We've talked about the next Judd Apatow-helmed flick, Funny People, and how one of that film's stars, Eric Bana, is not exactly the kind of guy you picture in an Apatow comedy. Especially when his co-stars are people like Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman. You might say, "Is Bana playing the evil villain who never cracks a smile?" And I wouldn't blame you for thinking that, because if you're not from Australia or familiar with Bana's early work, you wouldn't know that he used to be a stand-up comedian and starred in a very popular sketch comedy series called Full Frontal.

So, for some this might be a nice, refreshing blast from the past. For others, well, welcome to the comedic side of Eric Bana. There's a bunch of other Full Frontal clips on YouTube in case you're interested in watching Bana take on the funny.

News has been slooooowly trickling out about Judd Apatow's directorial follow-up to Knocked Up -- or maybe it just seems like it because there's so much curiosity about the project. Back in March we knew literally nothing other than that it would star Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler, and Apatow's wife Leslie Mann. At the start of the month, Rogen and Sandler revealed the movie would be set in "the world of stand-up comedy," and that it would have serious dramatic elements. A few days after that, we heard rumors that Eric Bana was circling a role in the film. Today, Apatow's people officially made public the film's title -- Funny People -- and the rest of the ensemble cast: Eric Bana, Jason Schwartzman and, unsurprisingly, Jonah Hill.

Since people will be doing double-takes when they read "Eric Bana," the Variety article takes pains to point out that Bana began his career in stand-up comedy, and even starred in a pair of sketch comedy series in Australia, before breaking out in Chopper. I had heard that before, but since Bana seemingly hasn't cracked a smile in his entire film career, it remains very weird to me.

No new plot details were revealed, so expect another post in a couple of days when someone decides to let slip another tidbit.

When you look at Eric Bana's resume in Hollywood, you probably wouldn't expect him to show up in a big, splashy comedy. But, back home in Australia, Bana was known for the funny; he's just never had the chance to show it stateside ... until now. CHUD reports that Bana is in talks with Judd Apatow to star in the Untitled Judd Apatow/Adam Sandler Project. According to CHUD's source, Bana would play boyfriend to Leslie Mann.

Just a few days ago, Eugene brought us our first glimpse of the film's plot. Now we know that the flick will focus on the world of stand-up comedians (and for some reason, all I can think of now is Punchline ... but with stand-ups who are actually funny). The project had been on our radar since March, but beyond the good news that Apatow was actually going to direct this time, there wasn't much to report.

Bana is currently wrapping up work on Star Trek and the romantic weepy, The Time Traveler's Wife, before heading off to his next couple of projects. First up is the animated story, Mary and Max, about the friendship between a young girl and a recluse. Then he'll star alongside Terrence Howard in Factor X, a thriller about the BTK killer. At this point I'm starting to hope these Apatow rumors are true, because it looks like Bana could use a laugh.

The Untitled Judd Apatow/Adam Sandler Project is expected to arrive in theaters (with or without Bana) on July 31, 2009.

This week, there are a few solid DVD choices that are already floating around the Cinematicalverse. You can check out Erik's review of the Cloverfield DVD, my review of the Charlie Wilson's War disc, or Peter's indie picks, which includes the somber but enjoyable Starting Out in the Evening. However, there's one release that hasn't been discussed yet:

Romulus, My Father
When the film got its limited release in February, it came and went without a bang -- pulling in less than $3,000 (according to IMDb), even though it hit a few million in the Australian box office. But with the names and performances behind it, this film, based on Raimond Gaita's memoir, deserves another look.

Eric Bana stars as Romulus, balancing out the truly disappointing Lucky You, and proving that there's more to the actor than his less-loved one-two punch of Hulk and Troy. There's Franka Potente as his wife, Christina -- a role which allows her to be more than Bourne's fallen paramour, or an energetic, red-haired Lola. And rounding out the small family is Kodi Smit-McPhee, who plays Raimond. While he's under the radar now, that will surely change once he gets in front of mainstream audiences with The Road. (There's some solid acting chops in that kid.) But there's also actor Richard Roxburgh (The Duke in Moulin Rouge) making his directorial debut.

The Other Boleyn Girl, based on Philippa Gregory's novel about the relationship between Henry VIII (Eric Bana) and Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson) Boleyn, gives you everything you've come to expect from a modern historical drama. The costumes are gorgeous; the lighting's suitably muted. The drawing-room scenes are like something out of Rembrandt; the kitchen scenes like something out of Bosch. There are a great number of shots of people striding purposefully out of dark rooms, or of horses racing across the landscape, their speed unimpeded by the gravity of the news their riders bring. Personal squabbles turn into political struggles; moments of passion are contemplated as possible foundations for 100-year dynasties. There are fights and tights, gowns and frowns, tears and blood and sweat.

But, at the same time, The Other Boleyn Girl fails to give you anything other than what you've come to expect from the modern costume drama; it doesn't have that little something extra that could make it truly exceptional. The film lacks the baroque lunacy of Elizabeth, or the moral weight of A Man for All Seasons, the silken sexual gamesmanship of Dangerous Liaisons or the rich metaphors of Girl with a Pearl Earring. The Other Boleyn Girl, to quote another great costume drama, has no spur to prick the sides of its intent; it just sort of goes from happy days at the family estate to grim ones at the chopping block, drifting like a lazy sailboat whose sails are occasionally filled with enough shouting to nudge the plot from one scene to the next.

I wouldn't consider Henry VIII to be tasty Valentine's fare, but that's just because I don't find anything sexy in a gluttonous, pissy decapitator. However, well before he became that jerk, Henry was quite the ladies man, and just in time for the day of love, Empire has thrown up an exclusive clip from The Other Boleyn Girl. The film stars Eric Bana as Henry, Scarlett Johansson as Mary, and Natalie Portman as the classic Anne. The tale -- that's simple. The two ambitious sisters fight for the love of King Henry VIII.

Man, Mary got the better deal there. Sure, she was later banished for marrying beneath her station, but it's better than the guillotine. Anyway, in this scene, Mary is getting the royal press from Bana's Henry. He brings her to his room, flatters her, plays the understanding 2nd-child bit, and goes in for the kiss.

For some reason, Scarlett always distracts me in period pieces. It never happens in her present-day work, but when she gets that long hair and old clothing, it seems more dress-up than a look back in time. Still, I really like how she lightly shakes her head for a moment before he leans in -- subtle and nice. The film hits theaters on the 29th.

Some enterprising journalist at today's Manhattan junket for The Other Boleyn Girl decided to pull Natalie Portman's chain on issues of women in film, and well ... she has a lot to say on that subject. I'll let her take over. "I've recently been getting frustrated. [turns to Scarlett Johansson] I don't know if you've had this experience, but we're probably seeing a lot of the same variety of what's out there, but I mean the number of roles for strippers or prostitutes -- or the opposite -- which, is like, 'She's the moral center of the film! She's the pure one. She's the one that makes the man realize who he should be', you know? That sort of dichotomy exists so strongly, it's like the virgin/whore thing evident to the greatest extent. So that's really been bothering me. Sort of finding a character who is complicated, like the women in this film, is very, very exciting. Also, I love comedies so much, but any kind of comedy the girl's like 'in fashion' or she's really into clothes, or like, she just wants to get married. Those are not values that I care to jump on the bandwagon of. I'd love to do a comedy. I'd love to do a romantic comedy, but you don't find something where the woman has, like, a real job.... so yeah, it is frustrating, but I also don't want to bitch about it."

Portman was much more circumspect when asked what we could see from her next on the big screen. She did say that she's already completed her work on the heavy romance-triangle drama Brothers -- wow, that was fast -- but said nothing about any future projects, like the Francis Lawrence martial arts fantasy she had been linked with a while back, or anything else. And I was nice enough to spare her the question about when she'll do a sequel to The Professional -- she gets that one at every junket.

Aussie thespian Eric Bana was on hand at today's junket for The Other Boleyn Girl in Manhattan, and no surprise -- he was peppered with questions about his recent, confusing comments regarding his role in the upcoming J.J. Abrams film adaptation of Star Trek. Bana was recently quoted in an Australian newspaper as speaking of the part of Nero -- thought to be the film's main villain -- as only a "cameo," so after a few polite questions about TOBG were tossed around today, I broached the subject with Bana. Isn't Nero the main villain in this movie, I asked? To which he replied: "Well, I guess he kind of is, but I guess what I mean is that in the context of the roles I usually do, the weight is firmly on other areas, you know what I mean? It's not one of those roles where you're carrying the movie, is what I'm saying. I feel like I'm very much in a supporting role, not one of the main guys. So 'cameo' is a way of saying I don't feel like, as I am in this film or some other films, where you're clearly carrying a lot of the film. It's a luxury to not be in that position. It's nice to be offered a part like that."

Bana went on to say that he had not filmed his part yet. "They started shooting quite a while ago," he said. "I've got the plum gig on that film, I've gotta say. I haven't even started yet. I just go in at the very end and do my cameo." When asked if he was a 'Trekkie,' he responded thusly: "I like the show, I liked the original as a kid. I loved it. I haven't seen a lot of the movies since, but I was a fan of the original series. But that wouldn't have been enough, even if I was crazy about the original series it wouldn't have been enough to make me sign on to a film I didn't want to do. I just read the script and I went 'that is an awesome script' and it's J.J. and it'd be a good time, to play a character like that. It was a very easy decision."

The first stills from The Time Traveler's Wife have popped up over at JustJared, though the movie still has no release date -- fall 2008, I assume. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams star as two lovers who are hung up on the problem that Bana's character, a librarian named Henry De Tamble, has some kind of disease that causes him to time travel uncontrollably. It's during one of his time jaunts he happens upon Clare Abshire, the character played by McAdams. The way I understand it is that De Tamble continues to pop in on Clare at various ages and at different intervals, even as she moves forward along an normal, unmolested timeline. So unless I'm wrong, it will play out sort of like as if he was going off to war and leaving her alone for long periods of time, causing a severe form of separation anxiety. But since I haven't read the book, I could be wrong on that. I do remember that this book was initially optioned by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston as a vehicle for the two of them to star in -- so much for that.

The movie sounds like it's at least worth a look -- sci-fi romance is always a chancy but interesting genre. The one dark cloud hanging over the whole thing, however, is that it's directed by Robert Schwentke, the genius who last graced us with Jodie Foster's Flightplan. You can't really tell anything about the movie from the small batch of stills -- they look like typically publicity shots for a romantic dramedy. No one looks to have been aged significantly and there's nothing special at all about them, really, but here they are -- enjoy.