Friends With Kids

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.

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

Directed by: Jennifer Westfeldt

In Theaters: March 9, 2012

Kristen Wiig

With upcoming movies Friends with Kids, Imogene, and The Comedian, Wiig said in an interview with Papermag, that she is “writing something by myself that’s not a comedy. It’s just a smaller, indie movie, which is the sort of thing I actually gravitate towards…And then there’s another story idea that I want to write way down the line that’s probably not a comedy either.  One of them I think I might act in, one of them I want to just direct.”

Wiig is enjoying her chance to be behind the camera too.  She took part in the Bridesmaids’ audition process—resulting in the casting of one of Hollywood’s most cheered women ensembles.  “To really sit on the other side of that was really eye opening and weird,” she says.  “I definitely know how it feels to be the person walking in and doing an audition; in my experience, to like, say something awkward and then leave my bag in the room—it’s a nerve-racking thing.”  Now that Wiig has proven herself to Hollywood bigwigs, she has become a symbol of the rise of the female super-power—a role she’s surprised is just now getting more attention.  “It’s unfortunate that this is only now being talked about, because women have been present in comedy for so long.  There have been tons of movies with lots of women in them before Bridesmaids.  It’s just a confusing thing to me.  But you know, if more movies are getting green-lit, and writers are getting a chance because of this movie, I couldn’t be happier.  That’s such a great thing, because the fact that they weren’t is kind of awful.”

Chris O’Dowd, a 31-year-old Irish actor who lives in London, plays Officer Rhodes. He is still adjusting to the movie’s success saying, “I’m overjoyed that it’s doing so well, it’s a hell of a ride!”

Dowd says it was a long improv session with “Saturday Night Live” star Kristen Wiig that helped him land the role. “Kristen was there with Judd and  Paul. We sat down and read this script, then we did a half an hour of improv… it went really well. Kristen is so easy to work with and she’s just an amazing improviser.”

Dowd first approached the character with an American accent, but it was his native Irish tongue that helped close the deal. “I went in and did it with an American accent, like I do in most auditions. It went fine, but the director knew some of my work, so he asked me to do it with my accent and it worked out better,” he says. “I think they went for it in the end because they liked the idea of it being – it was never going to be formulaic – keeping any kind of normal structure away from it by putting this accent which is somewhat askew with the rest of the story, interested them.”
Dowd’s charming character is winning over audiences. The actor admits he snuck into a showing of the movie over the weekend to witness the audience reaction for himself. “It was a very strange sensation to hear myself being, ‘awed.’ It’s very odd,” he laughs.

Dowd will reunite with “Bridesmaids” co-stars Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Jon Hamm in the upcoming “Friends with Kids“.

To read more: omg.yahoo.com

Paul Feig

On directing Kristen Wiig, he said that she “actually came into this wanting to play it very grounded to the point where I felt like I wanted to showcase her comedy a little bit more. Because the first draft they wrote of the script was really a good draft, but it had her a little more reactive – she had very funny people around her and was very kind of grounded in her journey. And it was like, I want both because I’ve seen her in movies and she’s always fantastic. But I’ve seen her movies where she’s not funny at all, she plays it pretty straight, and I’m always kind of like oh shoot, I want to see Kristen be funny too.”

Feig says he wants his actors to be open to improvising if it feels right for the character. “I’m a big believer that if you have very real characters and actors playing the characters in a very real way where they are the person and they’re not commenting on the person, then you can put them in the craziest situations,” he said. “Because then it’s just like for you and I, suddenly if a spaceship came down and we got sucked into an alien spaceship, you and I would react the way that we react to things around here. And the problem is when you do things and these people are acting like crazy people, and you’re like okay, what reality am I in? But if people are reacting in a believable way you can kind of take an audience anywhere.”

Kristen Wiig

The wannabe actress wound up working in retail for years before she figured out a way she could make a gradual transition into show business.

“You get this idea that you’ve figured out your life, and you go for it, so I moved to L.A. and immediately got scared and partially changed my mind,” Wiig says. “I thought, what the hell am I doing? I had no experience, and this city is filled with people who have experience and who are trying and going out there and auditioning and taking classes and doing plays. And I was like, ‘I took Acting 101. Hi, L.A.! I’m ready to be discovered!’ Which didn’t really happen.”

While supporting herself working in retail, Wiig discovered the Groundlings, she honed her skills and soon began to land small TV roles before she received her dream invitation: to join the cast of  ”Saturday Night Live” in 2005.

Wiig met “Bridesmaids” director Paul Feig when he cast her in her first movie role, a small part in the 2006 film ”Unaccompanied Minors.” A year later, Wiig proved herself a scene-stealer in “Knocked Up,” playing a TV exec who seesaws from aggressive nemesis to fawning all over star Katherine Heigl’s character.

“Knocked Up” writer-director Judd Apatow did for Wiig what  he had done for other stars who impressed him, like Steve Carell and Jason Segel: He asked her if she wanted to write her own film, one she could star in herself.

Apatow explains , “The fun for me is helping somebody create their film persona. I really like working with people the first time out of the gate. Once we figure it out and they’re 10 movies down the line and they’ve found their groove, it gets more repetitive. And people still make great movies, but it’s really great to try to crack the code of why someone could be a movie star.”

Surprisingly, Wiig never thought of herself as a funny person by nature. Her initial draw to acting was toward more dramatic roles, which she still hopes await her down the line.

While sorting through some boxes, Wiig came across her high school yearbook and was startled by some of the things classmates wrote about her. “A lot of people wrote that I was funny, and that kind of shocked me a little bit, because I don’t really remember thinking about myself that way,” she says. “Comedy is tough, and sometimes the more you try, the more it doesn’t work.”

via yahoo.com

Starring Wiig, Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd, Maya Rudolph and Ellie Kemper, it’s about a maid of honor whose life unravels as she leads her best friend and a group of bridesmaids on a wild ride down the road to matrimony.

Check out these 7 clips from the movie!

Dental Work – Annie (Kristen Wiig) is unhappy with her romantic life.

Cracked in Half – Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey) talks about her sons.

Stress Free – Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd) talk about weddings.

Relaxing – Annie (Kristen Wiig) feels relaxed

Air Marshall – Megan (Melissa McCarthy) offers to take the first watch.

Not Tired – Becca (Ellie Kemper) is frustrated.

Food Poisoning – Megan (Melissa McCarthy) doesn’t feel well.

Bridesmaids

Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi Mclendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Matt Lucas, Jill Clayburgh, Rebel Wilson, Michael Hitchcock
Writers: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

Paul

Director: Greg Mottola

Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, John Carroll Lynch, Sigourney Weaver, Seth Rogen

Writers: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost