chris henchy Tagged Articles at Cinematical

You can't keep a spunky redhead down, even after she's confessed to being a shopaholic. After being unfairly painted as the poster child of conspicuous consumption, Isla Fisher has moved on and scored a one-two punch of comedies. Variety reports that Fisher has signed on to star and produce in Life Coach, and to star in an untitled romantic comedy for Universal.

Life Coach is centers on a woman who hires a (shocker!) life coach to sort her life out. In a twist of twists, the life coach is more messed up than she is. On the outside, it looks like it could be a very typical girl comedy (wacky job, problematic boyfriend, credit card debt), but it is being co-produced by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy, and is being penned by Liz`Cackowski and Maggie Carrey. I think it might actually be a little more offbeat and more along the lines of Funny or Die, and not fall into a romantic comedy trap. An actual comedy starring a woman would be a nice thing to find outside of television's 30 Rock.

The same probably can't be said for Fisher's other gig at Universal. The untitled romantic comedy is based on a French script titled Un Jour mes princes viendront (Some Day My Princes Will Come). Universal wouldn't reveal the plotline, but I'm making the wild guess that it involves a girl looking for Prince Charming, or even more than one Prince Charming. The script is being penned by Audrey Wells, who has made a recent specialty of plots centered around individuals trying to decide to navigate love and life. But there's always the possibility of being surprised by a hearts-and-flowers script, so I'll refrain from criticizing and hope that both scripts offer an opportunity for Fisher to shine as a comedic talent.

Everybody loves a package deal, right? It makes things much easier when you can buy a property kit and caboodle -- think of it as a cinematic value meal. Even though it may not be cheap, Will Ferrell and his comedy cohort Adam McKay are counting on the lure of star power to sell their latest comedy. Variety reports that McKay is currently shopping around an action-comedy titled The B Team with Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg attached as mismatched cops.

Not much is known about the story, but I think it's a safe bet to say it will be pretty much the same as most of the films that Ferrell and McKay have done together. B Team was scripted by Land of the Lost writer, Chris Henchy, who also serves as a producer on Wahlberg's Entourage -- which would probably explain how Wahlberg got involved.

So even though most people have started to lose patience with the duo of McKay and Ferrell, I still have hope that a few laughs will be had. To be honest with you, my only concern is the comedy stylings of one Mr. Mark Wahlberg. Other than a few brief moments here and there, Wahlberg has never really been intentionally funny. But I guess studios are going to have to pay, and pay big to find out. Mainly because the studio purchase pretty much means that the studio will be on the hook to make the flick no matter what. Ferrell and McKay are already working on Ferrell's one-man show about G.W. Bush's last night in office, You're Welcome America, but the two are expected to get to work on B Team this summer, with an eye on a 2010 release.

I don't know why I think of Ving Rhames as a tough guy dramatic actor first and a comedic actor second. Even his most iconic role, as Marcellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction, was simply a straight-played comic part. Throughout his career he's been in a lot of comedies, from the truly awful (Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot) to the near-perfect (Out of Sight). But I guess lately, aside from the recent I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, he's been pigeon-holed as best-suited for crime thrillers, prison dramas and well-produced horror films, with an occasional fun action pic like the Mission:Impossible movies. Personally, I'd love him to do another movie that mixes all those genres with a touch of comedy, a la the guilty pleasure Con-Air, but I'll settle for just a comedy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rhames has signed on to Paramount Vantage's The Goods: The Don Ready Story, which Monika told us recently will star Jeremy Piven as a used car salesman. Also joining the cast is Anchorman's David Koechner.

It wasn't mentioned what kind of characters Rhames and Koechner will be playing, but hopefully they're fellow used car salesmen working alongside Piven, who, more specifically, is a guy who must save the struggling dealership over a Fourth of July weekend. The most logical idea, though, is that whatever Rhames' role, he will be some combination of humor and muscle; the combination is one of the reasons that Rhames can do comedy and still retain his reputation as a bad ass, unlike some other people (please don't ever put Rhames in a babysitting comedy!). The comedy will be produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay via their new company Gary Sanchez Productions, along with Chris Henchy (Entourage) and Kevin Messick (A Lot Like Love). The script was written by Rick Stempson and Andy Stock, who also wrote the upcoming Seann William Scott movie Gary the Tennis Coach. It will be directed by Chappelle's Show actor/writer/director Neal Brennan.

Entourage writer/Brooke Shields hubby Chris Henchy just got a major promotion: He's been brought on board by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell as a senior producer for their Gary Sanchez Productions. (For the civilians among us, that means that he'll "help develop and produce projects" for the company.) While Henchy does have prior production experience, that experience is limited to television, where he has spent the bulk of his career. In addition to filling various producing capacities for Spin City (a secret guilty pleasure for me), Battery Park, Life with Bonnie and I'm with Her, Henchy also wrote for some of those shows before moving on to his current Entourage gig.

Prior to this deal, Henchy, McKay and Ferrell already had a professional connection: Henchy is writing the screenplay (his first work for the big screen) for Land of the Lost, a(nother) TV-show-turned-movie flick that McKay is directing, and in which Farrell is likely to star.