LeslieMann Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm spoiled. As a kid, I woke up with Beanie and Cecil and Rocky and Bullwinkle, gobbled down Looney Tunes, Merry Melodies, Speed Racer and Gigantor after school, and passed the early evening hours with The Flintstones and The Jetsons. Even as an uneducated child, I knew the ones with replay value and the ones that quickly grew tiresome. As an adult, I know the ones that still hold up and the ones that make me embarrassed to admit I ever watched them.

That brings me in a roundabout way to Robert Rodriguez' new, live-action film Shorts. Funny, inventive, and very, very clever in micro-bursts of six to eight seconds, Shorts becomes tiresome over the length of its 89-minute running time. I couldn't shake the feeling that it would have been better-suited as a weekly television show, chopped up into brief segments with plenty of commercial breaks in between. Shorts could just as easily have been called "Six Short Sketches in Search of a Synopsis," but then the title would be longer than its attention span.

Aimed squarely at kids, Shorts may, perhaps, please the modern sensibility of today's sub-teens, but I suspect the well has run dry for Rodriguez and family films. The Spy Kids franchise devolved in entertainment value from the first installment to the third, and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl was an unfortunate mess. Rodriguez has built a cottage industry based on a scattershot approach to filmmaking. He's always been a "shoot [film] first, ask [narrative] questions later" kind of director / writer / photographer / editor / composer / visual effects artist. That doesn't serve him well with Shorts.

In the new film Funny People, Ira Wright, the character played by Seth Rogen, reveals more or less inadvertently that the reason he became a stand-up comedian was because he was ridiculed by his classmates as a boy. This is probably one of the film's most profound moments, although it hardly treats it as such; but there's a long and illustrious history of comedy serving the purpose of concealing people's feelings, both on and off screen. And filtered through the meta-movie stardom of Adam Sandler's ailing A-lister, Funny People is precisely about the walls people put up in one way or another to protect themselves from emotional harm – which, as the film observes, almost always become a prison for the person who builds them.

Sandler plays George Simmons, a mega-comedian and movie star who decides to "return to his roots" in stand-up after a doctor diagnoses him with a rare and inoperable disease that gives him only a limited time to live. After a disastrous appearance at a local club, George meets Rogen's Ira, an aspiring comedian who mines a few laughs out of his performance, and he hires Ira to write jokes for him, and eventually, to work as his personal assistant. But when George reconnects with his ex-girlfriend Laura (Leslie Mann), who is now married to a daffy Australian huckster named Clarke (Eric Bana), he begins to truly reconsider his affluent but empty lifestyle.

It looks like the blonde funnywomen are breaking out of the mold and leaving the men behind. No more married life with Paul Rudd or amateur porn with Seth Rogen -- Variety reports that Leslie Mann and Elizabeth Banks have signed on to star in New Line's What Was I Thinking?

Unfortunately, it'll still be man-obsessed. The project is adapting Barbara Davilman and Liz Dubelman's What Was I Thinking?: 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories. The book is a collection of essays coming from a whole slew of people, including our favorite Leia Carrie Fisher and writer Francesca Lia Block, that covers the moments when women realize that their relationship is not going to work, like overhearing the wrong thing, wine snobbery, and men thinking of other women during sex. It's almost as reductive as He's Just Not That Into You! In film form, the project will follow four friends who go on a hedonistic ski trip after one gets dumped, and I assume they then reminisce, or run into, more men that fit these bad boyfriend scenarios.

On the bright side, it's a female-centric crew -- Lynda Obst is producing, and Susanna Fogel and Joni Lefkowitz sold the pitch. (I'm even forgiving them for being the ladies behind JJ Abrams' upcoming remake of Little Darlings.) It'll also probably get a few more awesome funny ladies attached, maybe even Tina Fey. But do we really need more romance-centric man bashing? I can't decide if it's simply good to see the ladies get more work behind the scenes and starring comedy on the screen, or just another excuse for women to be relegated to fluff.

So it looks like Vanity Fair is back playing in their creative sandbox as they've launched a new set of photos called Comedy's New Legends, featuring some of today's favorite comedic actors and actresses dressed up (and down) to resemble their favorite big-screen legends. There's Seth Rogen as Frida Kahlo, Danny McBride as Jack Nicholson in The Shining, Will Arnett as Han Solo, Russell Brand as Charlie Chaplin, Paul Rudd as Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein (my personal favorite), and Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Jason Bateman and Leslie Mann as The Honeymooners, among others.

Above you will find the image that kicks off VF's latest series, which is a throwback to another (much sexier) Vanity Fair cover featuring the naked bodies of women like Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley. Instead, this time around, we get Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and Jason Segel in skin-toned body suits. (Thank you Vanity Fair for not allowing them to get naked, because one imagines they totally wanted to go that route.) Check out some of our favorites in the gallery below, and the rest over at Vanity Fair.



Other popular Vanity Fair photo collections:
Something Just Clicked
2008 Hollywood Portfolio (featuring Alfred Hitchock recreations)
Disney recreations

The first trailer for Judd Apatow's Funny People has just gone up over at Moviefone (watch it below or over there in HD), and it definitely looks to be his most dramatic effort yet ... even though it's hard to get too serious when you have a cast that includes Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Bana (rockin' his Aussie accent) and Leslie Mann. What we do get (which is good) is a solid three-and-a-half-minute (!) debut trailer full of what looks to be some really great dramedy -- nothing too over the top or raunchy; just Apatow's standard substance over style -- reality over stupid scripted set pieces -- and I definitely dig it. Could this be the first Apatow-helmed flick to knock on Oscar's door?

Check out the trailer below -- along with a group of new images -- and let us know what you think. Does this look to have some legs on it? Is it what you'd expect from a Judd Apatow film? Funny People hits theaters on July 31. Discuss!

This isn't the first official poster for Funny People, but it is our first official look at the marketing campaign for Judd Apatow's third directorial effort. Along with this image, Universal has announced a partnership with MySpace where you can win a walk-on role in the film. What you do is head on over to the flick's official MySpace page, become their friend, and then in 100 words or less leave a comment explaining why you should win the role (maybe you're, like, totally the biggest Apatow junkie on the planet!). Additionally, Judd prepared a special message on YouTube announcing the contest, which you can view after the jump.

Starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman, Funny People focuses on the stand-up comedy circuit and one comedian's near-death experience. It arrives in theaters on July 31, 2009.

Jim and Ewan sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N..well, you get the idea. Thanks to Jim Carrey Online, we now have our first official look at the happy couple in the black comedy, I Love You Phillip Morris. Elisabeth brought us a behind the scenes photo back in May, but in spite of the thrill of seeing Jim Carrey and Rodrigo Santoro dripping with sun-tan oil and Versace, I was a little disappointed that my favorite Scot was nowhere to be seen -- until now.

Morris was written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who are also the guys responsible for the raunchy holiday offering Bad Santa. The script was based on the book by the same name from the Houston Chronicle crime reporter, Steve McVicker. Carrey stars as Steven Russell, a happily married con-man who finds himself falling in love with his cell-mate, Phillip Morris (as played by McGregor). Russell spent years defying the judicial system, and also spent most of his criminal career hopping in and out of prison through a variety of elaborate schemes. Russell even posed as his Morris' lawyer to get him switched to a closer prison. But it all came crashing down when in 1988, Russell was sentenced to 144 years in prison. Leslie Mann joined the cast back in April as Carrey's abandoned wife, and Santoro also stars as another of Carrey's paramours.

Even though plenty of actors still struggle with playing characters in same-sex relationships, without 'wimping' out all together (yes, I'm looking at you Will Smith). But like always, I think that McGregor will pull through just fine. As for Carrey? Now that's another question all together...what do you think?

I Love You Phillip Morris is scheduled to arrive in theaters in Spring, 2009

[Thanks: Coming Soon]

When you look at Eric Bana's resume in Hollywood, you probably wouldn't expect him to show up in a big, splashy comedy. But, back home in Australia, Bana was known for the funny; he's just never had the chance to show it stateside ... until now. CHUD reports that Bana is in talks with Judd Apatow to star in the Untitled Judd Apatow/Adam Sandler Project. According to CHUD's source, Bana would play boyfriend to Leslie Mann.

Just a few days ago, Eugene brought us our first glimpse of the film's plot. Now we know that the flick will focus on the world of stand-up comedians (and for some reason, all I can think of now is Punchline ... but with stand-ups who are actually funny). The project had been on our radar since March, but beyond the good news that Apatow was actually going to direct this time, there wasn't much to report.

Bana is currently wrapping up work on Star Trek and the romantic weepy, The Time Traveler's Wife, before heading off to his next couple of projects. First up is the animated story, Mary and Max, about the friendship between a young girl and a recluse. Then he'll star alongside Terrence Howard in Factor X, a thriller about the BTK killer. At this point I'm starting to hope these Apatow rumors are true, because it looks like Bana could use a laugh.

The Untitled Judd Apatow/Adam Sandler Project is expected to arrive in theaters (with or without Bana) on July 31, 2009.

And by "Judd Apatow's" I mean "directed by Judd Apatow," not "containing Judd Apatow's name buried somewhere in the credits." We wrote about Untitled Judd Apatow/Adam Sandler project back in March, when all we knew was that Apatow would be collaborating with Sandler on a movie also starring best bud Seth Rogen and wife Leslie Mann (Sandler, of course, is a former roommate). This week, Rogen revealed to MTV that the movie will be a dramedy with him and Sandler playing a pair of stand-up comics, and Sandler confirmed, expressing mock frustration that he's going to have to come up with an act -- something he hasn't done in a decade -- to promote the film next year.

Apatow was a stand-up comic himself in his pre-television days, so I'm sure he has some insight into what I've always thought must be one of the most nerve-wracking jobs imaginable. I think Sandler brings a lot of baggage to the Apatow brand, since Sandler movies have traditionally targeted a very different audience. Next weekend's You Don't Mess with the Zohan, produced and co-written by Apatow, looks like it's being perceived as a "Sandler film." If Apatow wants to bring his fans from The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up back to the theater, his minions are going to have to be very careful marketing the new film. Though, if you can get the Apatow fans and the Sandler fans to show up...

Back in March, Jessica shared a script review for Robert Rodriguez's next film -- not the still-suffering Barbarella, but rather Shorts -- a quirky family adventure movie. Now, finally, we've got the cast in place. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Jon Cryer and James Spader have jumped on board, joining William H. Macy, Leslie Mann, Jimmy Bennett, Kat Dennings, Trevor Gagnon, Leo Howard, Devon Gearhart, Jake Short, Jolie Vanier, and Rodriguez's super-cute offspring, Rebel Rodriguez.

The descriptions of the movie on THR and the script review are a little different, but the basic gist of the film is about a magic rock in a suburb where everyone works for the Black Box company. Kids find this rainbow-colored rock that grants wishes, and go a bit nuts with it before the adults get their hands on it and things get even crazier. Bennett plays the protagonist, Toe Jackson, Cryer and Mann play his parents, and Dennings plays his older sister. Spader, meanwhile, plays Mr. Black, and Macy plays "the father of a germphobic genius," which I imagine makes him Dr. Noseworthy. If Robert pulls this off with the same spark that Spy Kids held, this could be one fun flick.

Per usual, Rodriguez is involved in many aspects of the film -- he wrote it, is producing with ex Elizabeth Avellan, and will be director of photography, editor, and visual effects supervisor. According to Variety, production is just gearing up in Austin.