JonHeder Tagged Articles at Cinematical
'Darkness Falls' Scribe Turns Jon Heder Into a Zombie
Filed under: Comedy », Horror », Home Entertainment », Trailers and Clips »
It's time for more zombies and some undead love that doesn't have sharp teeth and teenage angst. Crackle (a TV/movie/media goodness website) has just launched a new web series called Wake Up Dead. Yeah, it's more on the TV side of things, being a series and all, but it's got enough Hollywood connections to make it Cinematical friendly. And it's a zombie comedy. Who doesn't like zombies?The brainchild of John Fasano (the pen behind Another 48 Hours, Universal Soldier: The Return, Darkness Falls and helmer behind Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare), Dead follows a university student (Jon Heder) who wakes up dead. But rather than being a drooling, brain-dead zombie a la Dawn of the Dead, he's basically just himself -- or himself mixed with the perks and downfalls of undead life. (Krysten Ritter, John Gad, Wayne Knight, and Lexi Alexander also star.)
I talked with Fasano over the weekend, and he describes the show as "Brazil's corporate nihilism meets Shaun of the Dead," birthed out of his unhappiness with his experience on Darkness Falls. He grabbed his mom's old admonishment: "One of these days you're going to wake up dead," and started morphing it into a zombie-filled feature spec, and ultimately had it rejigged into this web series. As a movie bonus, Fasano says: "look for subliminal cuts from my earliest film, Mystery Science Theater alum Zombie Nightmare -- the Montreal lensed bad cult classic starring Adam West and Tia Carrere. You can catch glimpses of Canadian Heavy Metal God Jon Thor as a zombie, as well as a young screenwriter names John Fasano under the Zombie Makeup. Nightmare is finally getting the DVD treatment this year -- look for it in all of its crappiness."
Check it out and let us know what you think below! Perhaps delight in a Zombieland/Dead double feature?
Jon Heder Discovers 'Buddy Holly is Alive and Well'
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand »
Combine a comedic, out-of-print science fiction book, and the uncertain star power of Jon Heder, and what will you get? I'm not sure, but I don't think it'll be Moon.Variety reports that Heder has nabbed the lead in Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede, an adaptation of Bradley Denton's 1992 sci-fi novel that'll be directed by newcomer Robert Rugan. I'll confess right up front that I vaguely remember the title, but never read it. But since the book is out of print, I'm not going to be uncool or alone in that club.
The story follows an ordinary man named Oliver Vale, who has his life turned upside down when Buddy Holly takes over all television stations and declares himself not only to be alive (on Ganymede, presumably) but insists that Vale is the only man who can interpret his message. Vale becomes pursued by evil aliens, government authorities and probably just really crazy people as he flees his destiny, and befriends a robot dog. It's said to be chock full of rock and roll references while tackling all those meaty issues so often prevalent in science fiction -- religious belief, morality, the pitfalls of society, and other topics that are safely discussed only when there are Martians around. As I desperately want a sci-fi renaissance (and I think it's here), I'll throw my support behind Buddy Holly, and hope it isn't as kitschy as it looks from here.
Cinematical Seven: Favorite Will Ferrell Man-Children
Filed under: Comedy », New Line », Sony », Dreamworks », Cinematical Seven »
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.
'Napoleon Dynamite' + Superhero = 'Loudermilk'
Filed under: Comedy », Deals », Scripts »
Napoleon Dynamite, also known as Jon Heder, is certainly keeping himself busy with surprising roles. Who ever would have thought that he'd don skates and take on some male-male ice skating action? But this news -- it's even more brow-raising. Eons ago, back in 2006, Erik posted about how the guy was whipping up a project called Loudermilk with his brothers, Dan and Doug. Erik mused about scientific experiments and trading places with milk, but the reality is just as wacky -- he's going to become a superhero ... sort of.The Hollywood Reporter posts that Craig Zobel has signed on to rewrite Chris Bowman's script, and they've finally released the plot. The flick will center on a Napoleon-like "oddball who becomes contaminated with a substance that gives him what might arguably be considered superpowers." It's both a blessing and a curse for the dude -- but at least it's not a magnetized mix-up Jack Black-style. The Heders seem quite into Zobel's "cinema-verite style," but the guy has also got a certain Internet celeb under his belt -- he's the co-founder of Homestar Runner.
This seems to be just one low-budget comedy of many on the way for Heder and his brothers. Does the world need more Dynamite? How about if a little Strongbad is included in the flavor?
A Bunch of Bachelors Head to 'Rome'
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Casting »
Sometimes you really need to be careful what you wish for, or at least where you steal coins from. In February, Jessica posted about the new Disney romantic comedy When in Rome, which will star the electric detective Kristen Bell. She will play a real estate agent in New York City who heads to Rome for her sister's impulsive marriage. There, she picks coins out of a "fountain of love" to try to find the romance out of her reach, and when she heads home, she finds a lot of mens waiting for her. Now surprise, surprise, Variety reports that Jon Heder and Dax Shepard have signed on for roles.Oh, yes -- they're both potential suitors for the lucky Bell. Heder will take on the role of a street magician who tries to win her love with his..."talents," and Shepard will play "a self-absorbed suitor who falls under the spell and chases the girl." I must say -- these weren't the sort of choices I was imagining. Perhaps instead of finding all the possible men she could date, Bell will get a serving of Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered. Where's Logan when you need him?
Oh wait! The Hollywood Reporter has more on the story, saying that Josh Duhamel and Anjelica Huston have also signed on. Bell has been saved -- they say that Josh will be the romantic lead. Huston, meanwhile, will be Bell's boss, who is the curator of the Guggenheim.
Still... I miss Veronica Mars.
"McLovin" Joins David Wain's 'Little Big Men'
Filed under: Comedy », Casting », Universal »
He will always be "McLovin", but at least newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse has found another role to follow-up his hilarious debut in Superbad. The actor told Moviehole in an interview hat he has been cast in Little Big Men alongside comedy vets Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott. This is apparently the movie formerly known as Big Brothers, which was written by Timothy Dowling (George Lucas in Love) and which was to be directed by Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door). According to Mintz-Plasse, though, Little Big Men will now be helmed by Wet Hot American Summer and The Ten director David Wain. The movie's plot involves two wild and crazy guys who end up sentenced to community service in the form of the Big Brothers mentoring program. Why a judge would think a couple of party boys would be suitable mentors to kids is beyond me (the program does have very strict guidelines against drug users, and I'm sure these guys are probably potheads), but it should at least make for some funny situations.It isn't clear what kind of role Mintz-Plasse will have (the mentored kid, perhaps?), but I see him having difficulty shedding his persona as Fogel/McLovin, which was so perfect I almost found the guy funnier than Michael Cera. The actor may end up like Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder, who similarly came on the scene with a quirky, imitable character and has had trouble finding another movie that audiences accept him in (he succeeded marginally by co-starring with Will Ferrell in Blades of Glory). Interestingly enough, Heder even played a Big Brother in School for Scoundrels -- at least, his character was in the program until being let go for being too much of a loser. If Mintz-Plasse can join the ranks of Wain's usual crop of collaborators -- which spans the State/Stella/Reno 911! crowd and the Apatow/Stiller "Frat Pack" group -- then he should be able to make a decent career for himself.
Mila Kunis and Jon Heder are 'Moving McAllister' Next Month
Filed under: Comedy », Independent », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »
If an ice-skating Jon Heder wasn't enough to appease your Hederistic impulses for the year, you're getting another shot. indieWIRE has posted that First Independent Pictures will be releasing his next comedy, Moving McAllister, on September 14. The movie's star, Ben Gourley of Pride and Prejudice, wrote the indie screenplay, and the film was helmed by the man who directed him in the Jane Austen film, Andrew Black. It's looking like a cross between Three for the Road, Stranger than Fiction, Road Trip and even some Planes, Trains & Automobiles -- the quest, the uptight hero, the seemingly insane sidekick and some saucy bed shenanigans.Gourley plays Nick -- a rather anal intern at a law firm who dreams about making partner. To impress the firm's top lawyer McAllister (played by Rutger Hauer), he agrees to transport the lawyer's niece (Mila Kunis) across the country only a few days before he has to take the bar exam. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker (Heder) and as with any road trip full of crazy mishaps, Nick begins to reevaluate things. You can check the trailer out here, and even delight in the wonderful scene where Nick pops a rather large pimple on Heder's back. If the initial votes over at IMDb are any indication, it should be worth the time -- out of 32 votes, it's scored 8.9/10.
Jon Heder is Seeking Monsters
Filed under: Action », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Mystery & Suspense », Universal », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Try to fit this title on a marquee: Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs, and Ape-Men. It's the name of a book by Nick Redfern that Universal has just bought the rights to. Now get this: the book is non-fiction. Redfern is a Ufologist and his book tells of his adventure with two buddies as the trio visited legendary mysterious places around Great Britain, including Loch Ness. The best part is that Redfern is a punk, one of his friends is a goth herpetologist (a reptile and amphibian expert) and his other friend is 6'6" and 400 pounds. Basically, this is the book I was craving as a subculture-centered, Fortean-minded, mysteries-of-the-unknown-obsessed teenager. Fortunately, I never knew about this book (actually it came out many years after I'd stopped reading about UFOs and such), because if I was a fan and had looked forward to it being adapted into a movie, I would have been very disappointed to learn that Jon Heder is set to star. The one-note Napoleon Dynamite actor, who is surprisingly not yet a has-been despite not yet starring in another hit since his cult-fave introduction, will be producing with his brothers, Doug and Dan (his twin! there's two of them!), and he is expected to play the author (who is bald). I'm not sure who he could get to play the big guy, but for the goth herpetologist let me suggest Heder's School for Scoundrels co-star Todd Louiso, who has at least played a snake expert amusingly before, and who I can totally imagine dressing up to play Vampire: The Masquerade.
Sony Yells, Surf's Up!
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », Sony », Family Films », Movie Marketing »
I was a little surprised when Happy Feet turned out to be one of the big box office success stories this year. Sure, everyone likes a family film, especially right around the holidays, but I thought Bond would have definitely beat up on those penguins. I guess it goes to show you never can tell, huh?I think Sony is hoping you forget all about those adorable dancing birds by the time their new animated penguin film hits screens this summer -- or that your love for animated penguins is at an all-time high. Banking on the idea that if you enjoyed dancing penguins, you are going to love surfing penguins, Sony has launched the official site for Surf's Up. The story focuses on the unlikely premise that penguins were the originators of surfing, and the film is a mockumentary about a historic surfing competition held on Pen Gu Island. Of course, there will be plenty of family friendly messages about winning, accepting differences, etc..., mixed in with a slew of wisecracks. Voices in the film include Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Michael McKean and James Woods. The website has a link to the trailer, a wallpaper download and a "live" web cam of Pen Gu Island. If you have little ones in your life, I'm sure you will be seeing this movie, whether you like it or not. But, since I don't, I think I'm might have to pass.
[via JoBlo.net]
Todd Phillips Says Goodbye to Romance
Filed under: Comedy », Deals », Warner Brothers », Newsstand »
I used to have such high hopes for Todd Phillips. Not only was Old School a film so funny that I literally watched it repeatedly for days, its success was not caused solely on the talents of its cast -- which is the case with so many comedies these days. Phillips actually showed promise as a director, too. Then came the wretched Starsky & Hutch, which couldn't even be helped by its cast, and now coming this week is School for Scoundrels, which really can't make up for its casting of the bland monotony of Jon Heder. So, I for one am excited about his returning to Old School for a sequel, if it moves forward.If it doesn't, Phillips' production company has a project about Russian brides at Warners (previously at Miramax) based on David Benioff's article "Goodbye to Romance", originally published in the magazine Arena. Phillips isn't set to direct the movie, which has a treatment written by E. Max Frye, but with Old School Dos, a remake called Men, a film listed on his IMDb paged called The Dogs of Babel and the postcards-from-god movie The Disassociate, it is obvious that his plate is already overfilled. If he does go with this film, though, I suggest he casts Vince Vaughn and Billy Bob Thornton (who probably doesn't really need another character in the style of Bad Santa/Bad News Bears/School for Scoundrels) as the men who go to Russia in search of women to wed.
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