LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2015 – Amy Schumer is set to headline her first HBO comedy special, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. The special, which debuts later this year, will tape at the Apollo Theater in New York on May 29 and will be directed by Chris Rock.
“Amy is one of the most inspired comics working today, and we hope her first HBO special marks the start of a long and beautiful relationship,” said Lombardo. “This event is even more special because our good friend, the incredibly talented Chris Rock, is directing.”
Amy Schumer is the creator, star, writer and executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy®-nominated series “Inside Amy Schumer.” This summer, she will be seen in the feature film “Trainwreck,” which she wrote and stars in. Her one-hour stand-up special, “Mostly Sex Stuff,” stands as the highest-rated Comedy Central original stand-up special since 2011. Schumer’s other credits include “Louie,” HBO’s “Girls,” “Delocated” and HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Chris Rock recently directed and starred in the critically acclaimed film “Top Five.”
The Griswold family has returned, and the reins of disaster have been passed to Rusty Griswold in the new red-band trailer for Vacation.
While we get a glimpse of Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo reprising their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold, this story clearly moves on to the misadventures of Russ (Ed Helms) and his family. Christina Applegate plays the new version of D’Angelo, and, as this trailer shows, an appearance from Chris Hemsworth is packing some heat.
Here is the red-band Vacation trailer:
Clearly directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are taking the raunchy road in this Vacation reboot. The original Vacation (still hilarious) and European Vacation were both rated R, but they seem tame in comparison.
Vacation also stars Charlie Day, Michael Peña, and Keegan-Michael Key of Key and Peele fame. It is slated to hit theaters July 29.
Chris Hemsworth steals the show in this NSFW Red Band Trailer for Vacation.
On July 31st, 2015, the Griswolds will embark on their latest family vacation. The film stars Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Chris Hemsworth, Leslie Mann, Charlie Day, Beverly D’Angelo, and Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold.
In the film, Helms plays Clark’s son, Rusty. He decides to take his wife (Applegate) and kids on a cross country trip to the family’s favorite stomping grounds, Wally World. Along the way, Rusty meets up with his sister Audrey (Mann), her husband (Hemsworth), and their parents Clark and Ellen (Chase and Beverly D’Angelo).
Marvel Studios has commenced principal photography at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, Georgia on “Captain America: Civil War,” the third installment of its Super Hero franchise. The production will shoot on location in Atlanta, Georgia, which serves as the base for the film’s production, as well as locations in Germany, Puerto Rico and Iceland.
Set for release in the United States on May 6, 2016, “Captain America: Civil War” is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Community”) from a screenplay by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (“Captain America: The Winter Solider,” Marvel’s “Captain America: The First Avenger”). The film returns Chris Evans (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron”) as the iconic Super Hero character Steve Rogers/Captain America along with Robert Downey Jr. (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Marvel’s “Iron Man 3”) as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Sebastian Stan (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: The First Avenger”) as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Paul Bettany (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Iron Man 3”) as The Vision, Jeremy Renner (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Marvel’s “The Avengers”) as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Don Cheadle (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Iron Man 3”) as Jim Rhodes/War Machine and Elizabeth Olsen (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Godzilla”) as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch.
After his debut in Marvel’s “Ant-Man” on July 17, 2015, Paul Rudd (“Ant-Man,” ”Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”) will make his first appearance alongside the Avengers as Scott Lang/Ant-Man in “Captain America: Civil War.”
The film also includes outstanding additional cast, including Chadwick Boseman (“42,” “Get on Up”) as T’Challa/Black Panther, Emily VanCamp (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Revenge”) as Sharon Carter/Agent 13, Daniel Brühl (“Inglourious Basterds,” “Bourne Ultimatum”), Frank Grillo (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Warrior”) as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, William Hurt (“A History of Violence,” Marvel’s “The Incredible Hulk”) as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and Martin Freeman (“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”).
“Captain America: Civil War” picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.
Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” is produced by Marvel Studios’ president, Kevin Feige, with Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Patricia Whitcher, Nate Moore and Stan Lee serving as executive producers.
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo’s creative team also includes director of photography Trent Opaloch (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Elysium”), production designer Owen Paterson (“Godzilla,” “Matrix”), and three time Oscar®-nominated costume designer Judianna Makovsky (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”).
Based on the Marvel comic character first published in 1941, “Captain America: Civil War ” continues the lineage of epic big-screen adventures chronicled in “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Iron Man 3,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and the upcoming release schedule, which includes Marvel’s “Ant-Man” on July 17, 2015, Marvel’s “Doctor Strange,” on November 4, 2016, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” on May 5, 2017, and Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok,” on November 3, 2017.
Marvel Studios most recently continued its unprecedented success with the release of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015. The film recorded the second biggest opening weekend of all time with a $191.3 million box office. It has also been the #1 release in every country where it has been released.
Matthew Sardo spoke with Brad Garrett about his best moments in comedy and told a great story about Bill Cosby. Greg Proops talked about the great minds in comedy, the podcast revolution, performing in front of the prince, and his fond experience filming Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Garrett is best known for his role on Everybody Loves Raymond, you know Proops from Who’s Line Is It Anyway.
ABOUT BRAD GARRETT AND WHEN THE BALLS DROP
A refreshingly candid and wickedly funny look at life’s second half from Everybody Loves Raymond TV sitcom star and comic Brad Garrett.
In this no-holds-barred book of comedic and personal essays, Brad Garrett waxes hilarious—and irreverently honest—about the gaffes, challenges, and ultimately the joys of middle age as he advises us on how to best approach the dreaded “second half” of life.
Ranging in topics from genetics to genitals, weight to women, and dating to diarrhea, Brad leaves no stone unturned in this laugh-out-loud look at getting older. With pieces such as “No Scales in Heaven,” in which Brad points out the essential pointlessness of overthinking diet and exercise, and “Celebrating Your E.D. (erectile dysfunction) During Your Mid-Life Crisis,” the star comedian encourages you to forget the overwhelming concerns that accompany middle age and to welcome the laughs—even if you have a fifty-fifty chance of throwing your back out in doing so.
Penned in Brad’s signature witty, conversational, no-nonsense style that has cemented his status as an icon in the comedy industry, this autobiographical book will teach you the most important thing: that, no matter what, we’re all in this together. So embrace it.
BRAD GARRETT BIO
Brad Garrett won three Emmy’s and a SAG Award for his role as “Robert Barone” on the iconic television series EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND. He was also nominated for an Emmy and a SAG Award for his portrayal of The Great One in the telefilm GLEASON.
Garrett’s trademark voice has been heard in over 30 animated features, including the contemporary classics FINDING NEMO, RATATOUILLE and TANGLED. Garrett’s film credits include David Chase’s NOT FADE AWAY as well as MUSIC AND LYRICS, SUICIDE KINGS and Woody Allen’s SWEET AND LOWDOWN.
Garrett’s stand-up career has spanned over thirty years and he was one of the youngest comics ever to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. In the late 80’s he opened for Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. in Las Vegas, where he opened his own comedy club at the MGM Grand, performing to sold-out audiences.
Garrett has performed on Broadway in Neil Simon’s THE ODD COUPLE and will next be seen in the second season of the acclaimed cable television series FARGO. HE is also developing a network hour pilot which David E. Kelley will write for Garrett to start at ABC.
ABOUT GREG PROOPS AND HIS BOOK THE SMARTEST BOOK IN THE WORLD
From Greg Proops, the beloved star of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the creator, voice, and general know-it-all behind The Smartest Man in the World podcast, comes a cultural dictionary as hilarious as the man himself, THE SMARTEST BOOK IN THE WORLD: A Lexicon of Literacy, a Rancorous Reportage, a Concise Curriculum of Cool (Touchstone; May 5, 2015; Hardcover). Greg Proops brings his “gift of gab” (Rolling Stone) and his “bold, never boring voice” (New York Times) to the printed word with this electrifying compendium of essential wisdom and obscure knowledge, ancient rulers and overlooked feminists, and more than one fantasy baseball team.
THE SMARTEST BOOK IN THE WORLD unleashes Proops’s fascinating and far-reaching knowledge, and plenty of laughs too. He offers up a cultural guide to the must-see and must-have albums, riffs on the merits of poetry and proper punctuation, and jaunts through lessons on everything from the history of baseball to how to steal precious art. Filtered through his distinctive voice and Proopsian panache, the exploits of the Roman Emperors read like a gossip column and entire novels fly by in a single sentence. Illustrations throughout by Proops’s wife, the artist Jennifer Canaga, bring inspired visuals to his riotous writing.
Spanning genres and generations, Greg Proops gives readers a rollicking reference guide guaranteed to make anyone the smartest person in the room. This book is the perfect companion to The Smartest Man in the World and an uproarious introduction for the uninitiated.
Audiences fell in love with Greg Proops’ brazen jokes and signature suit on the improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway?—following him from the original British show to the show’s current season now on the CW. Proops launched his own smash-hit podcast, The Smartest Man in the World, in 2010. His rapid-fire references, thought-provoking commentary, and improvisational style draw thousands of listeners each week and led Rolling Stone to name it one of “The 20 Best Comedy Podcasts Right Now.” It has been a top iTunes Podcast and has been downloaded more than 10 million times.
ABOUT GREG PROOPS
Greg Proops is a revered stand-up comic from San Francisco, and he records his chart-topping podcast “The Smartest Man in the World” from live shows around the world as well as Cleveland. Mr. Proops has been a voice actor in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and played Bob in Bob the Builder. He has been a guest on @Midnight on Comedy Central; Red Eye; The Late, Late Show; and Chelsea Lately. He lives in Hollywood.
Quentin Tarantino is currently shooting his latest film, a Western called The Hateful Eight, and Entertainment Weekly has the first look at some of the all-star cast in this week’s edition. Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jennifer Jason Leigh grace the cover of EW, and inside is an article about the film’s production.
The article inside promises all the blood and grit one would expect from a Tarantino Western. And, of course, great monologues and dialogue are flying all over the set, according to EW: “On a soundstage in Hollywood this April, the actor [Samuel L. Jackson] who plays Major Marquis Warren in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight is swirling up a tornado of a monologue.”
Aside from Russell, Jackson, and Leigh, The Hateful Eight has a stellar cast that includes Tarantino regulars Tim Roth and Michael Madsen, and Bruce Dern, Demián Bichir, and Walton Goggins. The film, set in Wyoming after the Civil War, follows a group of bounty hunters trying to find shelter in the middle of a blizzard while a plot of deception unfolds between the group.
Like every Tarantino release, The Hateful Eight is one of the most anticipated films of 2015 in a year of highly-anticipated movies. While Tarantino’s last film, Django Unchained, took a shot at the Western genre, The Hateful Eight appears to be a much more pure, streamlined Western thriller.
The Hateful Eight hits theaters on December 12 this year.
Nintendo and Universal Parks & Resorts today announced plans to bring the world of Nintendo to life at Universal theme parks – creating spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo’s wildly popular games, characters and worlds.
The agreement brings two icons of entertainment together and represents a significant partnership for Nintendo as it expands the reach and popularity of its characters and intellectual property.
Universal theme parks offer incredibly popular, innovative themed family entertainment experiences based on compelling stories and characters – using powerful storytelling and innovative technology. Nintendo has created remarkable and imaginative worlds filled with captivating stories and beloved characters. Now, for the first time, those stories and characters will be brought to life in entirely new ways – only at Universal theme parks.
The immersive experiences will include major attractions at Universal’s theme parks and will feature Nintendo’s most famous characters and games. More details will be announced in the future, as the Nintendo and Universal creative teams work to create specific concepts.
Source: Nintendo and Universal Parks & Resorts Media
According to Entertainment Weekly, Fox will not pick up The Mindy Project for a fourth season.
The show has a solid cult following but that didn’t translate into ratings. EW also mentions the show might live on as the show’s producer, Universal Television, is currently in serious talks with Hulu for multiple additional seasons. Hulu currently owns the streaming rights to all of the show’s episodes.
Secret Crisis of Infinite Wars #1 Review
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Esad Ribic, Ive Svorcina
Rating: What the f*$% did I just read?
This is how Earth-616 (the original Marvel Universe, for those not keeping score) and its “Ultimate Universe” end: Not with thunderous applause, but…
Mass confusion.
What did I just read? I mean, I haven’t exactly kept up with Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers or New Avengers runs. I read the first 14 or so issues of his Avengers, but got bored and disinterested once all of the weird Starbrand and Captain Universe stuff started happening, picking it back up again only during the “Infinity” and “Original Sin” tie-ins to become even more confused. Though I did gather the whole notion that Marvel’s various multiverses were collapsing in on one another, because people played with time machines too many times — or something.
And maybe I would have understood what was going on more in this first issue of Secret Crisis of Infinite Wars (more on that in a minute) if I had seen whatever sort of prologue Marvel had out on Free Comic Book Day this past weekend. That’s a whole other can of worms, because my local shop was all out of the Marvel freebie by the time I showed up. I’ll be damned if DC didn’t have hundreds of copies of their own FCBD giveaway available everywhere, though.
I could digress here and rant about how much I hate Free Comic Book Day because of situations like this, but the key thing to note here is this: FCBD issues should, at the very least, be available under the “free” section on digital platforms the same day.
Anyways, back to the issue at hand. I came into Secret Wars expecting to have some level of confusion. The problem I’ve always had with Jonathan Hickman’s writing is that his stories are so dense and drawn out, you can’t just jump into any of them at any point. Despite having read maybe 20 issues total of his Avengers run, along with Infinity and its New Avengers tie-ins, I’m still thrust into this story with no background provided for what’s going on. Good luck, new readers who saw that big “#1” and decided this was a good place to start.
We begin with Dr. Doom, the Molecule Man, and what looks like Dr. Strange standing on some platform talking to God or the Beyonder or whatever that white electrical cloud in space is. Then, we’re given Ultimate Nick Fury deciding to blow up the original Marvel Universe because his universe is colliding with it and evil future Reed Richards said doing so would be a good idea. And oh, hey, Evil Future Reed’s hanging out with Thanos and a couple of characters I thought were dead (Corvus Glave and Namor) hanging out in “The City,” because evil future masterminds have run out of things to call their homes.
From there, it’s just a bunch of stuff blowing up and (SPOILER ALERT) everyone in both universes dies.
Or not, because there are seven more issues. And I’ve already been promised some scenario where numerous versions of these characters are inhabiting a place called “Battleworld,” a premise that doesn’t seem too far from DC’s concurrent, halfway-finished Convergence. (Hence the Secret Crisis of Infinite Wars jab above, because the whole destroying and rebuilding your characters’ universe is totally DC’s thing with all of its Crises on Infinite Earths.)
The bottom line is this: Just like DC’s “New 52” gave me a reason to read more of their comics beyond the handful of Batman graphic novels I owned, Marvel’s Secret Wars may very well be my jumping-off point on that end. It’s been a fun ride for the last 20 years, but I’ve found myself enjoying omnibuses of Spider-Man and X-Men issues from 30-50 years ago more than most of the company’s modern books. The death of that universe seems like the most fitting place to step off the train.
Another horror classic is seeing a modern reboot. This time, we’re seeing the return of Pennywise the Clown from It, and Will Poulter is in negotiations for the title role.
Poulter doesn’t scream “horrifying, prehistoric shape-shifting entity” to me right now, but director Cary Fukunaga was reportedly very impressed with his audition. He has big shoes to fill following Tim Curry’s infamous Pennywise performance in the two-part TV movie from 1990, but there’s nothing that tells me that he can’t handle a villainous role, especially due to positive whisperings about early footage of his performance in The Revenant (scheduled for a limited release Christmas 2015). With a bit of movie magic, I’m sure that Poulter will come crawling out of sewers and into our nightmares soon enough.
The film will purportedly be split into two parts: one following the Losers Club from Derry, Maine as children and one focusing on their return to vanquish the creature once and for all as adults. Fukunaga has also been adamant that the movie will have “a new look” but faithfully follow the novel.
What do you suppose that means, fans? Are we going to get a glimpse into the Deadlights? Will The Turtle show up? Will everything still float down here?
