Posts Tagged ‘Seth Rogen’
8 items.
I don’t know what was going on with me that I couldn’t figure out something more creative with the background. But, uh… HEY! Charlie has a new haircut! Look at that! WOW!
Knocked Up is in theaters this weekend, appearing in theaters at what I think is a very opportune time. It’s been almost a month since Spider-Man 3 landed in theaters and kicked off the blockbuster season. So far, we’ve survived it and it’s “threequel” brethren Shrek the Third and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Knocked Up comes at a time when I think people are prepared to take a step away from fantasy for a while and get a little closer to real people and situations again.
Of course, Seth Rogen landing in bed with Katherine Heigl isn’t exactly realistic, but this is why we love Hollywood. They tweak reality just enough to keep us interested. I’m sure that the movie will play this disparity in physical attractiveness to it’s advantage. I expect nothing less from Judd Apatow and crew.
It pleases me to no end the Seth Rogen is stepping up into the unlikely leading man category. If you’ve watched Undeclared, you know that they guy has an affiable charm that’s fun to watch. Even when he’s being a jerk, it works. So it’ll be interesting to see how he manages when he has to filter sarcasm through his heart.
At this point I’m not going to go into my Apatow-love speech. Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared, The 40 Year-Old Virgin. Either you get it by now or you don’t. I really appreciate that Apatow is using the same stable of actors and creating his own little universe. The smartest thing any director can do is bring Paul Rudd into his movies. So, needless to say, I have high hopes for Knocked Up.
Interesting factoid: Did you guys know that Knocked Up was originally written to be a sequel to The 40 Year-Old Virgin that featured the Smart Tech crew? I’m glad they came to their senses and invented a new set of characters for the actors to inhabit. The Smart Tech guys were brilliantly effective within the context of T40YOV, but that kind of misogynistic buffonery probably wouldn’t work on it’s own. You need the wholesomeness of Steve Carell’s character to balance that out.
Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that.
I wanted to tip you guys off to a new t-shirt design I’m taking pre-orders for right now: Movie Law #948.
Fans of the comic will recognize the concept of this shirt from this comic, wherein Tom discusses actor Sean Bean’s proclivity toward expiring in what seems like the majority of his movies.
Readers with good long-term memories might recall that I submitted initial designs of the shirt for feedback, but was talked out of producing the shirt when the spector of copyright infringement was brought up.
After the controversy with Threadless over the Spoiler shirts last week, a switch flipped in my head. If these guys can get away with using Darth Vader’s head in what turned out to be the most fastest-selling shirt, then li’l old me can get away with an artistic interpretation of Sean Bean’s mug. If I get a cease and desist letter, then that will be the end of it. In the meantime, screw it. People have been asking for it, the work was half way done… let’s run ‘er up the flagpole and see if she flies.
My problem with t-shirt design is that it takes very little to derail me on an idea I have because it’s such a large investment for me. I could have 50 people respond and tell me “I want that shirt!” but if one person responds and says “copyright infringement!” or “I couldn’t tell that was Sean Bean,” I quit. That’s lame. I have a bunch of great ideas. I just need to push them through.
Well, I’ve decided instead of producing Theater Hopper: Year Three this summer, I’m taking the nest egg I’ve stored up and spending it on t-shirt production that will hopefully generate interest in the store and spur book sales when people take advantage of the bundling options.
So pre-order this shirt now through June 13. Moving forward, I’ll be producing more shirts. Hopefully you like some or all of them. We can use the support.
Oh, and for the people that are curious, Movie Law #948 has a list of all the movies in which Sean Bean dies on screen (so far). If you want to see what they are, visit the page in our store and pre-order now!
Got any comments, thoughts, ideas or feedback? Leave them below!
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Jun04
After surviving weeks of bloated franchise sequels, movie audiences are being treated to one of the freshest, funniest movies of the summer. Picking up where its spiritual predecessor The 40 Year-Old Virgin left of, Knocked Up is another successful romp through sexual raunchiness and touching human truth.
This time instead of focusing on the novelty of a lead character living his entire adult life without sexual intercourse, writer/director Judd Apatow and his regular company of actors turn their attention on the somewhat common interpersonal mishap – the one night stand that goes horribly… right?
An unplanned pregnancy brings Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen together as one of cinema’s most unlikely “Beauty and the Beast”-type of couples. Once the pair agrees to keeping the baby and start dating to see if their compatible, the movie begins to swerve into previously mined territory. There probably isn’t a joke in the movie about pregnancy, childbirth, buying clothes or picking an obstetrician that hasn’t been covered by a hundred different sitcoms before it.
But the pregnancy isn’t the core of the movie. In fact, it feels almost incidental as the movie focuses more on Rogen’s character coming to grips with his impending responsibility and what it might mean for his freedom. The reluctance of fathers-to-be has also been mined for comedy before. But what Knocked Up smartly does is pair up Heigl and Rogen’s characters with Heigl’s sister and brother-in-law played with smartly by the indispensable Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd. Through them, Apatow delivers some of his best lines and biting commentary about gender relations.
Settled into the rut of their own hapless marriage, Mann and Rudd’s characters have two children of their own and provide a raw look into the future for Heigl and Rudd. Both of them seem unhappy and are just going through the motions. Mann suspects Rudd of cheating on her when it turns out he’s sneaking out of the house for fantasy baseball meetings. Rudd compares marriage to an unfunny episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. “Except it doesn’t last for 22 minutes,” he warns. “It’s for life.”
The aforementioned fantasy baseball scene cuts particularly close when Rudd’s wife discovers his deception. His need for independence and male comradely versus Mann’s deep hurt that her husband would rather see Spider-Man 3 without her is cringe-inducing. But this is where Knocked Up most effectively deviates from the norm.
It’s easy for a film to make fun of a guy with cold feet. But very few incisively tackle the balancing act most men feel they need to maintain between their responsibilities and their basic need for autonomy. Or how (in some cases) that tightrope walk leaves them feeling trapped. In this way, Knocked Up is unlike most romantic comedies. It’s told primarily from the perspective of men and their insecurities.
This probably seems like heady stuff for a film that most would consider piffle. Fortunately, Knocked Up doesn’t knock you over the head with its message and effectively blends the reality of the situation with crude and outrageous side conversations. Rogen’s slacker roommates, for example, are probably the filthiest characters committed to celluloid both in terms of dialogue and general hygiene.
Kudos to Apatow who has a keen ear for this kind of conversation. 10 years ago, it was Kevin Smith who was earning accolades for bringing characters to screen who seemed to talk like everyday people talked – warts and all. Apatow does the same thing, but narrows his focus to the ball-busting, pop culture reference laden smack talk of the twenty-something set. To his credit, all the while you are being repulsed by these burnouts, you kind of want to spend a Saturday afternoon with them. They seem like a lot of fun.
The ultimate success of Knocked Up is the way it elevates universal topics up a level by ditching the notion that the audience doesn’t need the complexities of Rogen’s confusion or Heigl’s uncertainty spoon-fed to them. While the elements of the story are commonplace, their delivery is not. What’s left is a refreshingly honest portrayal of impending adulthood cushioned with a great deal of heart.
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Apr18
I’m not exactly sure what part of my brain the idea for this comic escaped from. I just started thinking about Forgetting Sarah Marshall and how it’s a Judd Apatow production, ALL of the Judd Apatow productions lined up for release in 2008 and the rest just kind of leaked out of my ear.
I’m sure the working environment on an Apatow film is much less contentious as I’ve depicted here. But you can’t help but notice the low-grade nepotism involved with these movies anymore.
At first I thought it was pretty cool to have the same stable of actors on call for any given movie. Now I can’t imagine a comedy that DOESN’T feature Jason Segel, Seth Rogen, or Jonah Hill in some capacity. Do they even make comedies without their involvement anymore? It’s hard to tell.
Then again, maybe that was the point.
At this stage, Apatow productions have become like the Laff-O-Lympics for my favorite comedy actors. I just watched Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story on DVD last week and there are tons of small cameos from the likes of Jack McBrayer and Ed Helms. Complete throwaway roles that could have been played by anyone. But then they show up on screen and that wave of recognition hits you. “Hey! That’s so-and-so from [insert popular comedy television show here]!” In a weird way, it’s like it adds some kind of credibility to the affair.
As far as Forgetting Sarah Marshall is concerned, it’s a movie I’ve been looking forward to for a while. It looks like it’s got the same mix of crudeness and sweetness and they’re mixing things up a little bit by adding Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis to things. Also, those two actresses are very attractive and I’ll take any advantage I can get in terms of muting the amount of wang that is supposedly in this movie. Reportedly, Segel shows the goods 3 times in this picture. At what point did the wiener become a standard visual gag? I know it looks weird, and everything, but…
Peter Segel is an actor I kind of like, but not really – and mostly for the roles he’s chosen. Specifically, the stalker boyfriend from Undeclared and the dirtbag MILF-chaser in Knocked Up. I don’t watch How I Met Your Mother, but I understand he plays a much more squeaky clean version of himself on that show. So maybe it’s been the wrong exposure for me.
That said, I’m impressed that he wrote the screenplay for this one and somehow managed to wring A NEW MUPPETS MOVIE out of his involvement with Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Apparently there is a sequence with puppets at the end and people from The Henson Company were doing the puppeteering. Segel floated the idea past them and the rest is (soon to be filmed) history.
Cami and I are trying to line up a babysitter this weekend so we can get out of the house and see this. I know I say that a lot, but this is the first movie in a long while that I feel extremely motivated to see. Motivated enough to inconvenience another family member and deep-six their Saturday night to hang out at our house and make sure my baby doesn’t drink a case of Colt 45 while we’re away.
Wow. That’s a visual for you.
One last thing — If you missed it on Wednesday, be sure to download the first recorded broadcast of Boxcar Comics Hobo Jamboree. Myself, Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies, Phil Chan from Martriculated and Clay Yount from Rob & Elliot were all in attendance and we laid down the ground work for what you can expect from our monthly podcast. We had a good time recording it and I’m already looking forward to the next one.
A couple of people wrote to tell me that we didn’t give you guys enough notice to listen to the show live. Sorry about that. It all came together kind of quickly and we just ran to press with it. Next time, we’ll try to talk it up a week or so in advance.
I’m really excited about the progress that Boxcar Comics has been making lately. So far we have one jam comic and this podcast under our belt. We’re working on our second jam comic as we speak. Boxcar has been around since 2005. I think we’ve gotten more done in the last few months than we have in the last few years. I feel good about it. We’ve justified ourselves beyond just sharing traffic. Good times.
That’s all from me! Have a great weekend everybody!
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Although I’ve been eagerly anticipating Step Brothers ever since I first saw the red band trailer for it back in May, I’m aware that there are people out there who are growing tired of Will Ferrell’s man-boy routine and are looking for a reason for this movie to fail.
I’ve come to terms with the reality that Will Ferrell is no longer everyone’s cup of tea. It’s only been four short years since Anchorman which remains (in my mind) his high water mark and he’s been losing some credibility ever since.
I don’t pay attention to the critics. I always have a good time when I see a Will Ferrell movie. Mostly because it seems like he’s having such a good time himself! Truthfully, I don’t know exactly what people want him to do differently? Take on more everyman roles like he did in Stranger Than Fiction? Alright, that’s fair. I mean, I loved Stranger Than Fiction. But after a while, you’d want him to go back to being the ultimate man-boy, wouldn’t you? Admit it.
Some people can’t resist complaining about everything…
I plan on seeing Step Brothers this weekend, it’s just a matter of when. Cami and I have been home on our “staycation”this week getting a bunch of home projects done. We’ve marked everything off our list and we agreed that Step Brothers would be our reward.
Then I kind of got it in my head that after a week of breaking my back installing ceiling fans, cleaning out our basement and lugging furniture upstairs that "seeing a movie" didn’t really sound like much of a reward.
Cami had the suggestion that we go to a local amusement park – one I haven’t been to in 10 years – and I immediately latched onto that. So, for as badly as I want to see Step Brothers, I currently feel a little more passionate about the amusement park. I mean, at least from the standpoint of having bragging rights.
Can you imagine me going back into work on Monday and talking to my co-workers? “So, what’d you do with your week off? Oh, cleaned out my basement and saw a movie.” I mean, at least throw in the amusement park for a little color!
We’ll see how it goes. I think it’s supposed to rain all day Friday. Go figure.
Anyway, that’s about it for me. I feel that because of the staycation I’ve been really disconnected from things. I’m really not even accessing the internet except to update the site. I know ComiCon is going on right now and there is a lot of movie news coming off the convention floor. But I can’t bother to really dig in and digest it all. I’ll be looking for some kind of recap by the end of the week.
Until then, take it easy and I’ll see you here on Monday!
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I am VERY frustrated right now because I had a very long post for the front page today and the internet ate it!
Angry… so angry!
Okay, summary time, I guess. Because I’m just too mad to go back and write it again.
1. VOTE. If you live in America, vote on Tuesday. I don’t care who you vote for. Just vote. Do not abdicate you civil responsibility. People around the world would literally die to have the rights we have. Don’t waste it.
2. Zack & Miri Make A Porno was great. Elizabeth Banks is the MVP of the picture.
3. Tune in to The Triple Feature tonight at 9PM CST where we will talk more about Zack & Miri as well as some of our favorite political films. If you have a question you’d like to ask the group before we record, please send it to group@thetriplefeature.com.
Thank you!
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Drawing Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver for today’s comic kind of gave me a queasy feeling. The character has become synonymous with a deranged world view. Its like drawing Charles Manson.
That said, I think you guys will be impressed by the incentive image I cooked up for Top Web Comics. It’s my rendition of a classic Bickle pose. You’ll recognize it when you see it.
I tried something different with this sketch and made a conscious effort to loosen up my inking style. I think it fits really well with Bickle’s unhinged nature. Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics to see it.
I’ll take this opportunity to mention that Theater Hopper has been hovering around the number 15 spot on the list since we reinstated our relationship with Top Web Comics at the beginning of the month. Thanks so much for voting. Let’s see if we can crack the Top 10!
Back to the topic at hand, Observe and Report comes out this weekend and it sounds like people are on guard for this one. Paul Blart 2 this is not.
While star Seth Rogen was making the promotional rounds on all of the talk shows last week, he kept mentioning over and over how he couldn’t believe how a major studio let them get away with making a comedy this dark and disturbing. It was Rogen himself who I heard spit the comedic Taxi Driver reference (although didn’t DeNiro already cover that territory with The King of Comedy back in 1982?)
But I digress.
Some people might accuse Rogen and the producers of trying to distance themselves from the surprising success of Paul Blart: Mall Cop and it’s family-friendly tones by focusing on the subversiveness of Observe and Report and I think that’s a smart strategy.
I think it was an unfortunate coincidence that two comedies that focus on mall security guards happened to come out within months of each other and certainly no one wants their picture to be viewed as sloppy seconds.
But what’s possibly most unsettling is that Observe and Report was going for the jugular from the get-go. Writer/director Jody Hill knew he wanted to film something disturbing and – from the sound of it – Rogen’s character was a fully-formed sociopath from the word “go.”
Does the film go to far? Some people are already complaining that it does. Read this article from New York Magazine that asks the question Does Seth Rogen Rape Anna Faris in Observe and Report?
Yeah, duck and cover, kids.
With this kind of buzz swirling around the movie, it’ll be interesting to see how it stacks up against the competition. I don’t think anyone has a chance standing up to the juggernaut that was Fast & Furious last weekend. Even if it loses half of its audience in the second week, it’ll still land with $36 million in box office.
But because of it’s reputation, I wonder how strong of a showing Observe and Report can make.
Cami has told me she has no interest in seeing the film and steeled her resolve when I told her how dark the film was supposed to be. Dark comedies have a hard time finding audiences. Look at The Cable Guy or even Donnie Darko (to a degree). I think the people who love those films love them.
While most people who are on the fence about those films can appreciate what makes them entertaining, I think most of the audience would not prefer to see them ever again. Will Observe and Report suffer a similar fate once the curious onlooker quotient moves on? Once the shock has worn off, will the movie become a simple cult film? Time will tell.
Personally, I think the climate might be right for a subversive comedy like this. After a string of non-offensive comedies capped by the much-loved (be pretty much toothless) I Love You, Man, Observe and Report might find a niche.
What’s your take? Will you see Observe and Report this weekend. How do you feel about a film that plays date rape for laughs? Are there some subjects that just aren’t funny? Where do you draw the line?
Leave your comments below!
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I get sent news releases, trailers and photos from studios all the time and I generally do a very poor job of passing them on to you.
Part of the reason behind this is because there are a million and one movie blogs and they all tend to post the same stuff at the same time. So there’s no reason Theater Hopper will ever become your exclusive outlet for this kind of thing.
The other piece of the puzzle is, frankly… a lot of the stuff I’m sent is crap. Or at least *I* think it’s crap. If you’d like to see more photos, trailers and press releases from the studios here on the site, let me know. Maybe it will lead to something.
Anyway, I was just sent a trailer for a movie I am legitimately excited to see – Judd Apatow’s Funny People coming out on July 31.
Be forewarned that this is the red band trailer, so the language is a little salty. But if you’ve seen The 40 Year-Old Virgin or Knocked Up, you’re probably already on board with it.
Anyway, enjoy!
For a little extra fun, check out some of the web sites created in support of the film – several of them featuring work from different characters in the film!
So what do you guys think? Are you interested in seeing Funny People? I think it’s going to be interesting to watch Adam Sandler interact with other talented comedians. His films tend to isolate him, put the focus on him. I’m curious to see how he handles himself in an ensemble.
For me, Funny People kind of feels like the last hurrah of the blockbuster season. Yeah, yeah – I know G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra comes out after that. But does anyone think that counts?
Leave your comments below!
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Writing the comic, I became kind of paranoid and thought to myself “I hope people don’t think I’m making fun of cancer.” I’m not. I’m making fun of the “cancer movie” as a trope.
Cancer sucks. That much is clear. I’ve lost people I’ve loved to cancer. It’s not fun. But I kind of roll my eyes at the way Hollywood treats cancer. As if having cancer gives you some kind of wisdom or clarity that will help you resolve your personal shortcomings and interpersonal relationships.
I haven’t seen 50/50 yet, but based off the reviews I’ve read, it seems to do a good job of deflating everything that is serious and self-important about the cancer trope in mainstream entertainment. Frankly, I think that’s a good thing.
Yeah, cancer is scary and should be considered seriously. But it also doesn’t make you a mystical wizard with extra-sensory perception about the fragile nature of our being. It’s more than one thing, you know?
Lemme get off my soapbox and talk about something else for a second. If you follow the Theater Hopper Facebook page, you already know what it is. (So maybe now you’ll click that “Like” button?) But for the rest of you, here it is:
I AM NOW SELLING PRINTS OF ALL MY COMICS!
Here’s how it works…
- Comb the archive for your absolute FAVORITE Theater Hopper comic or comics. Use the search box if you’re having trouble finding it.
- Look at the navigation just below the comic, you’ll see a little dollar sign that says "Buy Print" below it.
- Click on the link and it will take you to a page with the comic in question on it and a PayPal link that you can use to send me money in exchange for goods and/or services.
- Incidentally, you don’t need a PayPal account to purchase a print. You can use a credit card as well.
- I will send you a copy of the comic printed on a sheet of 8.5 x 11" high quality card stock in full-color from the original digital file. It’s gonna look SHARP. And – because I love you – I’m gonna sign it as well.
- I’m going to mail it flat in a reinforced envelope and stamp it "DO NOT BEND" so the Post Office doesn’t muck up your investment.
- When it arrives, you are then free to frame it and admire it longingly.
This is something that I’ve wanted to do for a while and thanks to the magic of Comicpress, is now possible. Big thanks to Philip Hofer for making it possible.
Since this is a new feature, it’s going to take some work to get the kinks out. I think I still have to figure out shipping on this bad boy as well, so bear with me.
But, yeah… I have almost 10 years of comics in the archive and I know you guys have some favorites. I knew it was time to open up the flood gates and make them available to you. So have at them! Order away – and thank you for your support.
Have a great week, everyone!
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