When you're the producer/director of a movie that's been widely reported as wildly over-budget, you're going to get a little testy when the release date starts to roll around. But according to Nikki Finke, Evan Almighty maker Tom Shadyac recently through threw a mega-nasty hissy fit during a meeting of Universal execs and marketing folks. The director's main gripe seems to be that Uni is scrimping on the TV advertising on Evan in a way to save some of the money that was tossed into a flick that (some say) cost over $200 million.

"I'm not seeing any ads, and I don't know why. I'm not getting answers. People are giving me information that isn't true ... I'm only hearing about all the other summer movies, and nothing about mine," is what Mr. Shadyac complained about, according to Ms. Finke's unnamed source. The filmmaker even went as far as firing his long-time marketing consultants over the issue. Sounds to me like someone's getting his "this is why the movie flopped" excuses ready.

Tom Shadyac's other movies include Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor, Liar Liar, Patch Adams, Dragonfly and Bruce Almighty. Evan Almighty, which stars Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham and more CGI animals than you've ever seen before, opens on June 22.

Now here's a trivial yet strangely amusing piece of non-news: While doing a radio show in Toronto, Monty Python veteran Eric Idle expressed some serious umbrage regarding the usage of the old "coconuts" joke in Shrek the Third. (Anyone who's seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail knows the coconut gag, and if you haven't, well, I'm not explaining it to you because I think it's freakin' shameless that you're old enough to read and still haven't seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail.) What's particularly weird is that, um, Eric Idle is IN Shrek the Third! And so is fellow Python John Cleese! Well, their voices are, anyway.

Here's part of what Mr. Idle said on Toronto's Mix FM: "...there it is in the first 30 seconds -- you go -- wait a minute, John [Cleese] and I are in this film and you steal our joke? Um, I don't know how the others are going to take to this ... I hope they (Dreamworks) cleared it with them -- the first I saw it was in the premiere -- and I was SHOCKED -- my whole family went WHAT! How dare you! So I walked out -- calmed down -- and walked back in -- but I was shocked and I think if you steal peoples jokes, I don't think that's homage, I think that's theft." And then over at Canada.com we get this quote from Idle: "It's been stolen patently by Shrek [the Third] I'm happy to say, so we'll be able to sue their asses." Damn Eric, that's cold. DreamWorks probably just gave you one of your career's easiest paychecks, man!

Just a few days ago we learned that a new rendition of John Carpenter's Escape from New York was in the planning stages, and also that 300 star Gerard Butler had been tapped to play the role of legendary bad-ass Snake Plissken. (Then we heard that the project might be more of a prequel than a remake, but who really knows at this point?) Either way the thing is definitely moving forward, much to the apparent chagrin of the original Snake Plissken.

"I will say that when I was told who was going to play Snake Plissken, my initial reaction was 'Oh, man!' [Russell winces]. I do think that character was quintessentially one thing. And that is, American," is what Kurt Rusell recently told Entertainment Weekly. Ouch. See, I never really got much of the "patriotism" vibe from the Plissken character ... and I've seen Escape from New York about a dozen times. (Plus, doesn't he end the movie sort of dooming America to a new stone age?) The actor also insists that he "created" Snake Plissken, despite the fact that the screenwriting credits on Escape from New York belong to John Carpenter and Nick Castle. Not knocking the guy's cult classic performance, but ... created? C'mon, Kurt, chill out a little.

But it gets a bit zanier. Russell, an actor I've always admired and still do, also got a little snippy while discussing the possibility of a cameo appearance: "(Expletive) that! I am Snake Plissken! It's like Sean Connery always watching someone else do their version of Bond." Really, Kurt? One kitschy masterpiece and a really lame sequel are the same as, say, Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Thunderball and Goldfinger? I mean, if you felt such a connection to the character, then why didn't you and Carpenter come up with a few new ideas every few years? (Oh, how I've tried to enjoy Escape from L.A. I really have.) I don't care if he's being a bit short-sighted on this one. Kurt Russell is still the man. I bet he could beat up Chuck Norris.