evan goldberg Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It was almost two years ago that we got a glimpse of a trailer for Jay and Seth vs The Apocalypse, starring Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel as two guys trapped together Odd Couple-style after an apocalyptic event. As it turned out, the whole thing was a calling card for the two comedians in hopes of landing a deal for the film, and thanks to Baruchel's and Rogen's ability to work their way up the Hollywood food chain, it worked. Mandate Pictures secured the rights last year, and now Baruchel has begun to hint at a start date. During an interview with MTV Baruchel told them, "'Jay and Seth' will at the very least happen in the next year and a half for sure,"

Baruchel also went on to say that Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg were already at work on the script. As part of their deal with Mandate, they even have final say on the story. But before you get too excited, keep in mind that Rogen still has to complete work on The Green Hornet and then it is going to be a toss-up between Jay and Seth and Baruchel's hockey flick, The Goon. As to be expected, Baruchel was relatively non-committal about which project would go in front of the cameras first, saying, "Whichever one is closer to going, we'll do." I know which one I'm voting for, how about you?

After the jump; the trailer that started it all, and some of my favorite end of the world comedies...

This next bit slides into the realm of TV Squad, but has enough cine cred to make it worthy: Variety reports that Seth Rogen isn't done with the world of pornography yet. After shacking up with Kevin Smith for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Rogen got inspired -- he is cooking up a porno-based comedy for Showtime with production partner Evan Goldberg.

Rather than delving into the woes of making rent, Rogen and Goldberg are developing a story about "three twentysomethings who learn about life and love while running a pornography shop." Oh, the romance of pornography -- flower and handholding on the backdrop of blowup dolls and mastubatory aids.

There's no word on when this could possibly get made, or who would star. All we know is that Rogen and Goldberg will act as executive producers. Seeing that Showtime also has Secret Diary of a Call Girl, I hope that the comedy will be balanced with smarts and modernity, rather than tired retreads of porn cliches, but we'll have to wait and see.

Are you ready for more widespread porno?

I predict that the news you are about to read will result in many people shocked, shocked! that someone would make a comedy about cancer. Even The Hollywood Reporter sounds a little uncertain about the news. But once you read the film's plot, I think you're going to see exactly what kind of movie this is.

Mandate Pictures has bought I'm With Cancer, an autobiographical comedy by Will Reiser. Seth Rogen, the busiest man in Hollywood, is set to costar and produce the film alongside his writing-producing partner Evan Goldberg and The Daily Show's Ben Karlin.

Reiser's script is based on his own battle with cancer, and is centered around an up-and-coming 25-year-old who discovers he has the disease. I think you know where this is going. This isn't going to be some spoof of serious illness, or run with the idea that coming down with cancer is funny. Cancer is going to be about a young man trying to deal with something that could kill him, finding the humor in hospital situations, and using it to stay sane. Laughter is the best medicine, and all that. Given that Reiser obviously conquered his disease to co-produce this movie, I bet it will even have a happy ending. You know what I'm also willing to bet on? Medicinal marijuana jokes. If there isn't at least one, I will eat this post.

(No, I'm not stoned. It's just that Pineapple Express opens today (8/6), but my review was published over a week ago. This reprint is brought to you by Cinematical's Recycling Division. We care about wasted bandwidth.)

I won't get into the precise reasons, but my friends always seem to think I'm going to LOVE the next big "pot comedy." They chuckle and assume such silly things despite the fact that the only real pothead comedies that I truly enjoy are Up in Smoke, Next Movie, and a large portion of the Harold & Kumar misadventures. Frankly I'm of the opinion that most pot comedies feel like they were written by someone very stoned, and let's just say that writers don't always do their best work when they're extra-baked. (They might THINK their stuff is hilarious, but usually it's not. That's just the weed talking.) Oh, you'll definitely find a few cannabis-caked giggles in Half-Baked, Grandma's Boy, and Smiley Face -- just not enough to sustain a whole movie, if it's me you're asking.

So it is with much pleasure, enthusiasm, and recently-applied Visine that I offer you Pineapple Express, which just may be the Casablanca of Pot Comedies. Or perhaps it's more like When Ultra-High Harry Met Super-Stoned Sally, but either way Pineapple Express showcases some of the funniest "weed culture" insights since the arrival of Richard Linklater's fantastic Dazed & Confused -- which I wouldn't call a full-bore "pot comedy," but it sure isn't shy about passing those joints around. Best of all, while Pineapple Express will absolutely appeal to both the casual and committed pot-smokers, it's also just a very funny buddy comedy / action flick parody that comes bearing the very unique stamp of director David Gordon Green.

About a year ago, a goofy trailer for what appeared to be a comedy short film appeared on YouTube. The movie it advertised was called Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse, and it starred Undeclared buds Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen as two schlubby guys dealing with a world ravaged by some sort of civilization-ending catastrophe. (You can still see the trailer here, though now I suspect it may disappear soon.) As best I can determine, the actual short film was never made available for public consumption, and maybe this is why: Mandate Pictures has bought the rights to make the short into a feature film with Rogen and Baruchel, to be shot next year.

The short was written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg who, of course, collaborated to bring us last year's Superbad. They'll be writing and producing the feature too, though no director is yet attached. (Judd Apatow's name is nowhere mentioned, and after seeing You Don't Mess with the Zohan, I kind of think it's just as well.) I wonder if this is something else the two cooked up as teenagers and are now seizing the opportunity to realize. It worked out pretty well last time.

The trailer is moderately funny, though you should probably use headphones if you're at work, or around kids, or something. The jokes aren't brilliant, but Rogen's delivery brings them pretty close.

It is indeed happening. Entertainment Weekly has reported that Seth Rogen's Green Hornet movie has the go-ahead, even down to its release date: June 25th, 2010.

Rogen is still set to star as Britt Reid, the bored newspaper publisher by day, crimefighter by night. He is also still writing the script with his partner, Evan Goldberg. But no director has yet been named, nor has Kato been cast. (If you remember, Rogen favors Stephen Chow. Sounds like he still does.)

Rogen's attachment to the project was reported a year ago, but given how many Green Hornet movies have fallen apart, I don't think anyone was holding their breath.
Were they? I mean, this was once a property attached to everyone from George Clooney to Jake Gyllenhaal. Kevin Smith spent years trying to develop it. Who knew Rogen would be the one to finally do it?

This news comes on the heels of CHUD's brief chat with Rogen, where he was saying the film still hadn't been green lit. He discussed the tone they were trying to set with the film -- it isn't going to be bumbling humor, and it will feature some serious action. Rogen and Goldberg are hoping the comedy comes from the unconventional relationship between the Hornet and Kato. Perhaps that will soothe the doubts of our readers, who were quite furious when the news broke. Have you become more reconciled to it, or are you still wishing for what could have been?

While I'm not willing to go into too many details about my personal habits, I will say that I do have an affinity for the so-called 'stoner movie' (well, at least the ones that try to portray smokers with just a modicum of reality). So with that in mind, you can guess why I am looking forward to the release of Pineapple Express -- the first poster of which has just hit the interwebs (check out the full size in the gallery below).

Seth Rogen stars as Dale Denton, a perpetually baked process server with a close relationship to his dealer, Saul (as played by James Franco). When Dale accidentally witnesses a murder, he and Saul are forced on the run from bad guys while suffering from the mother of all paranoid freak outs. Rosie Perez also stars as a crooked cop, and Gary Cole (aka Bill Lumbergh) as a drug lord.

We all know Judd Apatow and his crew had one heckuva 2007, but what does their 2008 look like? Well, the much buzzed-about Pineapple Express is beginning to show its face around these parts, and it's the face of green. Lots of green. Usually we'll get a trailer before a clip, but it seems like they're reversing that here as JoBlo has nabbed a pretty long clip from the film to get the party started. Also joining said clip is the film's first official still photo. In Pineapple Express, Seth Rogen and James Franco star as two potheads who run into all sorts of trouble when one (or both?) of them witness a cop commit murder.

The scene in question looks to be from the very beginning of the movie, or at least before all the action kicks in. Rogen shows up to Franco's house to buy some pot; they, in turn, talk about the different strands of pot for awhile before deciding to share this bizarre-looking airplane joint. The scene ends with a knock at the door. Franco, who we're used to seeing play "the hot stud" in most films, has taken on the stoner/dealer persona for this flick. He sort of reminds me of Brad Pitt's character from True Romance, to give you an idea. The scene itself isn't all that special, and it goes on for pretty long, but I've been hearing all sorts of great things about the film ... so we'll reserve judgment at this point. Here's what you've got as far as stats go: Superbad writers Rogen and Evan Goldberg penned the script, with story and producer credits from Judd Apatow, and David Gordon Green (of all people) directed. Check out the photo above and the clip over here. Pineapple Express is due out in theaters on August 8.

Seth Rogen. My earliest memory of Rogen had been his scene-stealing performance in The 40 Year-Old Virgin, until I looked at his resume -- he's had a lot of work over the years. There are roles in two great, yet ill-fated television shows, a stint as a bully in Donnie Darko, and time as the eager cameraman in Anchorman. Behind the scenes, Rogen even received an Emmy nod as part of the staff of Da Ali G Show.

Since then, the man has been up to his eyeballs as an executive producer, screenplay collaborator and actor. Now, Variety has announced that Columbia Pictures has attained the rights and recruited David Gordon Green to direct The Pineapple Express, written by Rogen and oft-writing partner Evan Goldberg. The comedy, which is about a pair of friends who get involved in a drug gang, will star Rogen, along with his old geek-co-star-turned-goblin, James Franco. Joined by Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson as producers, the film is set to enter production next year. According to Green, the project will give him a chance to "plant an absurd buddy comedy in a rough-and-tumble action movie."

It seems like these days, post-SNL collaborations are out, and post-Freaks and Geeks and Ali G collaborations are in. Rogen teamed with Apatow in Freaks, followed him to Undeclared, then teamed up with Goldberg on Ali G, acted with Apatow in Anchorman before again following him to Virgin. Now all three have teamed up in Superbad and Pineapple -- you get the picture. I can only hope that they continue to go strong, and don't beat themes to death until we wish they would fade away.

*EDIT: Thanks go to Chris for noticing and pointing out that it isn't "Rogan," but "Rogen"!