BuzzSugar

Fox Tries to Rebuild Comedy Lineup With Four New Pilots

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:30:58 PST

One of the major issues facing Fox's entertainment president, Kevin Reilly, at TCA last week was the sorry state of Fox's comedy development. Reilly himself noted that Fox had made a lot of year-end lists - er, those would be the worst lists - with Do Not Disturb, one of the first Fall shows to get axed, and the network has no live-action comedy on its schedule to start '09.

So it's interesting that today, Fox has given the green light to four new comedy pilots (among seven total), including one produced by Ben Stiller. A quick rundown of the comedies:

The Station - A Ben Stiller-produced show about a covert CIA operative embedded somewhere in South America who is ordered to install a new dictator.
Walorsky - Think Paul Blart: Mall Cop, the series. The show's about "a lazy ex-cop-turned-security guard patrolling a mall in Buffalo, NY, who is forced to grudgingly step it up after he is assigned an idiot partner."
Two Dollar Beer - This one's set in Detroit and centers on a blue-collar couple and their family and friends.
Sons of Tucson - In this comedy, three rich brothers hire a hustler to act like their father while their actual father serves out a prison term for a white-collar crime. It's supposed to be taking a Slums of Beverly Hills-esque tone.

At TCA, Reilly said the Fox comedies of the future should be "something that is a little bit bold and it's got a point of view," a la Malcolm in the Middle or Arrested Development. So, do you think any of the comedies in this list fit that bill?

Photos courtesy of Fox and Source

Prison Break's Ending, Fringe Is "A Keeper," & More From Fox

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:30:27 PST

Greetings from the TCA press tour! I'm coming to you live from the Universal Hilton, where Fox is presenting its Winter and Spring shows today. A few minutes ago, the network's entertainment president, Kevin Reilly, took the stage to make some announcements about the network's future plans. Here are some highlights:

Prison Break is officially wrapping up this Spring after four seasons; its final batch of episodes (at least four, maybe a few more) will start Friday, April 17. "Prison Break has had a hell of a run and is just at the end of that run," Reilly said. "We'll put that one in the win column, but it just got down to the point where a lot of stories have been told."
Is this good news for Dollhouse? Reilly said "we're going to let the show play out for 13 episodes."
More on Dollhouse and the decision to put it on Friday: "Joss does a certain kind of show. I think he's right in the zone again on that. It's the kind of show that has a core passionate audience." If the show hadn't been put on Fridays, Reilly said, "there was going to be enormous pressure on it."

To see Reilly's thoughts about Fringe, the future of Fox comedy, and more, just

Twice in the session, Reilly said Fringe "is a keeper." He said it's been "a bear creatively because it's been very ambitious," but the writers seem to have figured out the best way to tell their stories now. "If you follow the show week to week, you will not be disappointed in the serialized through-lines," he said, "and yet the stories really do reset themselves week to week." Usually, he said, closed-ended shows do better after American Idol, and while he doesn't expect Fringe to take off after Idol, he does expect it to "tick up."

Of Bones jumping all over the schedule, Reilly said the network has faith in the show even if all the moving around is "a strange way of showing the love." He called it the kind of show you build a network with, "these shows that can go in there and do a job for you."
The Family Guy spinoff, The Cleveland Show, has "frankly, a sweeter tone than Family Guy" and could be good for a younger audience. A full season of it has been ordered.
The network still has a full season of The Moment of Truth in the can for whenever it's needed and is considering doing more Secret Millionaire.
Reilly said Fox is in "a rebuilding period" for comedy, and they won't put something on the air just for the sake of having a comedy.
But, on that note, the animated Sit Down, Shut Up, which includes a ton of Arrested Development alumni, will premiere Sunday, April 19.

You can follow all my TCA adventures here and on Twitter all week.

Photos courtesy of Fox

TV News Roundup, 5/29

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:05:51 PDT

While we were having a relaxing holiday weekend, things were a little nuts over in TV land. Here are some of the most interesting stories:

Charles Nelson Reilly, my favorite "Match Game" panelist, died Friday at age 76, the Los Angeles Times reports.
NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly has been fired, Variety reports. In his place: Ben Silverman, whose studio produces "The Office" and "Ugly Betty," and Marc Graboff.
Reilly isn't the only axing at NBC: "Super-sized" comedies also won't be back next season, Zap2it reports.
A "House" executive producer tells USA Today that next season will look very different.
ABC has its eye on a show that sounds like a newsy YouTube, Variety reports.
The New York Times has the story about how "American Idol" saved "'Til Death."

Source

Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly Bring Something Big to Talk About to Cannes

Molly Goodson — Thu, 12 May 2011 07:54:34 PDT

Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, and their director, Lynne Ramsay, debuted We Need to Talk About Kevin at Cannes this morning. It's the first very buzzed about movie of the festival, with it's unsettling and difficult look at the relationship between a mother, played by Tilda, and her son named Kevin who commits a massacre at his high school - read my We Need to Talk About Kevin review on Buzz. The film is based on a 2004 novel of the same name, and is earning almost universally rave reviews out of the gate. It's a relief to see a smile out of Ezra, who you may recognize from Californication, since in We Need to Talk About Kevin there is no relief from his hard-to-watch-but-impressive portrayal of the troubled teen. Tilda is already earning talk that she's a shoo-in for best actress at the Cannes awards, which are handed out at the end of next week. The festival excitement is just heating up and the Cannes opening ceremony pictures have us very excited for what's to come. We're reporting from all the action in France, so don't miss a thing!

We Need to Talk About Kevin Trailer: Tilda Swinton Raises a Not-So-Sweet Little Boy

Shannon Vestal — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:40:52 PDT

Don't be fooled by the dulcet tones of Buddy Holly's "Every Day" in the We Need to Talk About Kevin trailer. It plays as Eva (Tilda Swinton) and Franklin (John C. Reilly) fall in love and have their first child, Kevin, but their life is less than idyllic. That "sweet little boy" that they conceive (played as an older teen by Ezra Miller) grows up to commit a heinous crime: he goes on a killing spree at his school. In the aftermath of Kevin's monstrous act, Eva is haunted by the memories of Kevin's behavior in flashbacks.

Swinton looks like she's turning in another amazing performance as tortured mother Eva, but it's Miller as the titular Kevin who really gets under your skin, even in the few minutes of the preview. As creepy as he is and as tragic as the film appears, I can't wait to see this. The movie comes out in limited release on Dec. 9, but you can watch the full trailer when you keep reading.

Cannes Mini Review: We Need to Talk About Kevin

Molly Goodson — Thu, 12 May 2011 08:26:44 PDT

The 2011 Cannes Film Festival is off to an exciting start and We Need to Talk About Kevin, from director Lynne Ramsay, is one of the first movies creating major buzz. We Need to Talk About Kevin tells the story of a troubled mother-son relationship that comes to a head with a gruesome school massacre at the hands of the boy, Kevin. I read and was a fan of Lionel Shriver's book when it came out in 2004, but the twists and turns still had me on the edge of my seat even knowing what was coming. We Need to Talk About Kevin is not easy to watch and I left the theater feeling incredibly unsettled, but the amazing performances from Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, and the series of boys who play Kevin are worth every anxious second.

The film jumps between before the incident, as we watch Kevin grow up and Eva (Swinton) struggle with her relationship with him, and after, where we see the world having turned against Eva, because of the crimes her son committed. Reilly once again proves his dramatic chops playing Kevin's dad Franklin, but it's Swinton's quiet suffering that really carries the movie. She is stunning as a mother who's not sure how to love her first born, or if she even does at all. Kevin, played mostly by Jasper Newell and Ezra Miller, leaves the viewer wondering if there is such a thing as a truly bad kid or whether there is humanity in everyone. There are moments when Lynne Ramsay's style overpower the story, such as the blood-red imagery that flows throughout, and those unfamiliar with the novel may have a hard time following the nonlinear storytelling. Bottom line: We Need to Talk About Kevin is difficult, devastating, and nightmarish at times, but it's ultimately worth it.

We Need to Talk About Kevin doesn't currently have a US release date, but I imagine it will after the Cannes buzz.

Pixar Announces New Dinosaur and Inside-the-Human-Mind Movies at D23

Lindsay Miller — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:52:01 PDT

At yesterday's Disney expo D23, Pixar fed the fandemonium by announcing two all-new movies now in production. This year marks the animation studio's 25th anniversary, and judging by yesterday's offerings, their innovative spirit shows no signs of fading. The first film they unveiled explores what the world might have been like if dinosaurs were never wiped out by a giant asteroid, but continued to exist on Earth. Director Bob Peterson, a longtime Pixar story artist and the voice of characters like Doug from Up, is helming the movie. He said Walt Disney's animatronic dinosaurs, which he first saw at the New York World's Fair as a child, inspired the idea. Bob shared one still with the audience, but the finished product won't arrive in theaters until Holiday 2013.

The second movie will take a look inside the human mind and explore the reasons why we get songs stuck in our head, why we dream, and even why we remember. Not many details were revealed about how scientific, or fantastic, Pixar's approach to the subject matter may be, and the effort is clearly in the early stages - the movie won't be released until Spring 2014. For more details on the rest of the 2012-2014 animated Disney films previewed yesterday, just

Brave: Pixar's first female-driven film stars Boardwalk Empire's Kelly MacDonald as Merida, a princess set on escaping her fate of an arranged marriage to one of three idiot clan leaders. A group of mostly Scottish actors, including Kevin McKidd, Billy Connolly, and Craig Ferguson, rounds out the cast. Two short clips previewed for the audience showed that the studio's dedication to authenticity, including several research trips to Scotland, paid off. The scenery and attention to detail were breathtaking, and it's refreshing to see a smart, gutsy heroine finally take the lead in a Pixar project. Brave is out on June 22, 2012.
DisneyToon Studios’ Planes: Following the success of Cars, Walt Disney Animation Studios head honcho John Lasseter told the crowd, he was inspired to find a way to continue to explore the idea. The only non-Pixar animated project debuted at D23, Planes stars John Cryer as Dusty, a cropduster who decides to take off an adventure around the globe. The actor was on hand to talk about the movie, telling fans he's thrilled to be starring as Dusty: "I'm so geeked out!" Planes is due out in Spring 2013.
Wreck-It Ralph: This innovative film goes inside the world of retro, 8-bit video games to follow Wreck-It Ralph, an arcade villain who's looking for a way to prove he's not all bad. Voiced by John C. Reilly, Ralph promises to be one of Pixar's most endearing and unique characters yet, and a supporting cast including Sarah Silverman and 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer are also on board to bring the laughs. The short look at the movie that Pixar shared stayed true to the look of classic video games and had a decidedly grown-up appeal. Look for it in theaters in 2012.
Monsters University: Pixar is in the midst of creating a prequel to Monsters Incorporated that will take us back in time to show how Mike and Sully became buddies. Like many a great friendship, Pixar decided, theirs began at college. Billy Crystal made a surprise appearance to chat about the project. To make Billy and John Goodman's characters age in reverse, artists gave Mike a retainer and Sully a slimmed-down, fluffier profile. The filmmakers also shared a look at the campus, which is still being designed. The director, Dan Scanlon, joked that they toured schools from Harvard to Berkeley to find out what "real college" looks like, since most of the filmmakers went to art school.