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Puss in Boots: Movie Review

Damon Houx — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:00:38 +0000

The Shrek franchise drove itself into the ground after three sequels, so perhaps the only way to go forward was a spin-off. And it’s true that one of the best things about Puss in Boots – the fifth film in the franchise – is that it never feels like a Shrek movie. The film follows the feline character (voiced by Antonio Banderas) in a stand-alone adventure. But even though it’s not beating you over the head with pop-culture references, it does feel like is something that was originally meant to be a direct to video title.

The Players:

Director: Chris Miller
Writers: Charles Perrault (character), Brian Lynch, David H. Steinberg, Tom Wheeler, Jon Zack
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thorton, Amy Sedaris
Original Music by: Henry Jackman

The Plot:

Fighter and lover Puss in Boots (Banderas) is a wanted cat that’s great with the ladies. He’s drawn to rob Jack and Jill (Thorton, Sedaris) because they have magical beans, but while on the job he runs into Kitty Softpaws (Hayek), and chases after her once they enter into a dance fight/seduction. It turns out she’s been working with Humpty Dumpty (Galifianakis), and Puss and Humpty grew up together and have a complicated history. The three team up to steal the beans to eventually get the goose that lays golden eggs.

The Good:

Kitty!: Cats are cute, and the film takes full advantage of having felines as its leads. The highlight of cuteness might be the cat bar dance fight, but if you’re a cat person, this plays to those strengths.
Occasional Wit: Fortunately this film doesn’t play on the pop culture references of previous Shrek films, and so it not only works as a stand-alone movie, it doesn’t feel as of the moment. Though – as a whole – it’s a little leaden as a narrative, there are moments when the filmmakers use the wide screen and 3-D for great comic effect. There’s also a great aside with Jack wanting to be a father and trying to prove that to his wife. It’s a nice silly running joke.
Kids Film: You’ve got charming leads, cartoon animals, and a brief running time. This may not be Pixar-level work, but it’s also neither painful or obnoxious, which many popular kids films are. It’s also got a reasonably respectable moral about redemption and all that, so on those standards the film is successful.

The Bad

Back Story: The film pauses and mocks that Puss must explain at great length how he and Humpty Dumpty grew up together. It’s a long section of the movie that shows how the two became friends and then how things went bad. Sequences like this slow a movie to a crawl and are predictable to boot – we know how it’s going to end up. It’s just boring storytelling.
Plotting: Humpty Dumpty’s plan is convoluted, and the end involves a change of heart, but it’s mostly nonsense that moves the narrative forward. When films like this have no real stakes or interesting reasons or emotional pull to their reveals it just makes everything feel like plate spinning, which is really what gives this that direct to video feel. Ultimately the main goal with a fourth sequel to a Shrek movie is going to be “making money,” but this feels a little too driven by that.

Overall:

This is passable children’s entertainment in an era marked by spectacular kids films. In no way is it terrible, but it’s also a film where Billy Bob Thorton manages to be funnier than Zach Galifianakis because the latter serves mostly as a plot point.

Rating: 6.5/10

Puss in Boots opens October 28.

Photos:

Trailer:

Bored To Death: Season 3, Episode 1: The Blond In The Woods, TV Review

angelbaker — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:22:20 +0000

Bored to Death’s season premier had it all: Oedipus, oysters and over-aged boyfriends. The quirky comedy noir hit its stride straight from the opening and kept up the laugh-a-minute pace to the credits. Following a delicately paved path to paternity, “The Blond In The Woods” did what a good kickoff should: it offered juicy stories to hold on to throughout the season and satisfied with hilarious standbys like George’s virility, Ray’s superhero fantasy, and Jonathan’s ability to be at once hyper-self-aware and oblivious. Read more about the show …

The Players:

Director: Michael Lehmann
Writer: Jonathan Ames
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, Ted Danson

Episode Title: “The Blond In The Woods”

Plot:

Jonathan (Schwartzman), George (Danson), and Ray (Galifianakis) each have an expectation of what fatherhood is meant to be. While searching for the answers they find themselves in varying degrees of paternal struggle: Jonathan doles some interesting news about his conception, George meets his daughter’s new “boy”friend and Ray meets his son.

The Good:

Samantha Bee: We love Samantha Bee on “The Daily Show” and we love her as the now divorced lesbian mother to Ray’s son. We hope to see more of her relaxed humor in the coming episodes.
Ray Meets His Son: In true “new dad” form, Ray comes unglued when his kid cries uncontrollably. After asking the kid to suck it up, Ray offers him a tasty solution. No spoilers, but be warned – Ray gives new meaning to Mr. Mom. Galifianakis has mastered the guy-on-the-edge persona and it really shows in this subplot.
Join The Circus: Bored To Death has a real circus bravado. From its characters’ costumes to its close-ups and hammy devotion to bygone days, this episode was a true homage to the big top. At Jonathan’s second book launch, he goes for full impalement art glory. And it’s a thing of beauty.
George’s Virility: Sam Malone may be nearing Social Security age, but Ted Danson’s George Christopher has all the oyster swilling energy of the nubile young waiters he employs (the names of which escape him due to his pot-smoking days). It’s fun to watch George attack life with youth and imagination. It’s even funnier to hear his cracks about women.

The Bad:

Bernard: Emily’s old (not as in past but as in old) boyfriend is hilarious in his uncanny way to make us feel like we are hot-tubbing in bacon grease. It’s comedic torture. It’s good but it’s so, so bad.
The Hunt For The Real Father: It’s going to take a full season to crack this case. The suspense is great for the show but bad for us who skip straight to the “Spoiler Alert” section in a review. This one’s going to take some patience.

Overall:

This was a great kick-off to the third season of the smart and dark comedy. Each of the three main characters got a great storyline that will be interesting to watch unfold over this new season.

Rating: 9/10

Bored To Death airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO

What do you think of Bored to Death’s premiere?

The Hangover Part II: Movie Review

Damon Houx — Thu, 26 May 2011 01:18:18 +0000

The Hangover gang’s all back for another round of waking up and having no idea how bad things got the night before.For The Hangover Part II, the challenge – as a comedy – is to find a compelling narrative to return to a similar well. Most comic sequels end up redressing the original premise in one way or another to do it again, here the invention is the new location. Can it match up to the original?

The Players

Directed by: Todd Phillips
Written by: Phillips, Craig Mazin, Scot Armstrong
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Paul Giamatti
Cinematography by: Lawrence Sher

The Plot

Stu (Helms) is getting married to Lauren (Jamie Chung) in Thailand with her humorless father and young but super-smart brother Teddy (Mason Lee) in attendance. Stu wants his old friends Phil and Doug (Cooper, Bartha respectively), and is forced to drag along Alan (Galifianakis). After the wedding rehearsal, the boys end up on the beach promising to have only one beer. The next morning they’re in a hotel they’ve never been to before with no power, a monkey, a severed finger, Mr. Chow (Jeong), and no clue where Teddy is. They then have to retrace their steps to find the young boy, but as – they’re warned repeatedly – “Bangkok has him now.”

The Good

Todd Phillips actually directs his comedies: Though Bridesmaids is a much better film in every way – like many of its ilk – the filmmaking in that film has little panache. In fact, most of the post-Judd Apatow comic directors have embraced Judd’s point-and-shoot approach. Phillips directs the movie with an eye toward cinema, and when there are set pieces involving a car chase, and a drug dealing monkey it feels put together and interesting unlike some of the more “is this intentionally or unintentionally bad” action sequences in some other more recent comedies.
It’s Transgressive: Though the first film featured Vegas, it never got that seedy. Here the film goes into darker places than the original – hopefully to raise the stakes – which means that the jokes go in some terrible places. Though the ending glosses over some of that, the film isn’t afraid to shoot its heroes, and have them engage in some behavior that may make the audience squirm. This leads to the biggest laughs in the film.

The Bad

It’s the Same Movie: Though the set up was bound to be similar, their adventures are pretty much the same (you can substitute Thai ladyboys for Heather Graham, etc), and the film ends with a photo montage after a cameo by a performer from the first film – who shows up and is painfully not funny. Because the structure is almost exactly the same, it doesn’t have the surprise of the first film, and so they’re way less excitement to how it’s all going to wrap up. Zach Galifianakis no longer gets to sneak up and surprise you this time, here you get to watch him riff on the character – which still has moments but isn’t as winning. We’ve seen him do this before. The moments where the film does do different jokes or beats are where the film succeeds, but as evinced from the trailer, they hit so many of the same beats that if you have a familiarity with the first film, you’re bound to see this as diminishing returns.
The First Film Worked Because it was Unlike Other Comedies: What made The Hangover pop in 2009 was partly because cinema was awash in a wave of Judd Apatow and company films that had become the dominate form. The problem with this film is that it’s now familiar, especially between the first film and Due Date. Phillips has a style and it works, but the more he does it the less the returns – he’s getting as over-exposed as Apatow.
The Transgression: The only thing the film has going for it is that it goes to some darker places, but in most ways it backs off from them. From the sex, to how the boys blacked out, to the severed finger, to someone getting shot, there seem to be consequences to their actions that eventually disappear. In that way the film is both more and less dangerous than it should be. The idea of dropping characters off in a place where they don’t speak the language is great… too bad they never have to deal with anyone who doesn’t speak English.

Overall

The Hangover Part II functions more as a remake than sequel – there was really no story to tell, and it would be hard to justify getting these characters back together again, regardless. But as they couldn’t find a more interesting angle than “let’s just do the second one in Bangkok” you get exactly what you’d expect, for better or ill. To that end, it’s not as perfunctory as the recent Pirates sequel, but that’s rather faint praise. That the film is going to make at least $200 Million dollars domestically means that the sequel was a smart move on Warner Brothers part. At the same time, the film may end up being more of a Pyrrhic victory if it annoys audiences and spoils the goodwill of the first one. If it does do over $200, then a third one will surely be in order, and likely it’ll be the sort of film where everyone says they learned from the mistakes they made on the second one.

Rating: 4/10

The Hangover Part II opens in Theaters May 26

The Hangover II Trailer Offers More of the Same

Damon Houx — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 01:13:42 +0000

Warner Brothers has been relatively tight-lipped about Todd Phillips’s The Hangover Part II and its plot details, but more is emerging thanks to the full trailer, which just debuted. It shows that Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis are back in a similar position of not remembering the night before and this time it’s not Justin Bartha they’ve lost, but a young boy. Also returning is Ken Jeong as Mr. Chow. Take a look…

For some reason this trailer reminds me more of Dude, Where’s My Car than the first film the first film did. Perhaps that was sold a little differently – though arguably both have similar plots – but that’s definitely the vibe I get here. Maybe it’s the monastery.

This should be a monster hit as audiences loved the first film. It made $277 Million dollars domestically, and this looks like more of the same. That said, it also looks more labored – which is inherent to the very nature of making this sequel, but surely the foreign location and the number of options for making terrible late night decisions that were unexplored in the first film should lead to big laughs.

I’ve heard that the film has been testing very well, and everything’s lined up for this to be one of the big summer titles. Regardless of whether it works or not, the film is going to open.

Are you sick of Wolf Pack jokes?

Roundup: Zach Galifianakis Hosts Saturday Night Live

traviswoods — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:38:32 +0000

The reviews are in on Zach Galifianakis’ (type that three times fast) Saturday Night Live hosting gig over the weekend, and the brilliant comic’s episode is getting—unsurprisingly—high marks for his hilarious monologue (“I wear a lot of Axe body spray, but I live in a black neighborhood, and it’s called Ask body spray, and if you don’t get that joke, then you’re not racist”), while the episode’s sketches are garnering—again, unsurprisingly—a general chorus of groans and mehs.

The New York Post called Zach’s monologue “brilliantly acerbic jokes followed by a musical moment — and delivered as many LPM’s (laughs per minute), but sadly the rest of the show couldn’t follow suit,” while the Onion AV Club nailed it as “essentially just five-odd minutes of his standup… so funny and has the crowd so on board that you’re suddenly super-hyped for the rest of the show. When the rest of the show turns out to be Saturday Night Live, well, it’s hard not to be disappointed.”

The Huffington Post got some giggles out of the episode’s Digital Short (always a highlight), as “Zach sits down with a bunch of ridiculously cute children and interviews them one by one to be his new personal assistant. Not only is he hilarious to the kids, but Zach plays off each of them really well, making them funnier by proxy.”

However, the episode’s remainder was more of the “But don’t change the channel just yet, folks!” variety, according to the AV Club, “because we’ve put every female cast member on the show in a spoof of The Talk that literally sucks the air out of the room! The funny thing about this leading sketch was that, in mocking a flat, lifeless show, it made SNL pretty darn lifeless.”

Oh well. You can always watch the two sketches above and then skip over to Two Ferns on Funny or Die and pretend like you’re watching a bizarrely funny and consistent SNL episode, right?

Zach Galifianakis to Host Saturday Night Live March 12

Krystal Clark — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:20:41 +0000

Guess who’s headed back to “Saturday Night Live?” It’s everyone’s favorite Greek comedian Zach Galifianakis! NBC has just announced that the star will appear on an upcoming episode of the sketch comedy series next month marking his second appearance. The first time he hosted was on March 6, 2010 with musical guest Vampire Weekend.

This year, Galifianakis will take the SNL stage on March 12, almost exactly one year after his debut appearance. The musical guest that weekend will be Jessie J, an English singer and songwriter best known for her tracks “Price Tag” and “Do it Like a Dude.” We don’t know about you but we’re excited to see Galifianakis host again, we just don’t know what he’ll be promoting. The Hangover Part II doesn’t hit theaters until the summer.

One of the things we’ve always loved about Galifianakis is his ability to utilize the awkward pause. No one does weird and uncomfortable like him. He will sit and stare at you until you laugh. If he can’t get you that way he’ll try to serenade you with a piano solo filled with strange lyrics that make no sense. In other words, he has multiple aces up his sleeve, and that’s why we love him.

Are you excited to see Galifianakis co-host the show again?

Source: EW

Jennifer Aniston Joins Zach Galifianakis and Tila Tequila Between Two Ferns

Krystal Clark — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 19:13:54 +0000

Jennifer Aniston is hard at work promoting her new comedy Just Go With It. She recently visited the set of Funny or Die’s “Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis,” and a surprising second guest — Tila Tequila. We weren’t aware that the two women had that much in common but they shared a chair and some serious awkwardness during the appearance. Check it out…

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Tila Tequila from Between Two Ferns

“Between Two Ferns” is known for its long pauses, awkward conversation, and simplistic setting but this episode is beyond strange. Who thought it was a good idea to partner these two women for an interview? Aniston actually plays second fiddle to Tequila, which is weird considering she has a movie coming out and Tequila has…..whatever it is that she has.

We’ve seen better versions of this skit. We see what they were going for but it just doesn’t work for us. If we had to decide Funny or Die on this one, it deserves the latter. It needs to go down in a virtual ball of flames!

On a lighter note, Just Go With It opens in theaters on February 11.

What do you think of Aniston and Tequila on Between Two Ferns? Was it funny or should it die?

Zach Galifianakis in Talks to Star in R.I.P.D. Opposite Ryan Reynolds

Krystal Clark — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:35:36 +0000

Ryan Reynolds‘ sarcastic wit will meet its match with the stoic and awkward pauses of Zach Galifianakis. The two actors may join forces for the upcoming comic adaptation R.I.P.D. According to a report from The LA Times, the comedian turned actor is in talks to star in the film, which will feature Reynolds as a cop who hunts the dead.

Two sources close to the project claim that Galifianakis is negotiating to play the co-lead alongside Reynolds. R.I.P.D. (short for Rest in Peace Department) centers on two police officers, one who has recently died and another who’s been dead for hundreds of years. As a matter of fact, the entire police force is filled with dead cops. The comic was distributed by Dark Horse and was created by Peter Lenkov.

R.I.P.D. will be directed by RED helmer, Robert Schwentke and produced by Universal Pictures. The studio aims to shoot the film this summer, when Reynolds has an open slot in his busy schedule.

Is it wrong that we’re still slightly bitter about Reynolds choosing this film over the Deadpool spin-off? Not to knock this comic, but where are his priorities?

What do you think of Galifianakis being cast in R.I.P.D.?

Due Date: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:00:41 +0000

This week Hangover director Todd Phillips releases his latest comedy Due Date starring none other than two of our favorite faces Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. This film had all the child-beating, masturbating, fat bodily parts in face rubbing, dog abusing jokes you can think of! That’s right, when you think of Phillips’ you should be thinking about a man who likes to make as many rude jokes as possible and this film definitely succeeds there… though it might not quite be what your expecting.

Find out more about the movie below…

Players:

Director: Todd Phillips
Writers: Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel, Todd Phillips
Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Juliette Lewis
Original Music by: Christophe Beck
Cinematography by: Lawrence Sher

The Plot:

Due Date is a road trip movie that centers on a father to be as he anxiously tries to venture cross country to make it in time for his child’s birth. Unfortunately, he has to hitch a ride with an annoying slacker in order to make that happen.

The Good:

Two Great Leads: Downey and Galifianakis are two very charming actors in two very different ways. Downey has the quick wit, good looks, and the lovable edge; Galifianakis has the brilliant, albeit slow and almost non-human reactions that are fascinating to watch and is more lovable in the fozzy bear kind of way. The duo make a great team and play off one another brilliantly. In fact the only real reason to go and see this film is because you like seeing both their mugs blown up on a big screen.
Some Shocking Moments: Though a lot of this film is mainstream there are definitely a few shocking moments that actually got me to gasp. It’s rare that a comedy can make you both laugh and gasp, but it’s what we have to look forward to in a Todd Phllips’ film and he doesn’t disappoint.
Enough Good Laughs: Though there were many people around me who were laughing out loud, for the most part this film has a lot of chuckles throughout and no huge laughes. I wouldn’t say it’s a film that will have your sides aching but more than likely it will have you pleasantly smiling throughout.

The Bad:

Same Ol’ Shit: Though the film has a few new and interesting characteristics it’s very much a film that we’ve seen before with two new charismatic and fun to watch characters. This basically could BE The Hangover 2, it’s the next stage in a man’s life and another trip on the road WITH Zach Galifianakis as an odd sidekick, but apparently we’ll be seeing that (as well) next year.

Overall:

This is what I call a “hangover movie” (which has NOTHING to do with Todd Phillips’ Hangover movies) because it’s a good film to watch when you feel like crap and need something entertaining enough to take your mind off your current bodily situation but not difficult enough to make you have to actually use your head. It’s just good enough to be entertaining but it’s nothing new or exciting. It might also be good pre-hangover, I would imagine a few beers would make Due Date go down all the more smoothly.

Rating: 6.5/10

Due Date in theaters November 5th!

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Interview: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Todd Phillips for Due Date

Mali Elfman — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 20:30:17 +0000

Last week we attended a press conference for director Todd Phillips upcoming comedy Due Date starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis and there was an interesting, albeit entertaining dynamic between the three gentlemen who were not always so kind to the others in the press conference. Downey with his quick wit and self-confessed ego seemed to enjoy taunting and at times even mimicking Galifianakis’ having trouble remembering his lines on set.

All and all there was a rather interesting vibe in the room and you got the feeling the three had a bet going on as to who could get the best jabs in. See for yourself…

Zach and Robert, this film deals a lot people being out of their comfort zones, where are you most comfortable?

Zach Galifianakis: (Mumbles) My comfort zone is press conferences.

Robert Downey Jr.: Conversely mine actually is press conferences.

Robert, how much fun was it to gut punch that kid and what was it like working with kids in general?

Downey: I love that we’ve actually gotten more push-back from spitting in a dog’s face than punching a human child in the stomach. Those are the two things, Todd told me to do both of them. On one of them, on the day he said, ‘You should spit in that dog’s face.’ I was like, ‘Ha! Yeah, yeah. Anyway…’ He goes, ‘No, I want you to spit in the dog’s face.’ I said, ‘That’s so definitive,’ and he goes, ‘I know but I think that people like you enough. I don’t know if they will. Just spit in it’s face.’ He loves dogs and I actually don’t like dogs. So I felt kind of horrible and splendorous doing it. There was a question there somewhere but I’m sure whatever I said was far more entertaining.

(One of the many examples of Zach being picked on by Robert…)

Zach, did you have a problem with spitting in the dog’s face? That was your dog.

Galifianakis: Well –

Downey: Jesus Christ, dude. Answer the question.

Galifianakis: Maybe.

Downey: Yes or no. That dog made you sick.

Galifianakis: Oh, I didn’t like the dog. But I don’t think, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to spit. Robert spit in my face every morning. Plus, the dog and I have a certain bond –

Masturbation?

Galifianakis: That’s right.

Downey: That’s exactly right.

Which of you would be more likely to breakup horribly in the middle of a take and Todd can you weigh in with a verdict?

Downey: Let me put it this way, I’m eighty five times more professional than Zach but I was hoping that we’d have some good gag reels so maybe I’d chuckle a little bit more. He might not actually know how funny he is sometimes, too.

Todd Phillips: Yeah. Zach doesn’t really break up. He’ll read his line halfway and he goes [cough] and start over.

Downey: He has a ghastly tic. It’s my favorite thing about him, to tell you the truth, particularly when we’re doing press and it takes him forty five years to answer one question. He’s trying to think about what the answer is and then he stutters and then he
judges himself –

Phillips: And then he starts over and that would make Robert laugh.

Downey: ‘Sonny stop it, we’re going to be late…[clearing his throat], Stop it sonny, we’re going to be late [clears his throat]…’ I’m sorry, ‘Sonny, late we’re going be… Sonny, stop it. Stop it, Sonny. Stop it, Sonny, we’re going to be late. Stop it, Sonny, we’re going
to be late.’ and I’m just there, like, ‘This is an anthropological study.’ ‘Now what are we supposed to do?’ ‘When will you be done? That will be my cue.’

Galifianakis: I know my face is turning red. I don’t want you to interpret it as being embarrassed. It’s rage. The color of my face is rage.

Now them ganging up against the press…

This movie is about fatherhood, becoming one and losing one. Can you talk about fatherhood for a moment? Why did that story resonate with you and with the rest of you?

Downey: Don’t answer that, Todd.

Phillips: I refuse to answer that question.

Galifianakis: I’ll tell you. No. It actually is very personal, maybe –

Robert, were you channeling a bit of Todd in this role, especially in the look of your character?

Downey: Well, I’m actually glad that you asked that because I think that every time I feel that I really hit critical mass and I’m in the right place is when I feel like the director and I become a third thing and that’s the character. Even though the central subject of the movie is Ethan, the person who you’re kind of seeing it through is Peter.

Absolutely, and particularly when he said, ‘There’s just a lot of hostility and there’s a lot of fear and his kind of attitude and his anger is covering that fear and stuff,’ and we like to commiserate. We’re genuinely pretty happy guys but we love just getting crabby together. And he is kind of like a hostage child that we’ve taken who’s watching mom and dad or dad and dad just hash it out. I always feel like I’m playing an aspect of the director, particularly when he’s an auteur. To me it’s a way of almost making him a proud parent. I’m a bit of an appendage of some aspect of the director.

Can you talk about how you worked out or developed the scenes together on this and how much was in the script and how much was improved?

Phillips: Well, the way that we worked it out is the way that I’ve done it on all my movies, but this film in particular had an interesting process because Robert has a very producorial brain. He’s basically another writer in the room. Zach is really an empty vessel. He just sits and waits. No. But Robert and I had lots of spirited discussions every morning about [it.] We had the pages and he’d go, ‘Okay, what are we really doing?’ Not to discredit the writing process which I was a part of, too –

Downey: It was a great script which just made me hate it all the more.

Phillips: Yeah. Robert has an aversion to things that are typed, I’ve learned. So even if we just rewrote the actual scene on a napkin, even if it was the same scene, he felt better about it. I’ve said this before, he made me a better director and the reason for that is that he’s constantly challenging what we’re doing everyday in the larger, bigger picture. A lot of times you hear about actors and they’re worried about their lines and their thing and Robert thinks of the movie as a whole. He thinks of every character as the whole and that’s what I mean by a producorial kind of approach to it. For me it was an unequaled experience. I’ve never experienced anything like it. I think that was the process. You witnessed a lot of it.

Galifianakis: Yeah. I think that each morning there was a meeting. I would read the minutes from the last meeting. ‘Todd yells. Robert Yells back. Lets get on with the new meeting.’ No. There was a discussion for at least about an hour each morning it seemed like, sometimes longer –

Phillips: Sometimes three.

Galifianakis: Yeah, and it really helped it. It really did.

On the topic of making a sequel to this film, Galifianakis comes up with an interesting idea…

Galifianakis: As far as the franchise stuff goes we were kind of fantasizing on the last day certainly that I was working – and it was towards the last scene or it was the last scene at the hospital; there was a moment and I don’t know if you recall it where Ethan says to Peter, ‘Call me.’

Downey: Okay, yeah.

Galifianakis: Then I’m like, ‘No. Call me tomorrow,’ whatever I say. We were fantasizing, like, I’ve never seen a movie jump genres. So the sequel would be more like a ‘Cape Fear’ thing. My character is not actually dumb at all. It’s just been an act.

Downey: An elaborate ruse -

Galifianakis: This whole time and I then stalk Robert’s family.

Phillips: I thought what you were going to say and what would be interesting is if you just pick it up from a minute later. Instead of jumping a month or a year that it’s literally from that moment that you left. That would be fun.

Todd were you always intending on showing up in the film?

Phillips: I wrote myself in that morning. It was never in there.

Downey: By the way, what is it that you’re whispering to Juliette Lewis? I’ve been trying to figure it out.

Phillips: That is called great acting. It’s understated.

Downey: Unintelligible, yet to me the best single line in the movie because I can’t even tell you what you were saying.

Phillips: I said, ‘Did you remember to tape “Judge Mathis”?’ She says, ‘Yeah, it’s on there. Just look on the menu.’

Often modern protagonists get sanded down from focus groups into this kind of vanilla blandness. Was it refreshing to play someone with so many real and yet repellent moments in their arc?

Downey: I just want to be a part of a good movie and I can’t stand to be surrounded by morons but we had such a great group of people in the whole thing. It’s funny, yeah, because you could say this is a two dimensional commercial comedy. I feel that this is the second greatest story ever told.

The first being?

Downey: Oh, come on! The Bible.

Thought Zach did get some punches in as well…

Can you talk about Juliette Lewis because she’s had a great year of cameos. If you did do the ‘Cape Fear’ thing would she be in it?

Phillips: She would but I don’t think that Zach could fit his finger in her mouth.

Downey: You got to hand him the baton there. (Zach pauses and Robert gets antsy) Do you want a piano?

Galifianakis: At least my father didn’t leave me. Okay? News is out. That’s what the father issue is about. There it is.

But the mocking continued…

Zach, how was it being on the set of the greatest television show of all time, ‘Two and A Half Men’ and while we’re on the topic, do you have any advice for Charlie Sheen right now?

Galifianakis: I’ve only heard a little bit about what happened Charlie Sheen but I want to congratulate him, from what I’ve heard. Be nice now that the holiday season’s coming up. But that sitcom acting is tough. You have to hit your mark. It’s a tough thing to do, the sitcom.

Downey: I’m sorry. You have to hit your marks? That’s the challenge?

Phillips: It was a lot that day for you to memorize and do right on the spot. We showed up and we were shooting it fifteen minutes later and it was a little bit like Zach getting thrown into their world.

Downey: Within the context of that show I thought that it was a very strong cameo –

Galifianakis: Thank you. I’m going to be on next season.

Phillips: Those guys at ‘Two and A Half Men’ were great to have us and they understood the tone of the movie and take part and it was really fun to do.

The again the two did seem to have a bond…

Robert and Zach, what do you think is the definition of friendship and you seem to have an off friendship now?

Downey: To me friendship means loving tolerance.

Galifianakis: I think that Robert and I formed a friendship on this movie, albeit a very antagonistic but fun relationship. He’s really kind of very, very funny and he makes fun of people a lot and for some reason I like to be made fun of even if it has to do with my
fingers not fitting in someone’s mouth. That’s really hilarious.

And now to end on a high note, after all the teasing Robert did give the two a nod…

Robert, can you talk about being a part of so many franchises and if this film does well possibly doing another sequel or franchise?

Downey: Yeah. That’s what I need is three franchises so that I can utterly have a personality meltdown and no real life, but I would do it with these guys. I have to say, too, that there was something so cathartic, and as we all know from the writers and Michelle peripherally and our involvement in it, but I think it was just the most healing project that I’ve ever worked on. And I’ve never come up against anyone who is so confident and so thoughtful and so spontaneous that it’s not even daunting. He’s just in a class by himself and I think Todd is the best director that I’ve ever worked with, bar none.

Phillips: Did you all get that?

Galifianakis: And don’t forget about the part before that which I thought he was talking about you the whole time.

Watch the two tear each other apart in Due Date, which will be in theaters November 5th.

Zach Galifianakis Says He Didn’t Get Mel Gibson Fired From Hangover 2

Krystal Clark — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:01:30 +0000

Over the past couple of weeks, The Hangover 2 has been the center of attention for all the wrong reasons. The film has been overshadowed by a dark cloud brought upon us by Mel Gibson. The Oscar winner was set to do a cameo in the sequel but the cast and crew were against it causing director Todd Phillips to drop him. Rumors soon spread that Galifianakis was the main culprit, who caused Gibson to get tossed. Galifianakis recently appeared on an episode of “The Today Show” to promote his new film, Due Date and he addressed the speculation regarding his involvement.

According to Galifianakis, “I do not consult on the movies that I’m in. I just show up and I say my lines, usually terribly, and I do consult on dialogue,” he explained. “But as far as hiring and firing of actors, I have no insight into that world whatsoever.” This was in response to a radio interview he did a few weeks ago where he stated that he was “in a deep protest” with a movie he was working on, but he never clarified if it was The Hangover 2 or not.

Phillips had previously released a statement revealing that Gibson’s cameo wouldn’t be happening because the decision ultimately did not have the full support of his entire cast and crew. The media ran wild with that and put two and two together and came up with a rambunctious story about angry actors and unfair firings. At the official press day for Due Date, Phillips stated that we shouldn’t believe the hype.

Phillips: “Just for clarification, no one was ever fired. It’s a term that is so obscene to me. Someone was doing me a favor to come in for a two minute cameo and we changed it. I mean it wasn’t like we fired somebody. It was doing a favor from the beginning.”

Even though they claim that this wasn’t a huge blow up, there had to be some serious resistance from everyone involved for Gibson to get dropped like that. More than likely they want the focus to shift back to the fun aspects of the movie and not the behind the scenes drama.

Do you believe Galifianakis and Phillips’ statements?

Source: MTV

Zach Galifianakis Joining The Muppets Movie

Krystal Clark — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:14:12 +0000

Just when we thought the upcoming Muppets movie couldn’t get any better — it does. The cast which currently includes Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Rashida Jones, and Chris Cooper will get an extra dose of funny from Zach Galifianakis. The Hangover star is currently in talks to join the comedy according to a report from EW.

While out promoting his latest comedy Due Date, Galifianakis’ co-star Robert Downey Jr. spilled the beans regarding his addition to The Muppets cast via a video interview with E! Online. You can tell that the actor wasn’t really keen on revealing such information but when Downey gets going, he gets going! When EW reached out to the actor’s management for an official statement they confirmed that he is “talking about it.”

It also seems that the stint would only be for a few days, which means this might be a cameo instead of a full on supporting role. If that’s the case, we can deal with that. Every little bit helps. With that beard and those beady eyes, Galifianakis will fit right in with the Muppet crew. We can’t wait to see him and Segel go at!

Are you excited about Galifianakis joining the Muppets? Who do you think he’ll play?

ScreenCrave.com » zach galifianakis

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