Bill Murray is notoriously private, which is why it was a shock when he did a surprise Reddit Ama (Ask Me Anything) on Friday in support of his new movie, "Monuments Men."
The actor was extremely forthcoming in his responses to questions concerning both the personal and the professional aspects of his life, but one revelation in particular, about his somewhat head-scratching involvement in 2004's "Garfield," was particularly amusing. In a long response to a query about whether there would be a "Garfield 3," Murray explained that there probably wouldn't be -- and it was a fluke that he took on the first film to begin with.
I had a hilarious experience with Garfield. I only read a few pages of it, and I kind of wanted to do a cartoon movie, because I had looked at the screenplay and it said "Joel Cohen" on it. And I wasn't thinking clearly,...
The actor was extremely forthcoming in his responses to questions concerning both the personal and the professional aspects of his life, but one revelation in particular, about his somewhat head-scratching involvement in 2004's "Garfield," was particularly amusing. In a long response to a query about whether there would be a "Garfield 3," Murray explained that there probably wouldn't be -- and it was a fluke that he took on the first film to begin with.
I had a hilarious experience with Garfield. I only read a few pages of it, and I kind of wanted to do a cartoon movie, because I had looked at the screenplay and it said "Joel Cohen" on it. And I wasn't thinking clearly,...
- 1/22/2014
- by Katie Roberts
- Moviefone
With the release of "Lost in Translation" ten years ago, everyone was finally forced to take Bill Murray seriously. Even the Academy finally noticed him and gave him a Best Actor nomination, the only one he's received so far.
By this time, he'd been paring down his craft for 30 years until, with the help of directors like "Translation"'s Sofia Coppola and "Rushmore"'s Wes Anderson, he'd achieved a kind of Zen purity. After that, he could choose to play the smartass clown (as in his early roles) or the serious thespian, or somewhere in between. With no agent and plenty of savings, he could pick and choose projects at whim and do only what he felt like doing. So even his lesser movies seemed like labors of love; after all, there must have been something personally appealing to him in those roles to coax him off the golf course.
By this time, he'd been paring down his craft for 30 years until, with the help of directors like "Translation"'s Sofia Coppola and "Rushmore"'s Wes Anderson, he'd achieved a kind of Zen purity. After that, he could choose to play the smartass clown (as in his early roles) or the serious thespian, or somewhere in between. With no agent and plenty of savings, he could pick and choose projects at whim and do only what he felt like doing. So even his lesser movies seemed like labors of love; after all, there must have been something personally appealing to him in those roles to coax him off the golf course.
- 9/13/2013
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Now that we’ve made it one step closer to completing The Smurfs trilogy, the apocalypse can officially commence.
With that snarky barb out of the way, let’s get down to the real question at hand. If you have to take kids dying to see this to the theater, will you want to Smurf yourself in the head after it’s over? Surprisingly, it’s less painful than you’d think.
I’ve got no spite towards The Smurfs, those gegarious little blue gnomes who wear bloated upside-down diapers on their heads and are apparently allergic to shirts. Arguably less insipid than the three (!) Alvin and the Chipmunks movies and likely to make you less sleepy than Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties, Raja Gosnell’s first Smurfs movie was a harmless, plastic “kid’s movie” that tickled the little ones but ended the job there.
Now that we’ve made it one step closer to completing The Smurfs trilogy, the apocalypse can officially commence.
With that snarky barb out of the way, let’s get down to the real question at hand. If you have to take kids dying to see this to the theater, will you want to Smurf yourself in the head after it’s over? Surprisingly, it’s less painful than you’d think.
I’ve got no spite towards The Smurfs, those gegarious little blue gnomes who wear bloated upside-down diapers on their heads and are apparently allergic to shirts. Arguably less insipid than the three (!) Alvin and the Chipmunks movies and likely to make you less sleepy than Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties, Raja Gosnell’s first Smurfs movie was a harmless, plastic “kid’s movie” that tickled the little ones but ended the job there.
- 8/1/2013
- by Nathan Bartlebaugh
- Obsessed with Film
Production company Broken Road in talks to make feline internet sensation a feature-film heroine
It is the news that will bring hope to Lil Bub, the goats that yell like humans and other wannabe meme film stars everywhere: Grumpy Cat, the moody feline queen of Facebook, looks set to get her very own movie.
Deadline reports that the winner of the 2013 Meme of the Year gong at this year's Webby Awards is at the centre of a feature-film project being put together by her managers and Hollywood production company Broken Road. Grumpy, Tardar Sauce to her owners away from the cameras, will be given the power of speech and launched into a Garfield-style feature film.
"This started off as a picture of a cat, but rare is an image that evokes that much comedy," said Todd Garner of Broken Road. "You read all of the memes and the comments,...
It is the news that will bring hope to Lil Bub, the goats that yell like humans and other wannabe meme film stars everywhere: Grumpy Cat, the moody feline queen of Facebook, looks set to get her very own movie.
Deadline reports that the winner of the 2013 Meme of the Year gong at this year's Webby Awards is at the centre of a feature-film project being put together by her managers and Hollywood production company Broken Road. Grumpy, Tardar Sauce to her owners away from the cameras, will be given the power of speech and launched into a Garfield-style feature film.
"This started off as a picture of a cat, but rare is an image that evokes that much comedy," said Todd Garner of Broken Road. "You read all of the memes and the comments,...
- 5/30/2013
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
As this summer’s blockbuster season reminds us comic book adaptations are big business with the latest incarnations of heroes old and new filling the local picturehouse and running merry riot over box office records.
Given the twin benefits of a wealth of material on which to draw and a ready audience primed to see their favourites fleshed out and thrown onto a movie screen it seems that we’ll be seeing many more familiar, and some less familiar, cartoon characters in movies of their own.
Jean Dujardin turned the world into a swooning mess when he led Michel Hazanavicius’ award magnet The Artist last year and in this article Anwar Brett takes a look at another of the actor’s roles, that of Lucky Luke in James Huth’s adaptation of the comic book by Morris, which is out now on DVD, as well as nine other cartoon heroes...
Given the twin benefits of a wealth of material on which to draw and a ready audience primed to see their favourites fleshed out and thrown onto a movie screen it seems that we’ll be seeing many more familiar, and some less familiar, cartoon characters in movies of their own.
Jean Dujardin turned the world into a swooning mess when he led Michel Hazanavicius’ award magnet The Artist last year and in this article Anwar Brett takes a look at another of the actor’s roles, that of Lucky Luke in James Huth’s adaptation of the comic book by Morris, which is out now on DVD, as well as nine other cartoon heroes...
- 5/29/2012
- by Guest
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
I have fond memories of Short Circuit, the silly little robot movie from 1986 that captured moviegoers' hearts. I have the sneaky suspicion that it wouldn't hold up particularly well, mainly due to the Steve Guttenberg factor, but that's Ok. For those who've never seen Short Circuit, well, I feel bad for you and you should remedy that before you die. Meaning you should see it soon. It's a lovely little piece of 80's sweetness that starred Wall*E's idiot uncle, and it's awesome. Anyway, it may not hold up over time, but I'm willing to leave it in a nostalgic little corner of my brain.
Except that Dimension films doesn't care about our nostalgic memories and the kinder, gentler times from yesteryear. No, they're remaking Short Circuit -- with extreme fucking prejudice. They're trying to settle on which soul-selling, godawful, spawn of Satan's mouth-breathing halfwit cousin will direct it, and the list is.
Except that Dimension films doesn't care about our nostalgic memories and the kinder, gentler times from yesteryear. No, they're remaking Short Circuit -- with extreme fucking prejudice. They're trying to settle on which soul-selling, godawful, spawn of Satan's mouth-breathing halfwit cousin will direct it, and the list is.
- 8/8/2011
- by TK
They were once cutting-edge comics with talent to burn; now they're sharing screen time with CGI co-stars and corny critters. Ellen E Jones reports on the family comedy club
For musicians, it's 27; the mystical age at which the unlucky succumb to the consequences of their career-dictated lifestyle. For movie stars, it's more like 49. And for them, it's not heroin, or booze, or depression; it's family comedies. You want proof? This weekend you can witness Jim Carrey, esteemed star of The Truman Show and Dumb & Dumber, and six CGI penguins breakdancing all over the grave of his serious acting ambitions in Mr Popper's Penguins. Carrey turned 49 in January, and the film marks his ascension into a not-so-exclusive fellowship of once-intriguing actors who now make family comedies.
Remember the 33-year-old Steve Martin who made The Jerk in 1979? At 49, he made the dismal Sgt Bilko and now mostly diverts his genius into Cheaper by the Dozen sequels.
For musicians, it's 27; the mystical age at which the unlucky succumb to the consequences of their career-dictated lifestyle. For movie stars, it's more like 49. And for them, it's not heroin, or booze, or depression; it's family comedies. You want proof? This weekend you can witness Jim Carrey, esteemed star of The Truman Show and Dumb & Dumber, and six CGI penguins breakdancing all over the grave of his serious acting ambitions in Mr Popper's Penguins. Carrey turned 49 in January, and the film marks his ascension into a not-so-exclusive fellowship of once-intriguing actors who now make family comedies.
Remember the 33-year-old Steve Martin who made The Jerk in 1979? At 49, he made the dismal Sgt Bilko and now mostly diverts his genius into Cheaper by the Dozen sequels.
- 8/4/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Enough noise and neon to distract under eights for an hour and a half
Here's an alarming fact. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is the 116th most successful film of all time. That's after you've adjusted for inflation and before you factor in DVD sales, video game spin-offs and merchandising. So the story of three preteen cartoon beatboxing rodents is 3,707 places higher up the chart than Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life.
Advances in CGI have meant that inserting comic strip favourites into live action flicks is now a cheap, often horrifically cheerful way of making a film. Even the duds turn a buck, from the Bill Murray-voiced Garfield (plus follow-up A Tale of Two Kitties), to last year's Yogi Bear 3D with Justin Timberlake as Boo-Boo.
But it's the man behind Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed to whom Sony have handed the reins on the first in a planned trilogy (yep,...
Here's an alarming fact. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is the 116th most successful film of all time. That's after you've adjusted for inflation and before you factor in DVD sales, video game spin-offs and merchandising. So the story of three preteen cartoon beatboxing rodents is 3,707 places higher up the chart than Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life.
Advances in CGI have meant that inserting comic strip favourites into live action flicks is now a cheap, often horrifically cheerful way of making a film. Even the duds turn a buck, from the Bill Murray-voiced Garfield (plus follow-up A Tale of Two Kitties), to last year's Yogi Bear 3D with Justin Timberlake as Boo-Boo.
But it's the man behind Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed to whom Sony have handed the reins on the first in a planned trilogy (yep,...
- 7/25/2011
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
There may be no excuse for appearing in Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties or Braddock: Missing in Action III, but is this right?
She may have earned a Golden Globe nomination for her TV work last year – and he may have invented a special pair of jeans for kicking people with – but history is already starting to turn against Jennifer Love Hewitt and Chuck Norris. According to Slate's comprehensive new study of Rottentomatoes aggregates, they are rated the worst actress and actor to have worked since 1985.
On the surface, it doesn't look like there's much to disagree with. Jennifer Love Hewitt, for example, has never starred in a film that has received a Rottentomatoes score of over 60%. Instead she's been content to ping backwards and forwards in pieces of dreck as diverse as Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties.
She may have earned a Golden Globe nomination for her TV work last year – and he may have invented a special pair of jeans for kicking people with – but history is already starting to turn against Jennifer Love Hewitt and Chuck Norris. According to Slate's comprehensive new study of Rottentomatoes aggregates, they are rated the worst actress and actor to have worked since 1985.
On the surface, it doesn't look like there's much to disagree with. Jennifer Love Hewitt, for example, has never starred in a film that has received a Rottentomatoes score of over 60%. Instead she's been content to ping backwards and forwards in pieces of dreck as diverse as Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties.
- 6/9/2011
- by Stuart Heritage
- The Guardian - Film News
Hop is live-action film that's infiltrated with a few CGI rabbits and countless chicks, and director Tom Hill (Alvin and the Chipmunks; Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties) came along for the ride, so I was initially fearful of an Alvin-esque nightmare. While this movie doesn't quite hit those same insufferable heights, there are certain similar absurdities at hand. After all, Hop's main character is a talking bunny that poops jellybeans, which are inadvertently consumed by unsuspecting humans. The good news is that Illumination Pictures (Despicable Me) keeps enough of a handle on the picture to prevent a completely offensive disaster from occurring, but Despicable's writers (Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio) display an appalling lack of ingenuity with this Easter-themed tale. Overall, Hop wants to be a sugary confection of an adventure but entirely lacks any feeling behind its characters' motivations and the story itself. It's like candy corn...
- 4/2/2011
- by Agent Bedhead
The myth of Santa Claus has been played out in recent years, so it was only natural for someone to take on the story of the Easter Bunny. Unfortunately Hop lacks the originality and wit of Elf or The Santa Clause. Director Tim Hill has gone the CGI animation/live action film route before with Alvin and the Chipmunks and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. Both films made money at the box office, but lacked any real depth to them. They were filled with corny jokes and cardboard characters. Hop is more of the same. E.B. (voice of Russell Brand) is the son of Mr. Bunny (voice of Hugh Laurie), who is the current Easter Bunny. They live on Easter Island (this is the humor you get with this film) and Mr. Bunny has been training E.B. for years to take over the role. There is one problem.
- 3/31/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
The myth of Santa Claus has been played out in recent years, so it was only natural for someone to take on the story of the Easter Bunny. Unfortunately Hop lacks the originality and wit of Elf or The Santa Clause. Director Tim Hill has gone the CGI animation/live action film route before with Alvin and the Chipmunks and Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. Both films made money at the box office, but lacked any real depth to them. They were filled with corny jokes and cardboard characters. Hop is more of the same. E.B. (voice of Russell Brand) is the son of Mr. Bunny (voice of Hugh Laurie), who is the current Easter Bunny. They live on Easter Island (this is the humor you get with this film) and Mr. Bunny has been training E.B. for years to take over the role. There is one problem.
- 3/31/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Now we know: The Easter Bunny can play the skins like nobody’s business.
The Bunny takes center stage with his drum kit in the first look at “Hop,” the upcoming holiday comedy that blends live action with animation. Great rock drummers such as Rush’s Neil Peart and The Who’s Keith Moon (wherever he may be) would certainly turn green at such a bravura performance.
“Hop” tells the story of an unemployed ne’er-do-well named Fred (James Marsden) who accidentally injures the Easter Bunny (voiced by Russell Brand, natch) and takes him in as he recovers. As Fred deals with what ends up being a rather horrible houseguest, both man and bunny start to learn what it takes to finally grow up.
“Hop” is directed by Tim Hill, who also directed “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties,” so he pretty much knows what...
The Bunny takes center stage with his drum kit in the first look at “Hop,” the upcoming holiday comedy that blends live action with animation. Great rock drummers such as Rush’s Neil Peart and The Who’s Keith Moon (wherever he may be) would certainly turn green at such a bravura performance.
“Hop” tells the story of an unemployed ne’er-do-well named Fred (James Marsden) who accidentally injures the Easter Bunny (voiced by Russell Brand, natch) and takes him in as he recovers. As Fred deals with what ends up being a rather horrible houseguest, both man and bunny start to learn what it takes to finally grow up.
“Hop” is directed by Tim Hill, who also directed “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties,” so he pretty much knows what...
- 11/24/2010
- by Bryan Enk
- NextMovie
Bill Murray claims he only made Garfield because he thought it was a Coen brothers film, and that Kung Fu Hustle is the best comedy ever made. If only all star interviews could read like this
Looking back at Bill Murray's career, there is always an uncomfortable question hanging in the air. Given that he's usually made such impeccable decisions when it comes to taking roles, why exactly a few years back did he agree to make Garfield – the spectacularly bland big-screen adaptation of the well-known comic strip? Just where does this wildly awful comedy about a wisecracking feline fit with the likes of Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters, Rushmore and Lost in Translation?
The answer, or at least Murray's version of it, has finally been revealed in a rare interview. It appears he thought he was making a film with the Coen brothers.
In a hugely entertaining chat with...
Looking back at Bill Murray's career, there is always an uncomfortable question hanging in the air. Given that he's usually made such impeccable decisions when it comes to taking roles, why exactly a few years back did he agree to make Garfield – the spectacularly bland big-screen adaptation of the well-known comic strip? Just where does this wildly awful comedy about a wisecracking feline fit with the likes of Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters, Rushmore and Lost in Translation?
The answer, or at least Murray's version of it, has finally been revealed in a rare interview. It appears he thought he was making a film with the Coen brothers.
In a hugely entertaining chat with...
- 7/21/2010
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Remember Jennifer Love Hewitt? And remember how maybe one day there will be a Wonder Woman movie? Now, take those two faint memories and put them together for the most stale news you might hear all day: Jennifer Love Hewitt really wants to play Wonder Woman, aka Princess Diana, whenever Warner Bros. gets the adaptation greenlit. Not only does she want the part, but she's "fighting so hard" to get it, according to a statement quoted by WENN. "I really want to play Wonder Woman," she continued. "I'm obsessed with Wonder Woman."
It's not the first time Hewitt has mentioned her desire to take on the DC Comics superheroine. Last summer she told MTV News that she wanted the role "really badly" and pointed out that she's curvaceous and athletic enough and that the gold bracelets would look great on her wrists. But at only 5'2", isn't she a little...
It's not the first time Hewitt has mentioned her desire to take on the DC Comics superheroine. Last summer she told MTV News that she wanted the role "really badly" and pointed out that she's curvaceous and athletic enough and that the gold bracelets would look great on her wrists. But at only 5'2", isn't she a little...
- 6/10/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
Ken Kwapis is reportedly directing a live-action adaptation of the workplace comic strip Dilbert, according to Pajiba.
The three panel office satire, created by Scott Adams in 1989, features a jaded engineer dealing with everyday corporate life, especially needless bureaucracy and workplace politics. Adams has published several Dilbert books and spun the character into an animated TV series in the late 90’s that ran for two seasons.
Kwapis is fairly qualified, having directed several episodes of “The Office,” but he’s also subjected the world to sentimental schlock like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and She’s Just Not That Into You.
No casting has been announced, but now might be the perfect time to revive Drew Carey’s career. Tariq Jalil is producing and is behind the ill-conceived plot to bring the comic Marmaduke to the screen this summer.
Didn’t they already make this movie and call it Office Space?...
The three panel office satire, created by Scott Adams in 1989, features a jaded engineer dealing with everyday corporate life, especially needless bureaucracy and workplace politics. Adams has published several Dilbert books and spun the character into an animated TV series in the late 90’s that ran for two seasons.
Kwapis is fairly qualified, having directed several episodes of “The Office,” but he’s also subjected the world to sentimental schlock like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and She’s Just Not That Into You.
No casting has been announced, but now might be the perfect time to revive Drew Carey’s career. Tariq Jalil is producing and is behind the ill-conceived plot to bring the comic Marmaduke to the screen this summer.
Didn’t they already make this movie and call it Office Space?...
- 5/28/2010
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
First off: The title sucks.
Sorry, didn't mean to start off negative there, but seriously, I Hop? Really?
Anyhoo, I Hop is the newest film being produced by Illumination Entertainment and Universal. The story is about am indolent young man who inadvertently injures the Easter Bunny, and takes him in to help him out. Hijinks ensue. Apparently, James Marsden will play the lead, and Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) will play the Easter Bunny. It will be a live action/CG mix. It's being directed by Tim Hill, who is most recently responsible for Alvin and the Chimpmunks.
I ... what?
Your reaction is likely similar to mine upon reading this. It's like some demented form of Word Jumble. I mean, Bitch-Cyclops aside, Marsden can be pretty decent, and Brand was actually quite funny in Marshall, even if he's an insufferable prick in real life. But you lost me at Tim Hill.
Sorry, didn't mean to start off negative there, but seriously, I Hop? Really?
Anyhoo, I Hop is the newest film being produced by Illumination Entertainment and Universal. The story is about am indolent young man who inadvertently injures the Easter Bunny, and takes him in to help him out. Hijinks ensue. Apparently, James Marsden will play the lead, and Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) will play the Easter Bunny. It will be a live action/CG mix. It's being directed by Tim Hill, who is most recently responsible for Alvin and the Chimpmunks.
I ... what?
Your reaction is likely similar to mine upon reading this. It's like some demented form of Word Jumble. I mean, Bitch-Cyclops aside, Marsden can be pretty decent, and Brand was actually quite funny in Marshall, even if he's an insufferable prick in real life. But you lost me at Tim Hill.
- 1/26/2010
- by TK
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