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Grey's Boys Join Valentine's Day Rom-Com

BuzzSugar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:33:33 -0700

Two handsome McMen of Grey's Anatomy are climbing aboard the already very crowded Garry Marshall rom-com, Valentine's Day. Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane will join a cast that includes, among others, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine, Bradley Cooper and Ashton Kutcher.

The story follows the intersecting love lives of a bunch of LA folks. Dempsey will again be playing a doctor, this time "a married obstetrician dating Garner's character on the sly, with her unaware of his status."

Meanwhile, "Dane will play a quarterback struggling over the decision of whether to retire." Interestingly, though there's no mention of it in today's news piece, the role of the football player has previously been described as a closeted gay character with whom Bradley Cooper's character is in love. I think Cooper and Dane make a pretty cute couple, actually.

Garry Marshall Gets a Cast For Valentine's Day

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:30:34 -0700

Just after the box office success of He's Just Not That Into You around Valentine's Day this year, Garry Marshall announced that he's working on a similar movie - intersecting love lives of a whole slew of people, this time set in LA - to open Valentine's Day weekend next year. The title? Valentine's Day. Now the project has a bunch of big names attached, including Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine, Bradley Cooper, and Ashton Kutcher. The Hollywood Reporter breaks down the many roles:

- Roberts is an army officer on leave from Iraq on a flight to L.A. Cooper, on the same flight, is a gay man whose lover is a closeted football player.

- Kutcher is an owner of a flower shop who proposes to his girlfriend (Alba), only to realize he is in love with his close friend, played by Garner, who discovers her boyfriend is married.

- MacLaine plays Roberts' mother, a happy retiree who reveals to her husband a long-ago affair.

- Hathaway is an assistant working at the biggest talent agency in town and dating a mailroom assistant; Biel is a publicist unlucky in love (is there any other kind?) who has no date on Valentine's Day.

Major roles still to be cast are the gay football player, MacLaine's husband, the mailroom worker, a talent agent and a young boy looking to give his crush some flowers.

I adore this ensemble cast (there's a little Alias reunion!) and I can't wait to see how they all work together. I just hope this cast gets something better to work with than He's Just Not That Into You. Maybe it'll turn out to be more like Love Actually. One thing's for sure: New Line Cinema sure knows how to lure women to the theaters on Valentine's Day weekend. What do you think about this cast?

Source

Garry Marshall Is That Into Valentine's Day

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:35:21 -0800

Remember Garry Marshall? Director of some beloved flicks like Pretty Woman and Beaches (and some others like Runaway Bride and Raising Helen)? Regardless of the fact that his last directorial project was that Lindsay Lohan thing, Georgia Rule, he's still one of the bigger directors in this genre. So why is he doing a movie that sounds a lot like He's Just Not That Into You?

Titled Valentine's Day, the movie is "a comedy about 10 people in Los Angeles whose lives intersect on the romantic holiday." He's Just Not That Into You follows a bunch of people in Baltimore whose romantic lives overlap. The script for Valentine's Day was even rewritten by the same people who wrote the script for HJNTIY.

Anyway. I hope Marshall can make this project fun. Surely we'll hear all about the casting for this as each of the 10 roles are filled. The multiple storylines thing can be entertaining, but sometimes it's hard to care much about any of them if there are too many. Do you like movies like this that include many intersecting stories, or would you rather concentrate on one or two characters in a film?

Source and heart image from HJNTIY one-sheet courtesy of Warner Bros.

"On the Lot" Recap: Now, This is Just Insulting

BuzzSugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:31:01 -0700

"On the Lot" has been quite the slog this summer, it's true, but this week's episode was the one that I figured would make it all worthwhile. Three not-that-bad directors were going to pull out all the stops to make the best final films they could, Garry Marshall was going to utter more crazy talk, and Adrianna Costa was going to barely wear clothing. Right?

Wrong. Well, the last two were true, but instead of getting three new films, we got what was essentially a recap. The final three - Jason, Will and Adam - were asked to pick their two favorite films from the season. And then we watched them. Again. With absolutely nothing new except for Adrianna's blabber in between.

I shouldn't be surprised; it's my fault for getting my hopes up about anything having to do with "On the Lot." After all, my whole experience of watching this show has been a lesson in setting my expectations lower. But "rewarding" the, I dunno, 25 of us who are still watching with a finale filled with films we'd already seen is just offensive. All I can figure is that the show ran out of money.

Enough venting. To read about what actually happened and see my pick to win, read more

Will picked Glass Eye and The Yes Men (both were fine, but if I were him, I'd have picked Lucky Penny and Unplugged). Jason went with Eternal Waters and Sweet, the only film of his I've actually liked (and at least I didn't have to watch Getta Rhoom again). And Adam picked Dough: The Musical and Army Guy, which were not only my two favorite films of his but also two of my favorites of this whole sorry season. I'm rooting for Will, but if I were choosing based on last night alone, I'd have to give it to Adam.

What did you think? Was anyone else as insulted as I was? And how excited are you to see Spielberg show up - tail between his legs, I hope, ashamed for what a wreck this show turned out to be - next week?

Photos courtesy of Fox

"On the Lot": The Logline Challenge

BuzzSugar — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:30:00 -0700

This week's episode of "On the Lot" started with a somewhat shocking elimination: Zach, the director who honestly seemed most likely to win from the very first week of the competition, was eliminated after last week's vote. Yes, I said his movie last week was one of my least-favorites, and I think Zach made a strategic mistake by making a not-great sequel to an even worse original film. On the other hand, I think he's one of only a couple of the "On the Lot" contestants who I think could actually have a career in Hollywood, and it's unfortunate that he won't be there at the end.

The remaining four guys were tasked with making a film based on a logline submitted through the logline challenge the show has been running all season: a guy wakes up wearing a dress with no memory of the night before. I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of films that came from the logline; I think all four directors realized they needed to move beyond "hey, it's a dude in a dress!" and actually give us a story. The guest judge, by the way, was F. Gary Gray of Friday and The Italian Job. As for the contestants' films:

Will started off the night with The Yes Men. He said he wanted to focus more on the people around the man in the dress and go for something Coen Brothers-esque. I did get a little Hudsucker Proxy out of it, and there definitely was a man in a dress, but he really didn't deal with the second part of the challenge (about the guy not remembering what happened the night before) at all. Still, it had a cool screwball feeling to it. Carrie liked the dialogue and the fact that Will didn't feminize the man in the dress; F. Gary said it was well-designed and funny but he wanted a little more punch at the end; Garry said everyone was funny, from the lead to the supporting players, and that's a compliment to the director.
Sam followed up with Dress for Success. His interpretation featured a bunch of women getting revenge on their sexist, sexually harassing boss by making him wear a dress and heels while performing menial office tasks and, for some reason, walking on a treadmill while getting smacked on the butt. He emerges having been taught a lesson ... except then he suddenly starts sexually harassing guys instead. Something just felt off about the film, whether it was the pace or the tone, and I think he tried to hard for his big punchline at the end. Carrie said it wasn't original enough to separate it from other office films; F. Gary said the torture scenes and office scenes felt like two different movies, and Garry liked it fine but said it probably needed to be a bit better at this stage of the competition.

Two more films, so read more

Adam's film, Army Guy, involved stunt doubles, an actor and an actress playing multiple characters, and a fight scene that included literally taking someone's head off, as well as some baffling dialogue and an odd penis joke. I was completely confused until the big reveal at the end that the film's actual conceit was kids playing with a dollhouse; then, the film started to seem strangely brilliant, and I actually rewound to watch it again. Carrie said it was the most innovative film of the competition; F. Gary called it Fellini-esque but wished the audience had gotten a little more something to hold onto; Garry got to use the word "crotchsicle."
Jason finished off the show with Oh, Boy, about a guy who gets revenge on his high school nemesis by putting him in a dress, strapping a bomb to him and ordering him to do various embarrassing things - except it's not the nemesis after all. It had the trademark Jason cringe moment for me (this time a sex joke), but I have to give Jason credit for managing to tell a complete story, even when it's not a story I particularly relate to. Carrie and Garry both said that Jason is good at capturing his particular world; F. Gary said the movie seemed a little safe, but Jason has definitely improved.

Judges' favorites:
Carrie: Army Guy
F. Gary: Army Guy
Garry: Army Guy

I actually have to agree with them, though I don't think I was as in love with Army Guy as they all were; Will's film would be a relatively close second for me. My least favorite on the night was Sam's, and given that he was the only one to get truly negative feedback, I'd say he should be worried about going home.

And that's (almost) a wrap - next week is the final competition round! Who's excited? Who's still watching? And which contestants do you think will be there at the end?

"On the Lot" Recap: Six More Comedies

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:27:38 -0700

Did anybody else notice how many times Adrianna Costa mentioned during this week's "On the Lot" that the winner would be crowned "in just three weeks"? Three weeks! Almost done!

We now know two more people who won't be walking away with the $1 million development deal: Mateen and Kenny, just as I'd suspected. All six remaining directors showed their films tonight, which once again were short comedies. (I guess we're not doing drama on this show?) Joining the judges was Brad Silberling, director of City of Angels, Moonlight Mile and the Lemony Snicket movie. As for this week's crop of movies:

Zach was up first with The Bonus Feature, about a guy who buys a car with a DVD player that transports him an dhis girlfriend into various scenes from classic movies. Basically, it's the plot of the animated "No Time for Nuts" short, mixed with a Disney ride and a healthy dose of Spielberg. Carrie and Brad thought it needed more story; Garry said Zach might have sucked up too much Spielberg but he should be able to continue in the competition.
Adam followed that up with Girl Trouble, about a highly unusual one-night stand. And by "unusual," I mean "cross-dressing." The plot basically centered on one guy trying to convince his roommate that the "date" he'd brought home was gorgeous, and the roommate had none of it - the kicker being that the roommate's fiance was also a cross-dressing guy. Sound funny? Yeah, exactly. Also, it ripped off both American Beauty and The Graduate. Carrie and Garry liked it, but Brad thought it was too over-the-top and didn't really kill.

Four more, so read more

Will made me love him a little more with Unplugged, a love story between two desk lamps. I've thought for a long time that Will needs to get a deal with Pixar after this, and Unplugged really sealed the deal - couldn't you picture Luxo Jr. being one of those lamps? Carrie loved it but complained again about the lack of dialogue; Brad thought it was brilliant; Garry said ... something about lamps necking.
Andrew made the highly stylized Keep Off Grass, a superhero film with two antiheroes having an argument on a perfectly manicured lawn. The film ends with passionate, tornado-like sex that tears up a lawn, unbeknownst to the clueless gardener. It bugged me that the superheroes didn't destroy anything during the fight, and that was the main complaint the judges had with it too - except for Garry, who just loved it.
Sam made American Hoe, about a couple fighting over the stamps for their wedding invitation after the guy brought home the national farming series stamps (including one that says "the American hoe") instead of the love ones. And ... that's about it. Carrie said there wasn't enough to it, Brad said the characters had nowhere to go, and Garry said the two characters shouldn't have been getting married in the first place.
Jason finished out the night with Old Home Boyz, about a group of aging gangstas who get together for a 50-year reunion and end up having a dance-off to see who will end up with the girl they've both apparently always wanted to sleep with. I must have been watching a different movie from the judges, because I found it nearly unwatchable, but all three of them thought it was fantastic - and, in the case of Garry, even romantic.

When Adrianna asked the judges at the end of the night, Carrie liked Adam's film the most, Brad liked Jason's, and Garry was torn between Will's and Andrew's. Interesting.

Only one director will go home next week, and if I were choosing, I'd send home Sam, with Adam and Jason fighting for the next spot on my chopping block. By the way, if I heard correctly, the person with the most votes this week will get the (somewhat dubious) honor of having Jerry O'Connell star in his next film. Um, great. What did you think? Anyone still out there?

Photo courtesy of Fox

"On the Lot" Recap: "When Two Worlds Collide"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 09:30:27 -0700

Wow, how quickly does Fox want "On the Lot" to be over? This week, not one but two directors will be eliminated, letting this black hole of ratings suckage limp off the air a bit sooner. Sigh. Remember when I thought this show would be good?

First off this week (which aired on Monday because of baseball's All-Star Game tonight), Adrianna - whom Mateen described as "a harbinger of bad news," and isn't that the truth - showed up at the directors' house to tell Shira-Lee that she was going home. I didn't think her horror film was the worst of last week, but I also don't think it's a bad call to send her home.

This week's five directors had the assignment to make a film based on the trite concept "when two worlds collide" for Carrie, Garry and guest judge Luke Greenfield of The Girl Next Door. To be honest, I thought this was the least-bad week so far, though none of the films had me jumping up and down either. Here's how it went down:

Zach started off the night with Time Upon a Once, which played with direction and time and space and reminded me a bit of the preview for ABC's upcoming show "Pushing Daisies." The story, in a nutshell: New neighbors who do things backwards (literally) move in across the street and ultimately manage to reverse time to keep someone from being hit by a car. There were some very cool, subtle effects (having the actors speak backwards, then playing it forwards to give the idea of a foreigner trying to speak a new language), but it also felt like it was trying a little too hard to be weird. Carrie liked it but said she expected more; Luke said it reminded him of Spike Jonze; Garry said it was "esoterical" and babbled about the dog.
Hilary brought us The Legend of Donkey-Tail Willie, a fairy tale about a guy whose donkey tail makes him a social pariah until he meets a woman with donkey ears who's clearly his soul mate. I thought it was Hilary's coolest-looking film yet, though the fuzzy effect was turned up a bit high - I kept blinking to make sure there wasn't something wrong with my contacts. Carrie was pleased with Hilary's improvement but said it reminded her of Adam's Dance Man (because it had a voiceover, maybe?); Luke didn't love all the details but said the overall impression was strong; Garry said "no jackass made this film," yuk yuk.

Three more films, so read more

Will's film was called Spaghetti, about a couple who get lost in a spaghetti western. Hey, dialogue! Westerns aren't really my thing, but it seemed like Will did a fine job both satirizing and paying homage to some of their more recognizable elements (the duel setup, the close-ups of people's faces, the sepia tones of every desert shot). Carrie thought it was cute; Luke liked it but wanted a punchier ending; Garry said he liked its simplicity.
Shalini kept describing First Sight as a film about "a woman who learns a lesson in a very unusual way," which is the kind of intentionally vague description that tends to signal a movie is going to be awful. This was basically a public service announcement about a shallow girl who gets a pair of glasses from a blind man that enables her to see people differently. It was kind of baffling (a guy asks her for change to help kids, and she signs a petition but forks over no change?) and generally way too heavy-handed. Carrie said the over-the-top message wasn't her thing; Luke went a step further and said he felt like he'd been burned with the branding iron of morality; Garry liked the positive story.
Adam gave a big speech about doing his own on-set special effects, which seemed like a knock on Zach to me, especially because his film had its share of computer-generated effects, too. Anyway. His Worldly Possession was about a materialistic couple who got a special globe shipped to them from the military (?) and realized they could make things happen on the actual earth by simulating them on the model earth. Carrie said it was her favorite of the night; Luke liked it as well; Garry didn't really get it.

I saw something redeeming in every film this week except for Shalini's, which I thought was bland and way too heavy-handed. I would send her home this week, along with Hilary; though I thought Hilary's film was OK this time, she just doesn't seem as strong as the other directors in this round, all of whom have produced at least one film that wowed the judges.

So, what did you think? Is Zach still the favorite to win it all? Is Garry getting crazier every week?

Photo courtesy of Fox

"On the Lot" Recap: Six Horror Films

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:00:00 -0700

Another week, another edition of "On the Lot." Honestly, I complain a lot about the quality of the singing on "American Idol," but even a Sanjaya performance would be more welcome right now than sitting through another batch of mediocre films. This week, six filmmakers took on horror with guest judge Eli Roth, whose Hostel II recently prompted a debate over whether the horror genre was on the decline.

But first, last week's crop of directors gathered back at the house to wait for Adrianna and Garry to drop by with the news of who would be eliminated. Will said, "Adrianna's a very nice person, but I don't want to see her today," which totally sums up how I feel every time I turn on "On the Lot." Turns out, David's awkward film about sexual escapades got him kicked off the show. He was very zen about it, saying that every director has a bad movie, but it's a shame that his was in front of "millions and millions of people." I think that's a little over-optimistic. Also, we learned that Will's film got the most votes last week. As for this week's entries:

Kenny made The Malibu Myth, and we learned that the biggest problem on the shoot was Kenny's aggravating personality. Surprise! Anyway, the film was about a couple who seek out a road where young folks are rumored to be brutally murdered, see a dead body, stop the car, touch the dead girl, and end up attacked by flesh-eating villains. It was probably the best of Kenny's films so far, but remember, that's a list that includes Wack Alley Cab. I thought the buildup was creepy enough, but the actual attack was laughable. Eli agreed with me, Carrie said it was Kenny's most accessible film, and Garry said he was scared.
Sam came next with Anklebiters, a movie that hinged on an ankle-biting puppet. He said he was conscious of the fine line between scary and cheesy, but I really think he came down on the wrong side of this one. The puppet looked like some kind of remote-controlled toy, and the action was exactly the kind of screaming, running around, bloody silliness you'd expect. Carrie said she believed the puppet, Eli said the attack worked well but the prologue gave too much away, and Garry dropped another one of his literary quotes before saying he was scared, again.

Four more, so read more

Andrew made Midnight Snack, which he described as horror first, comedy second. The basic plot: A woman - who we later learn is a demon - makes a sandwich. I had a hard time being scared because the main character didn't seem to think there was anything weird about the ghosts and monsters all through her house. Carrie said it was more Rocky Horror than horror, Garry said he's a sucker for comedy, and Eli said the lightning and music were so overdone that it seemed like a "Got Milk" commercial.
Jason's film was Eternal Waters, about a kid who died by drowning in the family pool and somehow comes back to save his mother from an intruder. I've been far from Jason's biggest fan, but I thought this was his best film - as well as the best film of the night so far. Its happy ending was a little too saccharine for a horror film, but the cool stylistic touches made up for that. Carrie liked it, Garry loved it, and Eli was too distracted by the mom's tight T-shirt to say much at all.
Shira-Lee, who said numerous times it was her first time doing horror, made Open House, about a house-hunting couple who encounter a ghost in what could be their soon-to-be-born child's room. I appreciated that she attempted a psychological thriller, even though it didn't quite succeed. Carrie said the actors were good but she didn't believe the ghost; Eli said the music was too forced by the ending was nice; Garry said Shira-Lee was better at comedy.
Mateen closed out the night with Profile, about a black man who imagines(?) himself getting beaten by white cops. OK, I get that racial profiling is horrifying, but does that make this a horror film? Carrie said no, but the performances from the actors were strong; Eli said he disliked all the shifting points of view and wished it would have held together better; Garry said it was brave, though it might not be accessible enough. It also had the Marty Martin hallmark of not exactly adhering to the rules of the competition, but who knows how much that matters at this point.

If I had to pick a favorite, I suppose it would be Jason's. Honestly, I could see how any of the other directors would be sent home, though if it were up to me I'd ditch either Kenny or Andrew.

Next week: The show's on Monday because of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and the directors will make films based on the phrase "when two worlds collide." Um, yippee?

"On the Lot" Recap: Six Short Comedies

BuzzSugar — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:03:50 -0700

Sadly, my local Fox affiliate showed baseball last night instead of "On the Lot," so I didn't get to see Mark Waters judging after all. (And the home team didn't even win. Thanks a lot, Giants.) I've done my best to catch up with the clips available on the show's official site, but if I missed anything big, please tell me.

Here's what I gather about the early part of the show: 1) Adriana and Garry visited the directors' house to tell Jess that her horror film from a tree's perspective hadn't flown with America and she'd be going home, and 2) Adriana wore even less clothing than usual. As for the films:

Shalini started things off with Dr. In-Law, about a guy who takes his non-English-speaking father-in-law to a doctor's appointment and spitefully leads him to be examined in a particularly unpleasant way. You know, if I were to have made a list of contestants I thought could get through this competition without making a butt joke, Shalini would have been at the top of my list. But no.
Adam came next with Discovering the Wheels, about cavemen who suddenly have a car appear in the middle of their community and take it for a test drive, only to end up being zapped back and forth in time. I'm sorry, was that just one big car commercial? Plus, in the battle of "On the Lot" caveman references, I still prefer Sam's Replication Theory.

To see my thoughts on the other four, read more

I really thought Will was going to attempt a film with dialogue this time, but Nerve Endings was another essentially silent film, this one about a surgeon who realizes that by pressing down on different parts of a guy's brain during surgery, he can make the patient kick and dance. It was a little gross but still cute and well-made, with a strong directorial voice. On the other hand, though, it's also starting to feel like I've seen all of Will's tricks.
Hillary made Under the Gun, about a woman who decides to rob a sperm bank at gunpoint (sperm bank, get it?). I keep thinking I expect more from Hilary, but I don't really know why, since it's not like any of her other films have been so impressive. This was my favorite of hers so far, but it still was really over-the-top and didn't make me laugh aloud.
David brought us How to Have a Girl, about a couple that discovers that having sex in certain positions will determine the gender of their child. The gag is that the man wants a boy, and the woman wants a girl, so there's a lot of uncomfortable struggling and rolling around. I thought it was a mess - first too much build-up with too little explanation of what was going on, then too much poorly simulated sex. Eh.
Zach closed out the night with Die Hardly Working, about coworkers who start a make-believe war in their cubicles. I thought this was the best of the night, in large part because of his actors, who really sold their pantomimed gunfire. Still, Zach seems more like the one to beat every week.

So, whose films did you like? What did I miss? Did Garry say anything coherent?

Photo courtesy of Fox

TV Tonight: "On the Lot"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 05:30:00 -0700

I'm pretty well aware that by the end of the summer, I'll be the only person in America still watching Fox's tortured "On the Lot." Still, I'm kind of getting a kick out of the show - sometimes because the films are good; other times to marvel at how a great idea became a train wreck in execution and ratings - and so, in an effort to psych myself up for tonight's broadcast, I've come up with a few things that excite me about this next round of "On the Lot":

The filmmakers now actually have to make films on the proverbial lot, rather than going home (though Fox has never said anything about it, I wouldn't be surprised if the films we've been watching the past few weeks were the contestants' audition movies). One of my frustrations with the show has been its lack of focus on how these movies got made: Did the directors have a screenwriter? A budget? Provided equipment? Maybe now, we'll see how the filmmakers are actually putting their movies together.
Six films per night, rather than five. More entertainment; less Adrianna Costa.
Guest judge Mark Waters - whom Fox will probably tell you directed of Mean Girls, but whom I'll tell you also directed The House of Yes, a personal favorite.
The contestants giving comedy another shot this week. In retrospect, maybe the comedies weren't so bad the first time around ... right?
No more Marty! Sure, it's one arrogant jerk down and several more to go, but his attitude annoyed me to no end, and I'm glad I won't have to watch another watered-down trailer.

Photo courtesy of Fox