Shit just got real…real funny, that is! Well, more like possibly kind of amusing. The point is, Martin Lawrence, having nothing left to prove on the silver screen after Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, might be taking his act to network TV, as CBS has ordered his multi-camera sitcom to pilot. The potential series, from $#*! My Dad Says producers Mike Lisbe and Nate Reger, will see the comedian playing a widowed father of two who, after losing his construction job, enrolls in the police academy.

Per Deadline, this project was one of several that CBS was developing for Lawrence, who has a talent deal in place with the network for this season. Things were looking grim until execs, probably after catching Blue Streak on cable at 2am this morning, decided to take a chance and give this one a last-minute order.

The level of optimism for Eddie Murphy’s career is high right now—the highest since at least since Dreamgirls, maybe in over a decade.  Tower Heist doesn’t look god-awful.  The live Oscar stage could reinvigorate the former stand-up.  And recently, Murphy denounced his recent work in family films.  (Notwithstanding A Thousand Words, finally coming out in March after years on the shelf.)  That leaves the question of what he would like to pursue going forward.

It’s worth noting that Tower Heist was originally conceived for a cast of black comedians such as Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle, Tracy Morgan, and Martin Lawrence.  The development process whitewashed the project (Ben Stiller and Matthew Broderick seem absurdly white in this context), but Murphy hasn’t abandoned the central idea.  Murphy says he is writing an alien abduction comedy he whimsically refers to as Jamal and Tyrell and Omar and Brick and Michael’s Wack-Ass Weekend.  More after the jump.

When FBI Agent Malcolm Turner’s (Martin Lawrence) teenage stepson Trent (Brandon T. Jackson) witnesses a murder, the two team up to go undercover at a performing arts school, in the hopes of catching a killer. However, since it is an all-girl school, they must go deep under, posing as Big Momma and the hefty co-ed Charmaine.  The character of Big Momma was first introduced to movie audiences in 2000′s Big Momma’s House, which went on to become a global box office sensation. Then, Big Momma’s House 2 further enriched the story of the larger than life matriarch who does whatever it takes to stop even the most hardened criminals. Now, Big Momma’s: Like Father, Like Son not only continues the story, but reinvents it for a new teen audience.

At a recent press day for the film, co-star Brandon T. Jackson talked about working with and getting advice from Martin Lawrence, looking pretty as Charmaine, what he learned about women by dressing in drag, getting to rap in the film, wanting to do his own comedy tour and the actresses he would love to work with. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

In the comedy film Big Momma’s: Like Father, Like Son, FBI Agent Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) is back undercover as alter-ego Big Momma, but this time he is joined by his teenage stepson Trent (Brandon T. Jackson). After Trent witnesses a murder, he does a little undercover work of his own, as the hefty Charmaine, as the two go to an all-girls performing arts school to find the killer before he finds them.

During the film’s recent press day, actor/comedian Martin Lawrence talked about returning to the character of Big Momma for the third time, dreading the make-up process to become the larger-than-life matriarch, the possibility of Big Momma teaming up with Tyler Perry’s Madea, and how he’d definitely put on the fat suit again, if the audience demanded it. He also talked about the status of Bad Boys 3 and his desire to re-team with co-star Will Smith, along with returning to the character of Sheneneh, opposite Jamie Foxx as Wanda, for The Skank Robbers. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

In the excruciating two-minute-and-five-second span of the trailer for Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, I counted two fatty-fall-down jokes, two-nut-shot jokes, one fat-people-are-gross joke, but all of the humor is exactly what you would expect from the third movie in the Big Momma’s House franchise.  This time Martin Lawrence is going undercover with his son because his son witnessed a crime and witness protection only works if you’re in a fat suit.  Sure, guys might want to make out with you and you won’t be able to hit on women, but that’s how Witness Protection works.  And if you’re wondering how these movies keep getting made, you should know that the previous two films grossed a combined worldwide total of $311 million.  Now try not to think of all the movies you loved that flopped at the box office.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son opens February 18, 2011.

At this point Michael Bay is undeniable. Having weathered parody, Pearl Harbor and Megan Fox, Michael Bay seems to know who he is and what he can do… At least it seems that way for now. Perhaps he’ll go back to making his Oscar picture at some point, though I don’t know what Bay could make that would be his Schindler’s List or Titanic.  But when he arrived in 1995, Bay was the second coming of Tony Scott, and Bad Boys was a breath of fresh recycled air. At the time, R-rated action was had become self-serious, and stars like Stallone and Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal took their jobs very seriously. Here was something more in the classic “buddy cop” mold. Bay teamed Will Smith with Martin Lawrence as cops after drugs and criminals in Miami, and it clicked with audiences, launching one of the more fascinating Hollywood careers of late. And my review of Bad Boys on Blu-ray after the jump.

Martin Lawrence says he’s in, Will Smith is ready and Michael Bay is game. He thinks Bad Boys 3 is still going to happen.

In an interview with MTV, the Big Momma’s House star said “I got Big Willie to come down and see me about the movie. I felt special.” He added “Any time you can get Big Willie to come out and talk about doing a third installment of a hot movie like Bad Boys, you have to take notice,” Lawrence explained. “I met with Michael Bay, and he said he’s onboard too – so it’s real.”

It was real last year too when Columbia hired Peter Craig to write a script . However, the main problem is getting all the players on the same schedule as Smith now has Men in Black 3 and Bay has Transformers 3, pushing this production back at least 2-3 years. Then there’s the little matter of the money man, producer Jerry Bruckheimer: “We’re just waiting on Jerry Bruckheimer to let us know when it’s really real,” Lawrence said.  Hit the jump to read about the cultural significance of the Bad Boys franchise and more.

Opening this Friday is director Neil LaBute’s Death at a Funeral, which stars Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Zoë Saldaña, Columbus Short, Luke Wilson, Peter Dinklage, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, and Keith David.  The movie is a remake of the 2007 British film with the same name, and while most remakes recast everyone, Peter Dinklage is playing the same character again.  So if you’ve seen the 2007 film, you know who he plays and some of the twists and turns.

To help promote the movie, I got to sit down with Danny Glover and Regina Hall.  Hit the jump to watch the interview:

I’ve always wondered if Tracy Morgan is playing himself on 30 Rock, or if it’s all an act.  Also, I’ve seen Morgan on David Letterman and have always wondered if he’s pulling an Andy Kaufman with the way he acts…or if it’s really him.  Based on the Los Angeles press junket for Death at a Funeral, I’m going to say it’s not an act.

The reason I can say that is while waiting in a hallway for my interview with Tracy Morgan and Luke Wilson, I got to hear Morgan saying some of the craziest things during other interviews.  Most of them are not safe to print – let alone say on television.  While we couldn’t hear everything behind the door, we heard enough that every journalist waiting and a few publicists were laughing a lot.   Actually, I felt added pressure walking in to my interview, as I was hoping to get some wild and crazy answers.  Hit the jump to see if I did….

Opening this weekend is director Neil LaBute’s Death at a Funeral, which stars Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Zoë Saldaña, Columbus Short, Luke Wilson, Peter Dinklage, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, and Keith David.  The movie is a remake of the 2007 British film with the same name.  If you saw the previous version, the remake is the same story set in America.

To help promote the film, I recently got to speak with James Marsden.  In the film, Marsden gets accidentally drugged and spends most of the film dealing with vivid hallucinations.  While the film is a comedy, we talked about how he found the right balance for his performance.  He also told me about some of his deleted scenes, and I asked him what’s up with Enchanted 2.  Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Opening next weekend is director Neil LaBute’s Death at a Funeral, which stars Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Zoë Saldaña, Columbus Short, Luke Wilson, Peter Dinklage, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, and Keith David.

The movie is a remake of the 2007 British film with the same name, and the project was led by Chris Rock, who explained why he wanted to remake the movie when I spoke to him yesterday.  He also talked about the challenges of getting the cast together and he also told me about his next documentary Credit is the Devil – which he is starting to prep right now.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say:

Opening on April 16th is director Neil LaBute’s Death at a Funeral, which stars Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Zoë Saldaña, Columbus Short, Luke Wilson, Peter Dinklage, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, and Keith David.

The movie is a remake of the 2007 British film with the same name, and while most remakes recast everyone, Peter Dinklage is playing the same character again.  So if you’ve seen the 2007 film, you know who he plays and some of the twists and turns.

To help promote the film, we’ve been given 6 clips and the synopsis.  Hit the jump to check them out:

Variety reports that Martin Lawrence will return for a third installment of his cherished (by Martin Lawrence) and much-beloved (by people who are not me) franchise, Big Momma’s House.  For those unaware of the series, it’s a complex study of an FBI Agent Malcolm Turner (Lawrence) who must pose as a stereotypical old, obese black woman in order to solve crimes.  It works on so many levels.  It just happens that none of the levels are good.

This time around Turner and his 17-year-old nephew, Trent (played by Tropic Thunder‘s Brandon T. Jackson), go undercover at an all-girls performing arts school after Trent witnesses a murder. Posing as Big Momma and Charmaine, they must find the murderer before he finds them.  Hijinks ensue.

Screen Gems has released synopses and some first look images from their 2010 films and it’s all after the jump.  Some of the new/first look images are from The Roomate (starring Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly), Death at a Funeral (starring Peter Dinklage, Danny Glover, Martin Lawrence, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, Zoë Saldaña), and Takers (starring Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, and Hayden Christensen).

Also, while they didn’t release any images, they did provide the first synopsis for Burlesque which stars Cher, Christina Aguilera, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, Peter Gallagher, Alan Cumming, Kristen Bell and Stanley Tucci.

Check out everything after the jump.  It’s posted by release date.

In what I can only pray is a kind of “That would be fun, we should make that movie someday,”-story because I can’t fathom why Jamie Foxx would want to go back and make a movie starring his stand-up/”In Loving Color” character, Wanda Wayne.  You don’t see Jim Carrey angling for a Fire Marshall Bill movie and Foxx has far more respect and critical appreciation than Carrey.

On the other hand, I completely understand Martin Lawrence digging his stand-up/”Martin” character, Sheneneh Jenkins for a movie since Lawrence has shown he has no interest in expanding beyond the “College Road Trip”/”Big Momma’s House”-type films he’s done for the past several years.  But regardless of their career trajectories, Lawrence and Foxx are planning to star in a feature film crossover of their 90s, ugly women character, “Sheneneh and Wanda”.  Hit the jump for details.