NickStoller Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Forgetting Sarah Marshall finds Jason Segel vacationing in Hawaii to forget the girl (Kristen Bell) who just dumped him. Alas, she's at the same resort with her new beau! It's the latest comedy from the Apatow camp, and it hits theaters this weekend. Cinematical spoke one-on-one with the film's director, Nicholas Stoller, regarding the movie, his upcoming Muppet project, and how much onscreen penis is too much onscreen penis.

Cinematical: Is it intimidating for you knowing that every movie associated with Apatow these days is such a comedy event? Does that put pressure on you as the director to live up to that standard?

Nicholas Stoller: Not really, I'm still excited I got to make a movie, so I'm not really thinking in terms of if it's going to be a big event. Our movie was cheap so we don't have to make up that much money. It amuses me, and I hope that it amuses more people.

Cinematical: It amused me, so there's one extra person anyway.

NS: We have you and me and we just need 30 million more Americans.

The news that Jason Segel and Nick Stoller, the duo behind the upcoming Forgetting Sarah Marshall, were pairing up for a Muppet movie was pretty exciting. Longtime fans of the Muppets have been hoping this would be a return to the truly funny Muppets of the 70's and 80's, and not the watered down version of Muppet Treasure Island.

But if you're wondering if the Muppets would begin to resemble Seth Rogen's roommates in Knocked Up (of which Segel was one), you would be very wrong indeed.

ComingSoon.net asked Segel about getting to work with the Muppets, and he responded with what can only be called ecstasy: "It's hilarious, fantastic, heart-wrenching, beautiful, nostalgic and remarkable." Asked if he was a big fan of the show (why do they think he told the Muppets he wanted to do a movie?), he continued to enthuse. "I just remember being 10 years old and for me Kermit was Tom Hanks. Kermit is like the original every man and I remember watching the old Muppet with my parents and seeing Peter Sellers and people like that on. I've always had Muppet pictures and figurines all through my house. Now that I'm getting to write it, I feel like all if my dreams are coming true."

Segel couldn't say whether he would be appearing in the film as himself or as a Muppet. "We'll see what they come up with."

Actress Kristen Bell, who I first encountered as a teenage hooker and thief named Flora in the TV show Deadwood, has been steadily building up credits for the past few years, and now appears poised for a breakthrough. Production Weekly has learned that Bell will headline a romantic comedy called Forgetting Sarah Marshall during her next hiatus from the television show Veronica Mars. The film will mark the directing debut of Nick Stoller, who I assume is the same Nicholas Stoller who wrote the Jim Carrey vehicle Fun With Dick and Jane. Bell and co-star Jason Segel will play a boyfriend and girlfriend who break up and then accidentally head to the same vacation resort to get away from each other. Production on the film is scheduled to commence in April, in Hawaii and Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Bell has also lined up another role, this time co-starring alongside William H. Macy in the film Antique, from Renji Philip. Bell's role will be Claire, a girl who befriends a homeless man played by Macy, and presumably learns some kind of life lessons from him. Anne Archer, Rachel Leigh Cook and Lolita Davidovich also have roles in the film. Other upcoming projets for Bell, previously announced, include Fanboys, about some youngsters who embark on a road trip to see Star Wars: Episode 1, and the animated film Flatland: The Movie.