Maybe I missed something, but since when did releasing films on a Wednesday become a commonplace strategy? I know, for years and years, several titles have opened mid-week, albeit typically on a handful of NY/LA screens or to capitalize on a holiday weekend.

But due to some recent moves, every Wednesday in August now has at least one wide release opening on it instead of Friday. On the 6th, we have Pineapple Express and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2; the 13th brings us Tropic Thunder; the 20th, The Rocker; and then Traitor on the 27th.

There are at least three other wide releases on the last three Fridays of the month, but I see no distinct point at which a two-day head start would make any great deal of difference (although I presume that Pineapple still wanted to have seven days on Tropic instead of five when it comes to their similar target demographic).

Was there a holiday I overlooked somewhere? Is it now cooler for kids to go to the movies on a school night once classes are back in session? Do you guys have any theories, or will you still wait for the weekend to catch any of these regardless?

Twentieth Century Fox has changed the release date on the Rainn Wilson comedy The Rocker again, but I think this move might be for the best. Maybe. We'll see. What do I know?

The flick, in which Wilson plays a former rock drummer who gets a new chance at stardom when he joins his teenage nephew's band, was originally slated for Friday, Aug. 1. Then they decided a Wednesday was better, so it became July 30. But now Fox has announced that it's been pushed back three weeks to Wednesday, Aug. 20.

Why the shuffle? Fox didn't say, but I would guess it's to avoid the raucous comedies Step Brothers (due on July 25), Pineapple Express (Aug. 8), and Tropic Thunder (Aug. 13). A July 30 release would have put it in the middle of a comedy war zone, and The Rocker -- which got so-so reviews (including my own) when it played at CineVegas and doesn't have nearly as much star power as those three -- would have gotten trampled. It would have been a PG-13 David against three R-rated Goliaths.

By Aug. 20, Step Brothers and Pineapple Express will have already done most of their box office damage, leaving Tropic Thunder as the only big-name comedy competing with The Rocker. I think it's smart to stick with a Wednesday, too, as three more comedies -- The House Bunny, Hamlet 2, and The Longshots -- open on Friday, Aug. 22.

What do you think? Is there too much comedy competition between now and Labor Day? Or are the films different enough that they won't be stealing each other's audiences?

I like the premise of The Rocker so much -- middle-aged wannabe rock star insinuates himself into his teenage nephew's band -- that I'm inclined to go easy on it solely out of good will. It's likable enough, a lightweight rock 'n' roll comedy punctuated by several belly laughs -- but those laughs are all in response to the one-liners, and mostly from one minor character (more on that later). The story, the central personalities, and the uninspired slapstick are bland.

The title wannabe is Robert "Fish" Fishman, played by Rainn Wilson (of TV's The Office) in his first major film role. Fish was the drummer for Vesuvius, a mid-'80s heavy-metal band, but was kicked out on the eve of the group's success. Now, two decades later, Vesuvius is huge and Fish is a bitter has-been (or, rather, never-was).

He gets a new shot at glory, though, as drummer of A.D.D., an emo band whose keyboard player is Fish's chubby nephew Matt (Josh Gad). The lead singer and guitarist, sullen teen Curtis (Teddy Geiger), and bassist Amelia (Emma Stone) are reluctant, but Fish is actually really good on the kit, and he swears he can find them a gig.

While the 2008 MTV Movie Awards was probably more like one long commercial for summer movies than it was an actual awards show, there were some funny, memorable bits featuring old friends and a few clips worth mentioning for those who missed it last night. (Anyone else catch Brendan Fraser screaming like a lunatic into the camera on the red carpet, promoting Journey 3-D, while they were interviewing SJP about Sex and the City? I mean, dude, I know this show is all about promoting your movies, but calm the F down -- even SJP looked a tad freaked out.)

But anyway, my favorite bit of the night was a tie between watching a Wayne's World reunion and the Tropic Thunder viral spoof by Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black. Surprisingly, it wasn't even any of the three who stole the show; it was, instead, the kid playing Stiller's nephew. Hilarious. Watch the Wayne's World routine above, then head after the jump for the full Tropic Thunder video, Megan Fox looking extremely hot and freaked out by a naked Rainn Wilson and the footage you DIDN'T see of Seth Rogen and James Franco smoking a "pretend" joint on stage. I'd like to think the bit would've been funnier if the cameras were actually allowed within 700 feet of the stage and they didn't cutaway to several different actors who weren't laughing ... at all. In fact, Downey Jr. looked kind of insulted. Not the best anti-drug advertisement I've ever seen, but what the hey ...

After weeks of rumors, centering mostly on Jonah Hill, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed the cast of Transformers 2. Joining the just-announced Rainn Wilson, and the already confirmed LaBeouf, will be Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro.

Of course, director Michael Bay is returning to helm it, as well as the original writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are joined by Ehren Kruger.

No word on story details yet, but filming has already begun in Los Angeles. It will move to Pennsylvania, and then overseas. Photos have been cropping up on the Internet already, though largely of scaffolding and trucks at this point.

I'm not sure what a Rainn Wilson is or whether this robot was featured in the old Transformers cartoons, but from what people have told me, it looks like a real goofy guy with glasses. Yes, MTV Movies Blog reports that during a sneak screening of The Rocker, Rainn Wilson outed himself as a professor in the highly-anticipated sequel. Not just any professor, mind you -- but "a professor that turns into a car that turns into a robot." Of course, he's kidding about that. Right? Is he? Michael Bay is awesome!

The addition of Rainn Wilson and the fact they wanted to bring on Jonah Hill means Bay and Co. are definitely piling on the jokes for this second installment. That is unless they're looking to tone down Wilson's shtick; kinda how he played a regular old teacher in The Last Mimzy without throwing out lines like, "Gots to do your homework home-skillet." The film, which is supposed to start filming next month, is currently setting up camp in Bethlehem, PA, home to, well, people from Pennsylvania.

What do you think about Wilson joining the team? Transformers 2 is due out on June 26, 2009.

For those who've been waiting to see Rainn Wilson absolutely rock out in The Rocker, a brand new trailer for the film has just premiered over at Yahoo. Originally, this flick was supposed to hit screens about a month or so ago, but it's since been pushed to August 1 -- and, from the looks of this trailer, I can totally see this being that late-summer comedy hit that builds buzz and ends up doing quite well at the box office. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for 80's drummers who get a chance to win back a piece of stardom by playing their nephew's high school prom.

The Rocker follows Robert "Fish" Fishman (Wilson), a once successful drummer with a prominent '80s hair band who was tossed to the side right when their popularity began to grow. Now, years later, when Fish's nephew needs an extra drummer for his prom band, that dude from The Office steps up to the plate and takes these kids on one helluva wild ride. Check out the trailer and let us know what you think. Can Rainn Wilson hold down the fort on this one all on his own?

The best family films aren't only for the kids; they look like a kiddie package but pack enough of an adult punch to make everyone happy. It looks like Monsters vs. Aliens might be just that. It is, and I quote from the new goodie extravaganza over at USA Today, "a throwback to those B-movie glory days of the '50s when Martians invaded our backyards and rubber monsters stalked the Earth."

This even includes specific references, such as the heroine Susan Murphy. She's a regular California girl who gets hit by a meteor and becomes 49' 11" tall (Attack of the 50-Foot Woman!), gets taken by the military, and renamed Ginormica. She's also being voiced by Reese Witherspoon. But that's not the only big name attached -- Rainn Wilson will handle the evil alien Gallaxhar, and Ginormica will be joined by Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. voiced by Hugh Laurie, jelly-like B.O.B. handled by Seth Rogen, and the half-ape/half-fish Missing Link voiced by Will Arnett. Plus, there's Kiefer Sutherland as the aptly-named Gen. W.R. Monger and Stephen Colbert as the "plays it on steroids" president. (Some of them you can spot in the pic on the right, which you can see full-size at USA Today.)

But there's also a twist in this. Since the feature will be the first CG movie shot in 3-D, rather than converted to it, it has an extra $15 mil added to its budget, which will find its way out of fans' wallets. The tickets will cost more, although the price hasn't been determined. Jeffrey Katzenberg is hoping we'll all pay for "a premium experience." This sounds cool and all, but paying more for this movie sounds silly, esp. if it ends up killing at the box office. What do you think about this monetary twist?

Cinematical is live at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards! Our own Patrick Walsh will report back throughout the afternoon.

Jiminy Glick just wrapped up a graphic conversation with indie legend John Waters and now he is asking Maria Bello what it's like to show her "down there hair" on camera. Oh wow, now he's humping her. Now he's asking Allison Janney if Juno is a film about people who won't tolerate Jews. "Jew? No!" The man is insane. He's interviewing The Office's Rainn Wilson now, who's looking mighty unkempt and unshaven considering he's hosting the show. And now the two are engaged in a huge pillow fight. There's Dennis Hopper! What does Jiminy ask a legend like this? "Why do men have nipples if they're not supposed to breast feed their pets?" Of course.

He just told Matt Dillon he was excellent as Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump, and followed that up with a rave about his work in Saving Private Ryan. Dillon was in neither film. The red carpet is heating up, I just saw Kate Beckinsale, Tom Wilkinson, and now Aaron Eckhart -- who is discussing Mormonism with Jiminy. And now the skies have turned an unsettling gray, the winds are picking up, and I have a feeling a lot of expensive dresses are about to get destroyed. I'm gonna take shelter, but I'll be back.

For more photos and coverage, head on over to Moviefone.

*Exclusive official photo from The Rocker, courtesy of Fox Atomic

After Christina Applegate and Tom McNulty sat down with me, the vibe I started to get was that I had been taken care of, which was true. I had asked several times for Emma Stone, but I wasn't going to push too hard for it after everyone had treated me so nicely. So for the rest of the night, I found an out-of-the-way place to sit and just watched as Rainn and Christina filmed a long scene where they walked from one end of the main set to the other, in front of an enormous green-screen, which I think will have some kind of music video footage when it's finalized. The scene revolves around Fish trying to get Kim to reveal the name of her old punk band (see the Christina interview in Part III) and she ends up revealing it -- Scream Weavers. They also eventually get into a little on-the-spot contest to see who can name the most rock bands with a place in their name: Kansas, Berlin, Bay City Rollers, etc.

At one point, while I was watching all of this, Emma, who had to be present to do background work, came over to where I was to relax between takes, but I resisted the urge to hit her up for an on-the-spot interview. Nothing else memorable happened for the next couple of hours, except for an AD telling me I was standing too close to the shooting area at one point. (Also, I forgot to mention this: earlier in the night, I had requested an interview with director Peter Cattaneo, but instead of granting it, he invited me to come over and tape-record him being interviewed by a TV station! Obviously I'm not printing that.) Anyway, around 6:00am on Sunday morning, I stumbled out into the morning light, flagged down my driver and rode back to the hotel. Overall, I had managed to bag three good interviews, and had been able to take a lot of notes, so I was pretty happy. The next Tuesday, back home in Jersey, I got an unexpected bonus -- a phone call from Emma.

ES: Hi, how're you doing?

RS: Pretty good. Sorry I didn't get to meet you Saturday night. You're probably wrapped on the whole movie by now, right?

ES: No, no, I'm actually leaving for work in like, twenty minutes. We're gonna wrap on the 31st, I think, next week.

RS: So why don't you give me some details on how your character fits into the story? I still don't know much about her.

ES: Well, she's the bass player for the band. You know the general outline of the movie. Rainn joins the high-school band and I'm in that band. And basically, Teddy, who is the lead singer and guitarist and then Josh plays the keyboards, and he's Fish's -- Rainn's character's -- nephew, and I'm just a friend of theirs that plays bass in the band.

RS: Does your character have, like, a love interest or anything?

ES: Yeah, she's kind of into Curtis, Teddy's character, and that's kind of an underlying current. Their definitely not dating or together in the movie, it's just kind of ... I think they have an attraction to each other kind of, throughout the plot-line.

RS: Was there one thing in particular that got you interested in this part?