Two Sickness Cinema favorites celebrate their birthdays today. First up is the Arrested Development alum that has taken the world by storm, Mr. Michael Cera who is turning 20. Mr. Cera's colossal talent and nice-guy persona make him a fan favorite of the highest order. No one just likes Michael Cera, they love him. In addition to rocking the aforementioned AD as the demure, sweet and cousin-loving (maybe...maeby) George Michael Bluth Cera had a huge 2007 starring in Superbad and making me cry giant dorky tears in Juno. Cera can also be seen as a giant douchey version of himself in clarkandmichael.com. Cera has a bright future ahead of him with an awesome slate of films including Year One (think the Apatow version of History of the World Part One). He'll be romancing the well-endowed daughter from 40 Year Old Virgin in the sure to be popular soundtrack having Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, playing very much against type as the titular Youth in Revolt and then kicking the most ass ever in the Edgar Wright (YAY) helmed Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Double YAY). Then there's those rumors of an Arrested Development movie. Oh I hope there's a ribbon cutting at the premiere.
Cera's co-star in the sensational (and maybe best directed of the Apatow stable) Superbad turn 30 today, Mr. Bill Hader. Hader, in addition to being a huge comic fan and movie buff in his own right, is probably one of the most talented cast members on SNL right now. A talented impressionist and avant-garde scenarist, Hader has quickly asserted himself in the Akroyd, Hartman, Farrell role of SNL utility player. He's the guy who can be brought and play it straight but still manage to be hilarious. The man also does superlative impressions of Daniel Day Lewis (as Daniel Plainview), Vincent Price, Peter O'Toole, James Mason, Al Pacino, The Emperor from Star Wars, Tony Blair and Gregory Peck. Hader is also an Apatow regular in addition to appearing Superbad showed up in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up and will be seen in Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder. I am of the opinion that his Vincent Price show, Comic Chat and Captain Hook sketches are some of the best that have ever been on the show in the last decade.
Some important birthdays today. First off my brother, who in all likelihood is unfamiliar with this blog's existence, though I have a feeling his not dicking around on the internet is the reason why he recently got promoted at his fortune 500 company job. Still he's my brother and I love him and am proud of him. In the world of cinema however there are three major birthdays. First off is Brian De Palma regular Gregg Henry (Body Double, Scarface and Femme Fatale to name a few), the man is to De Palma what Campbell is to Raimi. Henry has stolen scenes from leading men as varied as Mel Gibson (in Payback) and Nathan Fillion (in Slither). He can currently be seen as Eddie Izzard's extremely corrupt and lecherous boss on the marvelous FX series The Riches. He's 56 today, but he brings the smarm of a man twenty years his junior. Next, modern film's greatest leading man, George Clooney is turning a stately 47 today. I've waxed rhapsodic on Clooney before but I could still go on for days about how the American cinema is a much better place for having Clooney in it. From his early mullet'ed, humble beginnings on The Facts of Life and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes to mega-starrdom with countless examples of pitch perfect work (sure Leatherheads was a misfire but pobody's nerfect, am I right?). JA over at My New Plaid Pants has five great performances in mind and you really should check them out here. My own favorite Clooney performance you ask? I guess I'd have to say it's Ulysses Evrett McGill. In addition to having the good sense to be a Dapper Dan man and being fortunate enough to be blessed with the gift of gab, Evrett is always more than happy to spit out reams of good advice, like so: Lastly, today commemorates borth of the man I consider to be the King of Movies. You can argue that our King in question is more of Lear figure, a once great man shamed in old age but the fact remains that Orson Welles changed movies forever. He's one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time and as practically a boy, made the American cinema grow-up. I love Welles in all his incarnations, the boy genius, the writer, the director, the actor, the radio impresario, the camp figure, the bloated pitch man, the basso profoundo narrator and all his other iterations. I could go on and on about Welles but it's all just a roundabout way of saying that Orson Welles IS cool. His coolest character? That would have to be as the third man himself, Harry Lime. Here are the scenes that fans of the movie should get a chill down their spine over and if you've never seen The Third Man well then you are in for the treat of a lifetime. First we have Lime's introduction, coming after nearly an hour's worth of build-up and everyone talking about Harry Lime, who is SUPPOSED to be dead:
Then we have one of the most famous speeches in movie history. Glorious:
Seventy-seven years ago on this day in the wilds of Canada the greatest actor ever to live was born. Star of stage and screen, William Shatner has redefined the art of the dramatic pause, the carefully enunciated delivery, the burly swagger and the skill of chewing scenery, pooping the scenery and then eating said poop-scenery again. Shatner can bring it dramatically or comedically (he's certainly not afraid of mocking his image...or shilling). But damn it all, Shatner is better than that, behold one of his finest moments as captain of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, James Tiberius Kirk:
Glorious. Shatner is so much more than a great actor, he's worked as a musician (his Ben Fold's produced album Has Been is a genuine delight), writer, director and producer. Good stuff. People forget that he is a Shakespearean trained actor and appeared in dramatic work like The Brothers Karamazov, Oedipus Rex and Judgment at Nuremberg. I would also make the argument that he turns in sterling work on a weekly basis on the David E. Kelly series Boston Legal. If only I could remember the name of the character he plays, want to help me out there Mr. Shatner:
Thanks Bill. Happy Birthday, live long and prosper and most importantly, Denny Crane!
For the bevy of new readers, once in a while when a beloved star or character actor celebrates a birthday, we here at the Sickness Cinema like to take some time examining their work. For nearly three decades no one has delivered smug white-bread bastard performances with the smooth skill of Christopher McDonald. He is “the man” personified; puffy, insincere, bullheaded and slick. With over a hundred and twenty plus film and TV credits even if you don’t know his name you unquestionably know his face.
We’d be here all day if I were run through the man’s entire resume (and hit some pretty mediocre shows and movies-hey man’s gotta eat) but let me show off the glory that is McDonald with a look at some of my favorite bits of his work.
Perhaps the most critically acclaimed film McDonald’s appeared in is Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream. In the film, McDonald plays self-help guru Tappy Tibbons. McDonald brings that game-show host level of charisma but brings it with a sinister edge, so when his character finally “turns” it’s fairly horrifying. You’re drawn in by him and at the same time scarred of what that “third step” is. The mantra “Juice by Tappy” has never seemed so ominous. Below is an extended feature from the Requiem DVD where you can see the entire Tappy infomaercial in all it’s glory. It’s a testament to McDonald and Aranofsky that with no background info this would just seem like a well produced infomercial.
The Iron Giant, Brad Bird’s Warner Bros outing prior to his tenure at Pixar, is as glorious as anything he’s produced during his time at the house that Lassiter and Jobs built. McDonld is a stand-out among a surprisingly versatile voice cast. Once again McDonald brings the charm and smarm as he tries to be little Hogarth Hughes buddy as he tries to search out all potential threats to America. As antagonist G-Man Kent Mansley, McDonald sets the film’s dramatic conclusion into motion when his fear of the Giant puts the world in danger of nuclear armageddon. Yes this is a children’s film, why do you ask? McDonald made all men everywhere look bad as the bloated prick Darryl in the woman empowerment screed that is Thelma & Louise. Darryl is the type of man whom the fashion and term “wife-beater” were invented. McDonald brings the funny with a heaping helping of entitlement. He’s glorious indignant when Geena Davis’ Thelma leaves him (though makes no comment of her unusual teeth to gum ratio) as though he couldn’t possibly understand why Thelma would leave him. It should be noted that McDonald has played the impossibly dickish husband many times before including for Jim Jarmusch in Broken Flowers. McDonald plays a jerk like no other and his work in T&L is an absolutely essential performance that many, many people associate with McDonald…
…unless you grew up with Happy Gilmore. Yes, McDonald just narrowly edges out Bradley Whitford and Sandler’s bloated sense of self-importance as the greatest antagonist in any Sandler film ever. Let me say here and now that the one who brings the funny in the film is not Sandler but McDonald. As Shooter McGavin, McDonald nails the character’s pompous delivery and is just as good with one liners as he is in setting-up bits for Sandler. Simply put the man makes a wonderful comic foil. I don’t know what cracks me up more “Damn you people, go back to your shanties!” or “I saw two fat bikers having sex in the bushes, how am I supposed to CHIP with that going on!” It should be noted that McDonald did a variation on his Shooter character in another Sandler connected film, Dirty Work. Substitute schmucky golfer with schmucky Opera enthusiast and you get the idea.
McDonald has done some time under the Coen’s in the underrated (and GORGEOUS) The Man Who Wasn’t There as of all things a smarmy Macadam Salesman. McDonald really does fit in well in late forties, early fifties Americana (little wonder then that's he the voice of Jor-El, Superman's dad for those of you who've had sex and Ward Cleaver in the Leave it to Beaver movie), it’s got to be that puckish smile that protests too much that everything is just swell. Also macadam may be one of the few words in the world that’s as fun to say as it is to type.
Still after there’s one role that forever marks McDonald in my head it’s as Matthew Lillard’s establishment father in SLC! Punk. As Lillard rebellious youth begs his father why he sold out McDonald sells the next line PERFECTLY. “I didn’t sell-out son, I bought in.” Check out about 45 seconds into the trailer below.
Looking ahead for Mr. McDonald he’ll be appearing (if it ever comes out) in the long delayed Fanboys and looks to be fulfilling my friend Aron and mine’s dreamcasting playing a Norman Osborn analogue in the Spider-Man spoof, Superhero Movie. These may not be great films but you can be rest assured that no matter the film McDonald will bring his “A” game. Do you have a favorite McDonald line or performance? Put it in the comments.
Argh I missed the birthday of one of my favorite people in the whole of the world yesterday. Maybe my favorite rock and roll star EVAH! So here it is a day late, dollar short video tribute to the glory that is DAVID F'N BOWIE!!!
Here is the incredibly old school video for my favorite Bowie song of all-time "Life on Mars"
A recent performance of the still awesome "Starman"
"Five Years" from back in 1972
The movie that introduced me to Bowie, Labyrinth, as a result of this film I still kind of think of him as king of the Goblins
And here Wes Anderson brilliantly uses "Queen Bitch" and an homage to Buckaroo Banzai to inexplicably create an awesome ending to the sadly underrated Life Aquatic.
Look at this face, jut look at it. You've seen him before. Maybe dozens of times. You can probably even hear his voice, lightly Italian accented, when he laughs it seems a little too hard, maybe you've seen him beg with desperation, or crack a yawn like he's been working a case all day. Or maybe you've been lucky enough to see him drive himself into a frenzy yelling to the point of near hoarseness at some flunky who has screwed up. This is the kind of face that fills out the edge of a film, you look at him and think "yeah I know what the deal is, this guy is probably trouble."
They most certainly do NOT make them like Jon Polito anymore that is a fact.
In honor of Jon Polito's birthday, I think a look back at some of his work from a long and storied career is in order. Oh sure there are number of other film related birthdays we COULD be celebrating; pretty boys like Jude Law and Diego Luna, long-time stalwarts like John Voight and Mary Tyler Moore and no doubt the actress-sexuals have Patricia Clarkson covered. But damn it here on The Sickness' Cinema we love guys like Polito. He's the kind of guy who can turn up in a movie and provide that sense of relief where you think "ah at least the next scene with THIS guy will be good." The invaluable resource for character actor fans like me, Hey! It's That Guy puts it succinctly.
Jon Polito just wasn't made for these times. There used to be an era, back in the days of The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and Peter Lorre in M, when Hollywood valued the weasel, the slippery rat, and the rotund double-crosser. Unfortunately for Jon Polito, those times are not these times, and we're all the poorer for it. If you need proof look what happened to him in 1994. Polito, an actor who, with his spherical stature and shifty, sweaty demeanor, often comes across as a snowman made of Crisco had finally procured a feature role on a smart new TV series: that of Detective Steve Crossetti on the critically lauded Homicide: Life on the Street [...] Pre-Homicide, Polito had established himself as an art-house Joe Pesci, a thinking man's Danny DeVito. Now, it seemed, he'd have a weekly national platform from which we could all indulge in his particular talents. But Homicide's ratings flatlined, and in an effort to improve them, the producers tossed out many of the compelling character actors and trucked in more photogenic, less interesting replacements. Out went Polito, in came the hunky Reed Diamond, and, to our mind, the show was never quite the same.
Getting rid of Polito did illustrate a larger shift in this much beloved police procedural. He did get an excellent goodbye episode where (spoiler alert) his character was found dead, entitled, appropriately enough, "Crossetti." Polito has lucked out since though, being a valued recurring player in the Coen brothers acting ensemble. Polito has appeared in five of the brothers films and in parts of various sizes and is dynamite in all of them. While he may never be a matinee idol the man gets the job done and has been a ubiquitous presence in many a period film and genre picture. Most recently he could be seen as part of Denzel Washington's competition in American Gangster a perfect sort of movie for finding a casting director's ace like Polito.
But Polito has done more, much more. He was Willy Loman's boss in the excellent Dustin Hoffman TV version of Death of a Salesman. He was Mr. Bigelow, the air-field owner in the retroactively beloved The Rocketeer. He infamously thought Dr. Reed was a man and lived the dream by whacking Sarah Chalke on her bottom in an episode of Scrubs. He's menaced superheroes in The Crow and Blankman and beloved children's character in Stuart Little and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. He showed up in Flags of Our Fathers and will actually play one of the titular brothers in the forthcoming (and friend of the blog edited) Marconi Brothers. For god sakes the man was in C.H.U.D. Jon Polito is greatness.
But it all comes down to the man's Coen Brothers work. His most famous role to date being Johnny Caspar the villain of the masterwork Miller's Crossing. Caspar cuts a mighty figure, ranting and raving ad making all manner of moves against our "heroes" Gabriel Byrne and Albert Finney. Talking out f one side of his mouth about "morals" and "ethics", while at the other end nearly exploding about being given "the high hat." Polito gets to chew scenery like nobody else.
Look I've talked enough, if you haven't seen it with your own eyes let me SHOW you the greatness that is Polito in this glorious tribute vid that I found honoring Polito before receiving his Cinequest award. It sums him up nicely.
Leo: [on the phone with the New York Times] 17 across. Yes, 17 across is wrong... You're spelling his name wrong... What's my name? My name doesn't matter. I am just an ordinary citizen who relies on the Times crossword for stimulation. And I'm telling you that I met the man twice. And I recommended a pre-emptive Exocet missile strike against his air force, so I think I know how...
C.J.: Leo.
Leo: They hang up on me every time.
C.J: That's almost hard to believe
I headed over to imdb today and was caught by surprise seeing that it was John Spencer's birthday, or would have been. I never had the privilege of meeting Mr. Spencer or knowing him on a personal level, but in some way or another as a performer he was always in my life. As a character actor he was a ubiquitous presence as government agents and other assorted suits and bastards throughout the 90's in films like Cop Land, The Rock and The Negotiator. I later learned of his remarkable work in stage production such as Still Life and Execution of Justice. But John Spencer will always be known for one role and one role only. As President Bartlet's chief of Staff Leo McGarry on The West Wing, Spencer was a distinguished presence amongst an ensemble cast for which there are simply not enough superlatives.
Leo: And you think ratcheting up the body count's gonna act as a deterrent?
Bartlet: You're damn right I-
Leo: Oh, then you are just as stupid as these guys who think capital punishment is going to be a deterrent for drug kingpins. As if drug kingpins didn't live their day to day lives under the possibility of execution, and their executions are a lot less dainty than ours and tend to take place without the bother and expense of due process. So, my friend, if you want to start using American military strength as the arm of the Lord, you can do that. We're the only superpower left. You can conquer the world, like Charlemagne! But you better be prepared to kill everyone. And you better start with me, because I will raise up an army against you and I will beat you!
Bartlet: He had a ten day old baby at home.
Leo: I know.
Bartlet: We are doing nothing.
Leo: We are not doing nothing.
Bartlet: We're destroying-
Leo: Four high-rated military targets!
Bartlet: And this is good?
Leo: Of course it's not good. There is no good. It's what there is! It's how you behave if you're the most powerful nation in the world. It's proportional, it's reasonable, it's responsible, it's merciful! It's not nothing. Four high-rated military targets.
Bartlet: Which they'll rebuild again in six months.
Leo: Then we'll blow 'em up again in six months! We're getting really good at it... It's what our fathers taught us.
Bartlet: Why didn't you say so? Oh, Leo...when I think of all the work you put in to get me to run and all the work you did to get me elected...I could pummel your ass with a baseball bat.
It was Spencer's work on The West Wing that exposed him to his widest audience and as far as I'm concerned where he did his best work. A recovering alcoholic, McGarry was an all-too flawed individual, as a former Vietnam vet he had the military experience to counsel Bartlet in times of war and as a bit of hard-ass he was the one who would do the scolding when someone in the office had gotten off-track. In backup features on the DVD it's established that Martin Sheen's Bartlet and Spencer's McGarry served as the parents of the cast (exactly who was the mother and who was the father is a much bandied about joke) and it shows. Both lent the necessary authority and love to their roles and when Spencer died it absolutely made it clear that a White House under the Bartlet administration could not continue. From his relationship with his assistant Margaret (the always reliable NiCole Robinson) to his show defining speech to Josh (Bradley Whitford) Spencer brought legitimacy to every scene and every relationship on the show. He could always be relied upon as the dramatic fulcrum of the show whether it was his crumbling marriage as a result of his long hours at the office, or under indictment by congress for unconstitutional actions, Spencer's work made the viewer even more invested in the characters and their lives. Hell the man even showed of he could do screwball romantic banter (the most disproportionately challenging thing an actor can do) in scenes with Kristin Chenoweth and Joanna Gleason. Sometimes when you're watching truly great drama you get a certain tingle up your spine as story and character build and build and you get more interested and then more invested. It was John Spencer's work that most elicited that feeling on the show and the world is a smaller, sadder place without him in it.
My 3 favorite small but incredibly powerful John Spencer moments on West Wing: 3. In flashback, a struggling Bartlet campaign is on the ropes and the Presidential hopeful needs something to help convey his message to a wider audience. In a private meeting Leo basically turns the whole campaign around by writing something down on a cocktail napkin and gradually revealing the new message of the campaign. "In my head I keep seeing these words over and over." Bartlet for America.
2. After two seasons of lying through omission, president Bartlet reveals he has MS. Naturally this puts whether he'll seek a second term into question. In the very final moments of the second season at a press conference in the middle of what has to be the most dramatically well-timed rainstorm EVER, the president fields just such a question. No one knows for sure what his answer will be, except best friend and confidant Leo McGarry. As the world holds its breathe awaiting Bartlet's answer the camera cuts to Spencer who firmly and plainly states "Watch this" and then Martin Sheen puts his hands his pockets. Cut to credits.
1. In the end The West Wing was a show about dedicated professionals who loved each other as much as they loved their work in public service. Perhaps no moment in the entire series better epitomizes this as a scene where Leo confronts Josh after his post-traumatic breakdown and reminds him of a simple inexorable fact.
Leo: [to Josh] This guy's walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here!" and the friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out." As long as I got a job, you got a job, you understand me?
Here's one of the better tribute vids they had on youtube:
We’re celebrating a very special birthday today at the Sickness Cinema. Time for all my blog-blog-arees to know that one movie fills my heart with more joy than any other. Its practically a primal thing because my earliest memories of film watching involve seeing a very worn VHS copy of this film. As a cholic-y baby I could not get to sleep without watching this film and it imprinted itself on my heart, mind and soul. “What could it be Sickness?” I've probably seen this film more than any other of my cinematic obsessions and I still laugh, cry and sing-a-long at the exact same moments I did when I was three or four. You can say old Disney movies have incredibly racist caricatures in them (it was a different time but it doesn’t excuse it), that Walt was an anti-Semite (probably true) and that Disney may have become synonymous with low rent family pandering, sentimental, tacky crap… BUT damn it all, any company responsible for creating THIS can’t be entirely evil. Behold the scene that was my security blanket for my entire childhood.
Happy Birthday Dick Van Dyke. It’s truly a jolly holiday with you.
Kirk Douglas is 91 years old today. 91! Way to go Kirk.
In addition to spawning Michael (and three other boys who've at least appeared in films) he's also one of the greatest movie stars of all time.
Though occasionally prone to histrionics and bulging every vein in his neck and face, Douglas more often then not brings serious gravitas to any part he's played. Now mostly relegated to old coot roles Douglas brought some serious bad-ass chops to many parts. In a career that spans nearly five decades he's appeared in about eighty one films by the imdb's periodically sketchy count.
Here are some of my favorite Douglas performances (complimented by a clip where they could be found):
My first encounter with Douglas was in the 1954 live-action Disney classic 20000 Leagues Under the Sea as burly sailor Ned Leads. Leads acts as the blue collar voice of reason against the more mercurial Captain Nemo. In addition to wielding an awesome harpoon he also gets a rather fun sea shanty he gets to sing (I referenced a line from it in the title but it's alas, not on youtube).
In Paths of Glory, Kubrick's early anti-war masterpiece, Douglas plays "Idealist and fool" Colonel Dax who attempts to defend a group of soldiers unfairly branded as traitors and cowards. As Dax, Douglas not only gets to deliver some sterling courtroom speeches but he gets to show how haunted he is by the manipulations of the powerful and corrupt.
Douglas played some bad guys before but he's never more pitiable then as reporter Chuck Tatum in Billy Wilder's under-seen masterpiece Ace in the Hole. Douglas provides some sterling work as a bitter, manipulative cynic who discovers his conscience too damn late to do anything about in this especially caustic but prescient look at journalism. Who could be so vile, so brutal, so tough that they could take on the coolest man ever to live (Robert Mitchum, duh, clearly we'll have to post about HIM in the near future) and seem like a credible threat? Why Kirk Douglas of course! In my absolute favorite film noir of all-time, Out of the Past, Douglas' Whit Sterling is a ruthless bastard who never lets himself get angry, he's just cooly confident that he can screw you beyond belief.
Beowulf and King Leonidas both need to say their own names (or the names of their city) themselves before they do something awesome. Chumps. As Spartacus, Douglas' nobility and heroism are so great he doesn't even get a chance. Though the movie can at times get a little stodgy and its kind of been parodied to death, Spartacus still has moments that click, largely because of Douglas. Lastly, there is the spectacular The Bad and the Beautiful. Douglas plays Jonathan Shields, an amalgam of David O. Selznick and Val Lewton. The film's multiple narrators and intriguing structure show Shields to be a man of boundless enthusiasm, innovation but equally prone to tremendous bouts of selfishness and manipulation.
There are plenty of other fine Douglas films to recommend; you can't go wrong with Seven Days in May (the 24 of its time), Lonely are the Brave (solid dramatic western), Detective Story(what do you think it's about? jeez) or Lust for Life (a beautiful Van Gogh biopic).
Any fond Douglas memories? A recommendation to add? Disagree with my picks? Put it in the comments bloglodites.
Here are 10 random things that make me blissfully happy: Musical numbers, This American Life, fresh tacos, sweat pants with writing on the butt, having the last word, when you're enjoying your job and lose track of time, when a movie audience is clapping and laughing together (both ironically and unironically), alphabetizing, references that maybe 5 people get and I'm one of them, coming over the Brooklyn bridge and seeing Manhattan. Driving down the 101 South and seeing a pink sunset.
Two Sickness Cinema favorites celebrate their birthdays today. First up is the Arrested Development alum that has taken the world by storm, Mr. Michael Cera who is turning 20. Mr. Cera's colossal talent and nice-guy persona make him a fan favorite of the highest order. No one just likes Michael Cera, they love him. In addition to rocking the aforementioned AD as the demure, sweet and cousin-loving (maybe...maeby) George Michael Bluth Cera had a huge 2007 starring in Superbad and making me cry giant dorky tears in Juno. Cera can also be seen as a giant douchey version of himself in clarkandmichael.com. Cera has a bright future ahead of him with an awesome slate of films including Year One (think the Apatow version of History of the World Part One). He'll be romancing the well-endowed daughter from 40 Year Old Virgin in the sure to be popular soundtrack having Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, playing very much against type as the titular Youth in Revolt and then kicking the most ass ever in the Edgar Wright (YAY) helmed Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Double YAY). Then there's those rumors of an Arrested Development movie. Oh I hope there's a ribbon cutting at the premiere.
Cera's co-star in the sensational (and maybe best directed of the Apatow stable) Superbad turn 30 today, Mr. Bill Hader. Hader, in addition to being a huge comic fan and movie buff in his own right, is probably one of the most talented cast members on SNL right now. A talented impressionist and avant-garde scenarist, Hader has quickly asserted himself in the Akroyd, Hartman, Farrell role of SNL utility player. He's the guy who can be brought and play it straight but still manage to be hilarious. The man also does superlative impressions of Daniel Day Lewis (as Daniel Plainview), Vincent Price, Peter O'Toole, James Mason, Al Pacino, The Emperor from Star Wars, Tony Blair and Gregory Peck. Hader is also an Apatow regular in addition to appearing Superbad showed up in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up and will be seen in Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder. I am of the opinion that his Vincent Price show, Comic Chat and Captain Hook sketches are some of the best that have ever been on the show in the last decade.
