neil patrick harris Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Hugh Jackman Not Hosting Oscars, Neil Patrick Harris Now Rumored
Filed under: Awards », Newsstand », Home Entertainment », Oscar Watch »
As award show devotees know, the Academy is always trying to make the Oscars more fun for the viewers at home. This year it seems as though the pre-show hype is starting earlier than usual, particularly with the noise surrounding Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman stepping on board as producers. But they may be one step behind, as the Oscars have already become a little less handsome, a little less musical, and a little less Emmy-winning than last year. Because Hugh Jackman won't be returning as host.No, it's not an epic snub, or retaliation for being so darn good at everything. Variety reports that Jackman "quietly turned down the job" a few weeks ago. The reason is simply that he wants some time off in between A Steady Rain and production on Shawn Levy's Real Steel. Reportedly, he really does want to host the show again, but he didn't want to do it two years in a row. That's a showman for you. Give them just enough to have them wanting more, and avoid wearing out your welcome.
In my humble opinion, Jackman left some very dashing shoes to fill. Personally, I think Shankman should see this as the start of a new tradition, avoid a comedian, and pick the Tony-hosting Neil Patrick Harris (who's already rumored to be eying the gig). The Oscars are supposed to be all about Hollywood glamour, and what better way to celebrate that then to go old-school and musical? I'll take a jolly musical number over painful attempts to be political and relevant. What about you? What host can make the Oscars worth your while?
NPH Grabs Two New Gigs and One Starring Role!
Filed under: Comedy », Horror », Casting »
It's about time. After pulling off one hell of a comeback, shedding Doogie Howser, and becoming the bad, lascivious thorn in Harold and Kumar's side, then kicking butt as all things evil in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Neil Patrick Harris is finally getting a starring feature gig, plus another supporting role. The Hollywood Reporter posts that NPH will star in a new indie comedy called The Best and the Brightest, and offer some support to CBS Films' Beastly. First, the starring gig: Co-written and to be directed by Josh Shelov, the film focuses on a Delaware couple who move to the Upper East Side and get embroiled in the world of private kindergarten -- probably not the sort of gig any of us were expecting. Harris will happy-with-his-status dad while Bonnie Somerville plays mom, who is quite class-aware. On top of them, the cast boasts Amy Sedaris, John Hodgman, Peter Serafinowicz, Bridget Regan, Kate Mulgrew, and Christopher McDonald. Not too shabby at all.
Now the supporting gig: Have you heard about Beastly, that modern Beauty and the Beast revamp that will star Vanessa Hudgens and Mary-Kate Olsen? Well, get ready for this: NPH will play a blind tutor who helps Alex Pettyfer after he gets "turned into a hideous young man." It's too random for me to even imagine how this will play out.
Are you happy with this latest bit of news, or were you hoping for something entirely different to come out of NPH's How I Met Your Mother break?
Watch This: Prop 8 -- The Musical
Filed under: Comedy », Music & Musicals », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
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For those of you who spend a great deal of time roaming the halls of indie hipster-ville, you may have noticed that the brief window of empty space prior to awards nominations has been filled with a whole bunch of Prop 8 speech. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, since it's an important issue in this country and the very influential "indie community" can help provide a large voice of support against Prop 8. If that's your thing. However, now that awards season is beginning to heat up, Prop 8. is being replaced by "So who got which screener today?", and it's slowly becoming "that thing we got really upset about in November."
Hold on! Funny or Die has come to the rescue with this very funny video called Prop 8 - The Musical, featuring all sorts of comedic talent like Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Craig Robinson, Neil Patrick Harris (who's absolutely hilarious), and many more. Watch as this ensemble cast sings and dances their way through the issue at hand, and maybe you'll learn a bit more about what's at stake here. Enjoy.
Dr. Horrible is Here! Catch it Before It's Gone!
Filed under: Music & Musicals », Fandom », Home Entertainment », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
If you're an iTunes subscriber and a Joss Whedon fiend, you were probably giggling yesterday as most fans (like me) kept desperately refreshing and going back to drhorrible.com all day to see Act I of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Now it's up on the new server with no problems and a lot of singing goodness. Free! Some days I really, really love the Internet!Having just watched Act I for myself, I can tell you that it is so worth the 13 minutes and 49 seconds. It starts off mellow (but still funny), and soon enough -- there are simple, yet ridiculously catchy songs, evil schemes and deeds, and that charming Captain Hammer.
Think Venture Brothers done Whedon style, and the only critique I can come up with right now is that "The Evil League of Evil" doesn't sound as cool as "The Guild of Calamitous Intent." Still, I'm happy. Neil Patrick Harris. Nathan Fillion. Felicia Day. Pure, musical awesome.
Oh yeah, and the MySpace page even has a comic!
Finally! A Trailer for 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'!
Filed under: Fandom », Home Entertainment », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Trailers and Clips »
Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.
I might adore Joss Whedon, but I don't think I'm biased when I say that the above trailer for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is the best thing since sliced bread. Check it out above. Aren't I right? Good lord, I could watch the trailer on repeat. It's further proof that with enough talent, you don't need a lot of money to make something great. Yeah, this isn't exactly a big-screen piece of cinema news, but we're talking Nathon Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris,
But to keep this on the movie track: I hereby declare that no one should make a crappy spoof movie unless Joss is involved. Watching the trailer, I kept thinking about Date Movie, Disaster Movie, and all the rest of the crap that has come out, and how Whedon could've made them monumentally better.
And one more thing: When is Nathan Fillion getting his own superhero or bad-guy role on the big screen? Look at him -- he's perfect for it!
*Unfortunately, the man with the goggle-like thing, that I mistook for Adam Baldwin, is actually (I think) Rob Reinis.
Discuss: When Famous People Play Themselves
Filed under: Casting », Newsstand »
One of the best things Neil Patrick Harris ever did was star as "Neil Patrick Harris" in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. I say NPH, and not "himself," because it's not like this is really NPH -- at least, he'd like us to believe that he's not stealing cars and having risque adventures with the ladies. While his stint as a version of himself is one of the most popular, he's not alone. Entertainment Weekly has thrown up a list of 23 famous names who have played themselves, so to speak, on the big and small screens.
There's a bunch on there you should remember, whether it's talk of superhero sex with Stan Lee in Mallrats, or Marcel Marceau getting to speak in Silent Movie. It's a pretty solid list, and has some great cinematic cameos in the mix, like two of my absolute favorites -- Marshall McLuhan in Annie Hall and Kurt Vonnegut in Back to School. Although really, I don't agree with David Bowie being the best real-life cameo in Zoolander. For me, it will always be Billy "Put a Cork in It!" Zane.
But what about you? Check out the EW list, search your memory, and weigh in below about your favorite cinematic cameos.
Box Office: Deception at Guantanamo Bay
Filed under: Comedy », Thrillers », Box Office », Box Office Predictions »
Everyone who took part in last week's competition, myself included, failed to foresee The Forbidden Kingdom outdoing Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but the martial arts actioner was the clear winner. Prom Night held on to third place, content in the knowledge that it had already earned back its $20 million budget last week. Here's the rundown:
1. The Forbidden Kingdom: $20.9 million
2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall: $17.3 million
3. Prom Night: $9.1 million
4. 88 Minutes: $6.8 million
5. Nim's Island: $5.7 million
Opening this week, we have:
What's It All About: Tina Fey plays an executive dying to be a mother, and when she finds out she's unable to conceive, she must turn to a flaky but fertile Amy Poehler
Why It Might Do Well: Fey is awesome on 30 Rock, and though I usually get flack for saying this, I thought the Fey/Poehler Weekend Update team on SNL was one of the best in the show's history. And with a supporting cast that includes Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin and Maura Tierney, I am so there. The 88% fresh rating from Rottentomatoes.com is icing on the cake.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The poster is so darn zany I could just puke.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $18 million
1. The Forbidden Kingdom: $20.9 million
2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall: $17.3 million
3. Prom Night: $9.1 million
4. 88 Minutes: $6.8 million
5. Nim's Island: $5.7 million
Opening this week, we have:
What's It All About: Tina Fey plays an executive dying to be a mother, and when she finds out she's unable to conceive, she must turn to a flaky but fertile Amy Poehler
Why It Might Do Well: Fey is awesome on 30 Rock, and though I usually get flack for saying this, I thought the Fey/Poehler Weekend Update team on SNL was one of the best in the show's history. And with a supporting cast that includes Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin and Maura Tierney, I am so there. The 88% fresh rating from Rottentomatoes.com is icing on the cake.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The poster is so darn zany I could just puke.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $18 million
Joss Whedon Makes a Musical with Nathon Fillion and NPH!?
Filed under: Music & Musicals », Casting », RumorMonger », Home Entertainment »
So ... during a recent chat with AICN, Neil Patrick Harris said: "I'm doing a web short film that Joss Whedon is directing and wrote called DR. HORRIBLE'S SING-A-LONG BLOG. That's a musical about super villains and crossing my fingers for the next round of Dancing With The Stars. (long pause) No ..." This, of course, led to a flurry of comments over at Whedonesque, and Joss himself finally weighed in, giving us another reason to love the Internet.Joss says: "The bag is catless. During the strike I started writing a musical intended as a limited internet series, 3 episodes of approximately 10 minutes each." He managed to get interest in the project, and this week, they started shooting. As Whedon describes it: "It's the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he's too shy to talk to." I'm getting flashbacks to The Venture Brothers and 40 Days and 40 Nights, but I don't care!
Just to make it even better -- NPH is Dr. Horrible, who I presume is the super-villain, Nathan Fillion is Captain Hammer (mean ol' superhero?), and Felicia Day is Penny. Day, by the way, was the young newbie slayer Vi on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Now if only Joss could give us more, regular, moving media work.
John Cho Tries Not To Talk 'Star Trek'
Filed under: Action », Classics », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Paramount », Fandom », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Remakes and Sequels »
Star Trek news is so rare that I have actually been asked by a few people "Oh wow, if you hear anything -- anything, you must pass it on." So I am trying. No snippet is too small, no evasive response too bland. I even know of one Trek fan that was sold on the new movie by just the Simon Pegg story, so there you go -- even the smallest story can change the course of the future. This one is in a very similar vein. John Cho was interviewed over at AICN for Harold and Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay and though he tried very hard, a few Star Trek snippets leaked out. Don't punish him, Mr. Abrams -- how can you resist both Quint and Neil Patrick Harris?
Cho was quick to defend the secrecy surrounding the film. "The reason J.J. [Abrams] wants to keep that under wraps is he just thinks that that the surprise -- he really is looking out for the audience. He feels like it's a good move, so that the audience really experiences it in a fresh way. But what I can say about it is the spirit of it feels like it's honoring what has come before it, just visually, and the script, and all of the actors he has chosen. And it just feels like it is honoring what has come before and I feel like, fingers crossed, we will garner some new fans as well."
Live from SXSW: Film Festival Madness
Filed under: SXSW », Festival Reports », Cinematical Indie »
Saturday was a very busy day here at SXSW. We were up absurdly late on Friday night, and then awakened at 8AM by a car alarm going off outside our window, followed by all four of my kids' soccer coaches calling me from OKC to let me know that today's games were canceled due to cold weather. Thanks, guys, but I'm in Austin. After the panel this morning, I grabbed lunch with filmmaker AJ Schnack (Kurt Cobain: About a Son), who also writes a very excellent blog called All These Wonderful Things.
We gabbed about documentaries, traveling for film fests, balancing work and family, and lots of other stuff; he's a supremely nice guy and it's always fun chatting with someone who's as big a dork for documentary films as I am. Our lunch ran long due to crowds at all the area restaurants, so I missed the screening of We Are Wizards and had to bump it out to a later day in the fest.
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
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