Image Credit: Zade Rosenthal
Will and Jaden Smith are already on pace to become the biggest father-son box-office draw in history, and now that they’re set to reunite for M. Night Shyamalan’s futuristic sci-fi film, it’s not ridiculous to think that the superstar duo could potentially star in their own buddy-movie franchise. We already know they have great chemistry, from their heartfelt turns in 2006′s The Pursuit of Happyness. READ FULL STORY »
It’s rare, but every once in a while a celebrity tweet breaks through the white noise of the Internet and makes you sit up and take notice like a shih tzu hearing a dog whistle. Take this one from Will Ferrell’s FunnyorDie.com cohort Adam McKay yesterday: “Are we currently working on a Step Bros rap album? Yup.” READ FULL STORY »
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly have reimagined David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth” duet, originally recorded for Crosby’s 1977 television special, Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas. (See also: Jack Black and Jason Segel’s animated version from last week, Stephen Colbert and Willie Nelson’s marijuana-inspired version from A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!, and many more.) Except for their faces — can’t change a face! This isn’t Bridalplasty — the Funny or Die duo have matched the Bowie/Crosby original detail for detail, right down to the mind-blowing exchange about “modern music” and eerie, dilapidated, Christmas-don’t-live-here-anymore set. Compare the two videos after the jump…. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Macall PolayWhen they were filming the hit comedy The Other Guys, do you think there’s any chance that Mark Wahlberg ever punctuated an off-camera exchange with Will Ferrell with a “Say hello to your mother for me”? What else could’ve planted the idea of a DVD Mom-entary, with the mothers of Will Ferrell, co-writer/director Adam McKay, and co-writer Chris Henchy discussing their boys at work and play? The three ladies — Kay Ferrell, Pat Henchy, and Sarah Imperato (McKay) — had a blast, dissecting the film and Wahlberg’s hair, while lovingly embarrassing their boys. The special track is available on the unrated Blu-ray that comes out tomorrow and they kindly offered a few pictures of their boys from the way-back machine. Check out the photos and some choice quotes from The Other Guys Mom-entary after the jump.
I’ve had Friday, Nov. 5 circled, starred, and highlighted on my calendar for a while, PopWatchers (and not because it’s Guy Fawkes Night…). No, because Will Ferrell plays a deliciously evil supervillain in Megamind (along with Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, and Jonah Hill), which hits theaters tomorrow. And since Ferrell knows all-too-well how to transform himself into an evil villain (see: Zoolander‘s Mugatu), there’s a pretty good chance he’ll be as, if not more, hilarious as an animated one, right? We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out, but could Megamind be the funniest animated movie character of all time?
Of course, the blue evil-doer does have some stiff competition. Tons of great actors have lent their voices and comedic timing to animated films, creating some of the most lovable and laugh-inducing characters: Ellen DeGeneres’ was a forgetful, whale-speaking fish Dory (“Maybe a different dialect?”) in Finding Nemo, and Eddie Murphy played an actual smart-ass in not one, but four Shrek installments. But did these recent characters tickle your funny bone as much as characters in some of Disney’s classics? Going back to the studio’s heyday, Aladdin’s loyal servant Genie had an endless supply of impressions at the ready, thanks to Robin Williams, and the singing duo/lifestyle gurus Timon and Pumbaa (Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella) in The Lion King never failed to deliver a memorable phrase… for the rest of your days.
So tell me, what’s a motto with you, PopWatchers? Who do you think is the funniest animated movie character of all time?
Nick.com has unveiled the first five minutes of the new Will Ferrell/Tina Fey/Brad Pitt animated flick Megamind, due in theaters Nov. 5. Basically, it’s a prologue setting up the rivalry between Ferrell’s evil villain Megamind and Pitt’s heroic and well-coiffed Metro Man. Even in this tiny format, the movie’s quality looks great, meaning it will undoubtedly look even more striking in 3-D. (So perhaps it’s worth shelling out the extra cash, for you and your kids?) Enjoy the first five minutes after the jump: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Valerie Macon/Getty ImagesThey came from galaxies as far away as Encino and Santa Monica, and descended upon the Nokia Plaza in downtown Los Angeles for a singular purpose — to make history. Well, Guinness World Records history, at least. This morning, DreamWorks Animation orchestrated a publicity event/urban carnival/Comic-Con reunion in anticipation of the release of CG-animated superhero flick, Megamind (out Nov. 5). The pitch: An attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the “largest gathering of superheroes.” Star Will Ferrell and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg were on hand to emcee the colossal gathering of Batmans, Supermans, and two-year-old Wolverines. Even Harry Potter and a trio of Ghostbusters turned up, the latter of which were very defensive regarding the accusation that they weren’t superheroes. “How’s Batman a superhero?” said Doug Hawley, 27. “He doesn’t have any superpowers, but he’s got a cool car and gadgets. We got that!” Point taken.
A total of 1,580 costumed individuals showed up to the event, which was more than enough to break the record of 1,500 set by a New Hampshire children’s hospital way back in… August. While waiting for the final tally, attendees played a variety of Megamind-augmented carnival games — Minion Bowl Toss, Metro Man Power Shot, Roxanne Richie Ring Toss — while nibbling on blue cotton-candy, blue breakfast burritos, and blue muffins. And, as is a custom at Comic-Con, everyone walked around to snap photos of one another in costume. Then Ferrell majestically appeared on a rising stage platform, and Guinness spokesman Stuart Claxton verified the world record, to the sound of cheers. “Everyone in a Spider-Man outfit wins a new car!” joked Ferrell. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: John Estes Will Ferrell isn’t exactly known for playing scenes small or using a raised eyebrow when flailing arms would do just as well. But the funnyman took another stab at serious last night at the world premiere of his sweet and affecting new film Everything Must Go, with a performance more akin to his turn in Stranger Than Fiction than Talladega Nights or Anchorman. In the film, Ferrell plays a sad-sack alcoholic who starts living on his front lawn after his wife turns him out of the house and throws all his possessions outside. The film is adapted from a Raymond Carver short story, but adapted pretty freely considering the source material is less than ten pages long. (At a Q&A following the premiere, Ferrell joked that even that was too long for him and he only made it through a page and a half.)
The film co-stars Rebecca Hall (who also attended the premiere) as a new neighbor Ferrell befriends, and Laura Dern as an old high school acquaintance he revisits. The Toronto audience seemed to be into the more subdued Ferrell, praising his performance and asking if he planned on doing more films of this kind. “I don’t really get presented scripts like this very often,” he responded. “I don’t have a conscious plan to become more serious. It’s just project by project, case by case.” First-time director Dan Rush spoke about the experience of directing “the funniest guy in America” in a film as dramatically heavy as this, saying, “We made the decision early on to address each scene as, ‘Okay, this is going to be a funny scene,’ or ‘this is going to be a sad scene.’”
2006′s Stranger Than Fiction struck a more muted, not to mention existential, tone than most of his other films, and the little-seen Winter Passing was a straight-up dramatic role. This latest foray away from his typical shirtless boisterousness met with approval up here, as the audience gave him a prolonged ovation when he stepped out onto the stage following the premiere. Then he started cracking jokes and the claps turned back to laughs.
Image Credit: Macall Polay/Columbia TristarAs I was walking back from the theater after seeing Will Ferrell’s newest comedy The Other Guys – yes, we do walk in Los Angeles – I couldn’t help but compare the film to Ferrell’s previous comedies. Like Owen Gleiberman in his review, I also really enjoyed how buttoned-down and (almost) normal Ferrell’s Allen Gamble was in comparison to the manic man-children he so often plays in movies like Step Brothers and Blades of Glory. Watching Ferrell keep his antic id all buttoned up made the brief moments when it did explode out of him that much funnier. And audiences appear to agree, giving Ferrell his second-highest opening weekend ever to the tune of a cool $35.6 million.
But the movie that remains Ferrell’s most successful, 2006′s Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, also remains for me the gold standard of Ferrell comedies. There’s something just gloriously larger-than-life about Ferrell’s NASCAR buffoon Ricky Bobby — the “sweet baby Jesus” scene alone kills me, and let’s face it, John C. Reilly is a far sharper comic foil for Ferrell than Mark Wahlberg, who kept acting in The Other Guys like he was vaguely aware the joke was on him but couldn’t quite figure out how or why.
But what’s your favorite Will Ferrell comedy? Vote in the poll after the jump (I only included comedies in which Ferrell was an above-the-title lead), and then sound off in the message boards. READ FULL STORY »
