little big men Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's taken a few years and a few name changes, but Role Models -aka- Big Brothers -aka- Little Big Men is on its way, and MTV has posted the first series of shots (one of which you can see above), as well as the brand new trailer (see below). The film, which has slowly come together over the last few years, focuses on two partiers who get court-appointed community service which they have to complete as, fittingly, Big Brothers. You know, being a role model can help them get back on track themselves.

Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott are the men, while McLovin/Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Bobb'e J. Thompson are the lucky recipients of Rudd and Scott's efforts. Is it just me, or does McLovin look ridiculsouly young in the other images? Maybe it's the cape... I've little doubt that Rudd will be awesome, and this movie could be great. But what about Scott? Will this help refocus and fire up his career?

It's Monday, and we have a whole week of work ahead of us, as well as these casting bites, courtesy of Variety:

• Paz Vega, the brown-eyed Spanish beauty from Spanglish and Fade to Black, has found herself her next gig. Aside from The Spirit and The Six Wives of Henry Lefay, she will star opposite Simon Baker in the upcoming Not Forgotten -- replacing Jordana Brewster, who left the project. The film is about a couple (played by Baker and Vega) whose daughter is kidnapped, forcing them to face their troubled pasts and consult a Latina soothsayer.
• I have to say, any gig that isn't CSI: Miami, unless you have a weakness for all things seriously silly, is a step up, and Brooke Bloom is making one. Most recently, she popped up as a grocery shopper in The Brothers Solomon (along with other bites actor Johnson), and now she's joining He's Just Not That Into You. If you've followed Cinematical's coverage of the comedy, you'll remember that it's jam-packed with celebs from Jennifer Aniston to Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long to Ben Affleck. The best part for Bloom -- it's not some no-name part, but the role of Aniston's soon-to-be married sister.
  
• She played Myca in The Crow, was put on ice in Angel, got to be a Serpentine in Southland Tales, and now Chinese actress Bai Ling is going to delight in the joys of a Nevada brothel. She has signed on to co-star with Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci in Love Ranch. And it is, most definitely, a ranch of love, or at least, of sex. It sounds pretty goofy, like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, but is actually a drama about a couple who opened the first legal brothel in Nevada.
  
• This last casting bite is my favorite, or at least, it will be as long as Variety has a picture of Growing Pains alum Ashley Johnson up. She's not the star of this gig -- sorry Ashley fans -- it's African-American actress Nicole Randall Johnson -- Mad TV comedian, Louise in License to Wed, and the birthing instructor in The Brothers Solomon. She's now joined the cast of Little Big Men -- the new Ken Marino/David Wain flick starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott. While they act as Big Brothers, Johnson will play some woman named Karen.

Pictured Above: Augie (CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE), Danny (PAUL RUDD), Wheeler (SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT) and Ronnie (BOBB'E THOMPSON) in a comedy about two likable losers forced to do community service-Untitled Mentor Project.

As we told you earlier, Universal Pictures has released their upcoming 2008 film slate, including a ton of photos to go along with what looks to be a pretty solid list. Above you can check out the first image from the Untitled Mentor Project (aka Little Big Men on IMDb), starring Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, following up his superb debut as McLovin' in Superbad. Below, check out an image of Angelina Jolie from Clint Eastwood's The Changeling, which comes with the caption: "Christine Collins (ANGELINA JOLIE) is introduced to a boy claiming to be hers by Captain J.J. Jones (JEFFREY DONOVAN) in a provocative thriller that tells the shocking tale of a mother's quest to find her son, and those who won't stop until they silence her-Changeling, from director Clint Eastwood.

Lots more after the jump ...

Big Brother was supposed to start production in January of this year, at least, according to early reports when Seann William Scott was cast. But what movie ever sticks to a schedule? When Paul Rudd joined in December, production was pushed back to April. But as of September, McLovin -aka- Christopher Mintz-Plasse signed on and production still hadn't started. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Elizabeth Banks has also signed on, to play Rudd's girlfriend who gets him into the Big Brother program -- and, it's finally into production.

Unfortunately, it's still having name issues. First, it was Big Brother; then, it became Little Big Men, which wasn't so good as it sounds like some sort of orphan drama or something; now, it's currently an "untitled mentor project." I have to admit, I'm pretty psyched about this flick, mainly because it was written by The Ten's David Wain (who is also directing) and Ken Marino, along with Rudd. Between Marino's work as Vinnie Van Lowe, Rudd's involvement, and James Rocchi's great interview with Wain and Marino back in August, you couldn't keep me away from this picture. Now that they've finally begun shooting, maybe we can see this sucker some time in the new year.

He will always be "McLovin", but at least newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse has found another role to follow-up his hilarious debut in Superbad. The actor told Moviehole in an interview hat he has been cast in Little Big Men alongside comedy vets Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott. This is apparently the movie formerly known as Big Brothers, which was written by Timothy Dowling (George Lucas in Love) and which was to be directed by Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door). According to Mintz-Plasse, though, Little Big Men will now be helmed by Wet Hot American Summer and The Ten director David Wain. The movie's plot involves two wild and crazy guys who end up sentenced to community service in the form of the Big Brothers mentoring program. Why a judge would think a couple of party boys would be suitable mentors to kids is beyond me (the program does have very strict guidelines against drug users, and I'm sure these guys are probably potheads), but it should at least make for some funny situations.

It isn't clear what kind of role Mintz-Plasse will have (the mentored kid, perhaps?), but I see him having difficulty shedding his persona as Fogel/McLovin, which was so perfect I almost found the guy funnier than Michael Cera. The actor may end up like Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder, who similarly came on the scene with a quirky, imitable character and has had trouble finding another movie that audiences accept him in (he succeeded marginally by co-starring with Will Ferrell in Blades of Glory). Interestingly enough, Heder even played a Big Brother in School for Scoundrels -- at least, his character was in the program until being let go for being too much of a loser. If Mintz-Plasse can join the ranks of Wain's usual crop of collaborators -- which spans the State/Stella/Reno 911! crowd and the Apatow/Stiller "Frat Pack" group -- then he should be able to make a decent career for himself.