer Christopher Rosen takes the comedian to task for everything from his "ugly and unredeemable characters" to a more general complaint that the man is just plain unfunny. Rosen goes on to describe McBride as "...Will Ferrell, only without the charm or talent." Ouch, did McBride run over this guy's dog with a piece of Kenny F**king Powers Awesomeness, or what?

But Rosen has plenty of venom to go around, and he also tears a strip off McBride's latest comedy partner, David Gordon Green. The two worked together on the HBO series East Bound and Down and announced last year that they would be working together again on the medieval comedy, Your Highness. But according to Rosen, Green's choice to work with McBride is the equivalent of getting career advice from Tommy Chong.

McBride first appeared in the low-budget comedy The Foot Fist Way, but all I needed was a little Hot Rod and I was hooked (between McBride and Bill Hader, I wasn't quite sure who'd become my new comedy boyfriend). Since then McBride has taken small throwaway background parts and turned them into great works of scene-stealing hilarity. Okay, maybe his particular brand of humor isn't for everyone -- but comedy is by far the most subjective genre out there, since in the end everyone's sense of humor is a little different. But is it really fair to proclaim that someone is without talent, charm, or frankly any redeemable qualities just because their style isn't your thing?

So even though Mr. Rosen won't be lining up for any Danny McBride in the near future, the real question is ... will you?