With director Todd Phillips’ comedy sequel The Hangover Part III opening this week, I recently sat down with him for an extended interview.  In the final installment to the popular franchise, we find Stu (Helms), Phil (Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha) en route to taking Alan (Galifianakis) to a psychiatric hospital when the gang is side-trekked by a mysterious man (John Goodman) who kidnaps Doug and forces the wolf pack to track down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who stole $21 million from Goodman’s character.  As you might expect, chaos ensues.  For more on the film, watch the red band trailer or check out over forty images.

During the interview, Phillips and screenwriter Craig Mazin talked about his first cut versus the theatrical release, deleted scenes, what can fans expect on the Blu-ray, what it’s like working for Warner Bros. and the creative freedom he’s allowed, the writing process, how the story changed, film versus digital, thoughts on doing a 3D comedy, and more.  In addition, Phillips reveals they’re talking about doing the ultimate Hangover box set which would include new interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and more.  Hit the jump for what they had to say.

The Hangover feels like a franchise created by a studio rather than a storyteller.  The original film was a huge sleeper hit, and Warner Bros. wanted to chase that high.  We get sequels because audiences presumably want more, and the assumption was that we wanted to see more of Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis), a.k.a. “The Wolfpack”.  The Hangover Part II gave audiences more of the same to the point where it felt like a remake rather than a sequel.  Once again, the filmmakers have responded not by really buckling down on a good story, but reacting to the response towards the previous movie.  This time we would get an original story—a Hangover without the hangover.  But The Hangover Part III is a case of being careful what you wish for, and even though sequels are supposed to provide more, Part III somehow gives us less.  The chemistry between the Wolfpack is diminished, the pacing is lethargic, and the humor is sporadic.  The only thing Part III gives us more of is Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) in an attempt to personify the insanity of the previous plots, but who only serves to distract from what should be the franchise’s last hurrah.

With director Todd Phillips’ comedy sequel The Hangover Part III opening this week, I recently participated in a roundtable interview with Ken Jeong.  In the final installment to the popular franchise, we find Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha) en route to taking Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to a psychiatric hospital when the gang is side-trekked by a mysterious man (John Goodman) who kidnaps Doug and forces the wolf pack to track down Mr. Chow (Jeong), who stole $21 million from Goodman’s character.  As you might expect, chaos ensues.  For more on the film, watch the red band trailer or check out over forty images.

During the interview, Jeong talked about Chow’s emotional journey, how the films have been getting darker, doing nude scenes, Chow’s accent, what fans always want to quote back to him, filming in Las Vegas, preparing for his big stunt in Part 3, and a lot more.  In addition, he talked about Community‘s renewal, whether Dan Harmon might return, and how he’d prepared a few tweets in case the show had been cancelled.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

With director Todd Phillips’ comedy sequel The Hangover Part III opening this week, I recently participated in a roundtable interview with Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, and Zach Galifianakis.  In the final installment to the popular franchise, we find Stu (Helms), Phil (Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha) en route to taking Alan (Galifianakis) to a psychiatric hospital when the gang is side-trekked by a mysterious man (John Goodman) who kidnaps Doug and forces the wolf pack to track down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who stole $21 million from Goodman’s character.  As you might expect, chaos ensues.  For more on the film, watch the red band trailer or check out over forty images.

During the interview, Helms, Cooper, and Galifianakis talked about how the first Hangover changed their lives, favorite memories, weirdest moments making the films, the stronger emotional undercurrents that start to form in each film, what it was like on the last day of filming, the amount of creative freedom they have while filming, and so much more.  Hit the jump for what they had to say.

The final film in director Todd Phillips’ comedy trilogy The Hangover is poised to hit theaters soon, and in anticipation of the pic’s release we here at Collider are giving away a number of The Hangover Part III-related items to some lucky fans.  We’ve got T-shirts, giraffe bottle openers, a duffle bag, a large plush giraffe stuff animal, a toiletry bag, and more.  Hit the jump to find out how you can win and to get a look at the swag.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 23rd.

Warner Bros. has released a new red-band trailer for director Todd Phillips’ comedy sequel The Hangover Part III.  The film acts as the trilogy capper to the popular franchise, and finds Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha) en route to taking Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to a psychiatric hospital when the gang is side-trekked by a mysterious man (John Goodman) who kidnaps Doug and forces the wolf pack to track down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who stole $21 million from Goodman’s character.  The first half of this new trailer is a recap of the events from the first two films, and when we finally delve into new footage it kind of feels like we’ve seen the whole movie already.  A highlight of the red-band trailer, though, is the return of Mike Epps as “Black Doug.”

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Jeffrey Tambor, Melissa McCarthy, and Heather Graham.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 23rd.

Warner Bros. has released a bounty of high-resolution images from director Todd Phillips’ upcoming comedy sequel The Hangover Part III.  The film acts as the trilogy capper to the popular franchise, and finds Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha) en route to taking Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to a psychiatric hospital when the gang is side-trekked when a mysterious man (John Goodman) kidnaps Doug and forces the wolf pack to track down Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), who stole $21 million from Goodman’s character.  These images tease the chaos that ensues, including the return of a more grown-up Carlos and stripper Jade (Heather Graham).

Hit the jump to check out all of the images, and if you missed our set visit coverage click here.  The film also stars Jeffrey Tambor, Melissa McCarthy, and Mike Epps.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 23rd.

The box office showdown between The Hangover Part III and Fast & Furious 6 has been altered slightly.  While many were wondering if either Warner Bros. or Universal would move off the May 24th release date to prevent a split opening weekend between two major franchises, it appears that WB has blinked—but just barely.  The studio has moved up the release of director Todd Phillips’ trilogy-closer one day, to May 23rd, giving The Hangover Part III a day in theaters alone before Justin Lin’s Fast & Furious 6 swoops in.

If we compare the opening weekends of the film franchise’s two previous installments, Fast Five just barely has the edge with $86 million vs. The Hangover Part II’s $85 million.  However, the last Hangover film suffered mixed reviews and a tepid response from audiences, while Fast Five was greeted with open arms, going on to rake in over $600 million worldwide.  It would appear that Fast & Furious 6 has the jump on winning the weekend, but it will definitely be close.  What about you, dear readers?  Which film will you be seeing the weekend of May 24th?  Hit the jump to watch the latest trailers for both films.

The Wolfpack is headed back to Vegas in Todd Phillips’ conclusion of The Hangover trilogy, The Hangover Part III.  This new TV spot hints at just some of the trouble the guys get up to in Sin City while featuring looks at returning co-star Heather Graham and the new  big baddy played by John Goodman.  There’s also a new poster which features one of Alan’s animal sidekicks.

Starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong and Justin Bartha, The Hangover Part III opens May 24th.  If you missed any coverage from our set visit, you can get caught up on interviews with Cooper, Helms, Jeong, Galifianakis, Phillips and screenwriter Craig Mazin here.  Hit the jump to watch the new TV spot and see the new poster.

Heather Graham takes on an unforgettable role in Ramin Bahrani’s drama, At Any Price, as Meredith Crown, the town beauty who never managed to get out of town.  Set in the American heartland amidst the competitive world of modern agriculture, the film chronicles the complexity and corruption of the American Dream and what happens when ambitious Iowa farmer Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) and his rebellious son Dean (Zac Efron) face an unexpected crisis that threatens the family’s entire livelihood.

At the film’s recent press day, Graham talked about preparing for the role, her thoughts on the moral ambiguity of the characters, the directing process with Bahrani, working with Efron and why she admired his relationship with his fans, what she learned about GMOs and how it may have turned her into a vegetarian, and why she enjoyed shooting on location in Indiana.  She also discussed reuniting with the guys on The Hangover Part III,  her new screenplay, Half Magic, which she hopes to direct, and her upcoming role on Season 7 of Showtime’s Californication playing a woman from Hank’s past who comes back to haunt him.  Hit the jump to read more:

Last weekend I finally had the chance to check out director Rodney Ascher‘s The Shining analysis doc Room 237 on Xbox Live. The film garnered a rave review from Matt when he screened it at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and for the most part I share his enthusiasm for the pic.  On one hand, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen and I admire it for that exact reason. The extensive scenic analysis Room 237 employs, the hypnotic score, and its refusal to show the faces of those presenting their theories makes it an absolutely captivating ride that never lets you come up for air. On the other hand, I now have to live the rest of my life looking for Stanley Kubrick‘s airbrushed face in the clouds during The Shining‘s opening scene. And when/if I ever find it, what am I supposed to do with that information? Sigh.

I could go on about the film’s individual parts, but suffice to say that I consider it required viewing for anyone with even a fleeting interest in film analysis, Kubrick, and/or The Shining. And with that I’ll move on to the reason we’re all here. In this week’s Top 5 you’ll have the pleasure of checking out a stellar new trailer and a slew of other assets from Man of Steel, our set visit recap for The Hangover Part III, the first trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, more set visit goodness for Now You See Me, and all of our CinemaCon 2013 coverage. The “Continue Reading” button below is your ticket to a brief recap and link to each of the above.

Just before Thanksgiving of last year, I took a little trip to Tijuana. Then things got a little fuzzy. I came to in a flophouse in the middle of nowhere and found myself with a front row seat to an out-of-control cock fight.  Blanket-draped chicken crates were stacked all around the seedy hotel room, which was quiet until Alan crashed into them … then all Hell broke loose.  Roosters took flight in the confined space and attacked anything they could get their talons on.  Unfortunately, that happened to be Phil and Stu’s faces.  Then, to make matters worse, Mr. Chow busted in and started firing a gun at the flying menaces, narrowly missing his friends.  After his clip ran out, director Todd Phillips yelled, “Cut! Reset!” and the cast and crew broke into laughter.

Rather than take to the dangerous streets of Tijuana itself (where someone might kidnap poor Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper), this particular scene of The Hangover Part III was staged on a Warner Bros. studio set.  The safety of the location certainly didn’t negatively impact the crazy performances of Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Ken Jeong at all.  Roosters and bullets were definitely flying, though not all of them were real.  The excitement on set from everyone involved in the trilogy’s concluding chapter was, however, quite genuine.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24th; you can watch the most recent trailer here.  I’ll have set visit interviews with the cast, writer and director coming up, but hit the jump for 45 things to know about the upcoming film.

Before he earned himself an Oscar nomination, Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) got attacked by a chicken in a Tijuana flophouse.  Luckily, the chicken wasn’t real and neither was the seedy motel; they were part of the set for Warner Bros.’ film, The Hangover Part III.  Cooper was kind enough to join our group of visiting journalists for a roundtable interview in which he talked about the evolving relationships between members of the Wolfpack, filming the final installment in The Hangover trilogy, going back to Vegas, his experience with Oscar buzz and being People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man of the Year.”

The film also stars Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Mike Epps and Jeffrey Tambor.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24th and, if you haven’t seen it, you can check out the recently-released trailer here.  Hit the jump for our full interview with Cooper.

When first we met Zach Galifianakis on the set of Warner Bros.’ The Hangover Part III, he was crashing into a stack of crates and sending cockfighting roosters into a tizzy.   After he cleaned himself up, Galifianakis treated us to a roundtable interview in which he talked about his character Alan’s central arc in the film, revisiting Alan’s family, the ever-changing relationships within the Wolfpack, Alan’s sense of fashion and his penchant for animal sidekicks.

The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Mike Epps and Jeffrey Tambor.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24th and, if you haven’t seen it, you can check out the recently-released trailer here.  Hit the jump for our full interview with Galifianakis.

Around Thanksgiving of last year, a group of journalists was invited to the set of Warner Bros.’ The Hangover Part III, writer/director Todd Phillips’ conclusion to The Hangover trilogy.  During our roundtable interviews, Phillips talked about the darker but more realistic tone of the final chapter and how it focuses on Alan (Zach Galifianakis).  There are still plenty of laughs to be found, but Phillips stressed that Part III is more about the resolution of these characters and their emotional baggage rather than the hook of a forgotten night of partying.

The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, John Goodman, Mike Epps and Jeffrey Tambor.  The Hangover Part III opens on May 24th and, if you haven’t seen it, you can check out the recently-released trailer here.  Hit the jump for the full interview with Phillips.