Sarah Silverman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Sorry, but this isn't a world of peeping toms. While I can very easily see both Rainn Wilson and Sarah Silverman stretched along the branches of a tree, binoculars in hand, peeping at the unsuspecting, this project is all about revealing rather than snooping. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Wilson and Silverman are negotiations to star with the already-signed Michael C. Hall and Ben Schwartz in Peep World.

The indie film, written by Peter Himmelstein (title designer for Slums of Beverly Hills), focuses on some adult siblings brought together for their father's 70th birthday. The event "denegrates into an absurd theater of accusation and resentment" as they have it out with one of the siblings, who wrote a novel exposing the family's secrets. The comedy will be directed by Barry Blaustein, who helmed the professional wrestling doc Behind the Mat, as well as 2005's The Ringer. But you probably know him more for his written work. He's the pen behind goofy mainstream screenplays like Police Academy 2, Coming to America, The Nutty Professor, and The Honeymooners.

Hall, Wilson, Silverman, and Schwartz as siblings -- it's not something I ever would've imagined, but it will be a welcome change to see Hall step away from the creepy blood-letting and keep up comedically with the likes of Wilson and Silverman. But who will be the dad behind such quarreling siblings?

While I'm sure we'll all agree that these past few years have given us some wonderful little comedic gems, it's often unfortunate to see most of the attention thrown at one particular sex, or, in some cases, one particular man: Judd Apatow. But this post won't be about Judd Apatow, or Seth Rogen ,or Jonah Hill, or Michael Cera, or Will Ferrell, or Adam McKay, or Vince Vaughn, or Owen Wilson, or Kevin Smith ... or any of the male names that currently populate (and dominate) some of your favorite comedies. Nope, because it's about damn time we give the ladies some respect.

I'm sick of the female roles in comedies today. She's either the bland girlfriend, or the bland friend, or the bland enemy -- she's full of cliches, and only serves two purposes: 1) to help move the story along, and 2) to make her male counterpart appear funnier. That said, Hollywood is beginning to take more chances on the female-driven comedy, with films like Baby Mama, The House Bunny, Sex and the City, Bride Wars and Confessions of a Shopaholic all arriving in theaters this year or in early 2009. But is this enough? Is there better, smarter and funnier material for women out there, somewhere ... over the rainbow? While you ponder that, here, in my opinion, are the funniest ladies of 2008 (in no particular order) ...


1. Tina Fey

Right now you know her as "that woman who does the awesome Sarah Palin impersonation," but people forget Fey has been making us laugh for a good while now. One of three four women on this list who began their career on Saturday Night Live, Fey brings hilarity from multiple directions. Whether she's producing, writing or starring, anything with her name on it is guaranteed to bring in more than a few laughs ... and then some. (See: Mean Girls, 30 Rock, Baby Mama)

Operating out of a small space on Fairfax, the nightclub Largo quickly became more a legend than a venue. Intimate and loose, part of the appeal of Largo is that you literally never knew (I only use the past tense as the club has moved from its Fairfax location to a larger venue on La Cienega in the past month) what, or who might turn up. Largo's where Jack Black and Kyle Gass did some of their earliest work as Tenacious D; Jackson Browne's dropped in to sing a few songs. John C. Reilly has hosted casual, extemporaneous chat shows there; composer Jon Brion (best known for his work on Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia and Punch-Drunk Love) has held shows where he alternates constructing songs out of intricately arranged loops of instrumental figures he records live and composes and conducts on-stage with spirited cover versions of requests shouted out from the audience.

Co-directed by Largo manager and co-owner Mark Flanagan and Andrew van Baal, Largo recreates the Largo experience; loose, smart, random and unique. Mixing concert musical performances with snippets of comedy, the final film makes you feel like you've been to Largo, even as the more elegant notes in the black-and-white composition and the vignettes of the club's rhythm and tempo between the acts make it abundantly clear you're watching a film that was constructed and not just a tape that was turned on.

There have always been those great Hollywood stories about how people got their big break. We all know the one about Lana Turner being discovered in a drugstore, and Steven Spielberg sneaking onto the lot in his Dad's suit (even though it never happened). But, how about the guy who's famous for writing a song about 'F**king Matt Damon'? Variety reports that Wayne McClammy has been hired to direct the comedy Cool School for 20th Century Fox.

Up until now, McClammy was best known as one of the writers behind the original comedy song with Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon. But, he was also responsible for the slightly less funny response from Jimmy Kimmel and Ben Affleck. McClammy was a *writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live and worked as a director for The Sarah Silverman Show. Other than a few comedy shorts, McClammy has mainly worked in TV, and School will be his feature film debut.

Cool School centers on a group of ad-men in their 30's who feel like they have become out of touch in their middle age. The group is shuttled off to high school in hopes of learning how to be 'cool'. The story was written by Derek Guiley and David Schneiderman and casting will begin as soon as a final polish on the script has been completed.

*Correction: McClammy was a field director for Jimmy Kimmel Live

So it appears as if Sacha Baron Cohen is still causing quite the mess here in the United States as his alter-ego Brüno; getting kicked out of airports, showing up to an Easter play at a church in Kansas wearing chains, and the list goes on. First off, for those not familiar with Brüno, he's a gay Austrian fashion reporter who's wildly flamboyant in every way. The film, which marks Cohen's follow-up to Borat, will be called (deep breath) ... Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. Needless to say, I cannot wait to hear my local news coughing up that title when it comes time for the weekend box office figures.

But back to Ben Affleck. Seems Mike Walker from the National Enquirer called into Howard Stern last week saying that Affleck called friend Sarah Silverman following an interview with Brüno. Affleck was told Brüno was a "very famous openly gay fashion journalist," but that didn't stop Ben from admitting it was "the weirdest sit-down he has ever had with a reporter." Eventually, Silverman coughed up his name and only then did Ben realize he'd been had. Part of me doesn't believe this at all, because I can only imagine the hoops one would need to jump through in order to get an actual sit-down interview with Ben Affleck. Then again, perhaps Cohen's crew have perfected their little joke by now. Either way, I'm sure Affleck will be making an appearance in the film.

For more, as well as a brief video of Brüno's crew dancing in an airport, head over to Slashfilm.

I crashed pretty much right after the Oscars last night, but I convinced my wife to leave the TV on in bed in order to watch a little of whatever Jimmy Kimmel was going to do for his post-Oscars show. And, to my delight, he chose the time to seek his revenge on girlfriend Sarah Silverman and her "I'm f**king Matt Damon" music video. Oh yes, Kimmel took his video -- "I'm f**king Ben Affleck" -- to the next level. Not only did it open with a Brad Pitt cameo, but by the time it was over, a group of people were singing in a "We are the World" format; folks like Don Cheadle, Huey Lewis, Robin Williams, Joan Jett, McLovin', Lance Bass ... and Harrison Ford. Yes! Harrison friggin' Ford driving a car with a bumper stick that read, "Honk if you're f**king Ben Affleck." I don't know how in the world they convinced Mr. Serious to appear in this thing, but nevertheless the entire thing was a riot.

Check out the video above. And in case you missed the Silverman/Damon video that started this whole thing, you can view it after the jump. Enjoy.

A good friend of mine sent me this link a little while ago and I was cracking up. I'm not the biggest fan of Sarah Silverman's shtick, but this video -- which apparently aired last night on the Jimmy Kimmel Show -- is beyond awesome. Kimmel and Silverman have been dating for a long time, and I imagine this is some sort of inside joke (or not) designed to f*ck with Kimmel hardcore. I don't watch his show, and so I'm not sure whether this video comes with a long back-story, but if you know more about it, definitely let us know.

Actually, as I'm writing this, the video just popped up over at Entertainment Weekly and Slashfilm as well. They both say it's a long-running Kimmel Show punch line, so there ya go. But seriously, watch and enjoy. Fun stuff!

Watching the video reminds me of this one, also featuring Matt Damon. Note to self: Never leave my wife alone with Matt Damon.

Oh, what times we live in, that we can enjoy foul-mouthed documentaries like The Aristocrats and F**k. I grew up equating "documentary" with "National Geographic," so any nonfiction film that uses four-letter words or would shock my mom, automatically makes me smile a little. As a result, I was slightly biased toward Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project from the moment the film's subject uttered his first profanities during a stand-up routine.

Rickles reportedly has been reluctant to have his live performances recorded until now, but let director John Landis shoot part of his Vegas show. The documentary uses the footage from Rickles' stand-up act as a springboard for a biography and filmography of Rickles, a superficial discussion about intentionally offensive comedy, and a general reflection upon Las Vegas and how it's changed in the past 40 years or so.

The nominees for the 2007 MTV Movie Awards were announced today, and they're a predictably colorful lot indeed. As is always the case, you can cast your very own vote and then sit down to root for your favorites on June 3, when the presentation will be broadcast LIVE with Sarah Silverman as your host. Whew, I sounded like a press release there for a minute. Let's dig through the nominees...

Best Movie: 300, Borat, Blades of Glory, Little Miss Sunshine, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Wow, Blades of Glory? Really? I mean, even among hardcore Ferrell-heads I doubt it's considered one of his best movies. Also, I know several young people who definitely fall within MTV's most coveted demographic ... and they've pretty much all seen (and adored) The Departed. (To say nothing of Pan's Labyrinth.) As much as I love MTV's willingness to throw a lot of love towards the "popcorn" movies, I don't think they need to dumb it down quite this much.

Best Villain: Bill Nighy in Pirates 2, Jack Nicholson in The Departed, Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, Rodrigo Santoro in 300, Tobin Bell in Saw 3

Give it to anyone but that big bronze goofball. His were the (unintentionally) funniest scenes in 300.

Best Performance: Johnny Depp in Pirates 2, Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness, Gerard Butler in 300, Keira Knightley in Pirates 2, Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, Beyonce Knowles in Dreamgirls

We'll give it to Will Smith just so they can play "Parents Just Don't Understand" when he comes up to collect the award. It'll be ironic because Happyness is about a parent who definitely understands ... the importance of overt melodrama. Otherwise, it's Johnny and Keira (???) duking it out, another Dreamgirls battle in the making, and ... oh, Gerard Butler. He'll definitely win.

Breakthrough Performance: Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine, Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada, Jaden Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness, Justin Timberlake in Alpha Dog, Columbus Short in Stomp the Yard, Lena Headey for 300

This is the Smith that will win. Just picture how cute it will be.

It's an annual guilty pleasure that I always seem to enjoy: The MTV Movie Awards. (They're not as classy as The Oscars, but they're a lot more fun!) For the 16th annual awards show, a few changes are in store: A) Reality TV guru Mark Burnett has come on board as executive producer, B) the show will be broadcast live for the very first time, and C) freakishly funny female Sarah Silverman will be stepping in as host ... which means someone better be ready with that "bleep" button, because this gal can get pretty raunchy once in a while. (Just another reason I love 'er.)

Best known for her brazen-yet-brainy stand-up material and her willingness to get brutally "extreme" when she feels like it, Ms. Silverman isn't exactly what you'd call a movie star. (You'll probably remember her small-yet-memorable turns in flicks like School of Rock or, um, School for Scoundrels -- but my favorite Silverman segment comes during the opening of Chris McQuarrie's underrated The Way of the Gun. Rent it.) Her most recent movie was the concert flick Jesus is Magic, which has some really funny stuff in it. Actually, Silverman pops up on television more often than she does in multiplexes, but I don't think it matters. The gal's a perfect fit for the loosey-goosey MTV Movie Awards, which will air live on June 3 from L.A.'s Gibson Amphitheatre.