jennifer coolidge Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Pootie Tang, the hallucinatory story of a "musician/actor/folk hero of the ghetto" who literally speaks his own language, is like a secret handshake among a certain subset of film nerd. Yes, possibly the stoner kind, but not necessarily – it's just one of those movies where maybe you're out for a drink with someone you don't know that well and you drop a Pootie-ism ("I'm gonna sine your pitty on da runny kine!" or even a simple "Sadatay!") and the other person is like, "You like Pootie Tang? I love Pootie Tang!" And suddenly you've bonded as deeply as if you just found out you were born at the same hospital.

Pootie Tang, which was written and directed by Louis C.K. (whose writing for "The Chris Rock Show" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" earned him several Emmy nominations and who is also in The Invention of Lying), stars Lance Crouther as a sort of Ubermensch. He's a lady-killer whose magnetism makes women literally claw his clothes off. He fights evil with his awesome belt. He can sing, he can act, he hangs out with Missy Elliott, and he goes up against The Man who's trying to bring us all down, specifically by using Pootie's image to endorse products that would harm today's youth.

The movie is full of very funny people like Jennifer Coolidge, Andy Richter, David Cross, and naturally Chris Rock, but my favorite is Wanda Sykes, who plays Biggie Shorty. Biggie Shorty likes to wear outrageous outfits and matching wigs while jamming out to her headphones on the street, and she is madly in love with Pootie.

Although it doesn't open until next year, it appears that the viral marketing machine is already cranking away in the name of Gentlemen Broncos, with the appearance of this thorough website for the film's antagonist, Cluster Award-winning author Dr. Ronald Chevalier (Jemaine Clement, perhaps better known as one-half of New Zealand's fourth most popular folk parody duo, Flight of the Conchords).

In the provided videos and audio snippets, Clement portrays Chevalier as a third-rate Orson Scott Card with the voice of Orson Welles, and I've little trouble believing that he would both fit into the eccentric world of filmmaker Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) and lift a story from a young fan (Michael Angarano) out of desperation.

Also starring Sam Rockwell and Jennifer Coolidge, Broncos is currently in post-production, but given the rough timetable and unique pedigree at play, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we finally find out what the title means come Sundance next January ...

[Thanks to Matt Dentler for the heads-up.]

You know, they say that you shouldn't go into business with family and friends. Yet many people still do, and many people also begin to take the advice to heart sooner or later. But what about people you meet in a support group? That sounds totally rational, doesn't it? Let's take it a bit further -- imagine you go into business with strangers you know all have anger issues. It sounds like hell in real life, but may make for a funny film on the big screen.

Variety reports that Heather Graham, Jennifer Coolidge, Matthew Settle (the cool art dad from Gossip Girl), and Amber Heard have signed on to star in a new black dramedy called Ex-terminators, which was written by Suzanne Weinert, and will be the feature directorial debut for Scrubs helmer John Inwood. So yes, this film will focus on "three women who meet in an anger-management therapy group and decide to form a traditional business using very untraditional methods."

This is feeling like one of those projects that could very easily be good, and just as easily be stereotypical and over-the-top bad. Whichever it ends up being, I imagine it will have a healthy dose of quirk involved, considering all the time Inwood has spent on Scrubs. Production began last week in Austin.

Imagining the sort of roles Jennifer Coolidge takes on, from being a randy MILF in American Pie, to her wacky gigs with Christopher Guest, there's all sorts of ways you can imagine her tackling a film called Gentlemen Broncos. However, this is that kid writer movie, and The Hollywood Reporter posts that she's signed on to play the mom once again.

Word about the feature first broke in December, when it was announced that Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess would head back to high school for the film about a teen outcast who goes to a camp for writers and gets his fantasy novel, Yeast Lords, ripped off by a famous novelist, Ronald Chevalier. Then we got the first players -- Michael Angarano (Almost Famous, Sky High) signed on to play the geeky kid, Sam Rockwell grabbed a character in some "book-come-to-life sequences under two guises: one in the teen's story and one in the author's story," and Jemaine Clement took on the jerky, desperate-for-ideas author Chevalier. Now we've got Coolidge as Angarano's mom, and since the film is in production, I'd say casting is probably complete.

Between all the people involved, and the fact that Mike White is a producer, I imagine that this will be one sweet, geeky comedy.

When I first blogged about Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac hitting the road together in the new film Soul Men last September, I likened it to A Mighty Wind. Now they're getting one of the film's actors, some Hayes, and a bunch of musicians. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that the kooky Jennifer Coolidge and Isaac Hayes have signed on, along with Sean Hayes (that Will & Grace dude, not an Isaac relative). Also joining the mix are musician John Legend, Affion Crockett (Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins), Adam Herschman (Walk Hard), Fatso Fasano (Weeds), and Jackie Long (The Comebacks).

So, Jackson and Mac are former bandmates who have to reunite when their third, who will be played by Legend, passes away. "The pair fight with each other all the way across the country when they're forced to take a road trip together for a reunion concert." Coolidge will play Mac's love interest, Isaac will play himself in what I imagine will be some sort of short stint or cameo, and the other Hayes will take on the typical "obnoxious manager" role. As for the rest, there's no word on who they're playing.

The comedy is currently filming in Shreveport, Memphis, and LA, and producers are hoping to release this in October. So, what say you? Are you ready for a little male Soul?

I'm hardly describing Meet the Spartans as something to celebrate, at least on the grounds of the trailers -- leave Brittany alone, indeed. However, this week's unpreviewed satire represents the latest version of a film that's a gag, followed by a subsequent gag, followed by yet another gag, without any connective tissue. Now that they're so codified by sequels, it's hard to remember this kind of comedy as something that once seemed berserk and new. What did something like the Olsen and Johnson comedy Hellzapoppin' look like on its first go-round in 1941? Though it was a flop, It was influential, and for years it was synonymous for a certain kind of entertainment. As a kid I always heard my favorite show, TV's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In described as a new Hellzapoppin'. Watching R and M's shtick today proves it as mirthless as any of these Stupid Movie-style franchisees of today, though I sure hope to do an After Images column on The Maltese Bippy some time. For that matter, which came first, W. C. Field's 70 minute long dazzler Never Give A Sucker an Even Break or Hellzapoppin'? It's the same thing either way: performers in vain search of a plot decide to make the movie anyway.

There are a few animated movies on the way that I've been dying to see. One is Jackboots on Whitehall, which is challenging every last bit of my anxious patience, and the other is Anthony Leondis' Igor. Luckily enough, at least for the latter film, a release date has finally been set. Unfortunately -- it's almost a year from now -- October 24, 2008. But still, the film is on its way, and we're sure to see much more about it soon since The Hollywood Reporter has posted that the Weinstein Co. and Exodus Film Group have teamed up with CKE Restaurants for some greasy movie marketing.

CKE owns Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, and over 3,000 locations are going to participate in the usual throng of movie/food linkage. Igor will take part in Cool Kids Combos and "four custom-designed Igor premiums," as well as displays and an online campaign. But that's just the first step. Soon we'll also see the throng of action figures and play sets, plus nine Igor books. Basically, the crazy helper should be everywhere. To refresh your memory, Igor is a feature film based on a short, where a mad scientist's (Dr. Schadenfreude) assistant, Igor, aims to win the Evil Science Fair. The idea on it's own is brilliance, but the film boasts one heck of a voice lineup that includes John Cusack as Igor, Steve Buscemi as a lab rat named Scamper, Jennifer Coolidge as the village vixen named Jaclyn, Eddie Izzard as Schadenfreude, and John Cleese as a doc named Glickenstein.

Two of the best character actors currently working have just signed on for the road-trip comedy Say Hello to Stan Talmadge. Gary Cole will play Stan Talmadge, "an estranged ex-husband who tries to reunite his family with a cross-country motor-home trip to a "Family Feud"-style game show called "Beat Your Neighbor." Jennifer Coolidge will play (what else?) "his boozing, acid-tongued ex-wife." Also along for the ride are Stan's new wife, played by Half Nelson's Tina Holmes, and Talmadge's traumatized daughter, played by up-and-comer Agnes Bruckner. The film takes place in 1979 and the story will use a flashback structure. According to the movie's writer/director David Moreton (Edge of Seventeen), "Stan hopes that by getting his family on TV, it will make them a real family again."

Cole is probably best known for playing Bill Lumbergh in Office Space, one of My Favorite Comedy Villains. Coolidge caught the public's eye playing "Stifler's Mom" in American Pie, and has been a consistent highlight of Christopher Guest's movies. Her "humming" in A Mighty Wind kills me every time. Bruckner did strong work in the indie Blue Car, and was the lead in Lucky McKee's highly disappointing follow-up to May -- The Woods. Talmadge is described by producer Rob Aitro as "a charming indie in the tone of Little Miss Sunshine." At least they're acknowledging the similarities, this thing sounds pretty much like a carbon copy of LMS. I imagine we can expect a lot more of these "wacky dysfunctional family takes a road trip" movies after the smash success of Sunshine.

Well, when it comes to animation, voice actors are definitely out, to the chagrin of some popular voice actors like Billy West. As the years go by, Hollywood actors have waltzed in and whisked up the juicy roles, one by one, successfully taking over the biggest piece of the pie. There were the days when professional voices were big; then some stars took on a few key roles; and now, even the last-billed characters seem to be getting famous voices. Continuing with this new tradition, the upcoming CG tale Igor has added two more big names to its cast.

To get up to speed about this tale that takes place on Malaria, you can check out the Cinematical timeline. The news started way back in July of 2005, and continued through October of 2006. Based on a short film, the feature will follow a mad scientist's assistant who wants to win at an Evil Science Fair. Christian Slater is the assistant Igor, John Cleese and Jeremy Piven both voice doctors, Steve Buscemi is a lab rat and Molly Shannon is the giant monster named Eva, that Igor invented to win big at the Fair. As for the new names... Of course, no fairytale landscape is complete without a King, so Jay Leno will voice Malaria's Machiavellian ruler, King Malbert. And for the complete opposite of surprise casting, Jennifer Coolidge will bring life to a village vixen named Gretchen (although it says Sybil in some news clips) -- the girlfriend of Dr. Schadenfreude (Piven). At the very least, in a world where "Philosopher" becomes "Sorcerer" and "Minimoy" becomes "Invisibles," I'm glad that Igor isn't afraid of a little schadenfreude.