The same year he was cast to play the iconic character Kramer on the sitcom Seinfeld, Michael Richards could also be seen on the big screen in the comedy Uhf – which was a financial disappointment at the time of its release in the summer of 1989, but has gone on to gather a huge cult following over the years. Musician “Weird Al” Yankovic plays the lead role of George Newman, who is put in charge of the Uhf television channel Channel 62, with Richards in the supporting role of janitor-turned-host Stanley Spadowski… and for a while, it looked like Richards would be playing Stanley while dealing with a case of Bell’s palsy.
As Richards writes in his memoir Entrances and Exits, “Before the Seinfeld pilot, I star in three pilots: Herndon (1983), Help (1984), and Slickers (1985). All three are offered to me. The second pilot, Help, is retooled and called Marblehead Manor, and...
As Richards writes in his memoir Entrances and Exits, “Before the Seinfeld pilot, I star in three pilots: Herndon (1983), Help (1984), and Slickers (1985). All three are offered to me. The second pilot, Help, is retooled and called Marblehead Manor, and...
- 6/13/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Determining Ben Stiller's best role is no easy task, as the prolific performer has more than a few borderline iconic characters to his name. Tony Perkis in "Heavyweights," Mr. Furious in "Mystery Men," White Goodman in "Dodgeball," Chas Tenenbaum in "The Royal Tenenbaums," Tugg Speedman in "Tropic Thunder," the titular Derek "Zoolander," and Ted Stroehmann in "There's Something About Mary" are all characters that feel synonymous with Stiller, and roles that no one else but him could pull off. And then there's Greg Focker in "Meet the Parents," a role Stiller has played in three different films, the lovable everyman who can't seem to impress his overbearing father-in-law Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro). For as much as Stiller has made a name for himself with distinctive characters like Hal the Orderly Guy in "Happy Gilmore," his genuine charm allowed him to flourish in relatable roles, with Greg arguably the best example of this.
- 5/25/2024
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
"Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" is one of the funniest movies of 2022, and I will die on this hill. The fake totally accurate biopic stars Daniel Radcliffe of "Harry Potter" fame as the accordion-playing songster who brought us such classics as "Like a Surgeon," "Amish Paradise," and "Eat It," which are parodies of "Like a Virgin," "Gangster's Paradise," and "Beat It," in case you somehow didn't know.
The film tells the not-so very real tale of Al's life, from his father's disapproval of his wild accordion-playing days to his rock star bingeing to his toxic romantic relationship with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood in the best casting choice of the year). Of course, none all of this is true, and it makes for a fun story.
One of the best scenes in the film is a pool party where a young Al meets pretty much every niche superstar who was famous in the 1970s and 1980s,...
The film tells the not-so very real tale of Al's life, from his father's disapproval of his wild accordion-playing days to his rock star bingeing to his toxic romantic relationship with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood in the best casting choice of the year). Of course, none all of this is true, and it makes for a fun story.
One of the best scenes in the film is a pool party where a young Al meets pretty much every niche superstar who was famous in the 1970s and 1980s,...
- 2/10/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
After working with “Weird” Al Yankovic on a Funny or Die spoof trailer 10 years ago, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” director and co-writer Eric Appel had more than enough time to think about what a feature version of the satirical take on Yankovic’s life might look like on screen. But when it finally came time to make that dream a reality, Appel didn’t even have a full month to shoot. The film’s whirlwind production lasted just 18 days and required discipline, planning, and a little luck to pull off.
“It was a bit of a miracle,” Appel, a Directors Guild Award nominee for “Weird,” tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview as part of our Meet the Experts: Directors panel. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al, and featuring numerous celebrity cameos – including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Conan O’Brien, and more – “Weird” is a comedy satire of musical biopics that...
“It was a bit of a miracle,” Appel, a Directors Guild Award nominee for “Weird,” tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview as part of our Meet the Experts: Directors panel. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al, and featuring numerous celebrity cameos – including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Conan O’Brien, and more – “Weird” is a comedy satire of musical biopics that...
- 2/2/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Over the past 131 years, musical luminaries like Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young have all graced the Carnegie Hall stage. And on Saturday evening, “Weird Al” Yankovic finally joined their ranks when his Ridiculously Self-Indulgent Ill-Advised Vanity Tour touched down in New York for its grand finale.
Just about five minutes into the set, Yankovic took a pause to soak it in, and even wipe away what appeared to be a genuine tear. “Let me just take a moment to enjoy this,” he...
Just about five minutes into the set, Yankovic took a pause to soak it in, and even wipe away what appeared to be a genuine tear. “Let me just take a moment to enjoy this,” he...
- 10/30/2022
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Chicago – With the major league baseball playoffs on the horizon, there is no better way to celebrate than a screening of the ballgame-themed TV pilot “Vendors,” created by Christopher Biewer, directed by Joel Murray and featuring Biewer, Kim DeJesus, Tim Kazurinsky, Emo Philips and former Chicago Cub Ryan Dempster. The event will take place at The iO Theater in Chicago on Saturday, September 14th at 5:30pm, followed by a Q&a with Joel Murray, Christopher Biewer and Ryan Dempster, moderated by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com. For more details and tickets, click here.
“Vendors” is a TV pilot that tells the story of Kyle Lydecker (Christopher Biewer), a former businessman who ends up losing everything and must start over. Through the connections of his uncle (Tim Kazurinsky), he starts working as a vendor at the same stadium where he attended college. His fellow vendors are a collection of oddballs and castoffs,...
“Vendors” is a TV pilot that tells the story of Kyle Lydecker (Christopher Biewer), a former businessman who ends up losing everything and must start over. Through the connections of his uncle (Tim Kazurinsky), he starts working as a vendor at the same stadium where he attended college. His fellow vendors are a collection of oddballs and castoffs,...
- 9/12/2019
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chris Longo Jan 30, 2019
We spoke with executive producer and director Judd Apatow about his career and Crashing Season 3.
In his critically acclaimed 2018 Netflix special, “The Return,” Judd Apatow fondly recalled his stand-up comedy roots. He worked as a teenager in East Side Comedy Club in Long Island where he saw the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Rosie O’Donnell, Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy perform. The Huntington, Long Island club, which shuttered in 1995, became a home away from home for Apatow during a time when his parents were going through marital trouble. He joked in the special that he returned to stand-up comedy to “lower his salary and self-esteem,” but a throughline of Apatow’s career has been a fascination with the plight of the stand-up comic, from his film Funny People, to his work with Pete Holmes on Crashing, and the recent HBO documentary on the late Gary Shandling which he executive produced.
We spoke with executive producer and director Judd Apatow about his career and Crashing Season 3.
In his critically acclaimed 2018 Netflix special, “The Return,” Judd Apatow fondly recalled his stand-up comedy roots. He worked as a teenager in East Side Comedy Club in Long Island where he saw the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Rosie O’Donnell, Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy perform. The Huntington, Long Island club, which shuttered in 1995, became a home away from home for Apatow during a time when his parents were going through marital trouble. He joked in the special that he returned to stand-up comedy to “lower his salary and self-esteem,” but a throughline of Apatow’s career has been a fascination with the plight of the stand-up comic, from his film Funny People, to his work with Pete Holmes on Crashing, and the recent HBO documentary on the late Gary Shandling which he executive produced.
- 1/26/2019
- Den of Geek
Amazon’s Audible is launching an audio series based on the cult animation “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist,” created in 1995 by software developer and former teacher Tom Snyder and stand-up comic Jonathan Katz. The new 15-episode audio series is titled “Dr. Katz: The Audio Files.”
Read More: ‘Deadpool’: Donald Glover Adapting Superhero Animated Series for Fxx
Dr. Katz is a divorced father who has custody of his 23-year-old slacker son Ben, who is too lazy to find a real job. The new new audio series takes places almost 20 years after the original show and Ben is now a 40-year-old man still living with his dad.
Similar to the original show, some of the biggest names in comedy will guest-star in the new audio series. Sarah Silverman, Ted Danson, Ray Romano, Margaret Cho, Weird Al, Maria Bamford, Pete Holmes, Dana Gould, Emo Philips, Ron Funches, Andy Kindler, and more will...
Read More: ‘Deadpool’: Donald Glover Adapting Superhero Animated Series for Fxx
Dr. Katz is a divorced father who has custody of his 23-year-old slacker son Ben, who is too lazy to find a real job. The new new audio series takes places almost 20 years after the original show and Ben is now a 40-year-old man still living with his dad.
Similar to the original show, some of the biggest names in comedy will guest-star in the new audio series. Sarah Silverman, Ted Danson, Ray Romano, Margaret Cho, Weird Al, Maria Bamford, Pete Holmes, Dana Gould, Emo Philips, Ron Funches, Andy Kindler, and more will...
- 5/10/2017
- by Yoselin Acevedo
- Indiewire
Did you ever endure some sort of traumatic injury knowing full well that a minute or two after the moment of disaster it was going to hurt a hell of a lot worse?
That’s how I felt after seeing Batman v Superman. Bright-eyed fanboy that I am, I walked into the theater with the highest of expectations. I had heard from a couple of friends who saw the Los Angeles screening that it was pretty good. Now I’m reconsidering my position on medical marijuana. Maybe the fault here is mine: I had been on OxyContin following some dental surgery earlier in the week and I guess I quit taking that shit too early. I wanted to like the movie – for one thing, it took two and one-half hours out of my life. For another, successful movies inure to the benefit of the comics medium and, arguably, my cash flow.
That’s how I felt after seeing Batman v Superman. Bright-eyed fanboy that I am, I walked into the theater with the highest of expectations. I had heard from a couple of friends who saw the Los Angeles screening that it was pretty good. Now I’m reconsidering my position on medical marijuana. Maybe the fault here is mine: I had been on OxyContin following some dental surgery earlier in the week and I guess I quit taking that shit too early. I wanted to like the movie – for one thing, it took two and one-half hours out of my life. For another, successful movies inure to the benefit of the comics medium and, arguably, my cash flow.
- 3/26/2016
- by Mike Gold
- Comicmix.com
With Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno finally hitting UK cinemas next week (on limited release) we thought we’d present our review a little differently, with not one but Two reviews of the cannibalistic horror film from two horror loving guest reviewers… Check out both reviews below; and if The Green Inferno isn’t showing near you next week, don’t worry – it’s released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 22nd.
Stars: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Sky Ferreira | Written by Eli Roth, Guillermo Amoedo | Directed by Eli Roth
Green Inferno – Con
Review by Scott Clark
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I have a love/hate relationship with horror. I love its ingenuity and its ability to ponder the greater mysteries from behind a gory veil, but I’m realistic, I can enjoy entertainment horror when it comes pounding my way,...
Stars: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Sky Ferreira | Written by Eli Roth, Guillermo Amoedo | Directed by Eli Roth
Green Inferno – Con
Review by Scott Clark
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I have a love/hate relationship with horror. I love its ingenuity and its ability to ponder the greater mysteries from behind a gory veil, but I’m realistic, I can enjoy entertainment horror when it comes pounding my way,...
- 2/4/2016
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Stars: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Sky Ferreira | Written by Eli Roth, Guillermo Amoedo | Directed by Eli Roth
Review by Scott Clark of Cinehouse
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I have a love/hate relationship with horror. I love its ingenuity and its ability to ponder the greater mysteries from behind a gory veil, but I’m realistic, I can enjoy entertainment horror when it comes pounding my way, and yet, I have little place in my heart for lazy horror. And that’s just what Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno is.
A group of do-gooders rush to the amazon rainforest in order to disrupt forestry that will destroy a rarely seen tribe of natives. After a series of mishaps and an unfortunate mix-up, the group find themselves at the mercy of a vicious tribe of cannibals. This squandered...
Review by Scott Clark of Cinehouse
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I have a love/hate relationship with horror. I love its ingenuity and its ability to ponder the greater mysteries from behind a gory veil, but I’m realistic, I can enjoy entertainment horror when it comes pounding my way, and yet, I have little place in my heart for lazy horror. And that’s just what Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno is.
A group of do-gooders rush to the amazon rainforest in order to disrupt forestry that will destroy a rarely seen tribe of natives. After a series of mishaps and an unfortunate mix-up, the group find themselves at the mercy of a vicious tribe of cannibals. This squandered...
- 9/20/2013
- by Guest
- Nerdly
Matthew Broderick will play The Dream Warrior on Cartoon Network's popular animated series Adventure Time. This new character is a used car salesman summoned by series protagonists Finn and Jake in a shared, extraordinary dream to offer advice on defeating a substantial rival. “I heard about Adventure Time because my son, James, loves it,” Broderick said, “I like that it doesn’t talk down to anybody." Adventure Time’s current season also has other well-known guest voices including the likes of Donald Faison, George Takei, Erik Estrada, Andy Milonakis, Emo Phillips, Bobcat Goldthwait and Susie Essman. Adventure Time introduces viewers to unlikely heroes Finn and Jake, buddies who traverse the mystical Land of Ooo and encounter its colorful inhabitants. The best of friends, our heroes always find themselves in the middle...
- 8/21/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Matthew Broderick will play The Dream Warrior on Cartoon Network's popular animated series Adventure Time. This new character is a used car salesman summoned by series protagonists Finn and Jake in a shared, extraordinary dream to offer advice on defeating a substantial rival. “I heard about Adventure Time because my son, James, loves it,” Broderick said, “I like that it doesn’t talk down to anybody." Adventure Time’s current season also has other well-known guest voices including the likes of Donald Faison, George Takei, Erik Estrada, Andy Milonakis, Emo Phillips, Bobcat Goldthwait and Susie Essman. Adventure Time introduces viewers to unlikely heroes Finn and Jake, buddies who traverse the mystical Land of Ooo and encounter its colorful inhabitants. The best of friends, our heroes always find themselves in the middle...
- 8/21/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
HollywoodNews.com: HollywoodNews.com’s interview feature, “Hollywood In Ten,” showcases the creative individuals responsible for the movies we love and corners them for 10 quality minutes.
Recently, Anthony D’Alessandro caught up with “Dinner for Schmucks” director Jay Roach who has a reputation for catapulting comedies to the top of the box office chart. Since first working with Mike Myers on the first “Austin Powers” in 1997, Roach’s producer-director credits have racked up over $2.2 billion at the global B.O.
Roach talks about his criteria for choosing projects, “Austin Powers 4,” method comedic actors, stand-up Emo Philips, a looming Tom Hanks feature and his role outside the director’s chair on the third “Meet the Parents” chapter, “Little Fockers” (which Roach still served as producer on).
“Dinner for Schmucks,” based on the 1998 French film “The Dinner Game” follows a burgeoning financial executive played by Paul Rudd, who in order to...
Recently, Anthony D’Alessandro caught up with “Dinner for Schmucks” director Jay Roach who has a reputation for catapulting comedies to the top of the box office chart. Since first working with Mike Myers on the first “Austin Powers” in 1997, Roach’s producer-director credits have racked up over $2.2 billion at the global B.O.
Roach talks about his criteria for choosing projects, “Austin Powers 4,” method comedic actors, stand-up Emo Philips, a looming Tom Hanks feature and his role outside the director’s chair on the third “Meet the Parents” chapter, “Little Fockers” (which Roach still served as producer on).
“Dinner for Schmucks,” based on the 1998 French film “The Dinner Game” follows a burgeoning financial executive played by Paul Rudd, who in order to...
- 7/13/2010
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Hollywoodnews.com
Stevie Wonder hits the UK, Toy Story goes 3D, and it's the last ever Big Brother – our critics pick the unmissable events of the season
Pop
Stevie Wonder
Anyone who can't face braving Glastonbury to see the Motown legend's Sunday-night set can head to London's Hyde Park for this headlining show. It's likely to be heavy on the hits, but a little too heavy on the audience participation, if complaints from disgruntled punters at Wonder's recent shows are anything to go by. And be warned: Jamiroquai seems to have been enticed out of retirement to provide support. Hyde Park, London W2, 26 June. Box office: 020-7009 3484.
T in the Park
This beloved Scottish festival is prized as much for its atmosphere as its lineup. And they're certainly wheeling out the big hitters this year: Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Jay-z, Black Eyed Peas, Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Dizzee Rascal and Paolo Nutini,...
Pop
Stevie Wonder
Anyone who can't face braving Glastonbury to see the Motown legend's Sunday-night set can head to London's Hyde Park for this headlining show. It's likely to be heavy on the hits, but a little too heavy on the audience participation, if complaints from disgruntled punters at Wonder's recent shows are anything to go by. And be warned: Jamiroquai seems to have been enticed out of retirement to provide support. Hyde Park, London W2, 26 June. Box office: 020-7009 3484.
T in the Park
This beloved Scottish festival is prized as much for its atmosphere as its lineup. And they're certainly wheeling out the big hitters this year: Eminem, Muse, Kasabian, Jay-z, Black Eyed Peas, Florence and the Machine, La Roux, Dizzee Rascal and Paolo Nutini,...
- 5/24/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.