Rainn Wilson

NBC Renews PARENTHOOD; Orders 13-Episode Final Season of 30 ROCK [Updated]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 10th, 2012 at 2:33 pm

Two on-the-bubble NBC shows have officially been given the order for new seasons.  The critical favorite yet ratings challenged drama Parenthood has been renewed for a 15-episode fourth season (per TV Line).  Showrunner Jason Katims is no stranger to ratings issues despite favorable reviews, as he led the stellar Friday Night Lights through five seasons of “will it be renewed?” drama.  I’m a fan of the ensemble and tone of Parenthood, but Katims will most likely have his hands full next season as his medical pilot County is said to be close to a pick up.  That show will star Jason Ritter, who led the doomed The Event and has been a frequent guest star on Parenthood.

Hit the jump for news regarding renewals for The Office and a final season for 30 Rock, as well as speculation about the fate of Community and Parks and Recreation. [Update: The Office hasn't officially been renewed yet, but with deals almost done for the main cast members a renewal is expected]

2012 Hero Complex Film Festival to Include Screenings of ROBOCOP, SERENITY, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, SHAUN OF THE DEAD and More with Special Guests

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 25th, 2012 at 2:21 pm

Last year’s Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Film Festival included screenings of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan & J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, a Jon Favreau-hosted double bill of Iron Man and Iron Man 2, and Warren Beatty opened the festival with his 1990 film Dick Tracy.  The event sounded like a lot of fun and proved more than insightful with some truly swell panels.  The line-up for this year’s iteration of the festival has been announced, and as expected it’s a fun mix of old and new films with special guests galore.  Hit the jump for more info.

NBC’s THE OFFICE to Get a Series Reboot?

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 12th, 2012 at 8:16 pm

Since Steve Carell left The Office, the happenings on the show have been anything but business as usual.  Robert California (James Spader) stopped by to run things for a time before leaving the Scranton branch in the capable, albeit self-conscious, hands of Andy Bernard (Ed Helms).  There has been recent talk of Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) leaving to retire to the beet farm bed-and-breakfast in a proposed spin-off.  That’s not to mention the expanding film careers of Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski and Craig Robinson, as well as Wilson and Helms.  As neither the cast members nor the show itself have been officially been confirmed to return, things are a bit up in the air at the moment.  Helms talked a bit about the future of  The Office in this recent interview with Steve.  Hit the jump for more on this possible series reboot.

Dwight Schrute May Be Retiring to the Beet Farm in THE OFFICE Spinoff

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: January 25th, 2012 at 7:03 pm

It’s good to have a backup plan in case “officer manager at the regional sales office of a paper company” doesn’t work out. Luckily for The Office’s Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), his family owns a beet farm that doubles as a bed and breakfast. There are reports that Wilson may be headed out of The Office as early as midseason 2013 for an NBC spinoff, a family comedy centered around Dwight and life at the Schrute Farms B&B. Pitched by Wilson and Paul Lieberstein (who executive produces, writes and acts as Toby Flenderson on the show), the duo plan to produce alongside The Office’s executive producers Ben Silverman and Howard Klein. Hit the jump for more news on the potential spinoff.

THE OFFICE Season 7 DVD Review

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: October 12th, 2011 at 7:17 am

In the seventh season of The Office, the writers of the long-running NBC comedy series had two big tasks ahead of them. First, the staff had to deal with the impending exit of manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) which included giving him a worthy exit and finding him a strong replacement, but also proving that the show would be able to survive without the presence of Carell on-screen. Sadly, this season proved to be one of the weakest, and seems to be proof that the series, just like its former star, might be on the way out. However, the seventh season of The Office still contains some truly great episodes, genuinely touching moments, and one marathon of a fantastic performance from Steve Carell (who should’ve won the Emmy over Jim Parsons last month). For more of my impressions of the DVD release of the seventh season of The Office, hit the jump.

HESHER Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 13th, 2011 at 7:07 am

Grief is an ugly, raw, complicated, and necessary emotion.  I’ve never been a big fan of the Kübler-Ross Model (also known as the Five Stages of Grief) because it seems like something constructed more to comfort those dealing with the grief-stricken rather than an honest explanation of the griever’s emotions.  It says “What stage are you at because you’re kind of bumming the rest of us out.”  Hesher gives a giant middle finger to a pat, easily digestible notion of grief and instead throws the viewer into the violent, angry emotions that arise when grieving over the loss of a loved one.  Unfortunately, it never goes much deeper than that and the thematic simplicity keeps Joseph Gordon-Levitt from giving an honest performance because he’s stuck playing a contrived one-dimensional character who merely serves to illustrate a point.  Then the film, which at least had the consistency to hammer home its single theme, shoots itself in the foot with an ending unworthy of its tone and attitude.

Rainn Wilson Talks HESHER, SUPER, GALAXY QUEST, and His Jay Roach Produced Renaissance Fair Movie

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: May 11th, 2011 at 9:18 am

With writer/director Spencer Susser’s Hesher getting released this weekend, I recently got to sit down with the cast and Susser to talk about the film.  Before going any further, if you haven’t seen the trailer, I suggest checking it out here.  While the summer is filled with huge explosions and movies that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, I promise you…none of them feature a main character as crazy as Hesher.  Playing the lead is Joseph Gordon-Levitt and it’s an awesome performance. The film also stars Rainn Wilson, Natalie Portman, and Devin Brochu.

While I already posted my video interviews with Susser and Gordon-Levitt, I’ve got one more and it’s with Rainn Wilson.  During the interview we talked about the positive response to Super, what attracted him to Hesher, what was it like on set, and we also talked about what’s the last video game he’s played, does he ever get recognized from being in Galaxy Quest, and what is he working on now.  Hit the jump to watch.

New HESHER Trailer Cut by Writer/Director Spencer Susser

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 8th, 2011 at 11:21 am

Most directors don’t cut trailers for their own movies.  They don’t have the time and studios pay millions of dollars to companies whose sole purpose is to cut a trailer that will appeal to the widest audience possible regardless of whether or not that trailer is an accurate representation of the movie it’s marketing.  But that is not so with the official trailer for Hesher that was cut by the film’s writer and director Spencer Susser.  If I can judge Hesher by its trailer, then I’ll have no idea what to make of Hesher but at least it’s an accurate misunderstanding.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and a statement of support by star Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  The film also stars Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, and Natalie Portman.  Hesher opens May 13^th.

Red-Band Trailer for Beastie Boys Short FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT – REVISITED

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 7th, 2011 at 3:14 pm

A “red-band” trailer (it’s from the Motion Picture Association of Antigua, Inc.) for the Beastie Boys inspired short Fight For Your Right – Revisited.  The trailer is long on swears and stars but short on laughs.  The story seems to be that the young Beastie Boys (played by Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, and Elijah Wood) meet their future selves (John C. Reilly, Jack Black, and Will Ferrell) and have a dance off, which seems like a fun premise.  But even though the short film also features Will Arnett, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Ted Danson, Rainn Wilson, and plenty of other famous faces, there aren’t many laughs to be had.  Watching Will Ferrell break out a cowbell or Arnett shout “Come on!” feel like stale attempts at humor.  Hopefully the short comes together better than the trailer.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The 30 minute short will debut alongside the release of the Beastie Boys new album “Hot Sauce Committee Part 2″ on May 3^rd.

Rainn Wilson Video Interview SUPER; Plus an Update on THE OFFICE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: March 31st, 2011 at 9:41 am

With director James Gunn’s superhero flick Super opening this weekend, I recently got to sit down with Rainn Wilson to talk about how he got involved with the project.  As you might expect from Gunn (Slither, PG-Porn), Super is violent, twisted, and darkly comic.  I had a lot of fun watching it.

During the interview, Wilson talked about the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, what’s his karaoke song, how did he get involved in the project (has to do with Jenna Fischer), how did his character change after he signed on, his thoughts on VOD, and we ended the interview talking about The Office.  Hit the jump to watch:

New Posters for CARS 2 and SUPER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 22nd, 2011 at 8:35 am

New posters have been released for Cars 2 and Super.  The poster for Cars 2 is beyond bland, but at least it doesn’t have a character falling into a vat of shit, so I guess I should be grateful for that.  As for the Super posters, I like the flyer-design and how they reference certain crimes (ranging from line-butting to pedophilia) that “heroes” Crimson Bolt (Rainn Wilson) and his sidekick Boltie (Ellen Page) take on.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Cars 2 opens in 3D on June 24th.  Super opens April 1st.

SXSW 2011: SUPER Review

by Scott Wampler    Posted: March 14th, 2011 at 11:02 am

A lot of online folks have been giving James Gunn’s Super a hard time because of its obvious similarities to Matthew Vaughan’s Kick-Ass.  It’s true that Gunn’s film– which stars Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, and a hilarious Kevin Bacon– share more than a few passing similarities, but Super only improves upon the “real-life superhero” sub-genre that Kick-Ass mined so well last year.  What has Gunn done to improve the formula?  Find out after the break.

New Trailer for James Gunn’s SUPER Starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 4th, 2011 at 12:13 pm

IFC has released a trailer for James Gunn’s upcoming superhero flick Super.  I like that the trailer has to animate over the language and violence in order to make it viewable for all-ages.  It’s a James Gunn movie and it’s best to expect something violent, twisted, and darkly comic.  Super looks like it’s going to deliver on all three counts and that makes me very excited to see this flick.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Super stars Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, and Nathan Fillion.  It opens April 1st.

New Posters Released for SUPER Starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page, and Disney’s WINNIE THE POOH

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: February 25th, 2011 at 11:43 am

New posters have been released for two upcoming films: Super and Winnie the Pooh. Directed by James Gunn (Slither), Super tells the story of an average guy who takes on the persona of “The Crimson Bolt” upon learning that his wife is having an affair. The film stars Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon. IFC is set to release the film on April 1^st.

The “bear of little brain” returns to the big screen in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh. Narrated by John Cleese, the 2D “hand-drawn style” animated film follows Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo on an all-new adventure to help Christopher Robin. Winnie the Pooh is slated for a July 15^th release. Hit the jump to check out both posters.

First Trailer for HESHER Starring Devin Brochu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, and Rainn Wilson

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 19th, 2011 at 2:46 pm

Hesher first premiered at Sundance 2010 over a year ago, and was quickly picked up by Newmarket Films.  Since then, Joseph-Gordon Levitt upped his star status to Inception level, and Natalie Portman is a newly minted Oscar nominee.  But it’s taken awhile for Hesher, directed by Spencer Susser, to get to the screen.  Perhaps because of the rough subject material: Gordon-Levitt plays an apathetic loner pyromaniac who inserts himself into the life of T.J. (Devin Brochu), a young boy that moved into his grandma’s house with his father (Rainn Wilson) after T.J.’s mother died.  Heavy stuff — not the easiest sell.

However, if this new trailer is any indication, Hesher is at least worth a look as a major showcase for Mr. Gordon-Levitt.  Watch it after the break.

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