Jerry Seinfeld Tagged Articles at Cinematical

By now, you no doubt know the storyline of Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie, which opened theatrically last November and released this week on DVD. Seinfeld co-wrote, produced and stars in the film as Barry B. Benson, newly graduated from bee college and pondering his future.

Dissatisfied with his singular career prospect -- making honey -- Barry decides to explore life outside the hive, gets distracted by all the pretty colors in the world, meets Vanessa (Renee Zellweger), a florist, finds out that humans have been stealing the bees' honey, and decides to sue the human race. That's basically the story in a ... beehive .

Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of The Write Stuff!

Thanksgiving is always rough on a screenwriter. You're usually seeing a lot of friends and family, and while they (candied) yammer on about their accomplishments, you have to start all of your sentences with: "We're still waiting to hear on that one..." and "Our agent says we're really close..." and "Grandma, let me explain the WGA strike to you one more time..."

But there is a great deal to be thankful for this year. On Monday, still happy and groggy from a weekend of gorging, representatives from the WGA and the AMPTP will resume talks. Ideally, each side will come away happy and we can end this strike. From a personal note, my writing career was right on the verge of kicking into high gear when the strike was announced, and I certainly don't want to lose that upward momentum. And looking at the bigger picture, we're a month away from Christmas here. Who wants to see not just writers but everyone who works in and around the entertainment industry desperately struggling to pay the bills? The grips, the gaffers, the assistants, the dry cleaners...these people are out of work, too.

So send your good vibes to the negotiating table on Monday. And if you think there's nothing you can do, you're wrong. You can electronically sign this petition to the AMPTP, which starts: "We, the undersigned, fully support the strike of the Writers Guild of America, and agree with the WGA's stated goals of obtaining just and fair compensation regarding revenues generated through "new media". The petition currently has 57, 695 signatures, which is extremely impressive. Won't you add yours?

I'm sure Jerry Seinfeld and the other people involved with his latest film had hoped it would BEE number one (oh God, that joke was a cry for help, please call my parents), but the top spot went to Ridley Scott's American Gangster. Seinfeld and company still can't complain too much about second place as $39 million is hardly chump change. Last week's number one movie Saw IV hung in there as well, shearing the limbs off the competition for the second week. Here are the final numbers:

1. American Gangster: $46.3 million.
2. Bee Movie: $39.1 million.
3. Saw IV: $11 million.
4. Dan in Real Life: $8.1 million.
5. 30 Days of Night: $4 million.
5. The Game Plan: $3.9 million

The holiday box office season is truly upon us with high profile releases and Christmas themed movies hitting theaters. Here's what's coming out on Friday.

Fred Claus
What's It All About: Santa's black sheep brother Fred gets bailed out of prison and comes to the North Pole to help make toys for the Christmas holiday. Vince Vaughn stars as Fred and Paul Giamatti plays Santa.
Why It Might Do Well: The teaser trailer that came out last year with footage that probably isn't even in the movie was hilarious. Vaughn seems to be playing a variation on his characters from Wedding Crashers and Old School, and he was pretty funny in those roles, and I'm dying to see what Giamatti can do as Santa. If nothing else, the sheer number of theaters this one is opening in will put it in the number one spot.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I tend to bristle when Christmas displays start showing up in stores right after Halloween, and I'm probably not the only one. Might it just be too early for Christmas cheer?
Number of Theaters: 3,400
Prediction: $34 million

Lions For Lambs
What's It All About: Tom Cruise plays a Senator on the rise who crosses paths with an idealistic professor played by Robert Redford and a reporter played by Meryl Streep. Redford directs this film, which is the first drama for Cruise in six years.
Why It Might Do Well: A cast this stellar will definitely get people's attention.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Rottentomatoes.com is only giving this a 38% rating, with critics using words like "talky" and "clunky."
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $11 million

Here's the biggest problem most folks will have with Bee Movie: It's not Ratatouille. Both films have a lot in common with one another, except the latter is far greater in terms of story, character and overall charm. And if Ratatouille hadn't arrived only a few short months ago, I might have felt differently about Bee Movie. Instead, I walked away feeling a bit jaded, expecting more from a man who had entertained me for so many years on one of my favorite television shows of all time. But that's not to say Bee Movie is a bad film; it will most certainly entertain the youngsters with its colorful, larger-than-life spirit, and there are enough adult-orientated gems scattered throughout to make it worthy of your family's hard-earned cash. But when your kids turn to you and whisper, "I liked the one with the rat better," don't say I never told you so.

If you're not aware of this film by now, then I'd seriously take a look around because you might, quite literally, be living in a bubble. The film is co-written by, produced by and stars the voice of Jerry Seinfeld, and the man has been buzzing "Pssst ... Bee Movie -- pass it on ...) in our ears for months. When he wasn't dressed up in a giant bee costume, hanging from a construction crane in France, he was promoting the film through commercials, television shows. From what I hear, several people claim the man actually entered their dreams at one point to promote Bee Movie. It's been nearly a decade since Seinfeld (the television show) ended, and it might take another 10 years for the man to do something else. Problem is, after Bee Movie, I'm not sure we'd mind.

As expected, Saw IV continued the franchise's tradition of tearing it up at the Halloween box office, and Dan in Real Life took second place, placating audiences looking for something milder. The only thing that kept me from a perfect score on my prediction was the fact that The Game Plan had a little more life in it than I thought, beating out Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married for fourth place. Ah well, whatcha gonna do. Congrats to Bubba8193 for hitting one out of the park. And now without further ado, here's last weekend's final box office numbers:

1. Saw IV: $32.1 million.
2. Dan in Real Life: $12.1 million.
3. 30 Days of Night: $6.7 million.
4. The Game Plan: $6.3 million.
5. Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? $5.7 million

Looking for a new release this weekend? Well, here are your options:

American Gangster
What's It All About: Set in the 1970s, American Gangster stars Denzel Washington as a Harlem drug lord who smuggles heroin inside the bodies of U.S. soldiers killed in Vietnam, and Russel Crowe plays the maverick cop out to stop him.
Why It Might Do Well: Two high caliber stars, Ridley Scott at the helm and an 89% fresh rating over at Rottentomatoes.com suggest this one is going to pull in some serious coin.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Those of us who have recently suffered through the tedium that was We Own The Night know all too well how badly a period cop story can go wrong.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $31 million

Bee Movie
What's It All About: Computer animated comedy starring the voices of Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger. Seinfeld plays Barry B. Benson, an idealistic young honey bee who decides to sue the human race for stealing his people's honey.
Why It Might Do Well: Promotion for this film started a looooonng time ago, so the word is definitely out there. Even nine years after his sitcom finished up, Seinfeld is still a recognizable and highly bankable star, and I think this will be this weekend's number one movie.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Only if actual bees are released in the theater.
Number of Theaters: 3,500
Prediction: $38 million

"'Blog' is the worst word of the 21st century," says Jerry Seinfeld during this latest installment in Moviefone's Unscripted series. And I tend to agree -- while I have no problem labeling myself as a movie blogger, the word "blog" is kind of disgusting, dirty in some ways, and not the prettiest of terms. For those not familiar with Unscripted, it's a fun little series where Moviefone sticks two celebs (who happen to be starring in the same upcoming film) together in a room, and film them asking questions to one another -- questions from you readers, as well as their own made-up-on-the-spot stuff. This latest round features Jerry Seinfeld and Renée Zellweger, stars of the new animated flick Bee Movie, which I happen to be seeing tomorrow night (and might I add that I've been looking forward to this one for awhile).

I happen to be a pretty big fan of Seinfeld (the TV show), as well as Seinfeld (the man). What can I say, I like the guy's honesty. When Zellweger asked him why he hadn't starred in anything since Seinfeld, the dude simply replied: "Because I'm old, rich and tired." The two talk a bit about the movie, about Seinfeld (someone asked Zellweger what character she would've liked to play on the show), and then they go on about a house Seinfeld rented while out in Los Angeles; a house that also happened to belong to Zellweger. If you submitted a question back when we first posted about this particular Unscripted, do swing by to see if they answered it. If not, then you may as well check it out just for the hell of it .. if only to hear about the job Seinfeld had before he hit it big. Enjoy.

Personally, I would've loved Jerry Seinfeld's Bee Movie to have been live action, in crazy costumes, like the spoof trailers we previously shared with you. There's nothing quite like Chris Rock and Seinfeld battling the elements on a fake windshield. That being said, I have to agree with Erik Davis -- the animated version looks pretty damned spiffy. The movie finally comes out on November 2, and Seinfeld has been making his rounds to promote the flick. The Globe and Mail has reported that just the other day, he was in Toronto for a red carpet event for the movie, and talked with the audience about the making of the film.

During the screening, he did some stand-up, chatted about families, and also about the bee crisis: "Since we started writing this four years ago, there has been a bee crisis. Have you heard of this? Colony collapse disorder. Bees have suddenly stopped working, following the exact plot line of the movie. It freaks me out. What we were writing about actually happening. I have to be more careful about what we write." Somehow, I don't think they're following the exact plot, unless there's a lawsuit I'm missing.

Bee Movie is about a bee named Barry who has just graduated from college, which is pretty redundant since he has one career choice: making honey. He leaves the hive and befriends a human named Vanessa (Renee Zellweger). While on a shopping trip with her, he discovers the world of packaged honey -- Ray Liotta's brand of honey, to be exact -- and decides to sue humans. What happens after that? Well, you'll have to see the movie.

So what happens when one of the most successful stand-up comedians-turned-television stars can't seem to find a satisfying follow-up project to the hit show Seinfeld? Well, he turns to Plan Bee -- as in, Bee Movie. Yes, after disappearing for awhile, Jerry Seinfeld returns to share a funny story (or two) with us -- but this time he's animated, and it's up on the big screen. Co-written, produced by and starring Seinfeld, Bee Movie tells of a nosy bee who travels outside the hive, hooks up with a friendly human (voiced by Renée Zellweger) and happens to discover that humans have been stealing all the bee's honey to fulfill their own selfish stomach-growling needs. So what does a bee do? He sues.

Our pals over at Moviefone have just released the brand new trailer for Bee Movie (in glorious HD, mind you), and unlike the previous trailers, this one attempts to give us a little bit more on plot. I still can't help but laugh every time I hear Seinfeld attempt to raise his voice -- it almost sounds like a 13 year-old trying to break through puberty. But I dig the guy, I dig his humor and I'm really looking forward to his first big-screen animated effort. Seinfeld is very picky about the projects he gets involved with post-TV stardom, and so I'd like to think there's something special here. So far, the visuals look great and I love the marketing campaign (including those original live-action trailers and Seinfeld hanging by a crane in full bee costume during the Cannes Film Festival). And hey, how can you not love a film that includes a hysterical Ray Liotta reference (check out the trailer to see what I mean). Bee Movie is set to buzz into theaters on November 2.

UPDATE: The new Bee Movie trailer is now live after we experienced some minor difficulties in getting it to you before. So check it out, and enjoy!

Being a huge Seinfeld fan, I'm really looking forward to Dreamwork's Bee Movie this fall. Originally, Jerry Seinfeld and friends were creating these hilarious live-action shorts (check out both teasers here) to promote the film, instead of giving us a normal trailer. Basically, they consisted of Seinfeld dressed up in a big goofy bee costume, while he awkwardly attempts to shoot scenes for the movie. With cameos from folks like Chris Rock and Steven Spielberg, they're pretty fun to watch, and provide an interesting lead-in to the real trailer that AOL Moviefone just released. Finally, we get a good look at some of the outstanding animation in glorious HD; the tennis ball scene being my favorite -- damn, does that look good.

In the film, Seinfeld voices Barry B. Benson; a recent college graduate who isn't so crazy about making honey for the rest of his life. Upon leaving the hive and discovering that humans consistently steal the honey for their own greedy consumption, Benson decides to sue them, er, us. Though none of that is in the trailer (they're probably saving that for a larger trailer down the line), what we do get is a rather funny sequence in which Benson cautiously maneuvers his way around the city streets (with amusing consequences), then meets up with a woman (Renée Zellweger) who can actually hear him talk. It's your typical "animated animal lost in unfamiliar territory," but I'm stoked to see what Seinfeld writers Spike Feresten and Andy Robin (as well as Seinfeld himself) have in store for us. In case you're wondering, pic also stars Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Eddie Izzard, Alan Arkin and Kathy Bates, among others. What, no Kramer?! Bee Movie buzzes into theaters on November 2.

One part of the Oscar telecast that made me angry was Jerry Seinfeld's routine about the deal between the moviegoer and the movie theater. He claimed that people have the right to drop their trash on the floor after being ripped off at the concession stand. A lot of other people thought the bit was funny, enough to hope the comedian would one day host the awards, but to people like me, whose career is or was in the theater industry, pushing the idea that cinemas are completely to blame for their own attendance problems just makes matters worse.

Of course, the theater industry is at fault a good percentage of the time, at least as far as recognizing their place and duty in the distribution/exhibition process, and according to Techdirt, the industry may finally be waking up to the issues of demand and of the importance of the moviegoing experience. The blog features a great quote for theater owners to remember, originally stated by Marcus Loew: "We sell tickets to theaters, not movies." Some chains and indies have been conscious of the experience issue for awhile now, particularly fun theaters like the Alamo Drafthouse and theaters with special deals like AMC, but the issue of enhancing the movie-going experience has been difficult to address on a wide scale. There is some progress, though -- with the planned broadband and/or satellite distribution of digital movies to theaters, the ability to run more showings of a popular title will be easier and quicker. Theaters will just cancel a less popular movie and run the higher-demand title on its screen instead.