JenniferGarner Tagged Articles at Cinematical

You probably already know that The Invention of Lying takes place in a world where deception doesn't exist. Mankind never developed the ability. Everyone is 100 percent truthful all the time -- not because they feel obligated to, but because the concept of lying has literally never occurred to them. If someone came along who could lie, well, his power would be almost limitless. Everyone would believe everything he said. The skill of lying would be what scientists call an evolutionary advantage.

In a strange way, that's sort of what The Invention of Lying is about: the forward progression of the human species. Co-written and directed by Ricky Gervais and newcomer Matthew Robinson, the film has its wacky moments reveling in the absurdity of a world where no one lies, some of which feel like a Saturday Night Live sketch or an improv show. ("Your suggestion is: 'a world where no one lies'! The scene is: a blind date! Go!") But it's also surprisingly thoughtful, even tender, in the way it considers love, relationships, and God.

For what you might not already know about the film is that lying isn't the only thing absent from this world. There's no religion, either. No one believes in God -- that word, like "lie," is never used -- because no one ever thought to make him up. (The movie's view, one infers, is that God is imaginary and thus wouldn't be part of a world where no one ever fabricated.) The Man in the Sky, as God comes to be known, is the invention of our hero, Mark Bellison (Gervais), a loser who suddenly finds that he can say things that aren't true.

Warm, witty, and wise are all words I would happily use to described The Invention of Lying. Ricky Gervais, who co-wrote and co-directed with Matthew Robinson, stars as a screenwriter in an alternate universe. (Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Rob Lowe, and Louis C.K. also star.) It's a world that resembles our world, except that everyone is compelled to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, at all times -- not simply be honest when asked, but volunteer all manner of unflattering information. It's a cute premise that allows the dark, droll humor of Gervais to prevail, resulting in a very funny movie that eventually morphs into a treatise -- some would say a broadside, but I think it's far too kind and empathetic -- on religion, spirituality, and the importance of leading a "good" life.

Here's the rub: Gervais' character is also a wee bit hypocritical. (OK, a whole lot.) As he admits in the film, he's a middle-aged, overweight, snub-nosed little man, not much in the physical looks department. His charming personality, keen intelligence, and acerbic humor all serve to balance the books nicely as an overall package, but not in the eyes of Jennifer Garner, who plays a shallow-minded woman. All she wants is a good match in the gene pool, and Gervais doesn't measure up. So why does he pursue her?

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for The Invention of Lying, starring the always hilarious Ricky Gervais as a guy who lives in a world where the act of lying doesn't exist, and so one day he accidentally invents the bad habit before beginning to use it to his advantage ... big time. Jennifer Garner, Louis C.K. and Rob Lowe co-star (with appearances from Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill and several others) in this high-concept comedy that Gervais also wrote and directed along with Matthew Robinson.

This is the first feature film that Gervais has written and directed, and so while we've enjoyed watching him in other movies like Ghost Town or Night at the Museum, it'll be great for us Gervais fans to see another one of his creations up on the big screen this time -- not to mention the fact that it comes equipped with a pretty dynamite cast. You can check out the trailer for The Invention of Lying after the jump, and click on the image below to view a larger version of the poster.

The Invention of Lying hits theaters on October 2.

For a business that is notoriously slow to develop groundbreaking creative projects, the film industry can be remarkably quick when it comes to cashing in on proven success. Thus, when the romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You -- timed for release to capitalize on Valentine's Day earlier this year -- grossed an estimated $94 million for New Line Cinema / Warner Brothers, the company decided to prepare something similar for Valentine's Day next year, reports the New York Times.

Since He's Just Not That Into You featured an ensemble cast of notable actresses (Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston), the new project, imaginatively titled Valentine's Day, hopes to pack Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, and Shirley MacLaine into a storyline about "would-be romantics working their way through a tangle of circumstances in Los Angeles." None of the women have signed on yet, nor has the company's director of choice, Garry Marshall, nor has Ashton Kutcher, whose name has also been floated, but potential Green Lantern Bradley Cooper has agreed to play a man in the movie.

Lionsgate has sown up Halloween with the Saw franchise, so, strictly from a business perspective, this makes good sense. Of course, just packing "names" into a movie for the sake of names won't necessarily work. Still, if Valentine's Day is successful with big stars and establishes a new franchise for New Line, they could populate sequels with less-expensive stars and turn a decent profit for years to come.

I apparently loved Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.

See, according to the logic doled out by the monogamy-hating, scotch-addled mind of one Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey), the power of any relationship falls to whoever cares less, and my friends, I really could not care less about whether or not his boozing, cruising lothario was going to learn any magical lesson lifted straight out of Dickens. Ergo, the further I slumped in my seat while watching this mawkish, obvious, and not very funny film, the more powerful I grew in this particular relationship, and let me tell you right now: that and two bucks will get you a cup of coffee, with no need for any more artificial sweetener...

I have this feeling the brilliant Ricky Gervais probably won't make it big in Hollywood. Now before you get all riled up, hear me out: Whenever Gervais gets the chance to 'ingratiate' himself into the Hollywood big-time, let's face it, the results are less than cuddly. In fact, more often than not the guy winds up on a demo reel of controversial moments. Gervais is someone who can't sit down with Elmo without it turning into a moment of subversive comedy, and that is what I love about him. But the biggest thing that stands between Gervais and a big movie career (other than an absence of a six-pack and capped teeth) is that the man just couldn't care less about playing nice -- and it's that quality that has earned my eternal respect (after all, it takes a lot of guts to put this scene in a Christmas special).

Gervais has been making some inroads stateside with the romantic comedy Ghost Town -- a relatively successful film that tried to capitalize on Gervais' fondness of creating sympathetic yet unpleasant characters. Granted, it wasn't a big hit, but it was well liked enough and managed to win some fans who weren't strictly Office devotees. But I think the big test for whether or not Gervais becomes movie star is his directorial debut, This Side of the Truth, with Jonah Hill, Jennifer Garner, and Rob Lowe. But even if Truth doesn't work out, Gervais and long-time creative partner Stephen Merchant will be going back to slightly more familiar territory when they team up with Sony for a coming of age flick, The Men at the Pru, about a group of men working at an insurance company in the 1970s.

Goodness me, for just how long has Hollywood been sitting on the high-concept rom-com that is Ghosts of Girlfriends Past? So narrow-minded lothario Matthew McConaughey (who's getting good at this kind of role) is visited by three of his exes and shown the error of his ways -- namely, letting childhood flame Jennifer Garner slip away (I'll give 'em that much; a dumb, dumb move). If the Moviefone trailer above is any indication, saccharine and slapstick will be in no short supply.

It seems that director Mark Waters has opted to skew the sharper comedic stomping grounds of, say, Mean Girls in favor of another rom-com fantasy in the vein of Just Like Heavin', from the pair of writers who also brought us Full of It and Four Christmases. If we're really supposed to have any hope for this project, let me know when you find it.

At any rate, Ghosts opens on May 1st as counter-programming against X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- for all the girls who just can't stand that Hugh Jackman fella, I suppose. Come on, which one are you readers counting down the days for?

In the last few years, Nicole Kidman has starred in a number of movies that underperformed at the box office, but last year's disappointing grosses for The Interpreter The Invasion, The Golden Compass and even Margot at the Wedding likely contributed to her being named the least bankable actor in Hollywood by Forbes magazine. Apparently, given her exorbitant asking price, Forbes estimates her movies only earn, on average, as much from ticket sales as she earns for appearing in them. This is a major drop compared to last year, when Kidman's films were estimated to gross $8 for every $1 she's paid.

After Kidman, Forbes names Jennifer Garner, whose '07 films The Kingdom and Catch and Release did poorly enough that the runaway success of Juno couldn't help her ranking. On average her films grossed $3.60 for every $1 she took home. In third place, not surprisingly, is Kidman's ex, Tom Cruise, who bombed big time with Lions for Lambs last year. Others making the list of most overpaid actors include Nicolas Cage, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey, Cate Blanchett and Will Ferrell. Meanwhile, Russell Crowe, who topped the list last year, is considered more fairly paid this year thanks to the success of American Gangster.

Such fluctuations in actors' bankability only continues the debate regarding the importance of movie stars these days. Certainly all the names on Forbes' list are big names who occasionally headline blockbuster hits, but are they actually significant to moviegoers' attraction to a movie? Apparently not.

So, which actor do you think is most in need of a major reality check before his or her next major paycheck?

If I wasn't already sold on Ricky Gervais' comedy, This Side of The Truth, then this picture alone would convince me to shell out my hard earned dollars -- and keep in mind, I don't normally say that kind of thing about a film starring Jennifer Garner and Rob Lowe. Over at Gervais' production blog, the comedian has posted some new photos from his film about a writer who invents the art of lying. Gervais has always been a big fan of all things web-related, including his massively successful podcast series, and various blogging endeavors. So to be expected, Gervais has been pretty consistent with updates, with only a few of his trademark diversions here and there.

Truth was written by Matthew Robinson and Gervais, and the cast includes a nice helping of comedic heavyweights. Monika already brought us the news about Christopher Guest and Tina Fey signing on. The two will be joining Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hodgman, and Louis C.K. in what is shaping up to be what I would call a comedy 'dream team'. This is Gervais' first attempt at directing a feature film, and according to reports coming off the set, everyone is having a fine old time. Filming will wrap in the next couple of weeks, and then Gervais is off to England to put the final touches on the film.

This Side of the Truth will arrive in theaters in 2009.

This news is actually more than a few days old -- and it was so buried within a Jennifer Garner press release that I just missed it. No matter, I'm sure it's new to most of you.

According to Variety, Garner has signed a first look deal with Warner Brothers for her Vandalia Films, and one of the upcoming films on her slate is 3 Days in Europe in which she will co-star and co-produce with Hugh Jackman.

Europe is a romantic adventure about a couple embroiled in danger and excitement on what was supposed to be their perfect Valentine's Day vacation. It's based on the graphic novel by Anthony Johnston and Michael Hawthorne. (And published by Oni Press, who just sold The Damned last week, as reported by Scott Weinberg, as well as Scott Pilgrim. ) No director has been named, and no start date. Given how full both actors' slates are, it could be awhile.

Of course this is based on a graphic novel! Jackman is addicted to them. He's obviously given up his plans to revive the musical (drat!) and is just going to adapt all things comic related. In lieu of this information, I've decided I am going to give up my Cinematical gig and write a graphic novel about a 20-something chick who has a specialty in Anglo-Saxon literature, and ... well, I'm still working out the middle. I'll need someone to do the illustrations, but we'll have a buyer.

[via SuperheroHype.com]