Tuesday
03Jun2008
From The Hulk and the Guy Who Brought You 'Knocked Up'?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 at 11:37AM 
Odds are, in your little fantasy studio groups, you didn't draft
Eric Bana for a
Judd Apatow movie. Any Judd Apatow movie. See, that's why Judd Apatow isn't in your fantasty league.
Apatow's next film, which will cover the lives
of stand-up comics, will star
Adam Sandler,
Seth Rogen, and Apatow's wife,
Leslie Mann.
We talked about this movie over the weekend;
Apatow wants it to be a "hilarious drama" as opposed to his earlier efforts.
When you think about it, though, Apatow's movies both have serious sides.
Why Eric Bana, you may ask? Well, before
Hulk and before
Troy - hell, even before
Black Hawk Down and
Chopper - Bana was a comic on Australian
TV. Beginning in the early 90s, Bana performed on a pair of sketch comedy shows,
Full Frontal and Eric. He was, as you might guess, the star of the
second one.
Of course, he hasn't really done much comedy in the past
decade, and thinking about some other comedians who have taken different
journeys - I'm looking at you, Eddie Murphy - I don't know if I'd say it's like
riding a bike. You would hope that with Apatow's skill as a writer, Bana would
be just fine here.
Incidentally,
CHUD reports that he'd be playing the boyfriend
of Leslie Mann, a guy named Clarke, in the film. Bana has been the subject of
speculation before; anyone remember when he was the next James Bond?
He's an exceedingly talented actor, but in a very
naturalistic way. If you've never seen Chopper, do. And it's almost worth
watching Lucky You to see his interaction with Robert Duvall,
particularly the scene in the diner, which is the real highlight of that
incredibly dreary movie.
Reader Comments (2)
I really enjoyed Lucky You, despite the fact he wore that jacket through the entire film ..
Really? Man, that love story drained me. He was good enough in it, but it could've used more Robert Duvall, which the answer to just about anything.