Todd Phillips Working On John Belushi Bio-Pic

Michael Chiklis arrived on the scene with a great performace as John Belushi in Wired. The trouble was, Belushi's friends and families disowned the portrayal of the late comedian and actor in Bob Woodward's book upon which the 1989 bomb was based.

A new version of Belushi's life story is coming from Todd Phillips, according to Very Aware, which says that the Hangover and Old School director is co-writing the script with Steven Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness). As of now, Phillips is not committed to direct, but that might be in the works, as well. Phillips is better known for these broad R-rated comedies now, but his very first film is a documentary about the similarly fated shock rocker G.G. Allin. I'm not comparing them in any other way, but I am saying Phillips can shine a light on a tragic figure if he has to.

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Movie Review - 'MacGruber'

MacGruber Starring Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Val Kilmer Directed by Jorma Taccone Rated R

It began several years ago as a repetitive but usually effective half-minute skit on Saturday Night Live, but there's a big question turning MacGruber into a movie: Each skit ends with a violent explosion, the result of a job not very well done. Where do you go from there? Well, star Will Forte and his character co-writers, John Solomon and the film's director, Jorma Taccone, have found a way. And even though MacGruber probably isn't as funny as you might have heard, at least it's a complete movie. Can't say that for all the SNL flicks. Ten years ago, MacGruber saw his bride-to-be exploded on his wedding day by his arch rival, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer). Presumed dead for a decade as a result of that explosion, MacGruber is tracked down by his old superior (Powers Boothe) when it's believed Von Cunth has obtained a nuclear missile with plans to set it off over an American target. At first, the former operative turns down the job, a reminder of the life he left behind, but the pull of settling an old score is too great. He assembles a team of rogues (all WWE wrestlers)...but that doesn't quite work out. So MacGruber has to rely on unproven Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) and fellow operative Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig), who witnessed the wedding day massacre. Once the stage is set, MacGruber is more or less a series of gags that eventually get to the payoff. Some of them really work, a few don't. Most of the jokes are infantile, and that can get old. In fact, the funniest moments are the ones that don't involve bodily functions. Imagine that. A major change from the TV version of the character is the very hard R rating the movie earns. There's plenty of profanity, vulgarity, and even a little nudity. It doesn't really stand out as shocking, but it's certainly worth noting. But as opposed to a lot of R-rated comedies where ratcheting up the content seems like a way to push the boundaries, this just feels like the way the movie developed.

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'MacGruber' Gets New Quote Poster, Red Band Trailer

When it premiered at SXSW, Macgruber generated really good reactions from the press. It also produced violently bad reactions. But there was almost no middle ground, and I guess you should expect that with a movie like this. The new poster, rather predictably, has not chosen to use the negative press:

Click to Enlarge There's also a new Red Band trailer (Red Band means unrated and probably not safe for work in a lot of cases), and its focus shifts somewhat to highlight Val Kilmer as the evil Dieter Von Cunth. He's been in the background in the previous trailers but there's more Von Cunth now, as well as a broader involvement by Kristen Wiig's character, Vicki St. Elmo. A great name, that. Universal is confident this one will do well, which is why the film moved from April to mid-May; it now goes up against Shrek Forever After and will be in the counterprogramming position. That usually doesn't work in summer, but it's usually not a spin-off of a current TV show, either.

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Betty White Hosting 'Saturday Night Live' on May 8th

While I'm not in love with the idea of bringing a bunch of SNL alums back, I get why they're doing it. The big thing, though, is that Betty White will finally host the show on May 8th. As you probably know, a Facebook campaign was started back in January to promote the 88-year-old legend as an SNL host, but it really took off after her Super Bowl ad for Snickers. Now, after nearly half a million supporters joined the group, White will host the Mother's Day edition of the show.

In fact, the Mother's Day angle is why Lorne Michaels is bringing back Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, and Rachel Dratch. My fear is there just won't be much room for White to contribute, even though she's still slated as the official host of the episode. That idea has been around for a few weeks, as a way to give White a breather, if nothing else. I understand that. I mean, she's nearly 90 and hosting a show like that is a huge mental, physical, and emotional drain, even for someone of White's talent.

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'MacGruber' Now a Summer Movie

Good move by Universal, and I don't say that very often these days. The studio is moving MacGruber from a densely populated April 23rd release date to the more high-stakes but less competitive May 21st weekend.

Aside from having a better chance to find a bigger if not broader audience, in my opinion, this date change signals that the response to the film's trailers have registered with movie fans. They're a lot funnier than I thought they'd be, given the 20-second source material. It also gives da U a pretty potent mid-level collection of films this summer, surprisingly enough. We've got Robin Hood, MacGruber, and Get Him to the Greek between May 14th and June 4th, and July features Despicable Me and The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon, while August finds Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Nanny McPhee. Again, not a bunch of half-billion-dollar movies, but with Robin Hood and Despicable Me as anchors, it's a much stronger crop than last year.

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