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In the new film Funny People, comedian Adam Sandler plays an actor remarkably similar to, well, Adam Sandler. His character, George Simmons, is a former stand-up comic who's become obscenely wealthy and famous through a series of patently terrible films with titles like Merman and Dog's Best Friend (Erik Davis wrote about these movies-within-the-movie and shared clips -- check it out here). Now a little older and trying to beat a possibly fatal medical condition, Simmons takes a new look at his life -- including the crappy but wildly popular movies that made him a star.

The fake movies are truly awful. But not any worse than some of abysmal actual movies made by Sandler himself, like Little Nicky, Eight Crazy Nights, Mr. Deeds, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, etc. Since the character is so baldly modeled on Sandler, one can't help but wonder what he thinks about the parodies that he helped to create, to make fun of his own career.

We've got about a million comedies out there where the mother-in-law makes trouble -- those sinister, trouble-making older women -- especially the moms of the grooms, who go on to terrorize the brides to be. It's pretty much a cinematic wedding staple by this point. However, it looks like things are switching up a bit for the new comedy I Hate You, Dad.

Variety reports that Columbia Pictures has picked up David Caspe's comic pitch, which focuses on a couple who are about to get married when the dad of the groom moves in, for whatever reason. As soon as he does, he "promptly begins feuding with the bride-to-be." Super fun!

There's lots of way this project can go, but I'm not too optimistic considering the fact that Happy Madison is producing it. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Kevin James, Adam Sandler, or both of them will be in it, considering the last handful of HM movies to hit the screen. If not, there's sure to be at least a few other Sandler buddies in the mix somehow.

It hasn't even been a month since it was announced that the fake gay fireman King of Queens, Kevin James, was going to write, produce, and star in an upcoming comedy called Mall Cop. The comedy is about a "mild-mannered security guard thrust into action when his mall is taken over by highly organized thieves." James has written an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, as well as a bunch of eps for his own show, but this is his first feature -- and it looks like it hit a little bit of a snag. Variety reports that Steve Pink has been picked to "pen a draft" of the Happy Madison/Columbia film.

Sure, scripts get re-written all the time, but I wonder how this will work when they get the new script back, rather than a plain spruce, since James is both starring and producing as well. Will he accept Pink's draft as is? Will this become a big back-and-forth deal? He's the guy delivering the lines, after all. But they won't have long to finalize this -- assuming that the strike still happens next summer, the plan is to start production this Spring and get it wrapped beforehand.

The good news in this -- Pink hit it out of the ballpark with his first two screenplays -- John Cusack's Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity. He hasn't put another out since -- although he is in line for Fletch Won and The Prom. He has, however, kept busy with other projects, such as helming the Justin Long comedy, Accepted. They haven't picked a director yet, so I wouldn't be surprised if he signs on for that as well. Excited yet? I know I am ... well, not really.

Confession time: When I was young, like 10 or so, I had a very vivid imagination. Sometimes, when I couldn't sleep at night (and this is before girls entered the picture, just so you know) I'd imagine myself in ridiculous situations where, ultimately, I could save the day. Since I was always at the mall (big shout out to the Staten Island Mall -- holla!), occasionally I'd concoct a day-dream that involved armed men taking over the mall, with me as the only one who could put a stop to it. I know, I was 10 -- what can I say? Don't you love these little personal stories? Anyway, Kevin James somehow snuck into my dreams and decided to turn them into a feature-length movie. Damn him!

Variety reports that James will write, produce and star in a comedy called Mall Cop. And if you paid any attention to my previous paragraph, you probably already know what it's about. Yup, James will play a mild-mannered security guard who's forced to take action when a group of organized thieves take over his mall. Look for plenty of product placement and mall cop jokes to ensue. Columbia Pictures will shovel this one out, with Happy Madison producing -- which means, yes, Rob Schneider will most likely show up in some capacity. While I like James, he still hasn't convinced me he can hold down an entire film by himself. But it's an idea that has potential, so we'll see where they go with it. No director, cast, production schedule or random Adam Sandler cameo has been announced at this time.

Her name has been circling a bunch of projects as of late, but it seems American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee has finally landed her first studio acting role (after already landing a part in the indie dark comedy The Last Caller). Take that Taylor Hicks! Mcphee has signed to star alongside Anna Faris in the untitled Happy Madison sorority flick we told you about recently. Columbia Pictures will distribute. Also joining the first female-driven comedy from Adam Sandler's shingle are Emma Stone, Rumer Willis, Kat Dennings and Dana Goodman. Fred Wolf will direct off a script penned by the Legally Blonde duo of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. Story follows a Playboy bunny (Faris) who gets kicked out of the Playboy Mansion and settles into a role as house mother to the "lamest sorority on campus." I'm not exactly sure how one goes from Playboy Mansion to lame sorority house without at least stopping by Brett Ratner's casting couch first, but I guess we're supposed to suspend our disbelief a bit here.

Mcphee, for her first major role, will be playing a pregnant hippy. A pregnant sorority hippy, that is. Stone will act as the sorority's president, while Willis will play an insecure girl who wears an unnecessary backbrace, Dennings will show up as the token feminist (piercings included) and Goodman will take on the role of a girl who should have graduated years ago if she didn't constantly keep changing her major. (Hey, my best friend did that!) Like with most college comedies, there will be an evil, popular sorority -- and Sarah Wright has signed on to star as a conniving hottie from the other side. Shooting is set to begin later this month in Los Angeles. Personally, I'm just curious to see a female-centric Happy Madison flick. Since they're known for producing silly male-orientated films (mostly starring Sandler or one of his many pals), I wonder how this one will play out. Faris has potential if she's given the right material (a bit over-the-top in Just Friends, but I dug her), but I imagine the premise will rely on how "lame" they can make the rest of the cast, Mcphee included.

Columnist turned author Mitch Albom is about to add another title to his resumé: that of screenwriter. (OK, he adapted a few of his books for television but I'm talking about screenwriting) According to Variety, Adam Sandler's Happy Madison shingle has bought a baseball-related pitch from the author ... and yes, the project is being set up by Sony as a vehicle for Mr. Sandler. Because he hasn't done enough sports comedies yet. (Nothing against Sandler, but he hasn't made a funny movie since The Wedding Singer, if it's me you're asking.)

Described as a "comedy with emotional elements set in the world of baseball," the as-yet-untitled film will mark the very first collaboration between the author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie and the star of Big Daddy, Little Nicky and Anger Management. Can't wait for those "emotional elements." If Click taught us anything, it's that Sandler and "emotional elements" are a really effective combination. For torture.

So let's take some bets: Who thinks the movie will be about an aging bench-player who gets one last shot at stardom? Or maybe it's about a harried dad who begrudgingly takes a job as his son's little league coach ... only to learn several valuable lessons. Oh, I know! A selfish superstar gets bopped on the head during batting practice and starts being really nice to everyone. Sandler + Albom + Baseball = This stuff writes itself.

Calm down there guys, her career hasn't tanked enough for Anna Faris to begin entertaining the same ideas you were entertaining after reading the title of this post. Nope, instead, Faris will star in an untitled college campus comedy for Columbia Pictures and Happy Madison. And, in the pic, she'll play an ex-Playboy bunny who packs her bags and moves into the lamest sorority house on campus in an attempt to make this group of girl nerds more popular. I imagine it will be something like Ferris Bueller meets Revenge of the Nerds ... except with females. Perhaps we can call it Van Wilder 3: The One Where Anna Faris Shows Up to Deliver One or Two Laughs?

Penned by Legally Blonde (and She's the Man, and Ella Enchanted, and ... do you a spot a theme yet?) scribes Karen McCullah Lutz and Kristen Smith, pic looks to be another female-centric fish-out-of-water comedy and should fit right in alongside Lutz and Smith's other films. Granted, it doesn't appear to be the most mouth-watering concept, but I can see it having potential. Lutz and Smith know how to write entertaining comedy for a mass audience, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the least bit interested in a Revenge of the Nerds-type reversal. Only problem is can they find a group of Hollywood actresses who can play "lame?" We already know there's plenty of dorky guys out there, but there aren't many recent films that feature an abundance of nerd-ish girls. Who would you cast? (Here's where someone will inevitably say, "Well, they already cast their first lame actress -- Anna Faris!")

I'm not sure if this is news that you want to hear, but it's time for another David Spade movie. While the man has had more post-SNL luck than some, that's more due to volume than quality. He just isn't the same without Chris Farley. Nevertheless, his career moves onward, and of course, it helps to have the backing of Happy Madison, Adam Sandler's production company -- they seem to be in the business of keeping SNL alum's careers afloat.

The film, which Spade will write with Fred Wolf, has been picked up by Columbia Pictures. It will cover one weekend at a public park, where three families get involved in a turf battle to snare the same camping spot. It sounds like a cross between If This is It and Beat It, but maybe that's just me. The pair co-wrote Dickie Roberts and Joe Dirt, if that gives you an idea about what to expect. However, there is some promise with the inclusion of Chris Rock as Spade's co-star. Sure, the man was involved with Pootie Tang, but he's also done Dogma and has that popular sitcom. Then again, I think I'm just trying to find the good in this news.

Yesterday, Cinematical's own Mark Beall went off on Adam Sandler a bit, going so far as to say, "there's only so long a grown man can talk like a seven year old before it ceases being funny and becomes irritating -- about ten minutes, really." While I expected a bunch of you to immediately jump all over Mark, surprisingly, most agreed with his opinion. You're tired of Sandler's shtick, and some probably wish he would use that mysterious remote control found in Click to just turn himself off.

Unfortunately, that's not going to happen anytime soon, as Sandler's Happy Madison will help produce and adapt Dan Zevin's memoir The Day I Turned Uncool: Confessions of a Reluctant Grown-Up for Paramount Pictures. And, of course, folks are leaning towards shoving Sandler into the lead role. Through 24 chapters (dubbed confessions), memoir chronicles one man's slow journey into adulthood. One reviewer described Uncool as taking a "sentimental first-person approach to suburban adult dilemmas such as wine tastings, lawn care, the starter home and the contrast between the freewheeling college semester abroad and the fearful, sensible 30-something European vacation."

Seeing as I sort of enjoyed Sandler's performance in Spanglish and loved him in Punch Drunk Love, I know the dude has it in him to really entertain us -- ya know, if he stops putting himself in such cheesy roles. This particular project sounds like a lot of fun, and it could potentially be a great starring vehicle for Sandler, assuming he doesn't twist it around and go the silly route. What do you think? Does the guy deserve another chance.

Odds and ends from Thursday:

• After already lending their voices to the animated short film Igor: Unholy Frijoles, Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater and John Cleese have signed on to reprise their roles for the feature film based on the same character. This past winter, The Weinstein Co. picked up all North American distribution rights for the animated film which follows the hunchbacked lab assistant of a mad scientist who dreams of winning the Evil Scientist Fair. Slater will, once again, voice the lead role of Igor, with Buscemi playing an intelligent, sarcastic lab rabbit and Cleese taking on Igor's evil master.
• New Line is attempting to pump some life back into its remake of the classic 1940 comedy, I Love You Again. The original, which starred Myrna Loy and William Powell, tells the story of a business man who, after building a nice life for himself, realizes he's been suffering from amnesia for the past seven years and used to be a con man. Studio has now tapped the writing team of Bob Hilgenberg and Rob Muir to pen the script, after striking a deal for the remake back in 2004 and assigning it to scribe Andrew Bergman. With Adam Sandler's Happy Madison involved, unfortunately, I'd look for Rob Schneider's name to pop up soon.
• The always reliable, yet often spooky John Malkovich will star alongside Jeremy Sisto in Gardens of the Night, to be directed by Damian Harris. Pic will delve deep into the world of child abduction following an 8-year-old boy and girl who are taken from their homes and told their families do not want them anymore. After being held hostage for nine years, the two are suddenly set free and must find a way to survive on the streets. Production will begin next month in San Diego and Los Angeles.