While not denying that ridicule exists in the film, Wheeler, Shriver and the rest of the protesters miss the point of who is being made fun of, Stiller told MTV News. "It's sort of edgy territory, but we felt that as long as the focus was on the actors who were trying to do something to be taken seriously that's going too far or wrong, that was where the humor would come from," Stiller insisted. "[The joke is on] actors reaching for roles in terms of hopefully winning awards."

"Some people have taken this as making fun of handicapped people, but we're really trying to make fun of the actors who use this material as fodder for acclaim," co-writer Etan Cohen echoed to MTV. "The last thing you want is for people to think you're making fun of the victims in this who are having their lives turned into fodder for people to win Oscars."

The joke, then, is really on people like Dustin Hoffman ("Rain Man"), Sean Penn, ("I Am Sam") and Tom Hanks ("Forrest Gump"), actors who do more harm than good by denying the painful realities of the illness and instead paint their characters as too sunny or bright, Cohen said. "Movies about the mentally retarded is something we talked about for a long time. My grandfather was adopted by a mentally retarded man, a man who shouldn't have been allowed to adopt a kid," Cohen revealed. "When he saw 'Forrest Gump,' you never saw a guy angrier than him. It was not such a picnic to be raised by that guy."

"The film is in no way meant to disparage or harm the image of individuals with disabilities. We have had productive discussions with representatives of disability-advocacy organizations and look forward to working with them closely in the future," Sullivan wrote. "However, no changes or cuts to the film will be made."

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Adam Sandler Pelted With Gumballs

This scene of Adam Sandler being pelted with gumballs is from an upcoming fill called Bedtime Story. Cinematical reports that Adam Sandler plays a character named Skeeter Bronson in the film about bedtime stories that start coming true.

He's a hotel handyman who discovers that the bedtime stories he's telling his niece and nephew are starting to come true. When Skeeter realizes his talent, he tries to take advantage of the situation by improving his life, "but it's the kids' unexpected contributions that turn Skeeter's life upside down."

In the picture above (which Disney sent around yesterday as a part of their fall/holiday preview), he finds himself in a shower of what looks like a whole slew of gumballs

This sounds like it could be one of Sandler's better films. These family-focused films starring popular comedians sometimes do very well. This one will be released during the holidays on December 25th, 2008. The IMDB listing can be found here. Will Ferrell starred a hilarious movie with a similar theme where a novel comes true called Stranger Than Fiction.

Posted on August 8, 2008
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Tropic Thunder Has Great Buzz at Comic-Con

Ben Stiller's sendup of Hollywood filmmaking, Tropic Thunder screened at Comic-Con and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. The biggest buzz coming out of the film is Tom Cruise's not so secret cameo as a foul-mouthed studio head that would sell his own mother if it meant a profit.

And the July 23 screening of Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder" -- a spoof of filmmaking with a delightful parody of actors and myriad references to obscure movies -- was perfect grist for the crowd. Tom Cruise is cast in a supporting role as a Hollywood studio chief, screaming a vocabulary that would embarrass a hardened rapper.

The Cruise-Stiller notion of a contemporary Hollywood boss is intriguing: Cruise's character, a bald, pudgy man named Grossman, is not the slick corporate type who heads studios today but rather a screaming, smarmy Semite more reminiscent of Columbia's fabled Harry Cohn. Cruise's Grossman character is perfectly willing to "sell" the life of his star to terrorists in return for insurance money.

Harvey Weinstein would fire the Cruise character on the grounds of being politically incorrect. But that is part of the subtext of "Tropic Thunder," with Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and the others in scenes that are even bawdier than a Judd Apatow effusion. And, yes, "Tropic Thunder" elicited thunderous laughs from the crowd.

We can't wait to see it.

Posted on July 25, 2008
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Harold and Kumar Ride Again

Harold and Kumar are set to ride again in a third film adventure.

Stars John Cho and Kal Penn are expected to reprise their roles as the ganja-loving duo because Mandate has options on the actors for the third installment...... Mandate prexy Nathan Kahane said he is eager to revisit the stoner franchise. "Thanks to Jon and Hayden, the Harold and Kumar movies pushed envelopes, broke boundaries and connected with fans," he said. "We are so grateful to be back in business with Jon, Hayden and Greg."

First film garnered a cult following, earning $18 million domestically in 2004 and generating more than $30 million in DVD coin. Sequel, which cost $12 million, earned $14.9 million its opening weekend before topping out at $38 million. "Guantanamo Bay" is set for release on DVD on Tuesday.

They're kind of like the Cheech and Chong for the new millennium. The story line for the new film is being kept "tightly under wraps."

Posted on July 24, 2008
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Seven Seasons of Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives now has a planned life of seven seasons.

"Desperate Housewives" creator and executive producer Marc Cherry told a meeting of the Television Critics Association on Thursday that he plans to end the ABC series after seven seasons. The domestic comedy-drama starring Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria Parker begins its fifth season this fall.

"I love working with these gals, but the idea of letting anyone else take the show from me kind of makes me sad and sick to my stomach," Cherry said. "We're going to get out while people still like us. "Of course," he added, "this could be some clever ruse on my part to get tremendous amounts of money in Season 8, but who knows."

This is good news for Housewives fans. We just want to see Eva Longoria with her short hair and fatsuit. Well, extra padding. She's supposed to have let herself go, which is kind of hard to picture.

Posted on July 22, 2008
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Psych Season Two Off to a Great Start



Psych returns tonight and that is a very good thing. The psychic detective Shawn Spencer (who uses his powers of observation to pretend to be a psychic) is back again with his lifelong friend Gus. Cybill Shepherd guest stars as Shawn's mother. Meanwhile, Gus' boss demands that he quit the Psych Agency and focus on his own job at the drug company. But when Gus' boss' boss has a ghost problem, Gus and Shawn are on the case.

Cybill Shepherd is very funny as Shawn's psychologist mother and the dialog is as snappy and fun as usual. But it is the chemistry between James Roday (Shawn Spencer) and Dule Hill (Burton 'Gus' Guster) that really makes this show work. We've loved this show from the start and it's as entertaining as ever.

Psych airs tonight on USA at 10:00 p.m. Eastern/9:00 p.m. Central. And, just for fun, here are Shawn and Gus singing "Ebony and Ivory." Shawn does a pretty decent Paul McCartney imitation.



Posted on July 18, 2008
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Robert Downey, Jr. is Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downey, Jr. is set to play Sherlock Holmes in the upcoming film directed by Madonna's husband, Guy Ritchie. So how did this come about, anyway?

[L]et's connect the dots, shall we? Ritchie has a movie in the can at Warners, Rocknrolla, a gangster thriller due in October that stars 300's Gerard Butler and Jeremy Piven. People I know who've seen it say it's actually pretty good--so perhaps Ritchie has some renewed heat. But one detail seems to have eluded Variety. Guess who produced the new film? Susan Downey, who is Robert Downey Jr.'s wife and--equally important--an exec VP for Joel Silver, Warners' top action producer. And guess who is producing "Sherlock Holmes"? Wow--it's Joel Silver and Susan Downey.

Isn't it amazing how everywhere you turn in Hollywood, there's a funny coincidence staring you right in the face?

This is the action version of Sherlock Holmes. Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell are making a comic Sherlock Holmes movie, which will come out a bit later. We want to see both films. Robert Downy, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes? We love it.

Posted on July 11, 2008
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Courteney Cox to Appear on Scrubs

Courteney Cox is joining the cast of Scrubs this fall. Michael Ausiello has the scoop.

J.D., Elliot and Co. have a new friend! Sources confirm to me exclusively that Courteney Cox is joining the cast of Scrubs for a three-episode arc as Sacred Heart's new Chief of Medicine.

Remember back in May, when exec producer Bill Lawrence revealed to me that he was looking to stunt cast the role of Dr. Kelso's successor? Yeah, I know -- I'd say he kept his word, too. Cox's boss lady character will "ruffle feathers," teases a Scrubs insider.

We love it. But why is she there for only three episodes? Make her a regular!

Posted on July 10, 2008
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Premiering this Week: Burn Notice Second Season

We just finished watching the first two episodes of Burn Notice -- and they are smoking hot. This is smart, funny, wildly entertaining tv. The kind that there just isn't enough of. When we left spy Michael Weston at the end of season one, he was driving into the back of a large semi trailer as part of a deal to find out who "burned" him, making him persona non grata in the CIA and leaving him stranded in Miami.

Michael (played with deadly aplomb by Jeffrey Donovan) hates Miami and is determined to find out who burned him. With the help of his old FBI friend (played brilliantly by Bruce Campbell) and his ex-girlfriend, the lethal Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), Michael investigates what appears to be a conspiracy to oust him. To make ends meet, he does some detective work and helps people in need. Oh, and he gets nagged by his mother (Sharon Gless). She nags a lot, actually.

In season two, Michael is forced to go back to work for the people who burned him, although he still doesn't know who they are. But they have the key to his future, so he plays along. His new handler is the sexy and evil Carla (Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer). Carla wouldn't be so bad, except she keeps threatening his mom's life. The first season was great, but if the first two episodes we saw are any indication, the second season will be even better. Matt Nix, the creator and main writer for the series, keeps the dialogue snappy and smart. And there is no one who does better with snappy and smart dialogue than Bruce Campbell. Jeffrey Donovan plays it just right: he seems smart, lethal and yet he still dutifully shows up when his mother demands that he fix her coffeemaker.

Matt Nix throws in McGyver-like ingenuity, lots of action and great scenery. And Michael's droll voiceovers about everything from his favorite weaponry to how to build a bomb are priceless. Burn Notice premieres this Thursday on USA at 10:00 pm Eastern time.

Posted on July 8, 2008
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Reese Witherspoon and Ben Stiller Team Up for Romantic Comedy

Reese Witherspoon and Ben Stiller have signed on to star in Cameron Crowe's next, untitled, romantic comedy.

Crowe will direct from his own screenplay and is producing along with Scott Rudin. The plot is being kept under wraps. Columbia beat out four rival studios in a bidding war over the fully-developed project, which is scheduled to start shooting in January, once Stiller and Witherspoon's schedules open up.

Stiller next will be seen later this summer in Tropic Thunder, which he also co-wrote, produced and directed, and he is shooting Night at the Museum 2: Escape From the Smithsonian. Witherspoon's upcoming projects include Four Christmases, with Vince Vaughn, and she is voicing characters for DreamWorks Animation's Monsters vs. Aliens.

We're looking forward to seeing both Tropic Thunder and Night at the Museum 2: Escape From the Smithsonian.

Posted on June 10, 2008
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Keira Knightley is Eliza Doolittle

Keira Knightley is set to star in a remake of My Fair Lady. The film will be just like the classic: set in 1912, it will be a musical.

While it's being called an update, the film will use the tuner's score and retain its 1912 setting. Where possible, Kenworthy and Mackintosh intend to shoot the film on location in the original London settings of Covent Garden, Drury Lane, Tottenham Court Road, Wimpole Street and the Ascot racecourse. (The 1964 Warner Bros. film was lensed entirely on Hollywood soundstages.)

The filmmakers plan to adapt Alan Jay Lerner's book more fully for the screen by drawing additional material from George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion," which served as the source material for the musical. The goal is to dramatize the emotional highs and lows of Doolittle as she undergoes the ultimate metamorphosis under the tutelage of Professor Henry Higgins.

"This update will preserve the magic of the musical while fleshing out the characters and bringing 1912 London to life in an authentic and exciting way," said Col co-president Doug Belgrad.

Kenworthy, who worked with Knightley on "Love Actually," said, "With 40 years of hindsight, we're confident that by setting these wonderful characters and brilliant songs in a more realistic context, and by exploring Eliza's emotional journey more fully, we will honor both Shaw and Lerner at the same time as engaging and entertaining contemporary audiences the world over."

Keira Knightley is no Audrey Hepburn and this is a terrible idea.

Posted on June 6, 2008
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