George Gallo Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Whether you like it or not, if you spend a lot of time on the internet, then you owe a big thanks to the porn business. We may all not count ourselves as customers, but if you've ever made an online purchase, then you have benefited from the adult entertainment industry. So I guess it was about time internet porn finally got its time in the spotlight, and what better way to do that than with a big, splashy movie? Variety reports that Gallo, the writer behind Bad Boys and Midnight Run, has signed to write and direct the internet porn comedy, Middle Men.

The story of Middle Men follows a straight and narrow type of guy who finds himself smack dab in the middle of the 'adult entertainment' business. Luckily, the film isn't just a Boogie Nights rip-off and instead will focus on the early days of online porn, including its rise to becoming the number one way most of us like to get our naughty fix. Gallo co-wrote the script with Andy Weiss (Punk'd), and the film will begin shooting on location in L.A. this September.

Unfortunately, us North Americans tend to get a little hung up on our Puritan past, and we don't always appreciate sex comedies that aren't written for teenagers (just ask Kevin Smith). But if you're a fan of dirty jokes, keep your fingers crossed that Gallo has a little more luck with the MPAA than Smith has so far.

In the grand pantheon of Buddy Cop Comedies, we've had some pretty great pairings: Eddie Murphy & Nick Nolte, Mel Gibson & Danny Glover, heck I'll even give you Jackie Chan & Chris Tucker because I know a lot of folks really dig those stunningly generic Rush Hour flicks. But when things go pear-shaped in this particular sub-genre ... goofy-ass things can happen. (Anyone out there see the one with Samuel L. Jackson & Eugene Levy? Holy sheesh.)

Hot on the heels of such non-brilliant pairings as Queen Latifah & Jimmy Fallon, Eddie Murphy & Robert De Niro and Owen Wilson & {anyone} comes ... ready for it? Cedric the Entertainer and Lucy Liu. Yeah. She's a super-spy and he's a janitor ... posing as a super-spy, I think. Frankly I shouldn't have to put this much mental effort into a movie directed by the man who gave us Encino Man, Flubber, Blue Streak and (yes, that's right) The Man.

One small and potentially silver lining is that Code Name: The Cleaner was co-written by George Gallo, who (long ago) penned the underrated Wise Guys and the brilliantly cool Midnight Run. Then again, he also wrote Double Take, See Spot Run and The Whole Ten Yards, so perhaps he's already used up his Get Out of Jail Free cards. Ah, and Nicolette Sheridan is also in CN:TC, which should definitely bring in the movie fans who love Johnson Family Vacation, Charlie's Angels and Desperate Housewives in equal measure.

Anyway, Code Name: The Cleaner opens on January 5. Check out the theatrical trailer and a clip from the flick over at Yahoo! Movies. (And then feel free to completely forget about the movie until it shows up on cable one boring Tuesday night.)

Thirteen years after she starred alongside Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle, Meg Ryan is once again teaming up with someone from the Hanks family -- only this time it's with Tom's son, Colin. The two have just joined the cast of Homeland Security, a romantic comedy being directed by George Gallo.

Hanks will play a young FBI agent (can you believe this kid is old enough to play an FBI agent?) who is forced to spy on his mother (Ryan) after her new man (Antonio Banderas) is linked to an international art theft ring. While Ryan was rumored to be taking over for Annette Benning (who suddenly dropped out of the role recently), it appears the move is now official. Also starring is Selma Blair, who will play Hanks' (sexy? seductive? innocent-looking?) girlfriend.

Odds and ends from Wednesday:

• Production Weekly reports that Meg Ryan may replace Annette Bening as Antonio Banderas' co-star in the previously reported flick Homeland Security. Currently, there's no word on why this change is being made, though I imagine it probably has something to do with scheduling conflicts. George Gallo will direct off his own script, which is said to be a "mystery in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief."
• Finally, there's some good news regarding the planned Pink Panther sequel that we're all just dying to wrap our arms around and love forever and ever. That's right, Beyoncé Knowles will not be reprising her role as Xania in part two. (I'll wait a minute while you high-five those people crowded around the screen. Um, you do gather people around the computer when you read Cinematical, right?) According to Moviehole via Sky News, the pop singer-turned-actress rejected the role because she's too busy planning her next album. Yeah, and I have to take a shower once a week ... but you don't see me complaining.
• It's hard to knock this next story because we're talking about a worthy cause here. As part of a promotion for Ashton Kutcher's upcoming film The Guardian (in which he co-stars alongside Kevin Costner), Kutcher will donate one dollar for the first 50,000 people that ask to be friends with the actor on his MySpace page. All proceeds will go towards post-Katrina rebuilding efforts. MySpace is slowly becoming a studio exec's wet dream, as a number of actors and filmmakers (see: Kevin Smith) are beginning to use the website to market their films. Yeah, so head on over to this dude's MySpace page and help provide someone with a better life. Heck, it can be your Mitzvah for the day. [via JoBlo]

In a rare bit of weekend casting news, Production Weekly reported last night that Antonio Banderas and Annette Bening (which, for some reasons, strikes me as a vary odd pair) will play the lead roles in Homeland Security -- not to be confused, mind you, with Homeland Insecurity, a Robert J. Siegel-penned comedy spec recently picked up by Miramax. The film is being called "a mystery in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief," a description that, if it's actually accurate, could be promising indeed. There's nothing wrote with pretty people flirting over a robbery or two, right? The problem, of course, is that when today's Hollywood tries to follow that path, the results tend be things like The Real McCoy and Entrapment, so it's anyone's guess how this one will turn out.

The film was written and will be directed by George Gallo, a man who, though he is to blame for the "story" behind Bad Boys and the screenplay for Double Take, also wrote Midnight Run, which is a very good thing indeed. Production is set to begin in Louisiana this fall.