jack black Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Michael Cera and Jack Black Talk About Going To 'Year One'
Filed under: Comedy », New Releases », Sony », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Summer Movies »
The buzz might be mixed on this weekend's primitive buddy comedy Year One, but the combination of Jack Black and Michael Cera is a pretty irresistible one on-screen and off. Our friends at Moviefone caught up with the comedic duo, who were more than happy to talk about getting back to their prehistorical roots (both in the acting and follical sense of the word), define bromance, rip on each other's bad breath, and update us on the Arrested Development movie, School of Rock 2, and whether or not either of them will be doing some ghostbusting. From the sound of it, neither actor really enjoyed being a caveman thanks to feathery wigs that just never stay out of your lunch (welcome to the fun of long hair, boys!), and the close encounters with bodily excrement. When asked what time period they'd like to return to, both opted for eras of a little more refinement:
If you guys could live during any time throughout the course of history, when would it be?
Black: My favorite time in history ... the Renaissance.
Cera: I would say ... the '30s. The 1930s.
Black: The '30s? Wait, isn't that the Depression?
Cera: Like '33, that was a great age.
Black: Come on, the Renaissance! Haven't you ever been to the Renaissance fair? Don't you wish that was real life? A little mead, a little roast ...
That knowledge undoes everything girls have been taught about men! I mean, for years girls have labored under the delusion that you wanted to return to the simpler days of hunting with spears, and cooking by fire. If you prefer civilization then please, start up some petitions or websites or something to set the record straighter ...
Review: Year One
Filed under: Comedy », New Releases », Sony », Theatrical Reviews », New in Theaters »

Harold Ramis has worked in comedy a long time, and his career has taken many directions. With his work on the Ghostbusters (1984) script and his straight-man performance in the film, he managed to allow Bill Murray room to move and riff within the confines of a visual effects-heavy summer blockbuster. As for the meticulously crafted classic Groundhog Day (1993), I hesitate to call any movie "perfect," but it comes close. But then there were phoned-in hits like Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002) that seemed too tightly wound and too slavishly dependent on plot to be very funny.
Ramis' new film Year One, on the other hand, comes closer to the spirit of his directorial debut Caddyshack (1980). I'm not saying it's quite as funny or as brilliant, but it's in the same spirit. It cares thankfully little about its plot or its character arcs, or historical accuracy; it's a bit flabby and careless, but it's also gleefully stupid, and it has the ability to knock you off guard and make you giggle helplessly.
Interview: 'Year One' Director Harold Ramis
Filed under: Comedy », Sony », Fandom », New in Theaters », Interviews », Summer Movies »
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.
'Heavy Metal' Gets Heavier with Fincher, Cameron, and Verbinski
Filed under: RumorMonger »
Film School Rejects is reporting that Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has spilled some major beans on the remake of Heavy Metal, the totally over-the-top 1981 sci-fi flick full of boobies, violence, and, some might say, awesomeness.Eastman wrote Heavy Metal 2000, which stars former Penthouse Pet Julie Strain, who is also, incidentally, Eastman's ex-wife. She also voiced Heavy Metal 2000 and starred in the Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 video game. Eastman told FSR,
"I've got breaking news that Fincher and James Cameron are going to be co-executive Producers on the film. Fincher will direct one. Cameron will direct one. Zack Snyder is going to direct one and Gore Verbinski is going to. Mark Osborne and Jack Black from Tenacious D are going to do a comedy segment for the film. Three other directors have agreed but we haven't signed them, but they're equally as jaw-dropping. So we're on cloud nine to be working with such an amazing amount of talent."
Will Heavy Metal benefit from a high-tech remake? Or was part of its appeal the cheesiness of the original? More importantly, will Dio have a part in the Tenacious D segment?
DreamWorks Announces Upcoming Animation Slate
DreamWorks Animation has gone 3-D wacky, announcing eight upcoming animated flicks in various stages of production.Variety reports that CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will show investors the DWA schedule in New York this week, as part of their new plan to release five new features every two years.
Considering that Monsters vs. Aliens was the company's only 2009 release, that's a pretty ambitious goal. And like fellow studios Pixar, Buena Vista, Fox, et al, DreamWorks is throwing all their money at 3-D features for the next few years.
The current DreamWorks Animation schedule is as follows:
How to Train Your Dragon (March 26, 2010) -- Based on the kids' book by British author Cressida Cowell, the comedy focuses on a young Viking lad named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), son of chieftain Stoic the Vast (Gerard Butler), who must train a tiny, toothless dragon as a rite of passage. It also features Jonah Hill and America Ferrera.
Shrek Forever After (May 21, 2010) -- Hey look, another Shrek sequel. Well, you can't blame DWA for squeezing every penny from their most profitable franchise. The title appears to be inspired, in fact, by the "Shrek Ever After" toy line that came out in 2008, which isn't a great sign (it was originally titled Shrek Goes Fourth, and the very fact that it was clever obviously meant that it needed to be dumbed down.) Mike Myers returns as Shrek, who's been tricked by Rumpelstiltskin (Paul McCartney) into visiting a bizarro-Shrek world in which ogres are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin is king, and Shrek's never met Fiona. All -- and I mean all -- of the primary actors from the previous films return, making for one seriously crowded story.
Cinematical Visits The Set of 'Year One' -- Part One
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Summer Movies »

Last year Cinematical had a chance to visit the set of this summer's Year One, and to be quite honest it was unlike any set I'd been to before. All I knew going in was that Harold Ramis was directing some sort of biblical comedy with Michael Cera and Jack Black, and it was filming in Shreveport, Louisiana. "Cool!", I thought -- "Shreveport rocks like a pint of hardcore!", I shouted as I stepped off the plane. All kidding aside, what I soon realized was that Shreveport had become its own mini Hollywood thanks to fabulous tax incentives, and a number of different movies were shooting there (according to my cab driver, who also knew where to score some fabulous crawfish).
Soon after I arrived, myself and a group of other notable professionals from other websites that aren't as awesome as Cinematical shipped off to what I can only describe as a giant city in the middle of "Where the hell are we?" Turns out the Year One production crew had taken five whole acres and built the ancient city of Sodom, complete with royal chambers, massive courtyard, stores, roads, caves and tons of little nooks and crannies. You can see part of the main courtyard -- where they built this giant tower -- in the image above. And see those costumes all the extras are wearing? Yup, guess who had to throw one of those on as soon as he got there? I'll show you a couple of pictures after the jump -- in the meantime, check out this clip from the film below.
Jack Black and Michael Cera Are Proud Parents
Filed under: Awards », Fandom », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
The Oscars may be the most prestigious show in town, but for the average moviegoer the MTV Movie Awards probably resonate with their tastes a heck of a lot more. Sure, they have stupid categories like 'Best WTF Moment' and 'Best Fight', but that's what sets them apart from the other award shows -- and just because it isn't necessarily the classiest show doesn't mean you won't have a good time. Looking to capitalize on a little reciprocal publicity for their new comedy, Year One, Michael Cera and Jack Black joined MTV's newly announced host Andy Samberg in a new commercial for the award show this May. The ad is pretty much what you would expect from the minds of a member of The Lonely Island, the king of awkward delivery, and a merry prankster like Black. It's silly and kind of strange, but the same could be said for most of the comedy these three guys produce. Black and Cera fill in as proud parents in their rec room talking up their 'little boy' Andy -- it might be nonsensical, but more importantly, it's also kind of funny.
Even though some of us have reservations about Andy Samberg's hosting skills (I think he'll be a little awkward), I'm sure things will turn out just fine -- after all, the guy has lined up plenty of 'comedy connections' like Will Arnett and Rashida Jones to help him out. One thing's for sure: it couldn't get much worse than the year Jessica Alba hosted.
The MTV Movie Awards will air on Sunday, May 31st, and if your appetite has been whet for more Black and Cera, Year One hits theaters on June 19, 2009.
'Year One' Gets Its PG-13
Filed under: Comedy », Distribution », Movie Marketing », Summer Movies »
There's been a flurry of activity this week around Year One, the Harold Ramis-directed and Judd Apatow-produced comedy starring Jack Black and Michael Cera as a pair of shiftless cavemen on a epic journey. (To see the film's kinda funny trailer, mosey on over here.) Some time ago, the MPAA awarded the film an R rating -- something that neither Harold Ramis, Judd Apatow, Michael Cera nor Jack Black are strangers to. This Tuesday, Sony appealed, hoping to get a PG-13 without making any cuts to the film, but the MPAA stuck to the R, prompting many of the internet usual suspects to speculate that Sony would give in and release the film with the tougher rating. It wouldn't have surprised me -- Apatow has plenty of clout, and a great track record with R-rated comedies; the same, to a lesser extent, goes for Ramis. But no: Sony made cuts to the film, and merely two days after the appeal ruling, Year One is rated PG-13 "for crude and sexual content throughout, brief strong language and comic violence."
'Year One' Gets a Proper Trailer
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Trailer Trash », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
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I wasn't crazy about the Superbowl ad for Year One because it's tough to sell biblical comedy in 30 seconds to a Superbowl audience overdosing on hot wings and testosterone. But now Sony has released a proper full-length trailer for the film (watch below or over on Yahoo), and I dig it. But look, I'll be completely honest with you and say that I don't know how well biblical comedy will sell to today's one-fart-joke-per-minute audience. I personally find this stuff hilarious; I visited this set, I know the movie and I think it will totally entertain. But will the Superbad kids get this humor? And do they need to in order to enjoy the film?
Based on the trailer, it looks like the biblical jokes will be there for those who want them, but other than that it seems like a straight-up fish-out-of-water comedy with two guys who know what they're doing -- who know how to get the laughs. Plus director Harold Ramis stacked this puppy with tons of cameos, and so I feel there will be enough here for the old-schoolers and the new-schoolers. This should be an interesting film to watch; definitely the riskiest to come out of the Apatow camp. Year One hits on June 19.
But what do you think?
Superbowl Spots: 'Year One', 'Land of the Lost', Pixar's 'Up' and More!
Filed under: Action », Fandom », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
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Tomorrow's much-anticipated Superbowl movie trailers are beginning to arrive online, with G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra and Race to Witch Mountain landing earlier today (and yesterday), and now we have new previews for Year One, Land of the Lost and Pixar's Up. First we have Year One, which I don't believe is a Superbowl spot because it's over two minutes long -- but it's definitely our first look at the flick, which stars Jack Black and Michael Cera as a couple of moronic hunter/gatherer's living during biblical times. Watch as both Black and Cera stumble across two legendary feuding brothers, played by David Cross and Paul Rudd. Produced by Judd Apatow, and directed by Harold Ramis, Year One hits theaters on June 19.
And the actual 60-second spot is here
Next we have Land of the Lost, starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel. Based on the classic TV show, Ferrell plays a scientist who's sucked back through time and into some alternate universe where all sorts of funky creatures reside. Personally, I think this one looks real fun -- c'mon, Ferrell and McBride together on screen can only produce awesomeness times twelve. It's in the rule book! Land of the Lost hits theaters on June 5.









