steve pink Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When news first came about Mall Cop, it was clear it had to be a kids' movie. Reminiscent of Home Alone, it features a burglary attempt at a mall. But it stars Kevin James rather than a kid or bunch of kids as the person who thwarts the criminals' plan. Still likely a slapstick-heavy comedy, it just doesn't have the same appeal as a movie where kids outsmart adults. Then Steve Pink, who co-wrote Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity, came on board to script the thing. Suddenly it sounded like it could be a little wittier than originally expected. However, now we're back to square one, because Variety reports that Mall Cop will be directed by Steve Carr. In case you aren't familiar with the guy's work, here's a sampling: Dr. Doolittle 2; Are We Done Yet?; Daddy Day Care; Rebound. All PG movies. Sure, his first movie, Next Friday, wasn't for kids, but he certainly seems on track to deliver only family friendly films these days.

So far, James has been pretty successful in his transition from TV to movies. Of course, it helped that in his two hit comedies he was the co-star of Will Smith and then Adam Sandler. Mall Cop will be his first vehicle as sole star unless some big name comedian is cast as one of the burglars. Considering Happy Madison is producing, that big name would have to be Sandler. With little chance of that casting happening, though, James could settle for a lesser co-star in Happy Madison regular Rob Schneider. However, then we'd again be wishing that young Macaulay Culkin was in this thing, since Schneider played one of the many semi-baddies in Home Alone 2. Honestly, I'd settle to see any kid in there -- even a young Erik Davis -- instead of James. I guess the title wouldn't make much sense then, though.

Well, it's official. The Writers Guild of America is going on strike tomorrow. Here's hoping the strike ends quickly and that all parties come away happy. And writers? Use this time off to study my choices for the seven best screenplays of the 2000's:

The 40 Year Old Virgin by Judd Apatow & Steve Carell

The blending of improvisation and the written word gives Apatow's two classic comedies -- Knocked Up would be the other -- a feeling of authenticity that is all too rare in today's film world. Apatow takes the strategy of writing for specific performers and their strengths, and it really pays off. Scoff if you want at a sex comedy making the list, but for a movie to be this incredibly funny -- while keeping an oddly touching romance and a spot-on character study afloat -- the screenwriters deserve high praise.

About Schmidt by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor

One of the saddest comedies ever made, and one of the most truthful and painful portraits of old age. Payne and Taylor specialize in scripts about people on the verge of cracking, depressed souls who tend to find the smallest redemption possible. Payne/Taylor characters never go from Point A to Point B over the course of the screenplay, they go from Point A to Point A.1. The small, gradual changes in their characters are reflective of the way actual humans (as opposed to movie humans) work. Warren Schmidt's personal growth is so minor that it is confined to the last thirty seconds of the film, but when it comes it's an emotional punch in the gut.

It hasn't even been a month since it was announced that the fake gay fireman King of Queens, Kevin James, was going to write, produce, and star in an upcoming comedy called Mall Cop. The comedy is about a "mild-mannered security guard thrust into action when his mall is taken over by highly organized thieves." James has written an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, as well as a bunch of eps for his own show, but this is his first feature -- and it looks like it hit a little bit of a snag. Variety reports that Steve Pink has been picked to "pen a draft" of the Happy Madison/Columbia film.

Sure, scripts get re-written all the time, but I wonder how this will work when they get the new script back, rather than a plain spruce, since James is both starring and producing as well. Will he accept Pink's draft as is? Will this become a big back-and-forth deal? He's the guy delivering the lines, after all. But they won't have long to finalize this -- assuming that the strike still happens next summer, the plan is to start production this Spring and get it wrapped beforehand.

The good news in this -- Pink hit it out of the ballpark with his first two screenplays -- John Cusack's Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity. He hasn't put another out since -- although he is in line for Fletch Won and The Prom. He has, however, kept busy with other projects, such as helming the Justin Long comedy, Accepted. They haven't picked a director yet, so I wouldn't be surprised if he signs on for that as well. Excited yet? I know I am ... well, not really.

Say it ain't so Pacey? For those who thought the re-birth of the Fletch series was going to go one way (Kevin Smith, Jason Lee), and then another way (Bill Lawrence, Zach Braff), it appears it's going to go in an entirely different direction. IESB reports that Joshua Jackson (remember him?) is set to take over the role of Fletch in the long-gestating Fletch Won project, with Steve Pink signing on to direct. Pink, for those who don't know, wrote the John Cusack flicks Grosse Point Blanke and High Fidelity, and he also helmed last summer's surprise hit comedy Accepted, starring Justin Long.

Last time we checked in on Fletch Won, Zack Braff had officially declined to star (because of other projects he wanted to direct), and Bill Lawrence (Scrubs creator) was hanging on by a thread, scouting locations and searching for an adequate replacement. Since then, it seems Lawrence has dropped out and, instead of putting the kibosh on this sucker once and for good, they've decided to give it one more shot. Personally, I have more of a problem with Jackson (who's always pissed me off ever since his days rubbing elbows with Dawson and the gang) than I do with Pink. Grosse Point Blanke, High Fidelity and Accepted are three films I highly enjoyed, and I'm sure the guy would bring some laughs to the franchise. But Joshua Jackson? Pacey? Seriously? IESB says word should be made official anytime now, so everyone -- on the count of three -- sing it with me ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... I don't wanna wait for our lives to be over ...

Right off the bat, without reading any other reviews, I'll tell you most people will immediately compare Accepted to classic comedies like Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds. In their following sentence, they will probably say Accepted wasn't as funny as Animal House or as clever as Revenge of the Nerds – summing things up by convincing you not to see this film because all it has are regurgitated jokes surrounded by an absurd plot.

Now, here's where I'll tell you to forget everything you've read, because a film is allowed to feature a college setting and include a fraternity, without automatically ripping off, well, Animal House or Revenge of the Nerds. Of course, folks do have a reason to dig up the past when speaking about Accepted – the film does have that wacky John Hughes-esque 80's feel to it. And, trust me, that's a good thing. However, if Accepted does run into trouble, it's in deciding what type of film it wants to be. Is it edgy, dirty and disgusting? Or is it cute, wholesome and meaningful? I'll tell you this much: Make me laugh my ass off and I can care less which film you remind me of or supposedly ripped off – heck, I'm leaving the theater in a good mood, with a smile on my face. And, from a late-summer comedy with a relatively unknown cast, who can ask for more than that?

It's not every day that we write up film promotions here on Cinematical. But then again, it's not every day someone sends me a picture of someone dressed up like a ... a ... giant sperm. Now, I don't know what it would take to get me to dress up like a giant sperm and serve drinks at a party, but I'm pretty sure it would have to be a hell of a lot more than they're paying this guy.

The sperm pic came attached to a press release about a promo for new film Accepted, which comes out August 11. The film is about a group of friends who, when rejected by every college they apply to, decide to make a fake college to convince their parents that they got into a school. The students at the fake school -- South Harmon Institute of Technology -- have to struggle to maintain the illusion their school is real, and end up competing with a snooty exclusive neighboring college.