Judd Apatow‘s past collaborators have exceeded him.  Left to make a movie without his direct oversight, stars Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson have made a film with the influence of Apatow’s past work, but none of his recent weaknesses.  That’s not to say that these actors are only indebted to Apatow or that their comic talent came from working with the successful writer/director/producer.  But they’ve all worked with him in the past, and their latest effort, guided by a script and direction from Rogen and Evan Goldberg, leaves behind comic one-upmanship and endless riffing to provide a balanced comic dynamic that’s able to navigate a loose plot to big laughs.

Two frequent comedy scene-stealers are teaming up to headline a film of their own.  Josh Gad (Love & Other Drugs) and Kevin Hart (Think Like a Man) have been set to star in an untitled buddy comedy for Screen Gems and Miramax, per Deadline.  Hart will play a charismatic guy who provides Best Man services for socially challenged gentlemen that have trouble finding Best Men of their own.  Gad will play a man who seeks out Hart’s services, but he creates an even bigger problem by lying about the names of nine other groomsmen along with his Best Man.  The two then proceed with carrying out the wedding rouse.

Jeremy Garelick, who scripted the film alongside Jay Lavender, will make his directorial debut on the project.  Garelick previously co-wrote the 2006 film The Break Up.  After wowing audiences on Broadway in Book of Mormon, Gad landed his own TV show with NBC’s recently cancelled 1600 Penn.  He’s a consistent comedic talent and should make for a strong pairing with the very sharp Hart, who stars alongside Ice Cube in the upcoming cop comedy Ride Along.

Sequels are already in the works for two upcoming cop comedies.  Buzz is strong for Bridesmaids director Paul Feig’s buddy cop comedy The Heat, and Deadline reports that screenwriter Katie Dippold has been tapped to start working on the script for a follow-up months before the first film even opens.  The pic stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy as a by-the-books FBI agent and a rough-around-the-edges local Boston cop, respectively, who team up to take down a drug lord.  The film’s red-band trailer promises plenty of laughs and great chemistry between Bullock and McCarthy, and the pic’s June 28th release date shows big confidence from 20th Century Fox.  Hit the jump for news of a sequel to Ride Along.

After the first red-band trailer debuted earlier this week, a new green-band trailer for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg‘s This Is the End is now available.  The film definitely looks funny, but I’m wondering how long the premise of celebrity-self-parody can last.  Usually, this kind of performance is a cameo, but This Is the End is all about Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel, and Craig Robinson playing “versions” of themselves.  I’m assuming that as long as the quips and jokes keep coming as quickly as they do in this trailer, then the self-parody won’t wear out its welcome.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Jason Segel, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Martin Starr, and more.  This Is the End opens June 12th. 

The official synopses for a couple of upcoming Universal Pictures films have been released.  Director Peter Cornwell’s (The Haunting in Connecticut) supernatural thriller Mercy is based on the short story of the same name by Stephen King and stars Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead) and Joel Courtney (Super 8) as two young boys who, after moving with their mother to take care of their dying grandmother at a decrepit farmhouse, encounter a dark spirit.  Shirley Knight, Frances O’Connor, Mark Duplass, and Dylan McDermott also star in this Jason Blum-produced (Paranormal Activity) thriller.

Additionally, we’ve got an official synopsis for the action-comedy Ride Along.  Directed by Tim Story (Fantastic Four), the film stars Kevin Hart as a fast-talking aspiring police officer who must team up with his girlfriend’s brother, a hot-tempered cop (Ice Cube), to prove that he’s worthy of being her husband.  The film also stars John Leguizamo, Jay Pharoah, and Laurence Fishbourne and opens on January 17, 2014.  Hit the jump to read the full synopses.

Justin Timberlake’s return to music/world takeover is adding a crucial component: a classic appearance on SNL.  The Saturday Night Live veteran will return to host and act as musical guest on the NBC variety show on March 9th, marking the multi-talented Timberlake’s fifth time as an SNL host.  Timberlake’s appearance on the show always makes for some great comedic moments, and he’s actually netted four Emmy awards from his work on SNL.  In case the hosting duties weren’t enough JT for you, though, it was also announced today that Timberlake will be appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for an entire week, from March 11-15.  Timberlake will both perform and take part in interviews each night, all of this to promote his new album The 20/20 Experience.

Additionally, in case you missed the announcement during last week’s episode, Kevin Hart will be hosting Saturday Night Live on March 2nd with musical guest Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.  Hit the jump to relive a classic Timberlake SNL moment.

A very early debut trailer for director Steve Pink’s (Hot Tub Time Machine) remake of About Last Night has landed online.  The film is a redo of the 1986 Brat Pack romantic comedy of the same name that starred Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Jim Belushi, and Elizabeth Perkins.  This iteration stars Kevin Hart, Regina Hall, Joy Bryant, and Michael Ealy and centers on a couple who start a romantic affair despite their friends’ disapproval.  Save for one use of the word “shit,” I can’t figure out why this qualifies as a “red-band” trailer.  The jokes aren’t exactly solid, and there’s an extended sequence with an unclothed Ealy that’s much more awkward than it is cute or charming.  That said, Hart and Hall have solid comedic chops so hopefully the full film delivers on the laughs.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  About Last Night opens on February 13, 2014.

The first clip and poster for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg‘s directorial debut, the apocalypse comedy This Is the End, has been released online.  It’s perfect timing, as tomorrow may or may not be the end of the world as we know it, so keep in mind that this could be the only piece of footage from This Is the End that your eyes will see before an unholy Mayan apocalypse engulfs us all.  It’d be a shame if the world did end tomorrow, though, because This Is the End looks fantastic.  Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride all play themselves in the aftermath of the apocalypse to hilarious results, with plenty of self-referential comedy to go around.  McBride in particular is excellent in this clip, and if this is any indication of what the full film is like, then This Is the End will be the must-see comedy of next summer.

Hit the jump to watch the clip which features a timely introduction by Rogen and Franco, and to check out the film’s poster and a new image.  The film also stars Jason Segel, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, David Krumholtz, Paul Rudd, Martin Starr, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, and Rihanna.  This Is the End opens on June 14, 2013.

Warner Bros. is reportedly in negotiations to pick up Get Hard, a comedy pitch that would be developed as a star vehicle for funnymen Will Ferrell (Anchorman) and Kevin Hart (The 40 Year Old Virgin). The picture would star Ferrell as a milquetoast but rich investment bank manager who gets wrongly convicted of a crime and sentenced to a maximum security prison. He then hires a street-smart guy (Hart), who normally washes his car, in order to prepare for doing hard time in thirty days. Deadline also reports that the script will be written by Ian Roberts and Jay Martel (Key & Peele). Ferrell is currently busy shooting the sequel Anchorman: The Legend Continues, while Hart is prepping for his next role in Ride Along. 

Check out a slew of new release dates below:

• Zero Dark Thirty, from director Kathryn Bigelow and starring Chris Pratt, Jessica Chastain and Joel Edgerton, will now open in L.A. and New York on December 19th, with a wide release on January 11th, 2013.
• Ride Along, the cop-centered action comedy starring Ice Cube, Kevin Hart and John Leguizamo, will open January 17th, 2014.
• The Guilt Trip, directed by Anne Fletcher and starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogan as mother and son, now avoids Christmas crowds by opening almost a week earlier on December 19th, 2012.
• Stand Up Guys, from director Fisher Stevens and starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin, has been pushed back to February 1st, 2013.
• Getaway, starring Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez and Jon Voight, now opens August 30th, 2013.
• Closed Circuit, the John Crowley thriller starring Rebecca Hall, Eric Bana and Jim Broadbent, now opens August 28th, 2013.

Hit the jump for more on each of these pictures.

With Nate Parker (Red Tails) reportedly exiting Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake due to scheduling conflicts (with Non-Stop, starring Liam Neeson), the director has turned to a familiar collaborator in James Ransone (Sinister).  Oldboy will mark the third time the duo have worked together, following Lee’s Inside Man and Red Hook Summer.   Currently filming, Oldboy also stars Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson and Sharlto Copely.  Variety reports that Ransone will play a doctor who works with Olsen’s character in the remake of Chan-wook Park’s revenge thriller, a story that centers on a man (Brolin) who escapes from a decade of imprisonment and goes in search of his kidnappers.  Ransone can next be seen in Broken City, along with Russell Crowe and Mark Wahlberg.

For news on John Leguizamo (The Lincoln Lawyer) joining Ice Cube and Kevin Hart in the action-comedy, Ride Along, hit the jump.

Ladies and gentlemen! In the blue corner we have the Italian Stallion, Mr. Expendable himself, Sylvester “Rocky” Stallone.  And in the red corner, the Greatest of All Time, the Godfather, the Taxi Driver, the Raging Bull, Robert De Niro!  Warner Bros. has officially greenlit the Peter Segal (Tommy Boy) picture, Grudge Match.  The film follows two retired fighters who put on the gloves for one last bout.  With the most recent draft turned in by Doug Ellin (Entourage), the studio has given this one the go-ahead.  Hit the jump for more on Grudge Match.

We’ve got a few casting stories to share this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Kevin Hart is joining Kevin James in the comedy Valet Guys.
• Alexander Ludwig (The Hunger Games) joins the cast of Grown Ups 2.
• SNL cast member Taran Killam has joined Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender in Twelve Years a Slave.
• Chris Diamantopoulos has been added to Empire State alongside Dwayne Johnson and Liam Hemsworth.

Hit the jump for more on each casting addition.

After surprising us on Friday with its first-place debut, Think Like A Man has surprised again with its estimated $33 million haul from 2,015 locations.  That is the best per-screen average of the week (wide releases) and it nearly doubles expectations for the comedy. In second place, The Lucky One earned a solid $22.8 million and then there’s The Hunger Games… not sick of hearing about that one yet, are you?

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.