JohnC.Reilly Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Wonders never cease... At an early age, I got used to the strange looks from my friends when I listed the actors and stars I was most attracted to -- especially once I saw Dead Zone and became enamored with Christopher Walken. From then on, I steered clear of discussions about hot stars, or prepared for the horror-filled recoil if I did pipe in. It's gotten better over the years, but was never fully defeated until now.

I'm not sure how it's happened, but Nerve compiled a list of the "twenty sexiest ugly people alive" -- those people with unusual features who still have oodles of lusty charisma -- and none of my faves are on there. No Walken, Eric Roberts, Gary Oldman, Elias Koteas... I must be losing my touch. Instead, their picks in the movie world include Danny McBride, Danny Trejo, Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Steve Buscemi, and Mickey Rourke -- with the massacred face. Some of the guys I'm right there with, but man, Swinton? Not only did she make the list, but she's the only actress on there (excluding Sandra Bernhard's acting stints and Courtney Love's fleeting gigs). Ouch.

Do you agree with their picks? Better yet -- who are the names that hit you right to the core while passerby look on with confusion? And why? For years, I couldn't discern my own taste until a friend said: "You love larger than life men." And that was just it. When that charisma seeps out of the screen, no scar or sneer can fight it.

Do you have a favorite sexy ugly star, or are you purely a fan of the perfectly hot and symmetrical?

There are a lot of things I love about Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (the sight of Don Cheadle in a Stevie Wonder wig is worth the price of admission alone), but if I simply had to choose, the scene of a botched drug deal with Rahad Jackson (Alfred Molina) probably ranks as one of my favorite movie moments of all time. Why? Between the Night Ranger soundtrack and the sounds of Cosmo's cherry bombs going off in the background, I was right there with Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly) on the couch wanting to get the hell out of that living room. I get film geek goose pimples all over as the camera settles on Dirk (Mark Wahlberg), watching his face gradually realize how far he'd fallen. At the time, it even managed to convince me that Wahlberg might be an honest to goodness actor -- a notion he's been working hard to dissuade me from ever since.

Boogie Nights fun facts:

• Paul Thomas Anderson intended for further scenes involving Rahad Jackson (Molina) that would have had him going out in a blaze of gunfire when the cops arrived on the scene.
  
  
• There are numerous references to John Holmes in the film, but this sequence is loosely based on the infamous Wonderland murders that centered on Holmes and gangster Eddie Nash in real life.

Hearing that Kevin Kline is starring in a new film always sets off my alarm, eagerly hoping for something like The Anniversary Party or A Midsummer Night's Dream (and not Trade or The Pink Panther). And this just may be it... Variety reports that Klein, Paul Dano, John C. Reilly, and Katie Holmes have signed on for an adaptation of Jonathan Ames' The Extra Man. Shari Springer Berman wrote the script with Ames, and will direct along with American Splendor director Robert Pulcini.

The book follows a troubled young man (Dano) who gets a teaching job in New York City and ends up living with an "elderly eccentric" (Kline) who spends his time as "the extra man" for rich old women on the East Side. (Ouch. The thought of Kline as "elderly" truly saddens me...) While the old man teaches him some tidbits about city living, like how to sneak into Broadway plays, the younger roommate struggles with his uncertain sexual orientation with cross-dressing and forays into "New York's transvestite underworld."

There is no word on who Reilly or Holmes will play, but maybe one of the book's fans could shed some light on character possibilities? Not that it really matters -- just the thought of Kline, Dano, and Reilly together is enough to sell me, and I'm dying to see what Dano and Kline do with their roles. And who knows? Maybe this will mean a big comeback for Holmes as well (as a big-screen actress) -- she was wonderful in the last film she shared with Klein -- Ang Lee's The Ice Storm.

I don't know about you, but when I play the "actors who could be related game," like Jeffrey M. Anderson did back in July, I always start with Marisa Tomei being the perfect person to play Jonah Hill's mom. Really. Don't they look alike? The long, lean ... okay, forget it. I never dreamed of pairing the two up, but Fox Searchlight has.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill, and John C. Reilly are in talks to star in a new intergenerational comedy. (Note: I originally misread "intergenerational" as "intergalactic." Those three in space would have been so much cooler, but I digress.) Right now, the Jay and Mark Duplass (who are making their studio debut after several successful indie mumblecore-ish movies) film is without a name, but it was once called Safety Man. Tomei will play a woman starting a new relationship with Reilly, only to have her pesky son (Hill) try to foil the romance.

I love the idea of this trio, and can't wait to see what it would bring. However, why does Tomei always get paired with the less sexy of Hollywood? I know that it happens a lot in Tinseltown -- men who would be looked over normally become prime pieces of arse when they transform into successful actors. But did getting paired with Joe Pesci back in '92 curse her? Mickey Rourke with a face lift. Philip Seymour Hoffman. William H. Macy. Even the love interest of George Costanza on TV. Now, Reilly. Hollywood: Pair her with a sexy leading man in a really good film already, would ya?

For those of you who spend a great deal of time roaming the halls of indie hipster-ville, you may have noticed that the brief window of empty space prior to awards nominations has been filled with a whole bunch of Prop 8 speech. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, since it's an important issue in this country and the very influential "indie community" can help provide a large voice of support against Prop 8. If that's your thing. However, now that awards season is beginning to heat up, Prop 8. is being replaced by "So who got which screener today?", and it's slowly becoming "that thing we got really upset about in November."

Hold on! Funny or Die has come to the rescue with this very funny video called Prop 8 - The Musical, featuring all sorts of comedic talent like Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Craig Robinson, Neil Patrick Harris (who's absolutely hilarious), and many more. Watch as this ensemble cast sings and dances their way through the issue at hand, and maybe you'll learn a bit more about what's at stake here. Enjoy.

At some point this past summer, between all but consecutive viewings of The Dark Knight, I slipped into a screening of Step Brothers with the same tempered expectations with which I had greeted Blades of Glory and Semi-Pro -- and found myself equally surprised in the coming days and weeks and months by just how admittedly tickled I was by any of them (quoting lines was moderate on all counts). Mind you, I'm saying this as the guy who chuckled during Anchorman, sure, but not really enough to keep it on my shelf or call myself thankful for it.

That's nothing against our Eric D. Snider, and nothing against the star of each film mentioned, Will Ferrell (yes, he was actually Batman). In fact, with Step Brothers hitting shelves today (with reports of a wholly sung commentary track), it only seemed fitting that we go over his most amusing roles as overgrown man-children (Ferrell's, not Snider's). Because they're there, and they always will be, and the sooner that I admit to being vulnerable to his shtick, a better world this very well may be.

Anyone with more than a passing interest in Judd Apatow's career will note how there's a curious call-back to one of Apatow's earlier works in this most recent of his productions, with the credits for Step Brothers in the exact same scrawled, stretched-out font as his comedy Freaks and Geeks. Freaks and Geeks, though, featured teens who often spoke and acted like adults; Step Brothers features adults who constantly speak and act like children.

The credit-font's evocation of an earlier Apatow work is an omen for the rest of Step Brothers, in fact, with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly recycling and amplifying their rivalry from Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (also directed by Step Brothers helmer Adam McKay) but without that film's plot structure, surreal wit or inspired mockery (and celebration) of NASCAR culture; instead, Step Brothers seems constructed -- or, rather, contrived -- solely to create a circumstance where Ferrell and Reilly can act like idiot man-children and riff to their great amusement. That, however, is not the same thing as riffing to the amusement of the audience. ...

It's finally time for Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly to bunk together in Step Brothers, which means it is time for another edition of Moviefone's Unscripted -- questions from the readers and questions off the top of their heads all mixed into one! Above you can check out an exclusive clip, which you won't see in the Moviefone segment, where Ferrell discusses Anchorman 2. After that, head over to Moviefone and spend a few minutes with the funny men. They chide Moviefone for the title of this series, and then they discuss focusing the hate, little baby ham hands, and one heck of an awesome shot-by-shot remake idea they had. When you hear what it is, remember the movie's shower scene and imagine the possible sexiness.

Step Brothers opens this Friday.

Way back in November, John C. Reilly signed on to play Larten Crepsley in the adaptation of Darren Shan's Cirque Du Freak. Since then, we've gotten a sneak peek at Salma Hayek's bearded lady, but nothing of the sharp-toothed Crepsley -- until now! Empire has posted a first look at Reilly's character, which you can see cropped on the right. (It's a little bigger over at Empire, but unfortunately, not much.)

The film focuses on a 14-year-old kid, Darren Shan (Chris Kelly), who visits an illegal freak show, sneaks in after hours, and gets thrust into a life of freak shows and vampiric servitude. The photo shows Shan and Crepsley, so maybe this is when the poor kid getting pulled into the freakish life. Although really, I think Crepsley's outfit is the most freakish thing. That, and the darkly rouged cheeks.

The flick should hit US shores in 2008, before the scheduled UK release in February of 2009.

*Note: Both the real Darren Shan and the kid who plays the fictional Darren Shan use two names. To clear up confusion between the Empire report, here, and IMDb: The young actor goes by Chris Kelly and Chris Massoglia, while Darren Shan is also known as Darren O'Shaughnessy.

Today YouTube launched a new section of its site titled The YouTube Screening Room, which it calls a "platform for films from around the world to find the audiences they deserve." Here, they will showcase four short films every two weeks and will even offer an occasional feature. Some of the films have been previously screened at film festivals and some have been nominated for or have won an Academy Award. But others will be premiering on the site. Apparently, the filmmakers will be paid a percentage of YouTube's ad revenue based on views and each film will also feature a "Buy Now" button so that you can purchase that film or other films.

Today's debuts include Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?, a 2005 short written by Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know), directed by Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl) and starring John C. Reilly, Mike White and July. I've embedded it above for your viewing pleasure. The other three are The Danish Poet, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Short in 2007, Love and War, which is a stop motion opera from Sweden, and Our Time is Up, which was nominated for Best Live Action Short in 2006 and which stars Kevin Pollak.