groundhog day Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Harold Ramis is the comedy writer and director everyone's cribbed from, from Sandler to Apatow. After leaving "Second City TV," Ramis went on to write, direct, and occasionally star in comedic touchstones like Animal House, Caddyshack, Stripes, Groundhog Day, and of course, Ghostbusters, which have starred a slew of loveable losers fighting to get their sh*t together in the army, on the golf course, or in the middle of a war with supernatural beings. After taking a few years off, Ramis is taking it back to the beginning with this summer's Year One, which stars Jack Black and Michael Cera as loveable loser cavemen who, when Black's Zed accidentally burns down the village, find themselves in the middle of a very familiar holy war. Read on and find out what the big daddy of buddy movies had to say about evolution and self-improvement, male full frontal nudity and the lack thereof, and what the heck is up with Ghostbusters 3.

Year One opens nationwide this Friday, June 19th.

Cinematical: How much more stressful is it to deal with marketing a summer blockbuster and competing with the other movies that are out?

Harold Ramis: You know, it's the same level of stress every time you make a movie, because you've pinned all your hopes and dreams on it and you've fantasized what success will be like, but at the time you can't escape fantasizing what failure will be like. [laughs]

I conceived this movie on a big scale, to do a Biblical epic comedy. I knew it was ambitious and when the studio said "Yes, we'll do it," and it became real, I thought, "Oh my God!" [laughs] It's one thing to fail small, but to make a big movie that doesn't work is so risky.

Terminator: Salvation hits theaters today and to commemorate that we're looking at films that veer into the fourth dimension (that's time for us non-technical folk). Time travel is a story device with all kind of possibilities built right in. If I could travel back to 2005 and locate Jennifer Aniston would I be able to convince her that making The Break-Up was a really bad idea? I can dream, can't I? Anyway, here are seven of my favorite time travel movies.

Back to the Future (1985)
Between constant reruns on basic cable and just being a pretty awesome flick is there anyone in this world who hasn't seen Back to the Future? Eccentric scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) while demonstrating his Delorean-mounted time machine sends Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) back to the 1950s. Marty's return to 1985 must be timed to the split second to coincide with a lightning bolt that will power the Delorean's Flux Capacitor, but in the meantime Marty disrupts the event that got his parents together thus threatening his very existence. Before he can return to his own time Marty needs to put his folks back on the path to marriage, put a bully in his place and invent the skateboard all set to the music of Huey Lewis and The News. This movie is just plain fun. The following year Lea Thompson who plays Marty's mom graduated from coming on to her own son to putting the moves on a cranky water fowl in Howard the Duck.

I've been meaning to promote both of these shiny new buckets of coolness for a couple days now, and I'm finally getting around to it now. First up, yours truly was a recent guest on the Film.com podcast, where I chatted up all things Superbowl trailers, summer movies and the future of film criticism with the very cool cats who run the show over in that neck of the woods. So if you want to kill time and have the desire to listen to my thick New Yawk accent for a little bit, I highly suggest you truck it on over to Film.com and give it a whirl.

Speaking of things you can listen to, our good friends over at Slashfilm recently recorded a commentary track for Groundhog Day ... alongside the very awesome character actor, Stephen Tobolowski, who played the annoying-but-lovable Ned Ryerson. And since there's got to be tons of you Groundhog Day fanatics out there (I'm totally one of them, so don't be afraid to pipe up), you'll want to sync this sucker up next time you're in the mood to chuck The Murray into your DVD player.

That's it, all done. I shall leave you with ... a scene.

This month has been absolutely dismal for new movie DVD releases. In revolt, I'm giving you two re-issues of great, classic flicks.

Groundhog Day -- 15th Anniversary Edition
It's hard to believe that this comedy came out 15 years ago. Coincidentally, it came at the end of Harold Ramis' 15-year reign in comedy -- starting with Animal House in 1978, and following with the likes of Meatballs, Caddyshack, Stripes, and Ghost Busters. Bill Murray stars as a weather man who was sent to cover the whole Groundhog Day phenomenon and finds himself in a time loop where he keeps living the same day over and over and over again. It could've been bland, as the man learns how to be a better person, but with Murray's exasperation and snark, it was a sweet and beloved comedy that's even ranked on IMDb's Top 250 Films (#184).

The DVD features imports from the last disc offered to fans, plus a featurette about Ramis' recollections about the film, deleted scenes, and a feature on the marmot.

DVD Particulars from Christopher Campbell | Buy the DVD


Monty Python's Life of Brian -- The Immaculate Edition
Ah, Monty Python. It's John Cleese before Wine for the Confused, Terry Gilliam before Parnassus, Eric Idle before Not the Messiah...you get the picture. One of the Python classics, which Idle's recent live performance piece comes from, Life of Brian handles the story of the Jew named Brian who is born in a stable right next to the big JC. Later, he joins the People's Front of Judea, gets in trouble, and gets out of it by faking religious chatter and becoming a reluctant, and cursed, Messiah. Graham Chapman's Brian, the classic and insidiously catchy "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" -- it's all good, even 29 years later.

The 2-disc edition holds a ton of features (both new perks and old ones from the Criterion edition) including -- an animated menu, deleted scenes, an hour-long documentary, 2 commentaries featuring the likes of Gilliam, Idle, Jones, Palin, AND Cleese, radio spots, and a script read-through from 1977.

DVD Particulars from Scott Weinberg | Buy the DVD


Other New DVD Releases (January 29)

El Cid -- 2-Disc Deluxe Edition or Collector's Edition
The Invasion
King of California
Trade
Bordertown
The Nines
Rocket Science
The Comebacks
Canvas

Check out Peter Martin's Indies on DVD for even more new releases.

On a day like today, when it's cold and hailing in the city, I wish that it was Groundhog Day already. I wish that little Punxsutawney Phil would come out, not see his shadow, and Springtime weather would be imminent. But it's not even technically winter yet, and so I'm just sitting here listening to the ice bricks hitting my porch, glad that I don't have to really leave my apartment today. Now all I need is a good movie to watch, and what better movie to watch when it's icy outside than Groundhog Day? Unfortunately, all we're stuck with currently is the same old special edition DVD version we've had for the last five years. Now I'm at least wishing that it was January 29, 2008, the date that a new 15th Anniversary edition of Groundhog Day comes out on disc.

Never mind that the fact Groundhog Day is 15 years old makes me feel old, this is exciting news. Groundhog Day is one of the best movies of the '90s, let alone best comedies of the '90s, let alone best Bill Murray comedies of the '90s. And this new DVD features some great bonus material, including "newly discovered" deleted scenes. I'm not one for always watching deleted scenes (they're cut out for a reason, right?), but I'll definitely be checking these out -- especially if they feature my beloved Stephen Tobolowsky. Also, director Harold Ramis has supervised a digital remaster of the film and recorded a commentary. And of course, it comes just in time for a marathon viewing (haven't you ever appropriately watched it on repeat for a whole day?) on Groundhog Day.

Jonathan Kesselman wrote and directed The Hebrew Hammer, a comedy about an Orthodox Jewish Blaxploitation hero (Adam Goldberg) who saves Hanukkah from the evil offspring of Santa Claus (Andy Dick). The film has become a cult favorite, and you should add it to your holiday viewing list this year. In addition to being a successful screenwriter, Jonathan teaches Writing Comedy for Film and Television at Yale University. He has some great tips for aspiring comedy writers.

Cinematical: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Jonathan Kesselman: I always loved writing. When I was in the 5th grade, I was pulled out of my class and put onto the 12th grade yearbook staff writing copy. For a while, I thought I wanted to be a journalist. In college, I majored in Psychology -- neuroscience was my field. I realized that I didn't like slicing rat brains. I remember really searching for what it was that I wanted to do with my life. And I had always been obsessed with movies. I remember having this existential crisis pre-graduation, and then seeing a documentary on Your Show of Shows, and it hit me that I was put on this earth to make fun of people.

Cinematical: So you threw the rat in the air triumphantly...

JK: I ate the rat -- tasty! Yeah, I graduated, and decided I wanted to go to film school. I eventually went to graduate school at USC for film production.

According to a report from Beyond Hollywood, Transformers star and (to borrow a phrase from their article) "uber-hottie" Megan Fox will be starring in the horror flick Half to Death. Apparently her experience working with director Michael Bay on the giant toy commercial/summer blockbuster robot slugfest was a positive one, as Bay is producing Half to Death. Directing will be Finnish helmer Antti Jokinen who, according to his IMDB entry, has mostly television work to his credit, and the production is being set up at Rogue Pictures. Former comic book writer Scott Lobdell, whose work has included stints on such Marvel Comics as Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four and Alpha Flight, will pen the screenplay, with shooting scheduled to begin in September.

The film is said to be a combination of Groundhog Day and Captivity, although since the latter failed to break $2 million on its opening weekend, Bay's PR people might want to rethink that one. The official synopsis says, "A young college freshman named Teresa is troubled when she discovers she is living the same day over and over again, one that starts out innocently enough but always ends with her brutal murder by an unknown attacker. Could the murderer be her boyfriend Gregory, who is also sleeping with Teresa's roommate Lori? Or could it be Lori, who is ferociously envious that Gregory might like Teresa more? Maybe it is one of Teresa's classmates, unable to get her attention? Perhaps one of her professors, who cannot consummate their passion for their top student? Or perhaps it's some secret Skull & Bones-type society, who picked Teresa for no good reason to be their ritualistic sacrifice?"

To give you an idea of how good this short film is, my best friend (who practically watches shorts for a living) had no problem declaring this to be one of his favorite short films of all time. And trust me, coming from him that's huge. For those of you who aren't yet familiar with Funny Or Die, it's a website that was started with help from Will Ferrell -- and since then, we've been lucky enough to watch a number of hilarious short films featuring Ferrell, his young daughter, his creative partner Adam McKay, Judd Apatow, Michael Cera and a number of other funny folks. Well now, Jason Biggs has joined the action in a film directed by Mike Samonek called The Glitch. It's truly one of the funniest shorts I've ever watched, and it also comes with its own teaser -- hosted by Biggs (everyone's favorite pie f**ker) -- which is equally as funny.

I don't want to ruin too much for you, but I will say that the short features Biggs as a guy who's out on a second date with a pretty girl. They're sitting in the middle of a restaurant, eating their meal, when she decides to pop the big question: "So, where do you see you and us going?" From there, let's just say it heads in a Groundhog Day direction and the comedy keeps building to a pretty hilarious conclusion. Although it's a tad too long (I believe it clocks in at around 10 minutes), there's definitely enough here to keep you laughing throughout. I've included both the teaser and the short after the jump, so definitely come back here after you watch and let me know what you think. Is Jason Biggs still worthy of the big-screen treatment, or was he just another flavor of the month? You be the judge.

Like a lot of people I know, one of my most favorite comedies of all time is Groundhog Day. It's a super cool high-concept idea (which is why some people have ripped if off since) that was perfectly executed with help from a classic performance given by the always-enjoyable Bill Murray. But it's been fourteen years since the original came out -- don't you think it's time for a remake? No? Well good, because they're not making one. However, they are taking the same exact concept and setting it in a high school -- an attempt, I imagine, to convince a younger generation that this is a hip, fresh idea. Based on a pitch from first-time feature scribe Flint Wainess, Monday Monday has been picked up by Disney with Adam Shankman (Hairspray) and Jennifer Gibgot attached to produce through their Offspring Entertainment. Shankman won't direct, but he'll help develop the pic along with Gibgot.

The alterations appear to be pretty subtle; most revolve around the main character who, instead of being a cold-hearted grump, will be a lovable neurotic teen who must relive his horrific first day of high school over and over again until he gets it right. Part of me could see this working if someone like Judd Apatow were involved, but since our family-friendly pals over at Disney got hold of it, I can't see them taking any big risks. Look for all the quintessential high school characters to show up (a jock, a pretty girl, a group of nerds and a teacher who may or may not help guide our hero through the tough times) and I'd expect Disney to pack this thing full of hot young talent with a soundtrack that's sure to include that hit 1966 song from The Mamas and the Papas. Are you humming it yet? Friggin' thing has been stuck in my head since I first read the Variety article. Damn you Mama! And Papa! No word yet on a cast or a director, though you should expect Groundhog Day: The High School Years to hit screens sometime next year.

If I were to tell you that Stephen Hawking was set to star in an IMAX film that's being described as "Groundhog Day meets Star Trek," would you think I was off my rocker a bit? Well, that's exactly what the world-renowned physicist plans to do, and production is currently in its early stages. Pic, called Beyond the Horizon, will focus on some of Hawking's own theories, most notably the big bang.

Hawking will star and narrate the film, which appears to have a pretty basic storyline. Apparently, a newspaper (which covers religious affairs) reporter (Lina Patel) approaches Hawking for an interview, as she's writing a story "about cosmology and the meaning of existence to commemorate the work of Albert Einstein and his special theory of relativity." Although at first a skeptic when it comes to stuff like the big bang, she will soon be seduced by Hawking's beliefs and, well, I'll leave the rest up to your imagination. Hawking is partnering with Leonard Mlodinow (fellow physicist and Star Trek writer) on the project which aims to "make Hawking and his wheelchair appear to come right out of the screen into the audience." Why do I find that image to be the slightest bit scary?

[via Kottke.org]