Michael Cera

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Year One’ Fails to Deliver a Single Laugh

BrianTT — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:22:01 -0600

CHICAGO – Here’s a thoroughly detestable comedy from some of the most appealing people in Hollywood. It could easily be mistaken for one of the fake movies advertised before “Tropic Thunder,” which cleverly spoofed the creative bankruptcy that befalls so many mainstream studio products. Jack Black and Michael Cera have both created comic personas that are wholly unique, and found great success with them in past films (Black’s pinnacle was “School of Rock,” Cera’s was “Superbad”). But both are guilty of using the same comedic well until there isn’t a drop of originality left, and in “Year One,” they are all dried up.

Blu-Ray Rating: 1.5/5.0

How could anyone, least of all Harold Ramis, think a caveman comedy would be a funny idea for a movie? When was the last time a caveman comedy was actually funny? From Ringo Starr’s “Caveman” and Mel Brooks’ “History of the World: Part 1” to Geico’s recent caveman commercials, cavemen have repeatedly proven an ancient principle of screen comedy: they are simply NOT funny!

Year One was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on October 6th, 2009.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Video

People in prehistoric garb with modern attitudes are not inherently amusing. The banter has to be clever, the comedy has to be fresh, and the characters have to be credible as more than cardboard caricatures, especially in a sketch stretched to feature-length. But Ramis is clearly aiming for broad Pythonesque hijinks that may have suited John Belushi and Tim Matheson a few decades ago. But in the hands of Black and Cera, the material is dead on arrival.

Year One was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on October 6th, 2009.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Video

The film opens like a poor man’s “Apocalypto,” as Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera) leave their hunting-gathering tribe to explore a drab wasteland filled with worn Biblical vignettes. Paul Rudd and David Cross show up as Cain and Abel long enough for the viewer to wish the film was about them. Hank Azaria and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin’ himself) are Abraham and Isaac, and Oliver Platt is the High Priest of a Vegas-like Sodom (his outlandish costume and makeup are the funniest things in the picture). All the while, Black and Cera go through the motions of their familiar personas without ever really connecting as a duo. Black is all eyebrow twitches and hollers, Cera is all neurotic quivers and stutters. It’s the worst screen pairing since “Ishtar.”

Though the script is credited to three writers, the actors just seem to be riffing on half-formed ideas. Anytime a scene builds to some sort of conflict, it promptly ends and moves on to the next bit. Cera is practically eaten twice in the picture, but the film never bothers to show how he was saved. What’s most embarrassing are the moments when Ramis has his characters argue about the meaning of existence in between the incessant onslaught of fart and foreskin jokes. Ramis has achieved depth in his comedies before (most memorably in his enduring masterwork, “Groundhog Day”), but here his attempts at existential repartee ring hopelessly false. As caveman comedies go, “Year One” is flatter than the earth.

“Year One” is presented in all-too-clear 1080p High Definition with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and is accompanied by English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish DTS 5.1 tracks. Special features include commentary from Ramis and the two leads, which is far more pleasurable than the film itself, along with the usual deleted scenes, featurettes and gag reels. The disc includes both theatrical and unrated film versions, and three time-wasting BD Live features. Viewers can cut their own version of various scenes, peruse real-time in-movie trivia, and send on-screen instant messages to friends while watching the film together, thus uniting the world in shared disgust.

‘Year One’ is released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and stars Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt, David Cross, Olivia Wilde and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. It was written by Harold Ramis & Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg and directed by Harold Ramis. The Blu-Ray and DVD were released on October 6th, 2009. It is rated PG-13 (Extended Version is Unrated).

By MATT FAGERHOLM
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

New Movie Trailer, Poster Released For Michael Cera’s ‘Youth in Revolt’

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:34:14 -0600

CHICAGO – The new movie trailer and poster for the upcoming comedy “Youth in Revolt” with Michael Cera have been released and appear below for your indulgence.

“Youth in Revolt” stars Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Long, Ray Liotta, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard and newcomer Portia Doubleday from director Miguel Arteta (who directed 2002’s “The Good Girl” with Jennifer Aniston) and the cult-hit novel of the same name by C.D. Payne.

The new, high-resolution poster for “Youth in Revolt” is below from The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films. Scroll down for the trailer. “Youth in Revolt” is slated to open on Oct. 30, 2009.

The new movie poster for “Youth in Revolt” with Michael Cera.
Image credit: The Weinstein Company

Here is the “Youth in Revolt” plot description:

“Youth in Revolt” is an outrageous and heartwarming tale of Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) and his quest to win the heart of Sheeni (newcomer Portia Doubleday) and hopefully lose his virginity along the way.

Based on C.D. Payne’s cult-hit novel of the same name, “Youth in Revolt” is directed by Miguel Arteta (“The Good Girl”) and features an all-star ensemble cast including Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Jean Smart, Ari Graynor, Fred Willard, Zach Galifianakis and Mary Kay Place.

Michael Cera (left) and newcomer Portia Doubleday in “Youth in Revolt”.
Image credit: The Weinstein Company

The “Youth in Revolt” movie trailer can be watched now below.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 25 Passes to ‘Paper Heart’ in Chicago With Michael Cera, Charlyne Yi

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:17:06 -0600

CHICAGO – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 25 admit-two run-of-engagement passes up for grabs to the new film “Paper Heart” in Chicago.

“Paper Heart” stars Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, Jake M. Johnson and Seth Rogen from writer and director Nicholas Jasenovec and writer Charlyne Yi. To win your free pass to “Paper Heart” in Chicago courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is tell us your “what is love?” story in this Web-based submission form. That’s it!

The free pass will be good in Chicago for the duration of the film’s run. “Paper Heart” opened on Aug. 7, 2009 in Chicago. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below. Our interview with “Paper Heart” star and writer Charlyne Yi along with star Jake M. Johnson can be read here.

The movie poster for “Paper Heart” with Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi.
Image credit: Overture Films

Here is the plot description for “Paper Heart”:

“Paper Heart” follows Charlyne as she embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject she doesn’t understand: love. As she and her friend and director Nicholas Jasenovec search for answers and advice together, you get the idea that this new generation’s cynicism isn’t the whole story.

On their journey, Charlyne talks with an eclectic array of friends and acquaintances including scientists, bikers, romance novelists and children. They offer diverse views on modern romance as well as various answers to the age-old question: Does love really exist?

Shortly after filming begins, Charlyne meets a man after own heart: Michael Cera. As their relationship develops on camera, the pursuit to discover the nature of love takes on a new urgency when she risks losing the person closest to her heart. Combining elements of storytelling, reality and fantasy, “Paper Heart” brings a fresh perspective to the modern romance and redefines the classic love story.

“Paper Heart” was directed by Nicholas Jasenovec and co-written by Nicholas Jasenovec and Charlyne Yi. The film stars Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera and Jake M. Johnson as Nicholas Jasenovec.

The movie trailer for “Paper Heart” can be viewed now below.

To secure your free “Paper Heart” pass, you must be logged into your HollywoodChicago.com Web site account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Having a free Web site account with a valid e-mail address is required to win this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup.

Next, simply tell us your “what is love?” story. You must submit your answer using this confidential, Web-based submission form. Please do not comment in this Hookup. Your entry will be invalid if you only comment here and don’t submit into our Web-based form. Please only submit your answer using this submission form.

You must include your first and last name, e-mail address and physical mailing address in your submission. Your personal information will be kept strictly confidential and is only for awarding winning entries. Your personal information will not be sold or shared.

How do you define what love really is?

This HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film is simple: 25 HollywoodChicago.com readers will be randomly selected as the winners of our “Paper Heart” Hookup! The winners will be mailed the movie passes at our expense. Good luck!

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Charlyne Yi, Jake M. Johnson Talk Love in ‘Paper Heart’

PatrickMcD — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:49:58 -0600

CHICAGO – When confronted with the observation that her body language closed up whenever her love history was examined in the just released “Paper Heart,” the film’s star Charlyne Yi posed exactly like that in a publicity picture.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Such is the style of detached bemusement that Yi brings to the “documentary,” an investigation on the meaning of love, both in the success stories of couples around America and her own journey in the pursuit of that intimacy.

City of Love: Jake M. Johnson and Charlyne Yi in Paris filming ‘Paper Heart’
Photo credit: © 2009 Overture Films

“Paper Heart” works on a couple of levels – the document of true loving couples in anecdotal reality – and a loose fabrication in the same style regarding Yi’s own burgeoning relationship with actor Michael Cera.

Her director, advisor and co-writer on the film, Nick (played with compassion by Jake M. Johnson and based on the real director Nicholas Jasenovec), is constantly coming from behind the camera to guide the narrative toward a hopeful conclusion.

HollywoodChicago.com sat down with Charlyne Yi and Jake M. Johnson as they talked about “Paper Heart,” with all the love, improvisation, wedding gowns and yes, body language.

HollywoodChicago.com: Where did you get the idea for this film and where did it come from? Your stand-up? Your relationship? Describe the process of the idea to the finished product.

Charlyne Yi: Around the time I graduated high school, I would be watching shows like ‘Elimidate’ and see them making out in a Jacuzzi on their first date. I thought, how do you meet people and do I have to be a slut (laughs)? Are they a slut? Maybe I’m a prude.

I got kind of weirded out, wondering if I’d ever meet someone and feel comfortable letting go to a certain point where you know all of them and they know all of you – where the feeling is mutual and both of you want to be true to each other and love each other. At the time it seemed so impossible. That inspired the idea of why I felt like I did in the film.

I met people who would open up to me about love, both strangers and friends. And I thought what if we captured these love stories and made a documentary? So I talked to Nick Jasenovic about that, and it was he that suggested that I be on camera, because it was I who didn’t believe in love.

The fabrication parts of the documentary came out of my discomfort of not wanting my personal life to be filmed. So we combined the fabrication and the real interviews with the hope that if someone went to the movie blindly they would get more out of it if they believed it to be true.

Life Imitates Art: Jake M. Johnson and Charlyne Yi of ‘Paper Heart’ in Chicago, July 17, 2009.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

HC: Jake, you were essentially playing the director, Nicholas Jasenovec, in Paper Heart. How did you and the real Nick connect during shooting, and how much of your character comes from him?

Jake M. Johnson: We connected because we are close friends. I’m playing one of my close friends. I didn’t try to do an impression but I tried to express what would happen between he and Charlyne, as they had conflicts on the set about the direction of the film. So while they would be improvising, I would take in the scene and try to duplicate it the next day when Charlyne and I did the actual scene for the movie.

HC: Charlyne, what did you learn about love when interviewing the long-time survivors of the emotion?

CY: In the sequence, for example, of the judge and the lawyer, she mentioned how easy in today’s society that people break up, how easily they give up. I don’t know if its right or wrong, because there are relationships that you really have to fight for, but sometimes I wonder if they are right for constantly fighting through it.

I found that when you have histories and memories with someone, it does make you realize that some things are worth fighting for, maybe we should be strong and fight for a relationship that’s important.

Bowling for Love: Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi in ‘Paper Heart’
Photo credit: © 2009 Overture Films

HC: I detected that the character of Nick the director was falling in love with the hyper-essential version of Charlyne. Jake, did you intend that to happen with the character or did it evolve in the improvisation process?

CY: I think he actually fell in love with me (laughs). How can you not?

JMJ: Untrue! (laughs). I’ve actually had this question a lot. In an earlier version of the film, there was a cut scene where Charlyne and I are sitting on rocking chairs, watching the sunset and talking. Many who saw it said that there was the point where the Nick character confesses his love, because the character says he was happy for Charlyne and Michael but was jealous of their impending relationship.

In reality, it feels like brother and sister. We became friends during the shoot. And Charlyne was under a lot of stress, with the producers and crew. I became somewhat protective of her. Those looks I give her in the film in slow motion may look like love, but really it’s like, ‘you all right?’

CY: It may be also that in many movies there are love triangles, but you never really see a platonic relationship honesty portrayed.

HC: Charlyne, you in a wedding dress was an awkward but funny scene in the movie. Why do you think women put themselves through the sometimes humiliating process of the wedding ceremony, beyond the desire to be with the dude?

CY: Traditional, probably. They have in their head that this is the way to go. I’m not a typical girl, I hate to shop. I think the wedding planning is linked to this, but I don’t know.

HC: What was your favorite interruption that the director character did and why?

JMJ: Probably the kiss between Charlyne and Michael. It felt like the actual movie and what the real Nick was doing. As I observed the interviews and thought about the character, the kiss was the point that I felt was the character of Nick was captured. And that interruption seemed real. Get out of there, man!

HC: Charlyne, I love your song ‘Smells Like Christmas.’ Who are your musical influences and how do you hope to further your evolution in songwriting?

CY: I listen to the old Whitney Houston, ‘Greatest Love of All’ period, I love John Lennon, especially his rough homemade recordings. Jonathan Richman, who does a similar type of comical songwriting, is someone I also like.

I want to teach myself to do different things, I don’t want my songs to sound the same.

The Heart of the Matter: Charlyne Yi and Patrick McDonald in Chicago, July 17, 2009.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

HC: Jake, you wrote and produced a short film called ‘This is my Friend’ Were you able to give Charlyne and the real Nick any pointers on streamlining the filmmaking process based on your experiences?

JMJ: Oh, so many (laughs). I think more so than that short film I had done a lot of improvisation before this, and in that process I had sold a TV show to NBC. So what I brought to this process was the ability to improvise in any situation and help write while the camera was on.

HC: In many parts of Paper Heart, your body language seems to block out the more intense moments of your own interaction with intimacy and love. Crossed arms during the psychic reading and objects placed between you and Michael in other scenes come to mind. Was this film an exercise in allowing you to ‘open up’ to the possibilities of love?

CY: The fictional part, no. The documentary part, definitely. I didn’t think I would change at all, but I did.

HC: You both talked about the improvisation elements of the film. Was there any scene that was created in improvisation that you had to do over and ‘act’? Was it strange trying to recreate spontaneity?

CY: Yes, it was hard to keep it fresh during the redundant takes. But other times we caught it in the first take, like my ‘tired scene’ in Paris.

JMJ: The first month was just Charlyne and I, and because we didn’t know what the tone would be, we shot everything a million different ways. When Michael Cera came in, he didn’t want to do it that way.

But in each location, we would essentially do the same scene, so by the end it felt like we had a script. So the equation was that Charlyne and I would just keep saying things back and forth, Mike Cera would come in, and then it would only be one or two takes.

CY: You would throw out the ‘bad’ improv elements, but you would retain the beats and then you could throw out something fresh during the take, and that would keep it alive.

HC: Final question for Charlyne. If you became famous, what would you do?

CY: I’d be scared (laughs). I don’t know, what are you suppose to do when you’re famous?

It would be shocking to be famous, I would be scared. I would get a disguise and hide. But if you can convince people to help other people because of your fame, maybe that’s good, maybe that’s how you use it. People would follow me, and I could make them do stuff (laughs). Good stuff. It wouldn’t be evil, I’m not evil.

“Paper Heart” opened in Chicago August 7th, 2009, and opens wide August 14th, 2009. Starring Charlyne Yi, Jake M. Johnson, Michael Cera and directed by Nicholas Jasenovec.

2:40 p.m. update on Aug. 12, 2009: We are giving away 25 admit-two run-of-engagement movie passes to see “Paper Heart” in Chicago! Win yours in this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup!

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Harold Ramis Interview: A Lifetime of Achievements With a Chicago Look at ‘Year One’

Ebeth — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:21:39 -0600

CHICAGO – Kicking off the Chicago-based “TBS Presents A ‘Very Funny’ Festival: Just for Laughs” on June 17, 2009, Harold Ramis presented his film “Year One” at the Music Box Theatre. Starring Jack Black (“High Fidelity”) and Michael Cera (“Juno”), “Year One” touts itself as a comedy of the ages – the dark ages – as it follows Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera) on their accidentally religious quest.

At the opening, “Just for Laughs” presented its first-ever lifetime achievement award to the humble and well-deserving Ramis in honor of the awe-inspiring career of this actor, writer, director and producer. A Chicago-native Ramis said: “It’s so nice that this is happening at home.”

Writer, director and actor Harold Ramis strikes a pose for his hometown HollywoodChicago.com
lens before being honored with the Just for Laughs lifetime achievement award at the Chicago
premiere of his latest film “Year One” on June 16, 2009 in Chicago.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Best known for his role as Egon in the “Ghostbusters” series, the list of Ramis’s accomplishments on and off screen is plenty. He’s the writer and director on classics like “Caddyshack,” “Groundhog Day” (which he also produced), “Analyze This” and “Analyze That”. He’s a writer of films such as “Animal House,” “Stripes,” “Back to School” and the “Ghostbusters” series (among others).

In this week’s HollywoodChicago.com interview with Ramis, he glided in – with a paper cup of coffee in hand – and his cosmic-calming smile while bestowing a personal greeting to all around the table. He sat back and relaxed in anticipation of the casual conversation that was to come.

This writer began with discussion of “Year One”. When asked about the seemingly dangerous cast of characters joining Ramis for the film (humorously including Michael Cera’s wig), Ramis responded with stories about the animals on set.

“You’re warned as a director to avoid the “ABCs” of directing – animals, boats and children – and I’ve done them all. But in this movie, animals were gonna be a big part of it. We hired a wrangler, Bobby Colorado, and she’s quite a character. She lives in Texas with about 500 animals of her own. And we rented a boar. In Los Angeles, you can rent a boar.”

Jack Black stars in Columbia Pictures’ comedy “Year One”.
Photo credit: Suzanne Hanover, SMPSP

This writer responded, laughing: “What’s the boar’s day rate? Does he have his own trailer?”

Ramis responded: “I said we needed a cougar, and it was like: ‘Well, we got you the cougar from ‘Talladega Nights’’. This cougar worked with Will Farrell. Even I haven’t worked with Will Farrell! And then the cougar wouldn’t do anything we wanted it to do. We had to animate the cougar with CG. It turns out the cougar was constipated.”

This reminded Ramis of his days filming “National Lampoon’s Vacation”. He said: “I had a camel. We were ready to shoot the scene and I said: ‘Cue the camel. Where’s the camel?’ They said: ‘Eh. The camel won’t walk on sand. He’s not comfortable on sand. He was raised in Burbank.’”

Though Ramis says Michael Cera didn’t mind the animals on the “Year One” set, Jack Black was “terrified of them all. There’s a young lion and tiger. He (Jack) said: ‘I’m not walking by them cause what if they, like, turn on me?!’ I said: ‘We couldn’t even get the cougar to jump on a stunt man. They’re not gonna turn on you.’ Same with the python. Jack was terrified of that albino python at the beginning of the movie.”

Actor Matthew Willig up close just before greeting fans on the red carpet at the
Chicago premiere of “Year One” on June 16, 2009 at the Music Box Theatre.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Continuing discussion about the “Year One” cast, this writer referenced Harold’s acceptance speech the night before: “You said last night when you accepted your award that you often recommend to people that they ‘identify the most talented person in the room and – if it’s not them – go stand by that person’. On set, when you weren’t standing alone, who did you tend to be standing near?”

“Well, you know, I can only think of one comedy director who does it all. That’s Woody Allen. He trusts his own instincts totally. I come from the kind of comedy where it’s only funny and as good as the people around you. People think directors tell actors what to do, but essentially a big part of the job is hiring the person who’s already doing it right or already doing it better than you even imagined it.”

Ramis continued: “We hired Jack and Michael because they’re brilliant. My quote is true. In this case, I hire the most talented people around and then I go stand next to them to try to get them to embody the script as best we can do.”

Moving to his partner, he went on: “Judd (Apatow) was a juggernaut already when I started this project. He had become rightfully famous for television work that wasn’t quite successful but was really respected and then his films just started to produce. It kind of echoed something we’d experienced 20 years before. I didn’t have any alliances like that any more. I don’t ‘hang out’ with Ivan Reitman and Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd any more. We don’t make many movies together, but Judd is now in the prime of that.”

Olivia Wilde stars in Columbia Pictures’ comedy “Year One”.
Photo credit: Suzanne Hanover, SMPSP

“I was one draft into this movie when I thought: ‘I can’t do this alone.’ I thought I need a partner – a real strong producing partner – someone with a lot of studio credibility and a lot of connection into the contemporary comedy world. And who better than Judd?”

Observing the fact that “Year One” relies strongly upon religious humor and citing previous statements made by Ramis regarding “looking at religion more philosophically than in fundamental ways,” Ramis was asked about his views on religion as comedy.

“There’s all kinds of laughter. I don’t believe in laughing with contempt at things. I don’t think anything I’ve ever done has been cruel in that sense,” Ramis said. “I try not to make fun of people. Can I say this? (laughs) Maybe I make fun of people all the time.”

Ramis continued: “I want for the audience what I want for my own sons. I want my own kids – even though they’re growing up way over-privileged – to think critically about the things they’re told and what they’re being sold by this culture and by our government. I think it’d be a better world if people were more aware and thought and functioned more independently.”

Michael Cera (left) and Jack Black star in Columbia Pictures’ comedy “Year One”.
Photo credit: Suzanne Hanover, SMPSP

“I read a lot of history,” Ramis said. “I’m a keen observer of what’s going on. I see that fundamentalism and orthodoxy just lock people into these ideological positions. There’s no common ground. It’s like: ‘This is what I believe, and if you don’t believe it, you are wrong. You are the devil. You are Satan.’”

Harold addressed the issue of “chosenness” in “Year One”: “For Jews, chosenness is a big issue. I had my rabbi come to the New York screening of the film. He embraced me after saying: ‘Thank you for deconstructing the notion of chosenness!’ He was thrilled with it in that sense.”

“But the movie’s post-denominational and post-ideological,” Ramis said. “It just says whatever you believe, have your belief, but it doesn’t absolve you from acting responsibly. If you’re gonna make meaningful social change, it’s not going to be because of or through ideology or orthodoxy. It’s going to be because you’re willing to take action and do the right thing. It’s simple.”

Ramis was then asked about his concerns regarding technology’s influence on the experience of watching movies and particularly on viewing movies at home as opposed to in the theatre.

Director Harold Ramis on the set of Columbia Pictures’ comedy “Year One”.
Photo credit: Suzanne Hanover, SMPSP

“There’s a kind of sociological component to it,” Ramis said. “Older people don’t like to go to the theatre. It’s a hassle. A lot of older people see serious films (i.e. foreign films, independent films and art films). And those experiences can be solitary. But young people aren’t staying home.”

“My kids have an 80-inch screen. They don’t say ‘come on over and let’s watch a movie’. In the first run of movies, young people want to come out and see a picture and have the whole experience of laughing with a group of their friends and then trading lines on the way out. Later when people revisit movies, they carry with them whatever that experience was and they can laugh alone. Maybe even now they hear the stuff they couldn’t hear when people were laughing. In all our best films, hopefully there were lines the audience misses because they were still laughing at previous moments.”

To close, this writer asked the question on most of the minds of our readers: “Do you have any little ‘Ghostbusters 3’ tidbits?”

“I don’t know,” Ramis said. “Has there been a formal studio release or was I the release? (laughs) I decided I wasn’t going to be coy any more. The studio has hired two writers – my co-writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg – who are writers and producers on “The Office”. Together we wrote a story for a potential sequel. Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd are consulting and Bill Murray has said he’d be in it. And we’re going to introduce three new Ghostbusters. At least three…”

Jack Black (left) and June Raphael star in Columbia Pictures’ comedy “Year One”.
Photo credit: Suzanne Hanover, SMPSP

When asked about a release date, Ramis responded: “It’ll never come out if the script isn’t really good or if there isn’t a real strong group will to do it because no one needs to do it. The beauty of it is that – as much as there are people in the audience who would want to see it – we don’t want to embarrass ourselves. We know there’s affection for it, but it’s whether we want to do it or not.”

Here’s hoping “there’s something strange in the neighborhood” in the near future.

Ramis – currently a resident of Glenco, Ill. – closed with conversation about the Chicago area and humored this writer by swapping stories about mutual affection for Taylor guitars. He left as casually as he’d entered and was off to another round of promotion for his new flick.

“Year One,” which stars Jack Black, Michael Cera, Oliver Platt, David Cross, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Hank Azaria, Vinnie Jones, Juno Temple, Olivia Wilde, Matthew Willig and Horatio Sanz, opened on June 19, 2009 in theatres across the U.S. The film is rated “PG-13” for crude and sexual content throughout, brief strong language and comic violence.

By ELIZABETH OPPRIECHT
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
elizabeth@hollywoodchicago.com

Video: Trailer For ‘Paper Heart’ With Michael Cera, Charlyne Yi

BrianTT — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:11:17 -0600

CHICAGO – Overture Films sent over the trailer for the super-cute “Paper Heart,” a mockumentary starring Michael Cera (“Arrested Development,” “Superbad”) and Charlyne Yi (“Knocked Up”). The film was co-written by Yi with director Nicholas Jasenovec.

The official synopsis from the film’s Facebook page: “Charlyne Yi embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject she doesn’t fully understand: Love. Michael Cera becomes the object of her affection. Weaving together reality and fantasy, the film combines elements of documentary and traditional storytelling to bring a fresh perspective to the modern romance.”

“Paper Heart” opens on August 7th, 2009 and you can learn more at the official site.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Jack Black Drops Biblical ‘Year One’ Bomb in ‘Be Kind Rewind’ Interview

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:12:05 -0700

CHICAGO – Though actors aren’t supposed to chat it up about their other films when they’re being interviewed specifically for one, every now and then they do and the focus of the interview changes entirely. When Collider.com on Saturday published an interview with Jack Black about his Feb. 22 film “Be Kind Rewind,” details willingly slipped about his upcoming film “Year One”.

Mos Def (left) and Jack Black in “Be Kind Rewind”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Though the particulars of that project have been kept quietly sacred and despite the ongoing writer’s strike, we learn the following about “Year One”:

“Year One” is a biblical comedy. It’s about the Old Testament. I’m just a dude wandering through biblical times. I’m not a famous character … you would have heard of before. Me and Michael Cera are just sort of wandering through and you get to see all these old stories from the Torah told through agnostic – sort of – eyes.

The talent in the film feels partially “Superbad” as it features both Michael Cera and Christopher Mintz-Plasse along with Jack Black and Oliver Platt. The film is directed and written by Chicago native Harold Ramis (“Ghostbusters,” “Caddyshack”) and produced by Judd Apatow (also a producer for “Superbad” and Knocked Up). /Film wrote about the interview:

It appears we might have a new controversial comedy that takes aim at religion (i.e. Monty Python’s “Life of Brian”), which may explain why details have been kept hush-hush.

Black also confirmed that the script was finished before the [WGA strike started] and the project is plowing ahead without the constant rewrites that he is accustomed to. “Year One” is scheduled to hit theaters on June 19, 2009.

A video segment from the Collider.com interview can be seen here. MTV published a very brief video clip from an “Year One” interview with Black back on Dec. 10, 2007. I’ve embedded it below.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Color-Pencil Animated Opening Credit Sequence For ‘Juno’ Surfaces Online

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:08:03 -0700

The color-pencil animated opening credit sequence for “Juno” has surfaced online thanks to its creator: Shadowplay Studio. I learned about this from a Dec. 27 post on /Film.

Watch the “Juno” opening sequence here!

Ellen Page and Michael Cera for “Juno” on Sept. 8, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
Since “Juno” director Jason Reitman also directed “Thank You For Smoking,” you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Shadowplay is also responsible for creating that film’s opening titles, too.

Diablo Cody (left) and Ellen Page for “Juno” on Nov. 5, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
There’s universal agreement (as much as there can be universal agreement) that “Juno” is one of the best films of the year and perhaps the best of the independents.

Jennifer Garner for “Juno” on Sept. 8, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com

Ellen Page (left) in “Juno”.
Photo credit: IMDb
Reitman says the following about the sequence in a blog post from Aug. 2007:

They were created by Shadowplay Studio, which is the same team who did the badass opening titles for “Thank You For Smoking”.

I met them back in 2000 when we both had short films playing the festival circuit. Their short (“This Guy is Falling”) was a really impressive half live-action/half animation piece they did in college.

When they did “Thank You For Smoking,” the titles were rendered on a series of computers in one of their mother’s living rooms. Now they got a fancy place in an art-deco building on Wilshire.

The “Juno” opening titles are out of control. I don’t want to give away too much, but the whole process was really labor intensive.

The Shadowplayers would have parties in which friends and family would help construct the whole thing. I can’t wait for you all to see it and then I can explain how it was done.

My interview with “Juno” star Ellen Page and “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody can be found here. The HollywoodChicago.com film review of “Juno” by Shane Hazen can be found here.

“Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Photo credit: WireImage.com

Ellen Page and Michael Cera in “Juno”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Jennifer Garner (left), Jason Bateman and Ellen Page in “Juno”.
Photo credit: IMDb

From left to right: J.K. Simmons, Ellen Page, Allison Janney and Jason Bateman for “Juno” on Nov. 5, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com

Interview: Why Hollywood’s Enraptured With ‘Juno’ Scribe Diablo Cody, Star Ellen Page

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:55:39 -0700

Editor’s note: This interview contains explicit language. Due to length, it is being published as a two-part series to be concluded shortly.
Dec. 7, 2007 update: Part two can now be found here.
CHICAGO – Diablo Cody fittingly ushered in her Chicago “Juno” junket in classic Diablo Cody style: The night prior, she blogged with brevity where she’d be kicking back and when.

“Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
Though a frequenter of the German bar scene, the Red Lion in Lincoln Park was Thursday evening’s sanctuary with friends off the beaten press path. While legal in Canada at 20, “Juno” star Ellen Page wasn’t at Cody’s side until Friday.

More than most, our interview especially paid no attention to the live recorder.

Instead, the laissez-faire time morphed into a blunt and beguiling conversation replete with cunning perspective, quick-witted commentary, unexpected bloody fingers and all things “adamant” (Cody’s word of the day) and “slutty” (Page’s).

Page came forthright out of the gates about her kissing scenes with “Superbad” comic phenom Michael Cera. She said: “Yeah, there were quite a few angles and takes, so we made out a lot.” Had there been need for more kissing takes, she said: “Hey, if he wants to dish it out, I’ll take it.”

She likened Cera’s charmingly geeky and blameless character in “Juno” to someone she’d date in reality. A lightbulb came on and Page volunteered: “It’s weird. He’s similar to a very good friend of mine.” Cody knew who and had met him.

Now Cody – who loathes the label of a “stripper turned blogger turned screenwriter” (more the latter than the first) – first spoke in our interview with modesty and irony. She gave props to her Juno persona with relative awe.

“The character is semi-autobiographical even though the story’s not. I feel a definite kinship with Juno. It’s an easy character for me to write. It felt very organic. I really based her on myself as a teenager, but Juno is way cooler than me. I didn’t always have the ready response,” Cody said absolutely with ready response.

Ellen Page.
Photo credit: IMDb
She added: “I was a lot more emotional and immature. She’s a very brave, articulate young lady.”

Without needing to be prompted, Page was eager to illuminate her love for her character: “She definitely hides behind that – behind her sarcastic wit. The whole point of being an actor is learning to just be the person you’re supposed to portray. I really admired Juno and it was really easy for me to connect my heart with her heart.

“Whenever you play someone who’s honest, whole and well written, you’re going to be able to connect with them. Juno has a special place in my heart. I was obsessed with her. I read the script a couple years ago and wasn’t just interested in pursuing it. It was as if this needs to happen.”

At the time, Page had just viewed “Juno” director Jason Reitman’s “Thank You For Smoking” and was about to convene for a general meeting. One week after the meeting had been arranged, the news surfaced that Reitman would be directing “Juno”. Page says on the twist of fate: “I was in cloud nine.”

Wanting the leading gig in “Juno” was just as clear for Page as it was for Reitman. As for Cody: “The instant her name came up from the beginning of the process, I knew she’d be amazing. She’s one of the best of her generation. When Jason came on board, he was adamant about her and I was 100 percent behind him.

“In terms of casting, I put my trust in Jason as I did with many aspects of the film,” Cody said. “He was adamant about the cast he wanted.”

Cody’s one not only to think quickly before she speaks but also to listen to her own words after she does. She then discerned about herself: “I’ve used the word ‘adamant’ twice. That’s the first and second time I’ve used that word in a really long time. It feels kinda good.”

Ellen Page (left) in “Juno”.
Photo credit: IMDb
Page appreciates the fine art of fine vernacular, too, and offered: “My word that I’m using a lot lately is ‘slutty’. It’s good. It can have nothing to do with the word. If someone orders a tuna sandwich, slutty!”

With the film’s screenwriter at her side, Page was posed the question of whether she had to deliver any lines she despised.

“Honestly, no,” Page said. “There were some that felt more awkward and some I totally put my faith into Jason for it not to be ridiculous. Everything she wrote felt extremely organic to me. I didn’t speak the exact same way as Juno did when I was 16, but I did have my own specific language with friends.”

Back to Cody’s past and present, her essence today is drawn from all the good and the shameful of yesterday. While sometimes slapped with the negativities associated with a brief stint as a stripper, it’s perhaps surprising to learn she’s in fact more at odds with what has principally crafted her career.

“I tend to be somewhat ashamed of my blogging past,” Cody offered. “Blogging is vanity. It’s self-publishing. There’s no prestige in it. That’s not to say something has to be prestigious to have merit, but there’s something cheesy about being the first blogger turned screenwriter. I mind the stripper comparisons less.

“But [blogging is] where I come from. I owe my entire career to blogging. I was discovered because of the blog.”

She then interrupted herself due to a minor medical surprise: “I’m sorry. There’s blood all over my hand. I just cut myself really badly. It’s one of those small cuts that produces a ton of blood.” It’s that randomness – that quirkiness – that propels people’s growing interest in her. You never know what to expect with her.

Ellen Page and Michael Cera in “Juno”.
Photo credit: IMDb
In our Oct. 16 review on “Juno,” we wrote: “Cody is used to clever wordplay to pad earnest moments of connection and soul bearing. Formerly a brief stripper, Cody’s long-running blog gained national exposure with her memoir ‘Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper’.”

So how did Chicago-native producer Mason Novick discover Cody’s blog? Was he searching for porn?

Page silently nodded her head. Before treated with the answer from Cody, Page’s own avant-garde personality launched her into tangential narrative in response to bloody digits.

“I have scars all over my fingers because I’m a fucking klutz,” Page acknowledged. “I [recently] moved into a [new] place [and] bought nice hiking shoes. I like to hike. I was wearing them in my place. I have a really old apartment and everything’s wood.

“I totally ripped my fingers to shreds with a brand-new knife I bought. It’s the only thing I spend money on. I have used furniture and whatever, but I like cooking and good knives are important. There was blood everywhere and it had gotten all over my shoes.”

Though she seemed apologetic for divulging the glimpse into her personal life, without interruption her mind fired back to: “Oh. Porn. Mason. Searching.” Cody now dished out our answer.

“Mason has never really told me the whole story because we have an extremely professional relationship,” Cody said on reflection while staring into her past. “I believe he said he was Googling ‘pussy’ and found The Pussy Ranch,” which is the title of her current blog.

Jennifer Garner (left), Jason Bateman and Ellen Page in “Juno”.
Photo credit: IMDb
“That means vagina,” Page jested for clarification.

Cody pressed on into the story of her manufacture: “Who hasn’t Googled ‘pussy’ or ‘cock’ during a dark, lonely moment? He was probably at work, though. That’s the funny part.

“He found my blog and started reading it – shockingly. There probably wasn’t a lot of visual material for him to work with, but there was a lot of cynical blabber about the sex industry. He for some reason thought I would make a good screenwriter. I absolutely love that man.”

Cody offers her love for Novick with purely professional undertones, of course, as she has been married to Jonny Hunt for the past three years. They relocated from Chicago to Minnesota and currently reside in Los Angeles. The couple appropriately met where Cody spends much of her personal and professional time: online.

While Cody continues developing a cult following as one of today’s most promising screenwriters, being tagged “the new Tarantino” is her most prized praise yet.

“Ah hah!,” she declared with elevated volume and unadulterated pride. The meek chic geek then returned: “I wish I were that talented. I wish I had one pixel of [Quentin] Tarantino’s talent. He’s an absolute hero of mine. That [praise is] Jason Reitman’s largesse. That’s very nice of him to say. [Tarantino is] a fucking icon.”

Page interjected with sarcasm: “Who’s Quentin Tarantino? Does he go out with Oprah?”

Stay tuned for part two of this interview, which will be published shortly. “Juno” will open in limited theaters on Dec. 5.

Dec. 7, 2007 update: Part two can now be found here.
By Adam Fendelman
Publisher
HollywoodChicago.com

‘R’-Rated, Three-Minute ‘Superbad’ Clip Leaks Onto YouTube

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:15:55 -0600

A high-quality, “R”-rated “Superbad” clip has leaked online. This is three minutes from the film and is not the television trailer.

The film, which stars Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Seth Rogen and Bill Hader, opens in theaters on Aug. 17.

My July 26 post about the Chicago Q&A with Hill, Cera and Mintz-Plasse can be found here.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com