MichaelMccullers Tagged Articles at Cinematical

What do you do when your new movie turns into one of the biggest bombs of the summer? You go back to what you know. Take this rumor for what it's worth -- probably not much given its "anonymous insider" source -- but the word is that Mike Myers has shaken off (or maybe learned from) the disaster that was The Love Guru, and has set to writing a fourth Austin Powers flick. According to the same rumor, he'll be collaborating on the screenplay with Michael McCullers, the SNL vet who wrote and made his directing debut with this year's considerably more successful Baby Mama. The plot will have a "father and son theme loosely based on his own life" (??!!) which suggests a prominent place in the cast for Seth Green.

I didn't think The Love Guru was very funny -- and neither did anyone else, I don't think -- but I did appreciate how giddy Myers got about fart jokes and lame double entendres. Genuine enthusiasm can go a long way in comedy, and Myers has never lacked for that, which is largely the reason why I'm not ready to give up on him just yet. Well, and also the fact that I thought all three of the Powers movies were pretty good.

And I'll say this: I laughed at the Guru Pitka's use of "Mariska Hargitay" as a patented mantra. Sue me.

If you're a fan of Saturday Night Live, especially under the pen of Tina Fey, you wouldn't need any other reason to see Baby Mama than its stars -- Fey and her old Weekend Update co-anchor, Amy Poehler. But the comedic brew was even further sweetened by Sigourney Weaver, and then the addition of Dax Shepard (Idiocracy). Now The Hollywood Reporter says there are two more to add to the mix -- Greg Kinnear and Maura Tierney. Kinnear, who recently shone as the failing motivator in Little Miss Sunshine, will play the male lead -- the owner of a fresh juice shop who gets close to Fey. Being one of the leads, does this mean she'll end up having a baby with him and giving up her career over love? Ugh, I hope not! Tierney, who just wrapped Semi-Pro, will play another role close to Fey's Kate -- the character's confident sister and mother of two.

If you're fuzzy about the plot -- Mama is about a successful businesswoman (Fey) who wants a child, but not at the expense of her career. To avoid the whole maternity thing, she hires Poehler to be her surrogate, and Weaver's company represents the rented womb. The story seems good and there's a heck of a cast, so I'm feeling pretty psyched about this. However, I am a bit anxious that it's coming from the pen and directorial eye of Michael McCullers -- he's done work on SNL and Austin Powers, but he's also the guy who wrote Undercover Brother with John Ridley. If it's a solid success, I can only hope and imagine that it will become the new SNL-to-movie group, because the Sandler team should really take a break.

Considering what a convincing badass Sigourney Weaver is, it's easy to forget that the lady can be funny. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Weaver is in talks to sign on to the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy Baby Mama. Last month, Erik had news that the film was set to start shooting in NYC, so I guess the addition of Weaver is going to be the final piece of the puzzle. Written by Michael McCullers (an alum of SNL along with Fey and Poehler), the story focuses on a career woman with baby ambitions (Fey) who decides on the surrogate route. Weaver is angling to play the owner of the agency that represents Poehler's character. The premise might not sound hilarious on paper; but, I am a big enough fan of both Fey and Poehler, that I have some pretty high expectations of how funny it could be.

Weaver has just finished work on the assassination drama Vantage Point, and will be providing the voice of the narrator in the animated film The Tale of Despereaux. But of course, the real news is her work on the highly-anticipated James Cameron film Avatar. Since Baby Mama is already scheduled to have started production, it looks like it could be a quick shoot or a relatively small part for the actress to fit into her schedule. Weaver has done a handful of comedies over the years, with varying success. Some of the high points include Ghostbusters and Galaxy Quest, but there has also been the occasional miss. I'll keep my fingers crossed that Baby Mama is not going to be one of the misses.