It's been quite some time since the Farrelly Bros. have given us a gem like There's Something About Mary, Kingpin or Dumb and Dumber. Big-screen comedy trends seem to be changing; moving away from the random gross-out gags and more toward the random pop-culture references. But that won't stop Bobby and Peter Farrelly from navigating toward material they're familiar with -- and Variety tells us their latest comes from a script written by Mike Arnold and Chris Poole. It's called Beaujolais. Yup. I don't know what it means; Wiki says it's a wine.

Anyway, the Farrelly boys are going to produce with an eye on possibly directing. Variety describes Beaujolais as a "redneck action-adventure with a protagonist along the lines of Austin Powers or Ace Ventura." So basically it's Larry the Cable guy with a few more catchphrases. Danny McBride is currently in talks to star; he's popped up in films like The Heartbreak Kid and Hot Rod, with upcoming roles in Land of the Lost and Tropic Thunder.

Do you think Peter and Bobby Farrelly still have a comedy classic left inside them? Or has their type of humor simply taken a long walk off a short pier? (Man, would I love to see another Outside Providence from these boys ...)

He was the man who literally jumped the shark. Among the feats of the one and only Evel Knievel was riding his motorcycle over a tank of sharks. It was his last grandstanding stunt, which broke both his arms and gave him a concussion. The Australian Age obit may be the best-- naturally, they appreciated a man of Knievel's peculiar talents Down Under. This one from the OC Register in Orange County gives a more chronological account of Knievel's crashes, as well as as a tribute from a US Congressman. Somewhere I read that Knievel said that he'd broken every bone in his body except for the stirrups in his ears. This was a lie, it was only either 35 or 40 bones. It is of course a downbeat ending to be carried off by a treacherous liver (that terrible Hep C) and something called "idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis." ("Idiopathic" is your doctor's word for "damned if we know what caused it or how to treat it".)

Knievel's memory is burnished by today's generation of 1970s worshippers. He lives on in cultural spaces as varied as Kayne West videos (Knievel was not to be sampled for free) and the ineffable Hot Rod. Steve Mandich's stunningly well-researched webpage shows the remarkable amount of bands and songs named after the daredevil. Mandich also provides the tidbit that Kurt Cobain said that Knievel was his only hero. (College radio disc jockeys, looking at this huge roster of songs and bands, may be overwhelmed with riches: one recommends the real prize in this list, the 1974 Amherst album Evel Knievel. Ebay has a sealed and autographed copy for a mere $100. but there's bound to be other copies floating about for cheap. "Why?" by Knievel is a spoken-word song over guitar and harmonica, in which he tries to explain his penchant for jumping his Harley over everything from a pit of rattlesnakes to the Snake River Canyon. Having no c-note to blow on the record, I spent 99 cents the day after Knievel died to pick up a DVD of Evel Knievel (1971) at the Grocery Outlet. Surprise: it's pretty good!

It's a widely-known fact that all movies based on Saturday Night Live characters pretty much suck. OK, so it's not exactly a fact -- but it is a universally-held and widely-shared opinion, which is pretty much the same thing, isn't it? (Obviously The Blues Brothers is exempt from this rule, being that it was the first "SNL movie," it was directed by an actual filmmaker, and it rocks.) For the record, the SNL movies I'm generally referring to are titles like A Night at the Roxbury, It's Pat, Superstar, The Ladies Man, Coneheads, etc. -- stuff that made for perfectly entertaining 5-minute skits, but suffered mightily when stretched out like so much Silly Putty.

An SNL film through and through (although the characters were created specifically for the flick), Akiva Schaffer's Hot Rod is a whole lot like an entire episode of Saturday Night Live: A few stray moments of bizarre wit, clever satire and amusing weirdness -- couched between a whole lot of filler that's either A) not funny to anyone besides the performers, or B) almost painful to witness. Lead actor Andy Samberg clearly has some comedy chops and a gift for the disarmingly strange, but based on what's found in Hot Rod the guy seems better suited for a cable TV variety show than for feature films.

The screenplay reads exactly like a Will Ferrell movie down to the slightest touch of silliness: A petulant man-child called Rod Kimble fancies himself a mega-awesome stuntman -- despite the fact that he has no discernible skill at the craft. But it gives Samberg several opportunities to fall down and behave like a clueless dolt, so I guess the concept works as well as needed. Kimble has a crew of dopey pals, a beautiful love interest (of course), and a disapproving stepfather who needs $50,000 for a heart transplant. So clearly you know where the movie's headed, plot-wise.

Like Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, you goofed around with your best friends in grade school; perhaps, like them, you even extended that goofball camaraderie into high school and university and beyond, as they did. It is, however, fairly certain that you and your friends -- unlike them -- did not parlay that lifelong tradition of laughter into a series of virally infectious internet shorts (released under the banner "The Lonely Island") that earned you jobs at a cultural-institution sketch comedy show and then into the star, director and co-star roles in a major-studio motion picture. But, sitting around a gleaming table at a San Francisco four-star hotel, Samberg, Schaffer and Taccone still give the impression they're goofing off and trying to make each other laugh instead of promoting a major motion picture -- and that easy sense of friends-and-fun is up on the screen in Hot Rod. Samberg stars as would-be stuntman Rod Kimble; Schaffer took the director's chair; Taccone plays Rod's younger stepbrother (and videographer) Kevin. The threesome spoke about stuntwork, getting beaten up by your idols, the unavailable-on-DVD '80s epic Rad -- and much more; Cinematical's questions are indicated.

Cinematical: Let's start by talking about those Saturday Night Live digital shorts -- what did you learn from those that you were able to apply to Hot Rod, and what working habits did you have from those that were no help whatsoever making Hot Rod?

Akiva Schaffer: Well, the first part's easier to answer than the second part ...

Andy Samberg: Oh, the second part's easier ...

Akiva Schaffer: Well, I'll take the first part and you take the second! This is gonna work out great! ... And what you just saw happen pretty much answers the first part, which is that -- and it kind of goes before even the shorts, (even the pre-SNL shorts), since we decided to move to Tinseltown , as we call it, and tried to make it. ...

Andy Samberg: We do NOT call it Tinseltown!

Akiva Schaffer: We do ...

Jorma Taccone: I just found out recently it's called 'Los Angeles.'

Andy Samberg: He would give the DMV his address and say 'Tinseltown, USA."

Akiva Schaffer: But, doing all those shorts, I was amazed how much on the set of a movie, once you realize what the 200 people around you are actually doing, and you know their names and you're not as intimidated by the buzzing around of the 200 people -- the wardrobe people are just worrying about wardrobe, the lighting people are just worrying about lights -- how much it would actually boil right back down to the three of us and a couple of friends. Once everything got quiet and it was time to actually shoot, there was really, actually, kind of no difference between doing a short and doing this thing in terms of (how) you're just trying to make the little scenes work. It gets very small right after it gets very big.

As expected, The Simpsons Movie ruled the box office with a yellow-tinted iron fist, taking in more than the rest of the top five combined, outdoing second place film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry by $55 million and exceeding my personal prediction by almost $7 million. I hadn't expected any of the other new movies to break the top five, but No Reservations pulled in a modestly surprising $11.7 million to grab the number five spot. Here's the final tally:

1. The Simpsons Movie: $71,850,000
2. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry: $19,063,000
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: $17,065,000
4. Hairspray: $15,550,000
5. No Reservations: $11,755,000

This week's new movies involve a flying dog, talking dolls, a klutzy stunt man, a salsa king and Matt Damon. Here's what we've got:

The Bourne Ultimatum
What's It All About: Matt Damon returns in his third outing as rogue agent and amnesiac Jason Bourne, trying to learn his true identity once and for all.
Why It Might Do Well: The first two films in the franchise pulled in $27 million and $52 million respectively on their opening weekends, and since the Bourne Ultimatum is the obvious big gun this week, I suspect the trend will continue.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Could Jason Bourne's luck have finally run out? No, I didn't think so either.
Number of Theaters: 3,500
Prediction: $65 million.

Bratz
What's It All About: In this live action film based on a line of fashion dolls, four girls enter high school and discover the meaning of peer pressure and loyalty.
Why It Might Do Well: Teenage girls looking for more of what Mean Girls had to offer may like this one.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Target demo seems awfully small.
Number of Theaters: 1,700
Prediction: $5.5 million

El Cantante
What's It All About: Biopic of Hector Lavoe, the salsa king. Not a snack food magnate, but a singer of salsa music. Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez star.
Why It Might Do Well: Based as it is on true events, El Cantante offers a genuine alternative to what's out there.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The relatively small release combined with the 18% rating over at rottentomatoes.com suggests that this one will not be raking it in.
Number of Theaters: 600
Prediction: $3 million

Hot Rod
What's It All About: Comedy about a motorcycle stunt man wannabe played by Andy Samberg who plans to jump fifteen buses to raise money for an operation that will save the life of his abusive stepfather.
Why It Might Do Well: The adorable Isla Fisher (the crazy one from Wedding Crashers) for one thing, plus there are some genuine laughs in the trailer for those into broad physical comedy.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I believe there was a motorcycle stunt in The Simpsons Movie, so that quota may be filled for this year.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $11 million

Underdog
What's It All About: In this reinvention of the classic cartoon, a dog receives super powers and the ability to talk in a lab accident.
Why It Might Do Well: Jason Lee is the voice of Underdog and a funny guy. Nostalgia appeal will also work in the film's favor.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The aforementioned nostalgia may be tempered by the fact that this new version is pretty far removed from the cartoon's original concept.
Number of Theaters: 2,800
Prediction: $16 million

This week I'm piercing the veil of time by reading tea leaves, or at least that was the original plan. I tossed back several bottles of Snapple before I realized that kind of tea doesn't have leaves, so I just asked my cousin Frank how he thought this weekend's box office might go:
1. The Bourne Ultimatum
2. The Simpsons Movie
3. Underdog
4. Hot Rod
5. I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Last Week's Prediction Rankings
1. Matt: 13
1. Evan: 13
1. Marc: 13
1. Gian1414: 13
1. Opp-Neg: 13
1. Anna07: 13
2. Bubba8193: 12
3. Jason: 10
4. Ness265: 9
4. ElBoracho: 9
4. Ray: 9
4. Josh: 9
4. JimRM: 9
4. Chris: 9
4. Mario: 9
5. Dustin: 7
5. Rufus: 7
5. Curt: 7
5. Lostpicks: 7
6. Gordy: 6

We had a pretty decent response to last week's box office prediction contest, but I'm hoping for more this time around. Come on, you know you want to. No prizes, of course, but I think that would sully the whole experience, don't you? Don't forget to post your prediction for the top five films in the comments section below. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.

I'll cut to the chase: here's what's been released over the weekend. Disney's Prince Caspian will have a major presence at ComicCon this year, unveiling a "special preview" of the film, that includes new footage coupled with a talk featuring the filmmakers. Many of the film's visual effects artists have RSVPd to attend this event, but so far it's unclear if the actors will be attending as well. We also learned that Iron Man will be putting together some kind of footage for the event, although it's not really clear how extensive that will be. We know that Paramount is reserving a two hour spot on Thursday to unspool who-knows-what for a bunch of films including Stardust, Hot Rod, and Beowulf, which I've been told is having a much bigger presence at the convention than is generally known so far. The Star Trek cast is expected to be unveiled, but when and how isn't clear yet. J.J. Abrams will attend ComicCon, as will Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau and Roger Avary. George Romero will also attend the convention and will hold a talk.

New Line Cinema will unveil special presentations of The Golden Compass and Shoot Em' Up, and I'd expect to see at least a polished trailer for the former, if not personal appearances by some of the actors, and so forth. There's a 30th Anniversary Star Wars event, but I'm clocking that as a pretty minor happening at this point. Kevin Smith will be on hand, giving one of his famous talks. The Simpsons Movie will have a panel that includes not only creators but also some of the voice actors, including Yeardley Smith. On the smaller side, the Alyssa Milano film Pathology is pulling out the stops, bringing the cast around for meet and greets. We've also previously told you to expect a big presence for the Ghost House release 30 Days of Night, including a panel and possibly a bunch of footage.

Ok, raise your hand if you've never seen the video Lazy Sunday starring Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell? If you have your hand up now, please go immediately over to YouTube and watch the hilarious video and then return here and continue reading. Why am I telling you to watch this video? Because if you do, you will get a glimpse of the comedic genius that is Andy Samberg. In that video and his other more recent work, Samberg's comedic talent is very apparent and obviuosly shows that he has the potential to be one of the next big comedy superstars.

To help illustrate my point, over at IGN they've dropped a trailer for his upcoming comedy Hot Rod, in which Samberg co-stars with Arrested Development's Will Arnett as a wanna-be stuntman performing an ever increasingly dangerous array of wild stunts in order to get enough money to pay for his step-father's heart operation. Over at the sight, they feature the latest trailer (in glorious HD no less) as well as the previous teaser, several stills from the film and the current poster. Among the bits shown in the new trailer are several scenes of Samberg showing off his stuntman prowess (such as it is), a training sequence featuring the great Ian McShane as his step-father and the big final stunt where Samberg's character is poised to jump a row of buses in order to get the money he needs.

After watching this brand new trailer, I'm even more convinced about Samberg and his talent. Say whatever you wish about the film after looking at the trailer, but I'm backing Samberg all the way. In fact, I'm predicting right now that he will be a huge comedy star in a very short time. He's got the chops and isn't afraid of looking stupid for the sake of being funny. Remember people, you heard it here first. Further proof will be evident when Hot Rod opens August 3rd.

In case you're interested, here are some casting tidbits from the past couple of days:

• Talk about lining up a decent cast for a first-time director, Sissy Spacek is set to join Ian McShane in the comedy Hot Rod, SNL writer Akiva Schaffer's directorial debut. Also starring in the film will be Schaffer's SNL buddies (and Lonely Island partners) Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. The film, which we've previously discussed, reminds me of that Simpson's episode where Bart attempts to jump Springfield Gorge in order to impress his friends. Pam Brady, who occasionally writes for South Park, penned the script. Hmm, could a South Park writer be borrowing from The Simpsons?
• Damn, Feast of Love is turning out to be some feast all right, having recently added an additional eight people to its cast. Pic, which already stars Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear and Radha Mitchell, has tacked on Jane Alexander, Alexa Davalos, Toby Hemingway, Selma Blair, Stana Katic, Billy Burke, Fred Ward Erika Marozsan and a Partridge in a Pear Tree. Davolos will play the lead role; a sensual free spirit who interrupts the lives of a group of friends from Oregon and changes them in unexpected ways. Geez, and here I didn't even think that may people lived in Oregon.
• Emmy-winning actress Tammy Blanchard is currently in talks to star opposite Brittany Murphy in The Ramen Girl. Director Robert Allan Ackerman will make his feature film debut with this story about an American girl stranded in Tokyo who decides to survive by learning how to be a ramen noodle chef. Blanchard would play a drug-addicted American escort who befriends Murphy's character and, hopefully, the two will share stories over a wonderful dish of warm noodles. Yum.