Just because you forgot about it doesn’t mean it’s not happening.  Paramount is still trying to develop a feature film based on the popular slow motion running drama series Baywatch, and some new blood has been brought in to revitalize the project.  Screenwriter Peter Tolan (Rescue Me) was previously tapped to write the script, and last year he revealed that his take would be a comedy adaptation more akin to Stripes rather than a straight feature film iteration of the self-serious lifeguard series.  Now Vulture reports that Reno 911! co-creator and star Robert Ben Garant has been lined up to direct the film.

Garant previously directed Reno 911! Miami and Balls of Fury and has forged a successful screenwriting career with fellow Reno 911! cohort Thomas Lennon.  The duo wrote the Night at the Museum films as well as other family fare like Herbie Fully Loaded and The Pacifier (they chronicled their success in the book Writing Movies For Fun And Profit).  Though a Baywatch film in and of itself sounds like a bad idea, I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing a Reno 911! take on the group of lifeguards.  No word on whether Garant would take a stab at the script himself, but I assume he’ll put his own spin on the material.

Over the past few days, we’ve been bringing you excerpts from Steve’s wide-ranging interview with director Shawn Levy. We’ve already shared what he had to say about the Real Steel sequel, Frankenstein, Fantastic Voyage, and Interns, and just yesterday we shared updates on The Ten Best Days of My Life starring Amy Adams and Home Movies, a time supernatural family comedy.

Today we’re bringing you what Levy had to say about Kong, an animated adaptation of the King Kong story being developed at Fox Animation, the visual effects-heavy family comedy Devil You Know (which was written by Parks and Recreation creator Michael Schur), and his adaptation of the popular Fancy Nancy series with Tina Fey.  Hit the jump for more.

The guy who co-wrote the book on writing movies for fun and profit (no, but really) has landed another gig. Robert Ben Garant, who recently released the book Writing Movies for Fun and Profit with his writing partner Thomas Lennon, has signed on to adapt the Japanese graphic novel Tuxedo Gin for Disney. The project’s title will be shortened to Tux and, according to Deadline, will center on a young street fighter who receives a tough lesson in karma upon lapsing into a coma.

As writer/artist Tokihiko Matsuura’s story goes, the fighter’s selfish earthly ways lead to him being reincarnated as a penguin, an obstacle he must overcome if he wishes to return to his less penguin-like state and former flame alike. Garant will executive produce the film alongside Isamu Kamei. In addition to Tux, Garant also has writing credits on titles such as Night at the Museum, Herbie Fully Loaded, Balls of Fury, The Pacifier, and Reno 911!. Recently, he and Garant co-wrote the screenplay for the action/comedy The Machine starring Vin Diesel.

Over the weekend I had the rare privilege of speaking with two of the funniest men in Hollywood, Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. The two have managed to maintain the rarest of comedy careers: they have had tremendous success in writing big studio films (Night At The Museum) while still working with their specific brand of off-beat humor (Reno 911!).

During our extended discussion, we talked about their recent FX pilot Alabama, their massive slate of upcoming films and of course their new screenwriting book Writing Movies For Fun And Profit. We got to talk a lot about many films that haven’t been announced yet so you’re not gonna want to miss this. Continue reading for our full discussion.

If you’re a comedy geek, the names Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant are almost certainly familiar to you.  These are two of the founding members of MTV’s The State, two of the biggest cast members on Comedy Central’s Reno 911, and the guys who wrote a slew of high-grossing (if not critically-adored) comedies like Herbie: Fully Loaded and the Night at The Museum movies.  The guys have had a lot of success in Hollywood over the years, so it makes perfect sense that they might have a few interesting things to say about their experience– not to mention some advice for aspiring screenwriters.  As such, the two have written a book– Writing Movies For Fun and Profit:  How We Made a Billion Dollars at The Box Office and You Can, Too!– and today they sat down with Collider to talk about it.  Read on for the interview, after the jump.

A few days ago we reported FX had ordered a part-scripted/part-improvised science fiction comedy pilot called Alabama from Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant, the screenwriters and creators behind Reno 911! The synopsis was:

“Set a thousand years in the future, the show follows the crew of the space ship USS Alabama as they continue a seven-year mission to maintain interplanetary peace.”

Since the idea sounded awesome, I decided to do a little more digging and managed to land an exclusive interview with Thomas Lennon. During the interview he revealed:

• They only have an order for the pilot
• Call it “Reno 911! meets Battlestar Galactica.” In their mind it’s not really a Star Trek parody
• They’re shooting the pilot either end of September-beginning of October and they want it to feel like Das Boot.
• He said he thinks Natasha Leggero will be on it and a lot of Reno 911! regulars. He also said “I wouldn’t be surprised if the series has a few people from The State.”
• There is a major also overarching plot to the entire series and there’s two twists in the series that have sort of already been designed. Also, they know how it ends no matter how long the series goes.
• “There may be some characters on the show who are puppets. There will certainly be some characters on the show who are cyborgs. So it’s just Reno 911! with a much larger buffet of problems to choose from.”
• Regarding costumes: “No one’s ever going to be in like sort of clean like Starfleet looking stuff. The show is way more like Moss Eisley Spaceport style than like Episodes 1,2, 3.”

So much more after the jump:

Good news for anyone who has been enjoying the hell out of one of my favorite new comedy series: THR reports that FX has ordered a thirteen-episode second season of Louie, the fantastic gritty and vulgar half-hour comedy series from brilliant comedian Louis CK.  Combine that with the love for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, plus a decent amount of success for The League and the animated series Archer, and FX has certainly been rocking the comedy world on television.

It looks like the network is eager to continue that success with their recent order of a pilot called Alabama, a part-scripted/part-improvised science fiction comedy from Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant, the screenwriters and creators behind Reno 911.  Set a thousand years in the future, the show follows the crew of the space ship USS Alabama as they continue a seven-year mission to maintain interplanetary peace.  At the  Television Critics Association’s press tour, FX execs said, “The show will follow the heart-pounding action as our crew visits hostile planets, meets alien life-forms, and tries to have sex with each other in their tiny, metal bunk beds.”  Seems like Star Trek meets Reno 911, and that sounds just fine to me.

A lot of time when you’ve waited anxiously for something for a long period of time, when that special something finally arrives in your greedy little paws, it turns out to be a bit of a disappointment. I was worried that my rose-colored glasses might have the better of me after the decade and a half wait for The State to come out on DVD.  About five minutes into viewing, I realized the worry was for naught – this collection can still make me laugh all these years later.  The nice thing – it will make you laugh too. My review is after the jump: