Before Chris O’Dowd really started making a splash on the movie scene with Bridesmaids and Pirate Radio, I was already a fan of the funnyman from his work in the British TV series The IT Crowd (check it out on Netflix Instant). And with his rising star in Hollywood (he next appears in Judd Apatow’s This is Forty), we’re only going to see more of him on the big screen. But it also sounds like more TV is in store for O’Dowd and with a truly brilliant man of comedy. Apparently mockumentary and satire icon Christopher Guest (the behind films like Best in Show and A Mighty Wind) is working on a new improvised comedy series called Family Tree that would see O’Dowd as a man attempting to track down his real family.

Hit the jump for more.

We’ve got five new clips from the upcoming comedy The Five-Year Engagement to share today.  The film comes from Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller, who co-wrote the screenplay with star Jason Segel, and follows a couple through the ups and downs of their extended engagement.  I loved the first trailer and included the pic in our most recent iteration of the Most Anticipated feature, so I’m quite looking forward to what Stoller and Segel have put together.  If you missed them, you can check out Steve’s set visit coverage including 20 things to know about the film and bunch of on set interviews.  We also just posted 24 images, which you can check out here.

Hit the jump to watch the clips.  The film also stars Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans, David Paymer, Mimi Kennedy, Jacki Weaver, Jim Piddock, Kevin Hart, Brian Posehn, Mindy Kaling. The Five-Year Engagement opens on April 27th.

Universal has released 24 images from director Nicholas Stoller‘s (Get Him to the Greek, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) The Five-Year Engagement.  If you’re not familiar with the film, The Five-Year Engagement “looks at what happens when an engaged couple, Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, keeps getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle.”  The film stars also stars Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans, David Paymer, Mimi Kennedy, Jacki Weaver, Jim Piddock, Kevin Hart, Brian Posehn, Mindy Kaling, and many other familiar faces.  I did a set visit last year and listed twenty things to know about the film.  In addition, here’s a bunch of on set interviews.  Hit the jump for the images and full synopsis.  The Five-Year Engagement opens April 27.

With the 84th Annual Academy Awards nearly one week into our past, I’d be interested in hearing from our readers what the one genuine surprise of the night was for them. For me, it was Meryl Streep’s Best Actress win. Now, don’t get me wrong, Streep is obviously an incredible actress who requires zero justification from a movie blogger. It’s just that, of all the award categories in question, I genuinely expected Viola Davis to win Best Actress. So, if you feel so inclined, sound off in the comments section below about your biggest surprise win/loss of the night. Sarcasm, including “your mom” responses, is encouraged.

In the bag of goodies that is this week’s “Top 5″ you’ll find the new trailer and a ton of new images from The Avengers, a new television spot for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, a Prometheus viral video that reassures my suspicions that Guy Pearce could indeed take over the planet if he wanted to, interviews for The Lorax with Danny Devito, Ed Helms, and more, and all of our coverage from the set of Jason Segel and Emily Blunt‘s The Five-Year Engagement. A brief recap and link to each follows after the jump.

Back in late June, when director Nicholas Stoller’s The Five-Year Engagement was filming in Sonoma, California, I got to visit the set with a few other online reporters.  If you’re not familiar with the film, Five-Year Engagement “looks at what happens when an engaged couple, Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, keeps getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle.”  The film stars also stars Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans, David Paymer, Mimi Kennedy, Jacki Weaver, Jim Piddock, Kevin Hart, Brian Posehn, Mindy Kaling, and many other familiar faces.

During our set visit interview with Jacki Weaver and Jim Piddock (who play Emily Blunt’s parents) they talked about the freedom of being on a set with so much improv, their characters’ relationships with the rest of the cast, Piddock’s character’s revolving door of Asian girlfriends, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to read or listen to the interview

Emily Blunt is trying to find the perfect place to hold her wedding with Jason Segel.  As she walks around a local bed and breakfast in Sonoma, California, she thinks she’s finally found it and starts to talk to the owner about price and dates.  It’s at this point the owner starts to proposition her with some filthy language that I can’t write here.  Startled but determined to use the location, she tries to persevere until he finally crosses the line.  It’s at this point that everyone watching starts to laugh and writer-director Nicholas Stoller (Get Him to the Greek, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) calls cut.

But let me back up a second.

In late June of last year, I got to visit the set of The Five-Year Engagement when the production was filming at the Beltane Ranch in Somona, California.  In the film, the Ranch is going to be a local B&B called the Drunken Pig.  If you’re not familiar with the story, Five-Year Engagement “looks at what happens when an engaged couple, Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, keeps getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle.”  The film stars also stars Chris Pratt, Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans, David Paymer, Mimi Kennedy, Jacki Weaver, Jim Piddock, Kevin Hart, Brian Posehn, Mindy Kaling, and many other familiar faces.  Hit the jump for more.