Sunday, November 15

• First 20 Minutes of Scott Pilgrim Are, Apparently, Awesome

  Edgar Wright's upcoming adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's comic book Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is reportedly a pretty amazing flick. Or at least the first twenty minutes are amazing. Jason Schwartzman, who appears in the movie, told MTV after watching only twenty minutes of the movie that it's "unlike anything I've seen in my entire life. ... It's really funny, it's really emotional,"said Schwartmzan. "There's a lot of romance — but the action sequences, I've never seen scenes quite like these. They're really beautiful."

  Scott Pilgrim tells the of Scott (Michael Cera), who must defeat the seven evil ex-boyfriends of his new girlfriend to win her heart. Schwartzman was only too happy to continually praise the movie, even if he only saw a small portion that he wasn't even in.

  I was so excited. I hope — and I'm pretty confident —that that's the way people will feel when they see the movie, because I'm a fan of the comics and a fan of Edgar and Michael, and watching the first 20 minutes it was like, "Oh! There's that, and that, and that, and I've always wondered what that would [look like]..."

  Schwartzman isn't alone in his adoration for the movie. Director Jason Reitman (the upcoming Up in the Air) saw the first thirty minutes last month, then used his Twitter account to announce his enthusiasm.

  It is a game changer for Edgar and the genre. It moves the speed of light and carries more unadulterated joy than Ive seen in recent cinema.

  I'm in awe of the sheer control in the filmmaking. It feels like a Matrix for love and how willing we are to fight for it.

  If I had a movie coming out next year, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it. Hats off my friend. Can't get it out of my head.

  We just hope the rest of the movie doesn't completely fall flat after the first 20-30 minutes!

  
  

  Posted 11/15/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Jason Reitman | Jason Schwartzman | Edgar Wright

Thursday, July 9

• New Funny People Trailers

  With Funny People's aggressive viral ad campaign — Adam Sandler's character in fake movie clips and Jason Schwartzman's character in a fictional TV sitcom — it can be tough to remember it's the actual movie that's important.

  The latest TV spot, thankfully, features some footage that reveals Funny People has a lot of surprises in store for theatergoers. Check it out below:

  As Funny People is rated "R" and is about stand-up comedians, the movie does include some racy language. For those who aren't thrown off by that, there is also a new Red Band trailer ("R" rated).

  
  

  Posted 07/09/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Adam Sandler | Jason Schwartzman | Funny People

Thursday, July 2

• Funny People's Viral Campaign Adds Comedy Superstar Randy Soudha

  

  The viral campaign for Funny People started with a fictional TV show starring Jason Schwartzman's character called Yo, Teach. Next was a website for Adam Sandler's comedian character George Simmons, including clips from his "movies." The latest entry is another fictional website, this time for Aziz Ansari's character the "superstar comic" Randy Soudha, who is a mix of Dane Cook's antics and Eddie Murphy's material.

  The website includes a bio, an interactive soundbyte mixing board, and videos of Ansari – sorry, Raaaandy – performing standup (Warning: the clips are funny, but not work-friendly).

  
  
  Next Showing: Funny People opens July 31

  Posted 07/02/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Adam Sandler | Eddie Murphy | Jason Schwartzman | Dane Cook | Aziz Ansari | Funny People

Sunday, June 21

• Funny People's Fake Adam Sandler Movies

  The viral video campaign for Funny People launched with a fake TV show of Jason Schwartzman's character called Yo, Teach!. Now director Judd Apatow and company have created a website for Adam Sandler's character of George Simmons, a comedian who has had quite the fictional career. The website contain a biography of the character along with posters and video clips of his fake movies, not unlike the Tropic Thunder viral campaign of fake movie trailers from last year.

  While only posters exist for the fake movies of Mer-Man and My Best Friend Is a Robot, there are clips from Dog's Best Friend and Re-Do. Best Friend has Sandler, or Simmons really, playing a cop teamed up with the best police dog on the force, while Re-Do shows how a wish for youth has gone horribly wrong.

  
  
  Next Showing: Funny People opens July 31

  Posted 06/21/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Adam Sandler | Judd Apatow | Jason Schwartzman | Funny People

Tuesday, June 2

• Funny People Launches Fictional Sitcom Viral Campaign

  The promotional campaign for the Judd Apatow comedy Funny People has begun, starting with a viral campaign for the fictional NBC sitcom Yo, Teach! -- released on the NBC website to appear like a real show. It's a hybrid of Dangerous Minds and '80s sitcom Head of the Class, and stars fictional actor Mark Steven Jackson (Jason Schwartzman) as a motivational teacher of troubled youth. Enjoy a scene from the "first season" of Yo, Teach!

  And now go behind-the-scenes of Yo, Teach! with Schwartzman's Mark Steven Jackson.

  
  
  Next Showing: Funny People opens July 31

  Posted 06/02/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Judd Apatow | Jason Schwartzman | Funny People | Dangerous Minds

Thursday, October 11

• Jack Black as Paul McCartney? Only in the land of Apatow

  The folks at Sony hosted a preview today of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, the latest guaranteed blockbuster from the Judd Apatow comedy empire. Starring John C. Reilly and directed by Jake Kasdan, Walk Hard is the first bona fide parody from the Apatow gang, spoofing of Walk the Line, The Doors and pretty much every other musician biopic ever made.

  Being an Apatow flick, Walk the Line also features the requisite number of cameos, including a hilarious scene in which Cox drops acid with the Beatles while in India. Paul Rudd plays John, Justin Long plays George, Jack Black plays Paul and Jason Schwartzman plays Ringo. Much of the scene is spent poking fun at the fact that none of the actors remotely resemble members of the Fab Four.

  Expect a more accurate impersonation from White Stripes frontman Jack White, who plays Elvis in a brief but memorable cameo.

  
  
  Next Showing: Walk Hard opens nationwide this Christmas
  

  Walk Hard - Trailer

  The Dewey Cox Story

  Posted 10/11/2007 by reelz

  Related: Jack Black | Judd Apatow | Justin Long | Paul Rudd | John C. Reilly | Jason Schwartzman | Walk Hard

Friday, September 7

• Natalie Portman naked!

  ReelzChannel was able to see an early press screening of Wes Anderson's new movie, The Darjeeling Limited (which is very good) and a short film was shown beforehand. A note was handed out to everyone stating, "A note from the director of this film. There are two parts to The Darjeeling Limited. First, there is a short film which is a separate story from but is slightly related to the main feature. It will not be shown in theatres but instead on the internet and also at film festivals and on the DVD. Our goal is to get every person who goes to the film to see the short first."

  The short film was about two lovers played by Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman meeting up in a French hotel room. Jason undresses her and she can be seen from the side in her birthday suit. We all know she exposed some skin in Closer and she apparently does it again in Goya's Ghosts, but putting something like this on the interent right away could spread like wildfire. A smart marketing move by Wes and Fox Searchlight, but how does Natalie feel about that?  We've looked for the short already online and can't find it yet, but when we do we'll let you know!

  
  
  Next Showing: The Darjeeling Limited opens in limited theaters on September 29th.
  

  The Darjeeling Limited - trailer

  Three brothers go on a journey through India.

  Posted 09/07/2007 by

  Related: Natalie Portman | Jason Schwartzman | The Darjeeling Limited