Cinematical

I like the premise of The Rocker so much -- middle-aged wannabe rock star insinuates himself into his teenage nephew's band -- that I'm inclined to go easy on it solely out of good will. It's likable enough, a lightweight rock 'n' roll comedy punctuated by several belly laughs -- but those laughs are all in response to the one-liners, and mostly from one minor character (more on that later). The story, the central personalities, and the uninspired slapstick are bland.

The title wannabe is Robert "Fish" Fishman, played by Rainn Wilson (of TV's The Office) in his first major film role. Fish was the drummer for Vesuvius, a mid-'80s heavy-metal band, but was kicked out on the eve of the group's success. Now, two decades later, Vesuvius is huge and Fish is a bitter has-been (or, rather, never-was).

He gets a new shot at glory, though, as drummer of A.D.D., an emo band whose keyboard player is Fish's chubby nephew Matt (Josh Gad). The lead singer and guitarist, sullen teen Curtis (Teddy Geiger), and bassist Amelia (Emma Stone) are reluctant, but Fish is actually really good on the kit, and he swears he can find them a gig.

While the 2008 MTV Movie Awards was probably more like one long commercial for summer movies than it was an actual awards show, there were some funny, memorable bits featuring old friends and a few clips worth mentioning for those who missed it last night. (Anyone else catch Brendan Fraser screaming like a lunatic into the camera on the red carpet, promoting Journey 3-D, while they were interviewing SJP about Sex and the City? I mean, dude, I know this show is all about promoting your movies, but calm the F down -- even SJP looked a tad freaked out.)

But anyway, my favorite bit of the night was a tie between watching a Wayne's World reunion and the Tropic Thunder viral spoof by Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black. Surprisingly, it wasn't even any of the three who stole the show; it was, instead, the kid playing Stiller's nephew. Hilarious. Watch the Wayne's World routine above, then head after the jump for the full Tropic Thunder video, Megan Fox looking extremely hot and freaked out by a naked Rainn Wilson and the footage you DIDN'T see of Seth Rogen and James Franco smoking a "pretend" joint on stage. I'd like to think the bit would've been funnier if the cameras were actually allowed within 700 feet of the stage and they didn't cutaway to several different actors who weren't laughing ... at all. In fact, Downey Jr. looked kind of insulted. Not the best anti-drug advertisement I've ever seen, but what the hey ...

After weeks of rumors, centering mostly on Jonah Hill, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed the cast of Transformers 2. Joining the just-announced Rainn Wilson, and the already confirmed LaBeouf, will be Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro.

Of course, director Michael Bay is returning to helm it, as well as the original writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are joined by Ehren Kruger.

No word on story details yet, but filming has already begun in Los Angeles. It will move to Pennsylvania, and then overseas. Photos have been cropping up on the Internet already, though largely of scaffolding and trucks at this point.

I'm not sure what a Rainn Wilson is or whether this robot was featured in the old Transformers cartoons, but from what people have told me, it looks like a real goofy guy with glasses. Yes, MTV Movies Blog reports that during a sneak screening of The Rocker, Rainn Wilson outed himself as a professor in the highly-anticipated sequel. Not just any professor, mind you -- but "a professor that turns into a car that turns into a robot." Of course, he's kidding about that. Right? Is he? Michael Bay is awesome!

The addition of Rainn Wilson and the fact they wanted to bring on Jonah Hill means Bay and Co. are definitely piling on the jokes for this second installment. That is unless they're looking to tone down Wilson's shtick; kinda how he played a regular old teacher in The Last Mimzy without throwing out lines like, "Gots to do your homework home-skillet." The film, which is supposed to start filming next month, is currently setting up camp in Bethlehem, PA, home to, well, people from Pennsylvania.

What do you think about Wilson joining the team? Transformers 2 is due out on June 26, 2009.

For those who've been waiting to see Rainn Wilson absolutely rock out in The Rocker, a brand new trailer for the film has just premiered over at Yahoo. Originally, this flick was supposed to hit screens about a month or so ago, but it's since been pushed to August 1 -- and, from the looks of this trailer, I can totally see this being that late-summer comedy hit that builds buzz and ends up doing quite well at the box office. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for 80's drummers who get a chance to win back a piece of stardom by playing their nephew's high school prom.

The Rocker follows Robert "Fish" Fishman (Wilson), a once successful drummer with a prominent '80s hair band who was tossed to the side right when their popularity began to grow. Now, years later, when Fish's nephew needs an extra drummer for his prom band, that dude from The Office steps up to the plate and takes these kids on one helluva wild ride. Check out the trailer and let us know what you think. Can Rainn Wilson hold down the fort on this one all on his own?

The best family films aren't only for the kids; they look like a kiddie package but pack enough of an adult punch to make everyone happy. It looks like Monsters vs. Aliens might be just that. It is, and I quote from the new goodie extravaganza over at USA Today, "a throwback to those B-movie glory days of the '50s when Martians invaded our backyards and rubber monsters stalked the Earth."

This even includes specific references, such as the heroine Susan Murphy. She's a regular California girl who gets hit by a meteor and becomes 49' 11" tall (Attack of the 50-Foot Woman!), gets taken by the military, and renamed Ginormica. She's also being voiced by Reese Witherspoon. But that's not the only big name attached -- Rainn Wilson will handle the evil alien Gallaxhar, and Ginormica will be joined by Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. voiced by Hugh Laurie, jelly-like B.O.B. handled by Seth Rogen, and the half-ape/half-fish Missing Link voiced by Will Arnett. Plus, there's Kiefer Sutherland as the aptly-named Gen. W.R. Monger and Stephen Colbert as the "plays it on steroids" president. (Some of them you can spot in the pic on the right, which you can see full-size at USA Today.)

But there's also a twist in this. Since the feature will be the first CG movie shot in 3-D, rather than converted to it, it has an extra $15 mil added to its budget, which will find its way out of fans' wallets. The tickets will cost more, although the price hasn't been determined. Jeffrey Katzenberg is hoping we'll all pay for "a premium experience." This sounds cool and all, but paying more for this movie sounds silly, esp. if it ends up killing at the box office. What do you think about this monetary twist?

Cinematical is live at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards! Our own Patrick Walsh will report back throughout the afternoon.

Jiminy Glick just wrapped up a graphic conversation with indie legend John Waters and now he is asking Maria Bello what it's like to show her "down there hair" on camera. Oh wow, now he's humping her. Now he's asking Allison Janney if Juno is a film about people who won't tolerate Jews. "Jew? No!" The man is insane. He's interviewing The Office's Rainn Wilson now, who's looking mighty unkempt and unshaven considering he's hosting the show. And now the two are engaged in a huge pillow fight. There's Dennis Hopper! What does Jiminy ask a legend like this? "Why do men have nipples if they're not supposed to breast feed their pets?" Of course.

He just told Matt Dillon he was excellent as Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump, and followed that up with a rave about his work in Saving Private Ryan. Dillon was in neither film. The red carpet is heating up, I just saw Kate Beckinsale, Tom Wilkinson, and now Aaron Eckhart -- who is discussing Mormonism with Jiminy. And now the skies have turned an unsettling gray, the winds are picking up, and I have a feeling a lot of expensive dresses are about to get destroyed. I'm gonna take shelter, but I'll be back.

For more photos and coverage, head on over to Moviefone.

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So ever since Fox Searchlight showed up last summer with a little winner called Little Miss Sunshine, folks immediately began to scour the 2007 slate to see which film would be its cinderella story. Because you need one of those each year; a film that doesn't feature a full cast of A-listers; doesn't revolve around the politics of war; and isn't some two and a half hour period piece about a queen or a famous author with major issues. Well maybe I'm going out a limb here (having not seen the movie yet), but not only will Juno show up on several top ten lists at the end of the year, but I also feel it will land a few award nominations as well (best original screenplay, to give you at least one).

The buzz for this film coming off Toronto was stellar; our own Scott Weinberg (who's opinion you should definitely trust) said: "From arcane pop culture references to casually amusing slang words to pitch-perfect dialog volleys, Juno might be the smartest 'teen' movie since the also-brilliant Election." Big shoes to fill, sure, but I believe it -- ever since seeing Jason Reitman's Thank You For Smoking, I knew this kid was destined to do some wonderful things with the comedy genre. And though the trailer doesn't provide us with any laugh-out-loud set pieces, it does show a film with tremendous quirk and potential. Heck, I could watch Rainn Wilson call someone "home-skillet" for two hours alone -- but that's me. Juno is set to hit theaters on December 14. Go see it.

*Exclusive official photo from The Rocker, courtesy of Fox Atomic

After Christina Applegate and Tom McNulty sat down with me, the vibe I started to get was that I had been taken care of, which was true. I had asked several times for Emma Stone, but I wasn't going to push too hard for it after everyone had treated me so nicely. So for the rest of the night, I found an out-of-the-way place to sit and just watched as Rainn and Christina filmed a long scene where they walked from one end of the main set to the other, in front of an enormous green-screen, which I think will have some kind of music video footage when it's finalized. The scene revolves around Fish trying to get Kim to reveal the name of her old punk band (see the Christina interview in Part III) and she ends up revealing it -- Scream Weavers. They also eventually get into a little on-the-spot contest to see who can name the most rock bands with a place in their name: Kansas, Berlin, Bay City Rollers, etc.

At one point, while I was watching all of this, Emma, who had to be present to do background work, came over to where I was to relax between takes, but I resisted the urge to hit her up for an on-the-spot interview. Nothing else memorable happened for the next couple of hours, except for an AD telling me I was standing too close to the shooting area at one point. (Also, I forgot to mention this: earlier in the night, I had requested an interview with director Peter Cattaneo, but instead of granting it, he invited me to come over and tape-record him being interviewed by a TV station! Obviously I'm not printing that.) Anyway, around 6:00am on Sunday morning, I stumbled out into the morning light, flagged down my driver and rode back to the hotel. Overall, I had managed to bag three good interviews, and had been able to take a lot of notes, so I was pretty happy. The next Tuesday, back home in Jersey, I got an unexpected bonus -- a phone call from Emma.

ES: Hi, how're you doing?

RS: Pretty good. Sorry I didn't get to meet you Saturday night. You're probably wrapped on the whole movie by now, right?

ES: No, no, I'm actually leaving for work in like, twenty minutes. We're gonna wrap on the 31st, I think, next week.

RS: So why don't you give me some details on how your character fits into the story? I still don't know much about her.

ES: Well, she's the bass player for the band. You know the general outline of the movie. Rainn joins the high-school band and I'm in that band. And basically, Teddy, who is the lead singer and guitarist and then Josh plays the keyboards, and he's Fish's -- Rainn's character's -- nephew, and I'm just a friend of theirs that plays bass in the band.

RS: Does your character have, like, a love interest or anything?

ES: Yeah, she's kind of into Curtis, Teddy's character, and that's kind of an underlying current. Their definitely not dating or together in the movie, it's just kind of ... I think they have an attraction to each other kind of, throughout the plot-line.

RS: Was there one thing in particular that got you interested in this part?

I did this set visit back in July, but when I spoke with producer Tom McNulty on the set, he ended up revealing something that Fox wanted kept under wraps, so after the visit, the studio embargoed me from revealing the news he gave me until August 31. So here it is -- drumroll please. This film, which has been described over and over as a 'Pete Best story,' actually has former Beatle Pete Best! He's in the movie! Tom also revealed that 30 Rock's Jane Krakowski has joined the film's cast. He also announced that a quasi-sequel to The Rocker, based on the film's fictional hair band Vesuvius, is moving forward with Will Arnett attached. A writer is currently being hired and Rainn Wilson will presumably take part. Interviewing Tom was a lot of fun -- the guy was a ball of fire, ready to talk about anything, and even though he talked a million miles a minute, he still gave us a half-hour interview that covers a lot. I've cut the whole thing down a bit, but you still get the big picture.

What kind of rock n' roll are you celebrating with this movie? What's the vibe?

TM: The vibe is big, full-on heavy metal kind of rock. Not so much glam rock. I mean, the guys are definitely, you know, Aerosmith, but there is definitely some Whitesnake, Poison, Ratt, Pantera, Winger, Cinderella ...what other bands do we reference. The band he's kicked out of, Vesuvius, when we began to kind of figure it out and write the songs for it, we did a lot of research watching Heavy Metal Parking Lot and you don't really have to do characters for those guys, because they pretty much ... there was a documentary and they talked about how these lead singers ... 98 percent of the audience were heterosexual dudes and these guys are wearing tight spandex pants and thrusting their crotch into a male audience. So it's this weird celebration of, like, male masculinity, but the guys are full-on lipstick, blush, rouge, women's wigs basically. Look at Motley Crue, for God's sakes, or Van Halen or Poison. It was all dudes and no one ever thought about the idea of, like, this is very into homosexuality. Glam rock was one step away from that.

So looking at it at the time, in context, it didn't really seem weird, but when you step back and look at it objectively, it's like 'Holy shit, this was really a bizarre time in American music, you know? It was about theatricality. I think that -- this is just one man's opinion -- the advent of MTV and literally, suddenly, your image and what you look like and actually making a video became an important part of being a successful band is probably why it went from 0 to 60 overnight. Those guys were just ridiculous. It became about showmanship, and 'can you top this?' and, you know, in terms of the hair and lip-stick. Tommy Lee resembles nothing of what he looked like. Look at Nikki Sixx and those guys -- that Girls, Girls, Girls tour was ridiculous. So that's the basis of the band he was kicked out of. In the movie, the band has become as big as, say, Aerosmith, in terms of the world domination that they have. The idea is Aerosmith or The Stones, a band like that. They don't have the integrity that those bands have, but they definitely have the kind of vibe and popularity.

After the quick interview with Rainn, it seemed that anything I got beyond that on this set visit, interview-wise, might very well be gravy. It was around two or so in the morning, and the crew was frantically committed to setting up a long, complicated shot to be done in front of a green-screen on the main set. So I resigned myself to going back to the main set and watching the set-up. After a while, however, the unit publicist came to find me again, to tell me that the film's producer, Tom McNulty, was interested in doing an interview. Myself and the IGN reporter were quickly rounded up and taken to a tiny office adjacent to the set, and Tom followed. After speaking with Tom for half an hour, the door burst open and Christina Applegate unexpectedly walked in, ready to be interviewed. She was clearly tired from the insane schedule the film was following -- even I was tired, and I had only been exposed to it for one night -- so Christina, if you're reading this, thanks for taking the time.

How about these night shoots?

CA: The first week, by the end of the week, we had started normal days and then it just ... by the end of the week it had gotten so late, and because we're shooting six days weeks they haven't been able to get us turned back around. So it just keeps getting later and later. Probably in about a week it will be back around

When was the last time this happened to you?

CA: Never. In fact, I've never even heard of this happening, to be honest with you. It's not something that happens a lot.

So your character is the mom of one of the garage-band kids -- does she have any other connection to rock n' roll? A former groupie, maybe?

CA: No, well, Kim was actually the lead singer of a punk band when she was 17 years old, and that's when she got pregnant with Curtis, who is the lead singer in the band, ADD. So she's kind of a groovy chick.

Do you get to use any of your musical chops in this film?

CA: No, I get to play in a rock band, which is the new, better version -- I get to play guitar. I'm quite good at that, because I have guitar gear at home, so I came into this with guitar experience under my belt. I used to be really into karaoke revolution, but now it's all about Guitar Hero. Now they're gonna give us the rock band thing, which is cool, because it's a full band. With drums and a singer and bass.

*Exclusive official photo from The Rocker, courtesy of Fox Atomic.

The first cast member to acknowledge the presence of the online press guys that night was Rainn Wilson, who eventually agreed to sit down with us for an interview in the cafeteria area in between takes. He was a perfectly nice, pleasant guy to talk to, but you could tell that he was a little tired from the switch to night shoots, and he was very much in a business frame of mind. In fact, I'm sure I have the tenacity of the unit publicist to thank for the interview happening at all: despite the tough, pressurized circumstances of the shoot, she went out of her way to try to help me get what I came for that night. Here's the interview with Rainn in full, with some questions being asked by myself and some from the IGN journalist. It will give you a good idea of the basic plot and characters of The Rocker, what kind of tone the filmmakers are shooting for, and also what you can expect from Rainn in the future, project-wise.

The plot of the film has been kept pretty much under wraps -- we only know what's been in the trades. What can you say about it?

RW: It's a movie about a heavy metal drummer who gets kicked out of a rock band right before they become, like quadruple-platinum huge. Like the drummer of Aerosmith getting kicked out before Walk This Way, or something like that. And it kind of haunts him for his whole life. The movie does take place in the present day, and he gets another chance at fame, another chance at redemption, by joining his high-school nephew's garage-rock band. So, you know, it's kind of a fish out of water story and my character is named Fish, so it's perfect for a fish-out-of-water-story.

What kind of comedy is it? Is it like Bob Odenkirk-style absurdist comedy, or more straight-ahead?

RW: No, it's a pretty straight-ahead rock n' roll comedy. You know, it would be like a highly-comedic version of an Almost Famous, or something like that, maybe. I play ... he's a crazy, man-out-of-time, you know? He lives to rock, but his idea of that is trapped somewhere between Def Leppard and AC/DC. So he gets this new opportunity, he gets a new lease on life, a chance to live his dream, and in the course of it, he meets Christina Applegate.

Not bad.

RW: Not so bad.

So are you going to actually reference those old bands? Should we expect cameos from, like, Def Leppard or Winger?

RW: We talked about that, having heavy metal cameos but we didn't go with that. But we do see the old band that fired him. Vesuvius is their name, and we got a great cast for that. Will Arnett, Fred Armisen and Bradley Cooper are playing those guys.

July 21: After an entire day of walking through downtown Toronto -- the most interesting thing I saw was a store near my hotel called Not Just Condoms! -- I was almost ready for bed when my hotel phone started ringing. I checked my watch -- 10:15 P.M. The unit publicist for The Rocker had warned me, of course, that the production had recently switched to night calls, meaning each day's filming would begin at night and go through the morning. She had told me to try to sleep during the day, but I've never been able to do that. I can't make myself fall asleep at will, so I knew I'd just have to accept being tired. I grabbed my bag and headed out of the hotel, into the waiting car. A few minutes later, we were rolling into what would seem to anyone like the yard of an auto mechanic shop, with cars and vans parked willy-nilly, tools and machines lying around, and one small door providing the entry point to a large, spacious interior the size of a high-school gymnasium.

"So, what do you want to do first?" the publicist asked me after I greeted her inside the set, and luckily I had an answer. Since it seemed that I had arrived before filming was ready to commence, I asked her if would be possible for me to meet Anthony Richmond, the film's DP who had shot one of my favorite horror films, Candyman. She escorted me into the back rooms where the crew hangs out, and we located Richmond, holding court in an out-of-the-way lounge. A gruff old Englishman with long hair, we hit it off immediately; we talked about shooting Candyman, the squandered genius of Bernard Rose -- seriously, what happened to that guy? -- and the twists Richmond's long career has taken. He's lately garnered a reputation as a DP with a knack for shooting starlets -- Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz, Jessica Alba, and Jessica Simpson vehicles have all employed him -- and we talked about working with some of those actresses. At some point, business interfered and Richmond was called to the set -- the cast was ready to shoot.

Emmy-nominated Rainn Wilson is heating up in Hollywood, somewhat competing with his Office co-stars Steve Carell, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer for most movie deals. His latest is Renaissance Men, which he co-wrote with actor Matt Ross (HBO's Big Love) and just sold to Universal. In the comedy, Wilson and Ross will play losers (Wilson claims he can't write about winners) who think they've killed their community theater co-star and so hideout at a Renaissance fair. Wilson describes it as, "a bit like We're No Angels, only funny." He also claims that Renaissance fairs are fascinating because, "everyone has been to one, but no one really knows what makes them tick."

I'll be the first to admit I've never been to a Ren fair, but I did have some friends in high school that were into them -- sometimes they even brought their crossbows to school (fortunately not in the view of teachers). These were the same kids who wouldn't let me play role-playing games because I wouldn't take them seriously enough. So, yeah, I'm all for making a mockery out of the whole thing. Wilson was a D&D player and a Ren fair attendee as a teen, so he has the experience to use as a foundation and the ability to make fun of himself while making fun of those people who are into Ren fair stuff.

Wilson will co-produce with director Jay Roach (Meet the Parents). There is so far no one attached to direct. Roach has a lot of stuff lined up, including producing Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno movie, but unless he goes ahead soon with another Austin Powers sequel or the "comedic Vertigo movie", he should go ahead and helm Renaissance Men. As for Wilson, he's got the comedies Juno, The Rocker, Girlfriend Experience and Bonzai Shadowhands, which he also wrote. Unlike some people, I think Wilson can do more than play Dwight Schrute types -- I loved him as a very un-Dwight-like guy in Baadasssss! -- and can't wait to see how his starring roles turn out. However, I do think Hollywood might want to typecast the guy and I hope the studios don't try and force him to stick with his Office shtick in every movie he's in.

With "geek" stuff like comics, sci-fi, and horror taking over the mainstream, ComicCon has become one of the biggest film events of the year. The studios really take it seriously, and this should be an excellent week for major film announcements. Today, the fairly new studio Fox Atomic, an offshoot of Fox targeting the 17-24 demographic, announced what festival goers can expect from them this year. It looks like their biggest push is for the upcoming revenge thriller Death Sentence. There will be an online sweepstakes to win a 1969 Ford Mustang featured in the film, starting when ComicCon opens its doors tomorrow. If you can't make it to the festival you can enter at the official movie website, http://deathsentencemovie.com, up until the film is released on August 31st. Death Sentence stars Kevin Bacon as a man out to avenge his son's death, and co-stars John Goodman and Kelly Preston. James Wan (Saw) directed. Bacon, co-star Garrett Hedlund and Wan will be signing autographs at ComicCon this Saturday at 3PM.

Also, be on the lookout for a contest to win a Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by the cast of the upcoming comedy The Rocker. You can read more about that movie here and here, it tells "the story of a failed, over-the-hill drummer who is given a second chance at fame." Rainn Wilson plays the drummer and Christina Applegate will be his love interest. Only in the movies, folks! Fox Atomic is understandably putting a big focus on their graphic novel publishing arm at ComicCon as well. Signings and giveaways are scheduled for Joe Harris and Stuart Moore's The Nightmare Factory, due out on September 4th, as well as their film-based graphic novels -- 28 Days Later: The Aftermath by Steve Niles and The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. It looks like just about all of the artists and authors will be in attendance. We've got all sorts of ComicCon news, announcements, and goodness coming your way from San Diego (which, of course, is German for "whale's vagina") all this week and through the weekend, so stick around and stay classy.