Johnny Simmons

21 JUMP STREET Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 9th, 2012 at 1:58 pm

21 Jump Street is cocky as hell.  Usually, when a movie clearly lays out a set-up for an eventual payoff, we groan, lament the story’s predictability, and all the impact is diminished because we saw the hit coming.  21 Jump Street comes up to the line of turning directly to the camera and saying, “This will come back later,” and the joke still manages to hit like a sucker punch.  The set-up-pay-off humor is just one weapon in the film’s arsenal.  Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller effortlessly move between the cartoonish, the absurd, the darkly comic, the vulgar, and almost every time the jokes absolutely kill.  But the excellent lead performances from Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum elevate the film from a raucous comedy, and they make 21 Jump Street not just a film where two bike cops mime having sex with an apprehended perp.  It’s a film with a heart, a soul, and two bike cops miming having sex with an apprehended perp.

Set Photos from THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER Starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 9th, 2011 at 7:58 am

Logan Lerman has been tweeting photos from the set of The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Author Stephen Chbosky wrote the script and is directing the adaptation of his 1999 novel of the same name.  The coming-of-age story stars Lerman as “15-year-old Charlie (Lerman), an endearing and naive outsider, coping with first love (Emma Watson), the suicide of his best friend, and his own mental illness while struggling to find a group of people with whom he belongs.”  The film also stars Mae Whitman, Johnny Simmons, Ezra Miller, Nina Dobrev, and Dylan McDermott.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.

Johnny Simmons Cast in 21 JUMP STREET and THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: April 25th, 2011 at 7:16 pm

Johnny Simmons (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) has scheduled the rest of his 2011 slate — the babyfaced 24-year-old will, like he has for most of his career, continue to play teenagers.  Up first is the 21 Jump Street movie, where Simmons acts opposite Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Scott Pilgrim co-star Brie Larson.  Next, Simmons will shoot the The Perks of Being a Wallflower adaptation with Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Nina Dobrev and Scott Pilgrim co-star Mae Whitman.  Later in the year, Variety confirms Simmons is on board the naughty comedy The Hand Job with Andy Samberg, Donald Glover, Connie Britton, Alia Shawkat, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Scott Porter, Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson.  Oh, and Scott Pilgrim co-stars Mae Whitman and Aubrey Plaza, not to mention “The Voice” of Scott Pilgrim, Bill Hader.  (Can we take a brief second to re-marvel at the amazing Scott Pilgrim supporting cast?  Ripples for decades!  Okay, back to the piece.)

Hit the jump for more on each project.

THE CONSPIRATOR Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 15th, 2011 at 7:06 am

Robert Redford is an activist and that’s all well and good, but he’s awful at balancing his political viewpoints with storytelling.  His previous film, Lions for Lambs, was a pedantic, simpleminded bore.  With his latest film, The Conspirator, Redford at least has the courtesy to provide a story, but it may as well be prefaced with “Hi, I’m Robert Redford.  I’m going to give you an allegory for how we treat military detainees.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to my other job as worn leather.”  Despite solid performances and the promise of a complex narrative, Redford undermines his message of “Justice for All” by making the criminal a victim.

Scott Porter, Dominic Dierkes, and DC Pierson Join THE HAND JOB; Plus Role Descriptions of Previously Announced Cast

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 10th, 2011 at 8:03 am

Yesterday, we reported that a stellar cast was joining the outstanding Aubrey Plaza in Maggie Carey’s comedy The Hand Job.  A cast that includes Plaza, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Donald Glover, Connie Britton, Mae Whitman, Alia Shawkat, Johnny Simmons, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse is already a must-see.  But now Variety is reporting that more talented actors have signed on.  The cast will now include Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights) and Mystery Team co-stars and co-writers Dominic Dierkes and DC Pierson.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, The Hand Job stars Plaza as a valedictorian who wants to become more sexually experienced before she heads to college.  While we reported the majority of the current cast yesterday, we now know which roles they’ll be playing.  Hit the jump for more.

Bill Hader Says Andy Samberg, Donald Glover, Connie Britton, and More are Attached to THE HAND JOB – UPDATED

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 9th, 2011 at 10:34 am

Steve recently spoke with actor and writer Bill Hader about his upcoming projects.  One movie he might try to shoot while he’s on hiatus from Saturday Night Live is his wife’s Maggie Carey’s script, The Hand Job.  The script landed on the 2009 Black List (a list of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood) and we reported back in October that Aubrey Plaza was attached to play the lead role of a 17-year-old who wants to learn about various sexual activities before she goes to college.  Hader says that he, Andy Samberg, Donald Glover, Connie Britton, Alia Shawkat, Mae Whitman, and Johnny Simmons are attached to co-star, and if that cast doesn’t make you excited, then you must not recognize these actors by name.  You should work on that.

Hit the jump for what Hader told Steve about the project as well as a more dramatic film he may do called The Skeleton Twins with Anna Faris and Mark Duplass.  Click here for what Hader had to say about his SNL character “Stefon”, and be sure to check back later today for more of Steve’s interview with Hader.

UPDATE:  Steve here.  Just spoke to Bill Hader again and he told me that Chris Mintz-Plasse is now attached to Hand Job as well!  Hope this thing gets made this summer.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: November 11th, 2010 at 4:41 am

How does one reinvent the romantic comedy? The formula for them is simple: Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, happy ending. But finding a new or exciting way to tell that story is always the challenge. And yet Edgar Wright has done it successfully three times now – even if he’s not known as a romantic comedy director (the label used to be for Lubitsch and Wilder, now it’s for Nora Ephron). But in Shaun of the Dead, Shaun must salvage his relationship while the world is on the brink of a zombie apocalypse; in Hot Fuzz he tweaks the action movie genre to show a platonic love story about how sometimes you need a partner to complete yourself; and in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World it’s about fighting the baggage of old relationships while starting a new one made literal. Michael Cera stars as the titular Pilgrim, who meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), the girl of his dreams – literally. They start dating, but her evil exes have formed a league to defeat Pilgrim and end their relationship. My review of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD Vs. British Accents

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 8th, 2010 at 2:03 pm

With the DVD/Blu-ray of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World set to be released tomorrow, co-writer and director Edgar Wright has released a fun, previously unseen behind-the-scenes clip.  As Wright explains:

So check this out. A rough rehearsal video of the first scene of the movie, shot on my LUMIX stills camera with one twist. Because I didn’t want to jinx the first day of the movie by already shooting the scene, I asked my actors to do the opening scene in British accents.

Since Scott Pilgrim turned out to be great, I think it’s safe to say that the jinx was avoided.  Hit the jump to check out the amusing clip and go buy Scott Pilgrim vs. The World on DVD/Blu-ray tomorrow.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD Filmmakers and Cast to Appear at Special Events in Los Angeles, Toronto, Boston, and New York for Upcoming DVD/Blu-ray

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 3rd, 2010 at 11:21 am

Call it a rematch.  The filmmakers and cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World are hitting the road again, this time to celebrate the film’s release on Blu-ray and DVD.  You may remember that the film made an impressive tour when the movie was released back in August (they may have even appeared on your local news).  Said co-writer and director Edgar Wright: “To say thank you to the fans who have supported us, I am very excited to bring special screenings and autograph signing events with me and the cast to Los Angeles, Toronto, Boston and New York.”

Be sure to say thank you for the great film if you live in those cities, or just say thanks by picking up the movie on Blu-ray or DVD when it hits on November 9th.  Hit the jump for more details on the upcoming tour.

Over 40 HD Screencaps from the 2nd SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD Trailer

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 31st, 2010 at 11:43 am

So that new Scott Pilgrim vs. The World trailer that hit the net today was pretty badass, right? The 100,000 fans on Facebook must be happy that they helped get it online.  But it’s pretty fast-paced and frenetic and so I’ve grabbed over 40 HD screencaps for your viewing pleasure.  Little things I noticed going frame-by-frame include:

• The aspect ratio varies depending on the shot
• Scott has a sweet wardrobe of t-shirts
• We get a look at Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells and Ellen Wong as Knives Chau that we didn’t really see in the teaser trailer.  We also get our first look at Aubrey Plaza as Julie Powers and briefly glimpse Brie Larson as Envy Adams.

It’s just an amazing trailer and any of these shots would make a sweet desktop wallpaper.  Hit the jump to check out the screencaps.  Scott Pilgrim vs. The World hits theaters on August 13th.

Mark Webber On Set Interview SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD – Read or Listen Here

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 30th, 2010 at 7:12 pm

Before coming on board Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Mark Webber had already written and directed his own feature, the 2008 drama Explicit Ills.  He’s also previously co-starred in a variety of films including Woody Allen’s Hollywood Ending and Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers.  In Scott Pilgrim, he’ll be playing Stephen Stills, the lead singer and guitarist of Sex Bob-omb, the struggling rock band that includes Scott (Michael Cera) on bass and Kim Pine (Alison Pill) on drums.

Speaking with Webber on the set of Scott Pilgrim last July, we talked about various topics like him learning to sing and play guitar, what he’s learned about directing from Wright, the pain/thrill of doing stunt work, and his future projects.

Hit the jump to check out the interview.  Scott Pilgrim vs. The World hits theaters on August 13th.

Ellen Wong Interview SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD – Read or Listen Here

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 29th, 2010 at 5:42 pm

Ellen Wong was one of the first actors that co-writer/director Edgar Wright photoblogged last year during the pre-production of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  Getting the chance to speak with Wong on the set of the film, my other film journalists and I found her instantly adorable and a perfect fit for the role of Scott’s sweet-but-naive teenage ex-girlfriend, Knives Chau.

We spoke mostly about Wong’s take on Knives, specifically why people shouldn’t describe the character as “annoying”, why author Bryan Lee O’Malley named the character “Knives”, and the character’s transformation from wide-eyed innocent to a powerful girl who kicks some ass.  She also lamented a scene in the book between Knives and Kim Pine (Alison Pill) that won’t be in the movie.

Hit the jump for the full interview.  Scott Pilgrim vs. The World hits theaters on August 13th.

Alison Pill Interview SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD – Read or Listen Here

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 27th, 2010 at 6:27 pm

Alison Pill is an actress you need to know.  She’s already made a name for herself on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award in 2006.  She also co-starred in Milk and gave an amazing performance in second season of HBO’s In Treatment where she played a college student diagnosed with cancer.

You’ll need to know her because not only is she a great actress, but because she has one of the best roles in Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  Pill plays Kim Pine, an ex-girlfriend/friend of Scott’s who knows when to take him down a peg.  Her cynical attitude adds variety to the comedy and she also has one of the best lines in the series: “Scott, I wish I could punch your life in the face.”  On a visit to the set, we interviewed Pill about playing Kim, becoming a kick-ass drummer, filming in Toronto where she grew up, and more.

Hit the jump to check out the interview. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World hits theaters on August 13th.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD Set Visit – Read or Watch the Video Blog

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 25th, 2010 at 12:02 am

On January 1, 2009, director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) began a year-long photoblog.  It just so happened that 2009 was also the year when he began production on his next film, an adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic book series Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  The combination of one of my favorite directors creating an adaptation of one of my favorite comics sent me in a frenzy.  The frenzy had me bugging Steve every two weeks telling him that if there was a set visit, I wanted to go.  I had to.  Taking a look inside of what Wright would do with this material was a chance I didn’t want to miss.

I got that chance immediately following last year’s Comic-Con.  Less than 48 hours after the Con ended, I was in Toronto and sitting on the steps of a pyramid in Club Kaos.  Hit the jump to read about my visit to set of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead On Set Interview SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 25th, 2010 at 12:01 am

Mary Elizabeth Winstead walks into the room and I’m meeting Ramona Flowers.  It’s probably got something to do with the hair.  Winstead plays the beautiful and enigmatic Ramona Flowers in Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  In the books by Bryan Lee O’Malley, one of Ramona’s trademarks is that she’s constantly dying her hair different colors.  So when Ms. Winstead walked into the room during my visit to the set of the film last July, she was sporting green hair.  It looked good.

But Ramona is more than a hairstyle.  We spoke with Winstead about how O’Malley helped give her some background on her character, which was especially valuable since he had written the final book yet.  We also talked about working a stunt-heavy film like this one, the film’s music, and working with Wright, among other topics.  But I think what you’ll take away most from this interview is about how Ramona will be portrayed in the film, and it’s much deeper than just green hair.

Hit the jump to read the interview.  Scott Pilgrim vs. The World hits theaters on August 13th.

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