Features
After viewing his art exhibition yesterday, I suggested James Franco might want to remove one string from his bow, but the man apparently thinks he hasn’t been busy enough lately: he can now add “celebrity Twitterer” to his increasingly long list of occupations. There’s not much yet on the @jamesfranco account to prompt discussion — […]
James Franco joins the Twitterfolk
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:00 pm · February 18th, 2011
Filed in: Daily
8/17 Web Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:33 am · August 17th, 2009
• Amid sticky financial days for The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein tells you to “sit tight” and “don’t bet against” him and brother Bob. [New York Times] • It must be going around, because ditto Universal execs Mark Shmuger and David Linde. [Los Angeles Times] • Sharon Waxman is frustrated at the word-count of the […]
Filed in: Daily
Eric Bana’s summer versatility
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:31 am · August 4th, 2009
One of the highlights of Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” for me was Eric Bana’s supporting performance, a perfect blend of jack-assery and sincere complexity that stood out from the otherwise troubled film (along with Adam Sandler’s rather brilliant portrayal). It wasn’t until later, though, that it hit me how diverse Bana’s output has been so […]
Filed in: Daily
SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Funny’ money
Posted by Chad Hartigan · 1:47 pm · August 2nd, 2009
*All historical figures are adjusted to today’s dollars. It was no laughing matter at the box office this weekend as Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” opened at the top spot with a disappointing $23.4 million. Not only is that lower than both “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” but it’s also the lowest figure […]
Filed in: Sunday Cents
7/31 Web Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:03 am · July 31st, 2009
• Rose Byrne, leading lady at last. [Daily Telegraph] • More on the story that won’t go away as the “Moneyball” drama spills into the pages of Vanity Fair. [Hollywood Elsewhere] • Stephanie Zacharek wonders whether the “Judd Apatow moment” might be over. [Salon]
Filed in: Daily
7/30 Web Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:40 am · July 30th, 2009
• Jeremy Piven would like to see an “Entourage” film. Who wouldn’t? [CNN] • Vincent Cassel refuses to court Hollywood. Who needs it when you’ve got Monica Bellucci at home? [Daily Telegraph] • Robert Levin sits down with “In the Loop” director Armando Iannucci. [Film School Rejects]
Filed in: Daily
Sandler grows up in ‘Funny People’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:32 am · July 29th, 2009
I caught up with Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” last night, and the knee-jerk reaction was that the writer/director was close…oh so close. The film isn’t a failure but is an intriguing miss nonetheless, a reminder that while Apatow seems quite qualified to tell a story with these particular layers, he might have better served the […]
Filed in: Daily
7/28 Web Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:56 am · July 28th, 2009
• Whoa. Remember Anna Chlumsky? [CNN] • Do “Antichrist” and “The Proposal” peddle outdated views of women? [The Guardian] • Roger Ebert talks at length with “Funny People” director Judd Apatow. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Filed in: Daily
Is Sandler a contender for ‘Funny People?’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 12:15 pm · July 26th, 2009
I can’t say I saw this coming. Since the expansion of the Best Picture category, several people have considered Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” as a possible populist nominee in the race, while speculating that it could also land him a writing nod after near-misses (and Guild citations) for his previous two features. Meanwhile, others (Kris […]
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7/23 Web Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 7:26 am · July 23rd, 2009
• Kim Voynar wonders where the Brat Pack for today’s generation is. [Movie City News] • Judd Apatow gets the MOMA treatment in NYC. [Movieline] • Andrew O’Hehir talks “Shrink” with actor Kevin Spacey. [Beyond the Multiplex]
Filed in: Daily
7/17 Web Round-up
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:42 am · July 17th, 2009
• Judd Apatow’s risky departure from formula with “Funny People.” [Wall Street Journal] • Denise Martin talks to “(500) Days of Summer” star Joseph Gordon-Levitt. [Los Angeles Times] • PODCAST: Yours truly talks the Oscar’s move to 10, the “Let the Right One In” remake and more with John Campea et al. [The Movie Blog]
Filed in: Daily
The long haul
Posted by Guy Lodge · 4:06 pm · May 10th, 2009
Patrick Goldstein has already covered this matter in some detail, but I must admit the news that Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” is due to clock in at 150 minutes in length gives me some pause. Editing is a sensitive and flexible art, and one shouldn’t presume to have a better sense than the director of […]
Filed in: Daily
Not such funny people
Posted by Guy Lodge · 10:46 am · May 4th, 2009
I recently discussed the positive buzz building around Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” which has thus far turned up numerous allusions to the unabashedly sentimental seriocomic stylings of James L. Brooks — a comparison that promises either polished awards-bait, mawkish pap or both, according to taste. Suggesting that the Brooks similarities hold true beyond a glib […]
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‘Funny People’ an ‘award-level thing?’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:12 am · April 25th, 2009
I don’t mind admitting that I wasn’t entirely won over by the trailer for Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” which, for all its smartness, seemed to me a little too calculated in its bid for laughing-through-the-tears pathos. Like pretty much everyone else, James L. Brooks struck me as an obvious point of reference — but whether […]
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David Gordon Green catches his stride in comedy
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:06 pm · March 8th, 2009
It has to be doubly sweet for my southern brethren to take in HBO’s “Eastbound & Down” every Sunday night, but even if this country detail or that passes below your radar, or heck, even if you don’t know a blatant Ric Flair gag when you see one, I can’t imagine anyone not laughing their […]
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Three more highlights
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 2:59 pm · February 23rd, 2009
Collecting all my thoughts last night was bound to leave a few gaps and so while flipping through the DVR recording of this year’s Oscar ceremony, I stumbled across a couple of moments that I had to tip my hat to. I already updated the recap post with a few notes about the Judd Apatow […]
Filed in: Daily
Judd Apatow’s ‘Funny People’
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:51 am · February 21st, 2009
Before we really dig into net year’s Oscar race on Monday, what about the new Judd Apatow comedy “Funny People” starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen. Could the multi-hyphenate finally find some love from the writers’ branch, maybe? Acknowledgment for Leslie Mann’s antics, maybe? Anything outside of HFPA?
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Funny ha ha
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 6:23 am · December 12th, 2008
While James Franco was brooding and winning a Golden Globe for the TV telepic “James Dean” and fighting superheroes in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man franchise, the actor says he longed for the escape of a comedy. Soon enough, producer Judd Apatow approached Franco to star alongside Seth Rogen in David Gordon Green’s “Pineapple Express.” After years […]
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