Adorable Harry Potter costars Jamie Campbell Bower and Bonnie Wright — who were born in 1988 and 1991, respectively — are engaged . That’s cute and unsettling. Children! They’re children! How many Toys R Us Geoffrey dollars will this cost them? Will they take their learner’s permits to town hall? Should they dance to their grandparents’ wedding song, Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” (featuring Rik Rok)? I’m confounded! Congrats, though! [ GossipCop ]
American Idiot , the Green Day album that birthed a Broadway musical, is nearing a move to the big screen after at least one aborted attempt. Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black is in talks to write the screenplay, and now I’m in talks with myself to realize the potential in adapting albums as films. It’s a mystifying and interesting thought; that rumored Candy Land movie is basically Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream anyway, right? Here are five more that could make for intriguing cineplex draws.
Reports have Tom Hanks and Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black attached to the project. By James Montgomery Billie Joe Armstrong performs with the cast of “American Idiot” Photo: Slaven Vlasic/ Getty Images It’s been green-lit, killed, resurrected and put on the back burner, but now it appears that the long-in-the-works film version of Green Day’s American Idiot album might finally become a reality. On Wednesday (April 13), Reuters reported that Universal is in negotiations to pick up the screen rights to the Broadway version of “Idiot,” and has hired Michael Mayer — who directs the stage production — to shoot the movie version. Reuters also reported that Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar-winning writer of 2008’s “Milk,” is “in discussions” to write the screenplay, and that Tom Hanks will serve as producer on the film, along with Green Day themselves. (Hanks and his business partner Gary Goetzman were producers on the film version of the Broadway smash “Mamma Mia!,” the musical based on the songs of ABBA.) All of that means that, after a voyage that started way back in 2004 — when Billie Joe Armstrong told MTV News that the bandmembers were “talking” to screenwriters about adapting the album for the big screen — American Idiot could finally find its way to your local multiplex. In 2006, Armstrong promised fans that the film version of Green Day’s hit album would “definitely … happen,” but the band instead turned their attention to creating their next album (2009’s 21st Century Breakdown ) and a stage version of Idiot, which premiered at Berkeley, California’s Berkeley Repertory Theater in ’09 before heading to Broadway. Still, they remained adamant that a film would be coming, with Armstrong telling The Associated Press that it would echo the feel of cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Hanks’ reported attachment to the project is also interesting, considering that last year, Green Day dismissed his involvement as “just talk.” A spokesperson for Green Day could not be reached for comment by press time. Meanwhile, the “American Idiot” musical will officially end its Broadway run on April 24, with Armstrong reprising his role of St. Jimmy. Related Videos Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ On Broadway Related Artists Green Day
Over the weekend, Your Highness , to put it bluntly, tanked. With a budget somewhere in the range of $50 million and a recent Oscar winner and Oscar nominee headlining the cast (to say nothing of Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green behind the camera), the Universal comedy couldn’t do better than a sixth-place finish. Couple that with terrible reviews, and you’ve got yourself a nice little disaster. But what will be the fallout to the major players involved? Let’s take a look.
Critics are divided over Danny McBride and James Franco’s epic stoner comedy. By Eric Ditzian Natalie Portman, Danny McBride, James Franco and Zooey Deschanel in “Your Highness” Photo: Frank Connor/ Universal Pictures The critics don’t know quite what to do with “Your Highness.” Some have tagged it a worthy successor to the stoner comedy legacy, one that reaches back to swords-and-sandals epics but is still very much in keeping with contemporary comedic traditions. Far more critics, though, argue that the jokes fall flat, the story is kind of a mess, and the performances — especially considering the presence of two recent Oscar nominees in Natalie Portman and James Franco — are nothing short of puzzling. Will you agree? Read on for a deep dive into some “Your Highness” reviews and decide for yourself. The Story “Danny McBride and Ben Best’s script for ‘Your Highness’ has its moments. The whole affair might be described as an amped-up version of ‘The Odyssey’ for ‘Star Wars’ fanboys and High Times subscribers. The story follows a king’s two very different sons: Fabious (James Franco) is the stereotypical dashing prince with a resplendent mullet and a yen for noble, death-defying quests, while Thadeous (McBride) is a chubby, lazy ne’er-do-well. Saddled with an inferiority complex, the latter prefers smoking the funny stuff and chasing sheep to slaying dragons. But when Fabious’ bride-to-be, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), is kidnapped by the evil, gerbil-toothed wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), the king orders Thadeous to help his brother retrieve the damsel in distress.” — Stephanie Merry, The Washington Post The Laughs “Not every joke lands in the movie, but that’s okay. It’s the sort of film that is willing to try anything along the way, and it demonstrates both an affection for the genre as well as a deconstructionist’s eye for how to tear it down from the inside. There are so many little touches in the film that appealed to me, from the ‘Ghostbusters’-looking visual effects to the straight-faced epic second unit work to the monsters that are state-of-the-art while also managing to be both ridiculous and profane.” — Drew McWeeny, HitFix The Performances “McBride has written a genuinely funny script, but he can’t help overplaying each crudely adolescent punchline. And as an actor, his instincts are equally broad. It’s as if a chemically altered college kid watched a bunch of Judd Apatow movies, and then decided to remake ‘The Princess Bride.’ The overall effect gets tiresome, but [director David Gordon] Green has wisely instructed McBride’s co-stars to approach the proceedings with complete seriousness. While the majority of the cast handles this task easily (only Deschanel seems lost), Franco truly saves the day. His hilarious deadpan in the midst of utter insanity turns a bawdy goof into a most welcome lark indeed.” — Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News The Comparisons “The most painful movie so far in a year that’s already scraping the bottom of the barrel, ‘Your Highness’ is a tedious, dung-colored misfire that sullies the genre of ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ and ‘The Princess Bride.’ Taken in small doses, in movies such as ‘Due Date’ and ‘Tropic Thunder,’ McBride can be hilarious, and he played well with Franco in Green’s ‘Pineapple Express,’ comedy gold next to this. As a lead, he’s unbearable, a charmless lout who thinks being gross is the same thing as being funny. ‘Your Highness’ is thus potty-mouthed, peepee-obsessed, and devoid of such comedy basics as timing or punch lines.” — Ty Burr, Boston Globe The Final Word “In the absurdly bloody hackings and thwackings, director David Gordon Green (who worked with both leads in ‘Pineapple Express’) more or less hits his marks and even works up some suspense — unusual in this sort of broad comedy. At bottom, he and McBride respect the genre even as they travesty it. … ‘Your Highness’ delivers on its title: a royal high.” — David Edelstein, New York Check out everything we’ve got on “Your Highness.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: James Franco And ‘Your Highness’
‘Justin Theroux’s character, Leezar, lays an egg and a little dragon fetus comes out of it,’ David Gordon Green says of one sequence. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Ryan J. Downey David Gordon Green and Danny McBride on the set of “Your Highness” Photo: Frank Connor Given the unpredictable and improvisational nature of filming comedies — particularly those that involve jokesters Danny McBride, James Franco and director David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express,” “Eastbound and Down”), it seems fair to assume that a fair amount of material filmed for “Your Highness” was left on the cutting-room floor. When MTV News caught up with the director recently, we asked him what omitted scenes might appear as part of the special features section on DVD/Blu-Ray. “There’s a lot of deleted scenes; all of them because we knew the movie needed to adhere to certain rules,” Gordon Green explained. “There was a really funny sequence that’s a musical sequence in the middle of the movie, of James on the quest, singing a song to Bella Donna who is Zooey Deschanel, up in the tower,” he explained. “[She] is singing back to her love to come and rescue her, and it’s really funny but it was one of the things when we test-screened the movie, we identified that as a point that broke the rules of the movie and it almost seemed like a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch,” he continued. “It was really, really funny on its own, but within the rules of the movie, it all of the sudden feels false. So there are things like that that I definitely want to put on the DVD because they’re really enjoyable and I’m really proud of the work that we did to make it happen,” he said, adding that a few things felt a little too over-the-top, even for them. “We had another scene where Justin Theroux’s character, Leezar , lays an egg and a little dragon fetus comes out of it,” he recalled. “Literally, a massive nasty explosion of green goo comes out of his butt, followed by a disgusting egg and a little half-formed fetus, so things like that just felt [like] it was a little excessive in going for something that was heightened and gimmicky,” he said. “[But] that stuff is really fun to watch.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Your Highness.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: James Franco And ‘Your Highness’
MTV today announced that the network is set to build upon its smash hit Jersey Shore by giving the green light to TWO spinoffs slated to air in early 2012. Paul “DJ Pauly D” Delvecchio will get his own series , while Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “JWoww” Farley will team up for the other with 495 Productions. Both begin production later this year after Jersey Shore Season 4 , the filming of which was just pushed back due to permit, contract and scheduling issues. AWWWW YEAH! Pauly D’s got his own show, yeah . No one has more swagger, one-liners or more distinctive hair than DJ Pauly D . Set to air for 12-episodes, the as-yet-untitled series follows Pauly D’s jet-setting and often hilarious life on the road as one of the country’s most in-demand DJs. Aiming to become one of the world’s most successful and recognized names in music, viewers will get to see Pauly D chase his dream, with the help of some the best friends he grew up with in Rhode Island by his side. Meanwhile, viewers will get to see how Snooki and JWoww deal with life and love when the vacation is over in a 12-episode series of the ladies’ very own. Always inseparable and ready to get the party started at the shore, the locale may be different this time, but the friendship is sure to remain the same. Are you stoked for even more Jersey Shore? Or has it jumped the shark with the announcement of these spinoffs? Or have you always hated it so hard? Talk to us.
