Much to the surprise and joy of every Arrested Development fan, the Emmy Award-winning comedy series following the wildly eccentric and entertainingly dysfunctional Bluth family is back with 15 new episodes debuting on Netflix on May 26^th.  After having seen the first episode, I can say that the show is as twisted and funny as ever, and feels like it hasn’t missed a beat in the seven years since the last episode aired.  From creator/writer Mitch Hurwitz, the series stars Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor and Jessica Walter.

During a recent press conference to promote the 15 new episodes, co-stars Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cross, Portia de Rossi, Alia Shawkat and Jessica Walter talked about how great it’s been to reunite with each other, the possibility of a movie still being made, what it was like to return to these roles after so many years, how often fans throw quotes at them when they’re out, how complicated the episodes were to shoot, and just how many scenes the Bluth family is in together.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

The first clip from the new batch of Arrested Development episodes has landed online, and it appears that the relationship between Tony Hale’s Buster and Jessica Walter’s Lucille hasn’t changed a bit.  The clip provides a tiny hint as to what Lucille has been up to since the events of the season three finale, but mainly it just showcases the series’ wonderful sense of humor that’s been sorely missing from our lives for far too long.  Additionally, Netflix has released a new batch of character posters for the new episodes that features the entire cast along with some rather familiar taglines.

Hit the jump to check out the clip and posters, and if you missed the EW covers and new images from yesterday, click here.  Netflix will release all 15 new episodes of Arrested Development at once on May 26th.

YouTube has announced the first-ever Comedy Week, set to take place May 19-25.  YouTube has recruited an impressive roster of outside talent, including Vince Vaughn, Rainn Wilson, Sarah Silverman, Michael, The Lonely Island, Seth Rogen, Tim and Eric, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Norm Macdonald, and Craig Robinson.  The week also has room for YouTube mainstays like Ryan Higa, Smosh, Epic Meal Time, Rhett & Link, and Epic Rap Battles of History.

The event kicks off with a live variety show on May 19, followed by “a week of dedicated programming that includes live performances, new episodes from popular YouTube comedy channels, curated top ten lists from comedy stars and more.”  Hit the jump for the press release with all the details and the full list of participating talent.

New episodes of Arrested Development are now just a month away (so close yet so far!), and in anticipation of the Bluths’ return, the show’s cast graces the covers of this week’s Entertainment Weekly.  We get a peek at everyone’s favorite dysfunctional family back together again, as three separate covers feature Gob, Michael and George Michael, Tobias, Lindsay and Maeby, and George Sr. and and Lucille respectively.  The publication has also released two new images from the upcoming batch of episodes, which show Tony Hale’s Buster returning to Army and Michael Cera’s George Michael getting his Segway on at what looks to be a college campus.

Hit the jump to check out the new images and EW covers.  15 new episodes of Arrested Development will be released at the same time on Netflix on May 26th.

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 first trailer and poster for writer/director/star Mark Webber’s drama The End of Love have been released online.  It’s curious timing, as the film first premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival nearly a year ago, and the 2013 Sundance Film Festival gets underway later this week.  Webber stars in the film as a struggling actor and widower who must confront the real-life consequences that his choices have on his two-year-old son.  Scott Pilgrim vs. The World fans will be happy to see some of Webber’s co-stars pop up here like Michael Cera and Aubrey Plaza, but the central focus looks to be on an intimate and rather emotional father-son drama.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster, and click here to read Matt’s review of the film.  The pic also stars Isaac Love, Shannyn Sossamon, and Amanda Seyfried.  The End of Love will be available VOD on iTunes on January 21st, and hits theaters in limited release on March 1st.

Netflix has released two new images from the upcoming season of Arrested Development.  I’ve been re-watching the show, and it’s strange to see how much Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat have grown up.  You can get a sense of that from the new image of George Michael (Cera) driving the stair car.  At his age, he should definitely be aware that he’s going to have hop-ons.  Speaking of the ages of Cera and Shawkat, I’m intrigued at how creator and showrunner Mitch Hurwitz plans to do their individual episodes.  A couple days ago, we reported that the new season picks up immediately after season 3 ended, but I don’t see how that will work with George Michael and Maeby (Shawkat).

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Arrested Development returns in May.  Click here to read our interview with Hurwitz.

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.

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival recently announced some new additions to their screening line-up, so we put together some images from the following films:

• Magic Magic – Written and directed by Sebastian Silva and starring Michael Cera, Juno Temple, Emily Browning, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Augustín Silva.
• Muscle Shoals – A musical documentary from Greg “Freddy” Camalier, featuring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others.
• El Mariachi (1993) – Directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Rodriguez and Carlos Gallardo, El Mariachi stars Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Jaime De Hoyos, Peter Marquardt and Reinol Martinez.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.  The 2013 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 17 – 27th.

I fully appreciate the irony of this sentence, but the fourth season of Arrested Development has paused production on the revived series’ new episodes. Though Netflix had originally ordered a ten-episode run for the comedy, creator Mitch Hurwitz ended up shooting additional footage and dreaming up enough material for more scenes and storylines. Deadline reports that Netflix agreed to expand the order to somewhere between 12 and 15 total episodes. Production has paused to allow Hurwitz to review the footage that’s already been shot and work the new arcs into the season. It will also take some time to wrangle the actors for the additional shoots, so plans are for production to start up again in late January. This should still allow time for the show’s debut in April, when Netflix plans to make all of the episodes available at once.

Production is currently underway on a new batch of episodes of the brilliant comedy series Arrested Development, and while they won’t debut on Netflix until 2013, an official image of the reunited cast has landed online to assure fans that this is really, truly happening.  Entertainment Weekly gathered the actors together as part of their upcoming “Reunions” issue, and images of the whole cast decked out in some super fancy attire will have you yearning for those new episodes now more than ever.

Hit the jump to check out the images of Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, Jeffrey Tambor, Alia Shawkat, Michael Cera, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, and David Cross all back together again.  The new episodes of Arrested Development will debut on Netflix sometime in Spring 2013.

When you drive around in stairs, you’re gonna get some walk-ons.  Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz is now giving fans the chance to literally win a walk-on role on the revived series with a new contest.  Netflix, which thankfully rescued the series and will be the home to its fourth season, is offering six walk-on opportunities to creative fans who submit their original Arrested Development-related artwork by October 16th! I think I just blue myself… Hit the jump for details on how you can enter the contest, along with a message from Hurwitz and star, Michael Cera.

It looks like the Bluth family is still going to need a lawyer, as Henry Winkler is set to return to Arrested Development in the revived series which will appear on Netflix.  The movie rental company went a long way to restore good will with the public when they picked up the cult favorite for what will be the fourth season with at least ten new episodes.  Perhaps they had some legal counsel from Barry Zuckerkorn (Winkler) on how best to handle their previous faux pas.  No word yet on if Bob Loblaw (Scott Baio) will lob any law bombs.  Hit the jump for a quote from Winkler on rejoining Arrested Development. 

All news regarding Arrested Development‘s fourth season is good news, but some is just great.  Though the initial plan was for the new season to run for ten episodes (each of which would focus on a major character), series star David Cross has recently revealed that it’s looking more like thirteen.

The series has never lost momentum or its cult following – in fact, if anything, it’s become even more popular post-cancellation than during its initial run on Fox.  It’s hard to believe that nearly a decade has past since the series first aired, but that doesn’t seem to have any bearing on the quality of the production nor on the excitement of the cast involved.  For more on what David Cross has said about the upcoming season and being a never-nude, plus some photos that the series’ narrator and executive producer Ron Howard recently shared on Twitter, hit the jump.

Now that we know the Netflix-backed Arrested Development project is not just a trick (illusion, illusion!) but actually confirmed, there are finally a few answers to the question of what we can expect from it.  According to Ron Howard, who acts as the show’s narrator, the new season will include some new characters.

There’s been plenty of hype building up thanks to the show’s stars keeping fans on the hook with photos from the set, including Tobias (David Cross) in a sheet and George Michael (Michael Cera) on a segway.  And despite what Howard called a “hell of a hiatus,” he has also reassured fans that the show’s quality is still top-notch (as if those photos suggested anything otherwise). For more on what Howard said of the upcoming season, hit the jump.