Trailer: Judd Apatow’s ‘This is 40′ starring Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Megan Fox, John Lithgow, Melissa McCarthy, Robert Smigel, Albert Brooks & Jason Segel

This is 40: Writer/director/producer Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Funny People) brings audiences This Is 40, an original comedy that expands upon the story of Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) from the blockbuster hit Knocked Up as we see firsthand how they are dealing with their current state of life.

Writer/Director: Judd Apatow
Cast: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Megan Fox, John Lithgow, Iris Apatow, Maude Apatow, Melissa McCarthy, Robert Smigel, Charlene Yi, Albert Brooks, Jason Segel

In theaters: December 21st Read more

Q&A: ‘Best Friends Forever’ Stars Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham

Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham star in NBC’s new series, Best Friends Forever, a show about old friends, new beginnings and awkward situations.

The two star, created and co-write the show about best friends who live on opposite sides of the country. When Jessica is overnighted divorce papers, Lennon convinces her to return home to Brooklyn and back into the apartment they used to share. It doesn’t take long for the girls to fall into old habits: movie marathons and late night girl talk sessions – none of which is good news for Lennon’s live-in boyfriend, Joe (Luka Jones, Upright Citizens Brigade) who tries to be understanding but begins to feel like a stranger in his own home.

Jessica St. Clair performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York and Los Angeles, was in the hit Bridesmaids and was last seen in Wanderlust. On television, she’s starred opposite Megan Mullally and Cheryl Hines in In the Motherhood and has had guest-starring appearances on Parks and Recreation, Weeds and United States of Tara.

Lennon Parham is perhaps best known for playing the supporting role of Abby Chase, alongside Jenna Elfman on the television series Accidentally on Purpose. Some of her other guest roles include Parks and Recreation and How I Met Your Mother. Parham is also an alumna of Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) Theater where she performed for nine years. Her one-woman character show, “She Tried to Be Normal,” ran in New York and Los Angeles and was selected for the Montreal “Just For Laughs” festival in 2009.

I talked to both Jessica and Lennon in a conference call recently where they talked about the show, how the work may, in fact, kill them and their time at UCB!

Best Friends Forever airs Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c on NBC Read more

SXSW Interview: Matt Lucas on ‘Small Apartments’ and Creating Characters

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:00 — 15.1MB)

Matt Lucas is one of the most versatile character actors working today. If you’ve seen his work on the brilliant Little Britain, Tim Burton‘s Alice in Wonderland (Tweedledee/Tweedledum) and as Gil in Bridesmaids, you know exactly what I’m talking about. 

With all of his amazing work, it’s surprising (at least to me) that Small Apartments, the Jonas Ackerlund film that premiered at SXSW this year, was his first starring role. The film, about a guy named Franklin Franklin (Lucas) who may or may not have killed his landlord, is loaded with quirky characters, one of them being Franklin. The film sports a great cast including James Caan, Billy Crystal and Johnny Knoxville.

As Franklin, Lucas spends most of his time in his underwear and he’s not disguised in makeup or prosthetics, like we’re used to seeing him. “That’s quite an experience,” he told me. In his own skin, he gives a great performance. He’s funny and in some scenes, really moving. If you’re a fan of Matt’s, you’ll definitely have to catch this.

I talked to Matt at SXSW the morning after the film screened for the first time where we talked about auditioning, how he creates his characters and watching himself on-screen.  And don’t miss out on his great advice to actors! Read more

Maya Rudolph Remembers ‘SNL’ and Improvising The Dress Shop Scene in ‘Bridesmaids’

In a recent interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air, comedienne Maya Rudolph opened up about how hectic her life was during her Saturday Night Live days and her grossest scene in last year’s box-office smash wedding comedy Bridesmaids.

“Before I had children, everything about my life was devoted to Saturday Night Live,” she said about NBC’s trademark sketch show, which she returned to co-host in February after leaving as a regular cast member in 2007. “You’re there sometimes on Tuesday nights until 6 or 8 in the morning. You’re exhausted, you’re loopy and you’ve had three shows in a row, and you haven’t done any of your laundry, and you have no food in the fridge.”

If Rudolph made it out with all of her wits intact, it was thanks to the tight-knit SNL cast, which included comedic luminaries like Tina Fey, Fred Armisen, Amy Poehler and Andy Samberg over the course of her time there. “I came from the co-ed touchy feely group,” remembered Rudolph. “You help look out for each other and talk to each other about what’s going on in your life elsewhere. You just experience everything together.” Read more

Q&A: Adam Scott On ‘Friends With Kids’ and How He Still Feels Like ‘Guest Star’

Adam Scott stars as Jason in Friends with Kids, a really wonderful new film about a pair of single best friends (Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt, who also directs) who, while not attracted to each other, decide to have a child together. The arrangement works perfectly for a while, but once he starts dating a Broadway dancer (Megan Fox), things begin to unravel.

The film also stars some of the best comic actors working today; Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm and Chris O’Dowd and while there are definitely comedic moments, the film is definitely not an all-out comedic romp.

I joined in a quick Q & A with Adam, who also stars in one of my favorite TV shows, Parks and Recreation, where he talks about the film and how he still operates in ‘guest star’ mode.

Friends with Kids,  opens in limited release today

Adam, I read you mentioned somewhere that you were one of those friend couples that had the kids, were any of the couples in the film based on you guys?

Adam Scott: No, it wasn’t anyone specific and I’m not saying it was specifically based on me. I just know I’m one of the many couples in Jon and Jennifer’s life that had kids and in our particular case, we just dropped off completely because we got so busy and were overwhelmed by child rearing. We dropped off the face of the earth for 6 months. But no, I don’t believe I inspired any specific couple or character. Read more

Q&A: Jennifer Westfeldt Talks About Her Directorial Debut, ‘Friends with Kids’

Friends with Kids, Jennifer Wesfeltdt’s directorial debut, features Westfeldt and Adam Scott as a pair of platonic friends who decide to raise a child together after watching their married friends go through various stages of raising families.

Westfeldt, probably best known for the indie films Kissing Jessica Stein and Ira & Abby, made her Broadway debut in the revival of Wonderful Town and earned a Tony nod for her performance.

The film, which also stars Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox and Edward Burns, has some “unbelievably talented” comedic actors, but improv wasn’t a huge part of the shoot. “When you are on an indie,” she said, “it’s hard to find time for too much of it.”

I talked to Jennifer in a Q & A about why she fell into the director’s chair, her writing process and how much of the film is based on her life.

Friends with Kids opens in limited release today Read more

Interview: Casting Director Heidi Levitt talks ‘The Artist’, What She Finds in Successful Actors and Her App, ActorGenie

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:41 — 20.4MB)

With the help of Casting Director Heidi Levitt‘s incredible work on The Artist, the film grabbed a whopping 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Berenice Bejo) and Best Actor (Jean Dujardin).

When she was casting the film, she said that she was “very careful to try to find actors that would feel like they would look correct in the role as well as be able to improvise.” After casting Missi Pyle and Joel Murray among others, she told me that she could have cast a handful of other actors in the parts but in each case they had “really specific choices in their work.”

Heidi has cast theater, film (the Oliver Stone films, Nixon, Natural Born Killers and JFK, Neil LaBute‘s Lakeview Terrace and Nurse Betty and the upcoming Chavez (with John Malkovich) and Bomb (starring Elle Fanning, Annette Bening and Christina Hendricks) and also has an incredibly useful app called Actor Genie.

She is busy!  Thankfully though, she took time out of her schedule to talk to me about The Artist, how she finds actors, audition tips, common things actors need to avoid, her Actor Genie and tons more!

Actor Genie is available for both iPhone and Android phones.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes  Read more

Red-Band Trailer: ‘Friends with Kids’ starring Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig & Maya Rudolph

Friends With Kids is a daring and poignant ensemble comedy about a close-knit circle of friends at that moment in life when children arrive and everything changes. The last two singles in the group observe the effect that kids have had on their friends’ relationships and wonder if there’s a better way. They decide to have a kid together – and date other people. There are big laughs and unexpected emotional truths as this unconventional ‘experiment’ leads everyone in the group to question the nature of friendship, family and, finally, true love.

Written and Directed by: Jennifer Westfeldt

Starring: Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox and Edward Burns

In Theaters: March 9, 2012 Read more

Watch: The BAFTA Award Winners Speeches

Last Sunday, the British Academy Film Awards were held at London’s Royal Opera House. There wasn’t much difference in their nominees and the one’s we have for the Oscars and, I’m thinking their winners and our eventual ones.

In the Leading Actor categories, Jean Dujardin won for The Artist and Meryl Streep won The Iron Lady.

In the Supporting Actor category, Christopher Plummer won for Beginners and Octavia Spencer for The Help.

Below are the acceptance speeches of Streep, Dujardin and Spencer. And if you really wanted to see Plummer’s speech, you’re out of luck. I couldn’t find it anywhere.  Read more

A Little Rant About the SAG Awards

I liked the SAG Awards last night. They were short and sweet and didn’t have the fluff that most awards ceremonies force you to sit through. My favorite moments were the acceptance speeches from Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis and the cast of Bridesmaids yukking it up.

But, out of all the things I liked, there were 2 things that bugged me.

The first was something about the show in general. As SAG member Pam Munro pointed out to me in an email, the tickets for the awards were, according to their website, $800. “Who can PAY that? Certainly not most of the rank & file!” she said.

I absolutely agree. For most of us, $800 is a lot of change. That’s headshots and prints. Rent. 3 Months of acting classes. One drunken night on Sunset. It’s almost like the powers that be want to keep you and me from attending by keeping the price high, isn’t it?  Read more

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