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The Cell
Thu May 5 11:30P on USA Network
Clay Pigeons
Sun May 1 03:00A on Bravo
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Replay from Thursday, April 28.
Thu May 5 11:00P on the Oxygen Channel
Starsky & Hutch
Sat Apr 30 05:25P on HBO Zone
Sun May 1 12:50A on HBO Zone
Sun May 1 03:00P
Sun May 1 11:00P
Wed May 4 10:15A
Wed May 4 09:00P
on HBO
See Vince Vaughn on Vh1.com墜 Grade A! Vh1.com presents an online feature that allows fans to vote for their favorite musicians, TV shows, and movies in a cool new interactive way. If you claim to be a fan of Vince Vaughn you must check out the site and keep voting! You decide, Vote for the Best and Cut the Rest.
Each week new movie, show, and music clips get added to Vh1.com for fans to vote for their favorites. At the end of the week the votes are tallied and the losers get cut! Don墜 let Vince get voted off!
On June 6th, the Swingers 2-Disc Special Edition will be available in Region 2 (UK).
This website has an annoyingly wishy-washy synopsis of the movie, but lists features that will be included on the DVD:
The disc will feature an 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. Extra features are to include;
Audio commentary from Doug Liman and editor, Stepen Mirrione
Audio commentary from Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau
Making It Hollywood, 4 featurettes covering the writers, the making of Swingers, Swingers culture and life after Swingers
Outtakes
Deleted scenes
This was cute...excerpt from USA Today article where Scott Bowles and Susan Wloszczyna ponder 10 burning questions at the movies this summer:
8. Can Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn cut it as an odd couple?
Save for a few flings with Jackie Chan, laid-back Wilson has been going steady onscreen with uptight Ben Stiller for quite a while. Seven films, in fact. But every relationship needs a breather.
Enter director David Dobkin, who decided to play matchmaker while editing Wilson's Shanghai Knights. "I thought about Vince's fast Chicago delivery paired with Owen's slow Texas drawl. A dark tall guy with a fair-haired guy. It's a chemistry thing."
The script for The Wedding Crashers (July 15), about divorce lawyers who crash weddings so they can score with the bridesmaids, seemed perfect.
Lawrence J. Epstein, author of a history of comedy teams titled Mixed Nuts, says, "If it turns out Wilson is the romantic and Vaughn is the cynic, that would be the perfect conflict model." Bingo. Wilson falls for bridesmaid Rachel McAdams (The Notebook) while Vaughn itches to drop her lovestruck sister.
This was taken tonight at Genre Collection's Fashion Technology charity project, Through the Eyes Of... at the Spider Club. That's Vince's pal, Drea DeMatteo standing with him. Photo: WireImage
"STEVEN TYLER, DURAN DURAN, STEVE JONES, DAVE MEYERS, QUEEN LATIFAH, VANESSA CARLTON, ALICE COOPER and others design for the first Fashion Technology charity project, THROUGH THE EYES OF...
LOS ANGELES, CA - The ultra hip and celebrity favorite Genre Collection presents Through The Eyes Of... the first ever fashion technology installation debuting one-of-a-kind Hip Tunes technology accessories benefiting various charities. Artists from all genres have come together to co-design HipTunes, wallet/case belts for the Apple and HP iPods, with fashion designer Shanna Israel of Genre Collection. The HipTunes case is the only mp3 accessory of it kind on the market allowing the consumer to fashionably hold their mp 3 player along with a wallet that holds all of their necessities hands free!
Each creation for this project is a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art that will be auctioned of on Ebay starting April 28th, 2005 and will run through May 28th, 2005. On Thursday, April 27th Genre Collection will be unveiling these celebrity designed HipTunes belts at an exclusive event at The Spider Club in Los Angeles. MAC Cosmetics will be creating artistic designs on the bodies of the models wearing the belts. Proceeds from the auction will be donated to VH1 Save the Music, The Lancelot H. Owens Scholarship Foundation, St. Judes Research Hospital, Hollygrove Children and Family Services, Sabrina Love Foundation and the Wes Wehmiller Scholarship.
Artists were selected by Shanna Israel because they all are legends and artistic leaders in their own right. Each belt was created as a tribute piece, highlighting personal themes or people that are significant to them. ¨Everyone who I teamed up with to create these unique pieces was not only donating their name but their time, their creativity and their personal memorabilia. Each design is truly a work of art. I am grateful that so many different artists came together to raise money for such meaningful causesÆ, says Israel. Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Dave Meyers (renowned video producer), Vanessa Carlton, Duran Duran, Alice Cooper, Queen Latifah and Jeremy Sisto (Actor) have all supported the project by co-designing a piece.
Genre Collection is a brand of accessories that defines the perfect fusion between function and fashion. ¨Hip TunesÆ is the newest style from Genre Collection that is a multi functional and hands free case that can hold Apple iPod and HP iPods. ¨Technology is the new fashion ± we are here to enhance the technology revolution by fusing fashion, technology and pop-cultureÆ Says Israel.
The one-of-a-kind pieces will open for auction on Ebay beginning April 28th, 2005."
So what I want to know is, did Vince design one of the cases or is he just there for the party?
Don't forget to watch The Ellen DeGeneres Show tomorrow on NBC. You won't be disappointed. ;) Check local listings for times.
P.S. The updated video preview is up on Ellen's site now.
Vince was recently honored at Lake Forest High School's Alumni Hall of Fame. You can check out the photos here. Thanks, Brooks for passing along this great link!
Go buy Entertainment Weekly's Summer Movie Preview Issue!
Photos by Gavin Bond
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Brooks found this great quote from Vince on InStyle.com:
InStyle asks: If you could change anything about your appearance, what would it be?
Vince Vaughn: "Where do I start? No墜菇ou've just got to shake hands with who you are and move on. That's life."
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Thursday, April 28 on NBC - check local listings for times.
Made
Wed Apr 27 08:00A on Comedy Central
Starsky & Hutch
Sat Apr 23 08:00P
Sun Apr 24 04:40A
Mon Apr 25 01:30P
Mon Apr 25 10:00P
on HBO
Swingers
Sat Apr 23 09:35P
Sun Apr 24 02:35A
Sun Apr 24 06:15P
on IFC
Posted Apr 22, 2005, 11:00 AM ET by Bob Sassone
Found here.
Swingers is one of my all-time favorite movies. I can practically perform the entire movie myself, I've seen it so many times. Vince Vaughn is one of those guys you'd watch in anything.㋒Even if the movie is bad, he's probably still pretty good in it. The Wedding Crashers has a funny premise: two single guys who crash weddings trying to find women.㋒Weddings are something we all understand and put up with, so it's really ripe for a clever comedy.
But the trailer is...unconvincing. Why do the trailers of comedy movies always push the obvious, more broad jokes? I know, to get attention and laughs. But you can't tell what this flick is going to be like: another dumb comedy or a well-written romp.㋒It's Vaughn and Owen Wilson (you knew that was coming; these movies are either Vaughn and Stiller or Stiller and Wilson or some combo) with all these women,㋒trying to score by㋒dancing with little girls at the receptions and pretending to cry. But one㋒woman takes everything too seriously and falls in love with Vaughn, leading to wacky hijinks. I'd love to think this is going to be really funny, but it's all in the writing,㋒of course. Christopher Walken could liven things up.㋒Funny line from Vaughn: "Tattoo on her lower㋒back. Might as well be a bullseye."
Found here.
Check out the latest updates on the Wedding Crashers official website. And there's still more to come!
Andrea left a comment on the site to inform y'all that Vince and Owen will be promoting Weding Crashers on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Thursday, April 28. Yay!
This means it will be taping on April 27. Now, who's got connections and can get me a ticket? I know there's someone out there who can help. Pretty please? :)
Thanks to Tricia for telling me about this video interview on ET Online. And she also found this one from Extra. The second one was shot last year, but I'm not sure when the first one was taped. Have I said just how excited I am about this movie? Can't wait.
Thanks so much, Tricia!
Also, here's the accompanying article from the ET page:
Owen & Vince: 'Wedding Crashers'!
April 1, 2005
Funnymen VINCE VAUGHN and OWEN WILSON are crashing the wedding scene this summer in search of chicks in 'Wedding Crashers' -- and ET has your exclusive sneak peek at the outrageous comedy!
"We're two guys that, like the title would suggest, are wedding crashers; we go to weddings to pick up girls," Owen tells ET.
"I was excited to do the project because the script was actually based on a Swedish fable; a short story," jokes Vince, "and one that I always read as a child."
"HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN," adds Owen. "Yeah, it was right after The Nutcracker that he did 'The Wedding Crashers.'"
In the movie, opening nationwide July 22, Owen and Vince play a pair of lifelong friends who work as divorce mediators. Guided by a secret set of wedding crasher rules, the two have never met a celebration they couldn't get themselves into. Each weekend they crash a new wedding, regardless of its culture, and find their way into a different bridesmaid's heart.
"We, like, change our last names if we're going to an Indian wedding; all of a sudden [Vince is] Chuck Vindaloo," says Owen.
"There's a whole bunch of rules, and the very last rule is that there are no rules," explains Vince.
"Yes," Owen chimes in, "and you don't talk about the rules."
"That's the first rule of 'Fight Club,' and oddly it's the fourth rule of 'Wedding Crashers,'" says a deadpan Vince. "So if you didn't read all the rules, you might give a few of them away."
Life is going great for the happy-go-lucky pair until they crash the social event of the season, hosted by an influential politician (CHRISTOPHER WALKEN). Suddenly, the two realize they're in over their heads, and their friendship is tested when Owen falls for Walken's engaged daughter ('Mean Girls' star RACHEL McADAMS) -- and decides to break the rules in pursuit of her.
"I would want a traditional wedding where I'd ask the girl's father, 'Can I marry her?' and do that sort of thing," says Owen about his own dream wedding.
"I would probably want, maybe, an Eastern Bloc wedding if I was to have one," jokes Vince, "where people wouldn't show any emotion and the food wasn't great."
Watch ET for more with Vince and Owen!
From this week's Entertainment Weekly:
THE WEDDING CRASHERS "If every wedding were as fun as this, there'd be far less crying in the bathroom. I'm just saying." A -Mark Bernardin
That's great.
I've been working on updating the photo gallery and should have lots of photos added in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, here's a cool picture of Vince and Craig Kilborn, taken at the opening reception of Ione Skye's exhibit at Media Rare Gallery. July 20, 2001. Photo by Brad Elterman.
Just for laughs, I did a Googlism* for "Vince Vaughn."
Here are the results:
vince vaughn is names one of the year's ten sexiest men in
vince vaughn is a little bit country in us magazine march 1997
vince vaughn is stalking me?
vince vaughn is like an underdog
vince vaughn is following a career path closer to brad pitt than tom cruise
vince vaughn is one of my favorite actors of recent years
vince vaughn is tagged as one of hollywood's swingers
vince vaughn is gorgeous and i'm clearly not seeing enough of him
vince vaughn is really an amazing actor
vince vaughn is on the cover of this month premiere
vince vaughn is a really good actor in 'the cell
vince vaughn is hollywood's closest
vince vaughn is not and never has been so money
vince vaughn is like six feet something of pure marinated man kebab
vince vaughn is at the tippity top of the coveted emily blunt 'smitten with' list
vince vaughn is hilariously annoying
vince vaughn is totally annoying
vince vaughn is not really a psycho
vince vaughn is doing now
vince vaughn is filming his next movie " the cell " with jennifer lopez source
vince vaughn is a washout
vince vaughn is well known for his smooth talking characters and his energetic performances
vince vaughn is recruited by sexy julia ormond to
vince vaughn is recruited by sexy julia ormond to join a
vince vaughn is money
vince vaughn is a psychopathic killer
vince vaughn is a lawyer raising a 5 year old after the mom has just skipped out on them for no reason
vince vaughn is maced
vince vaughn is terribly miscast
vince vaughn is more charsmatic and john travolta
vince vaughn is in my opinion the creepiest guy on film today
vince vaughn is not anthony perkins
vince vaughn is the star of the movie
vince vaughn is also back as an actor/co
vince vaughn is stalking me? i can't drunk
vince vaughn is one of the most talented young actors working in films today
vince vaughn is good in everything he's been involved in
vince vaughn is an fbi agent on the trail of a bizarre serial killer
vince vaughn is a genius fbi lawyer spy or whatever
vince vaughn is lester
vince vaughn is taking his celebrity in stride
vince vaughn is the handsome star of films like psycho
vince vaughn is usually good for a couple laughs
vince vaughn is ricky
vince vaughn is that guy
vince vaughn is someone else i have no faith in
vince vaughn is another unfamiliar face in the snl hosting world
vince vaughn is moving forward
vince vaughn is miscast as norman bates
vince vaughn is fantastic as trent walker
vince vaughn is tall
vince vaughn is too charismatic to be truly
vince vaughn is well cast in the dr
vince vaughn is standing on the table at the pancake house
vince vaughn is driving to pick up the guy at the motel with the kid in the back
vince vaughn is just fantastic on screen and has great comic timing
vince vaughn is
vince vaughn is the fbi agent who
vince vaughn is the best and sexiest actor of all time
vince vaughn is a great actor
vince vaughn is an extraordinary actor and
vince vaughn is no way trying to portray anthony perkins as he made the character unique
vince vaughn is particularly good as novak; theresa chilling scene in which he describes the circumstances that forced him to quit his job as a prosecutor
vince vaughn is at his best
vince vaughn is superbly cast as the malevolent rick
vince vaughn is so tall
vince vaughn is popular with the young professional setthese are the people who have grown up with him since ｨswingersﾆand they all have
vince vaughn is like one of those guys that were really popular in high school
vince vaughn is no ordinary fbi agent
vince vaughn is a cheating seller
vince vaughn is perfectly sleazy as a man who threatens his stepson while pretending hesa caring stepparent and stellar citizen
vince vaughn is an almost exact carbon copy of trent
vince vaughn is pretty good
vince vaughn is professional
vince vaughn is in development
vince vaughn is one piece of ase"
*Googlism.com will find out what Google.com thinks of you, your friends or anything!
Parent, Stuber moving to prod'n deal
By Borys Kit
Found here.
Mary Parent and Scott Stuber, Universal Pictures vice chairmen of worldwide production, will step down by year's end to jointly segue into an exclusive, five-year producing deal with the studio.
To facilitate an orderly transition, executive vp production Donna Langley has been promoted to president of production, effective immediately.
When Parent and Stuber were promoted in December 2003, they entered into a seven-year contract under which they agreed to serve in executive roles for the first two years before becoming producers at Universal for the remaining five. That agreement was not publicly disclosed at the time, said Universal Pictures chairman Stacey Snider, because it would have rendered the two execs lame ducks.
"It would not have been at the studio's best interest to talk about segueing into a producer deal," Snider said. "It would have rendered their time as (executives) unstable and difficult. ... People would have thought, 'Why should we deal with them? They're just going to be producing.' "
Instead, Snider said that the two executives oversaw a two-year game plan that allowed them to achieve a number of goals, chief among them shepherding the studio's 2005 release slate through production and lining up projects that are just beginning to go before cameras for release next year.
"It was a time to lock up the slate for '05 and '06," Snider said. "It was a time to secure the team and train Donna and groom her for the promotion she is getting today. And it was a time to leave room in the backend for transition."
Although the two execs now face a prolonged transition period of more than six months, Parent said: "You can't make an announcement like this and be out the door two weeks later. We're all inexorably linked. The five years begin in January, and so in order for us to do that, we need to announce it now, and by the time we walk out the door, no one will notice."
While observers of the studio's culture maintain that Parent and Stuber have chaffed under financial micromanagement by General Electric, which bought the company and merged it with NBC in the fall of 2003, they denied that was an issue.
Two years ago, when they made a long-term commitment to Universal, Parent said, "We knew exactly who we were signing up to."
"What's great about it is we've got the infrastructure with our company, with Ron (Meyer, Universal Studios president) and Stacey, and then Bob (Wright, NBC Universal chairman) and Jeff (Zucker, NBC Universal president) and what they do vis-a-vis GE and NBC, and they've been nothing but terrific in our minds."
Parent and Stuber have just begun discussing which, if any, existing Universal projects they might take with them to their new company, which does not yet have a name."What I expect from them is to be in production in the first year and be productive from the get-go," Snider said. "So we'll figure out how we'll get them going. It's not the kind of deal where two years from now you're going to be saying, 'Hey, when are we going to get a movie from Stuber and Parent?' They are going to be big suppliers and in production the first year."
Parent and Stuber both joined Universal in 1997. Parent came from New Line Cinema, and Stuber worked at Donner/Shuler-Donner Prods.
The longtime friends first worked under then-president of production Marc Platt and Snider, who at the time was co-president of production.
Snider became head of the studio in 1998 and, after the departure of Kevin Misher as head of production in 2001, Parent and Stuber were named presidents of production.
The duo played a role in shepherding such hits as "The Fast and the Furious," "A Beautiful Mind," "Meet the Parents," "The Bourne Identity," "Bruce Almighty," "Bring It On" and "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas." They supervised more than 90 films, 21 of which made more than $100 million apiece at the boxoffice.
They also were involved in assembling the upcoming release schedule, which includes "Cinderella Man," "Doom," "The 40 Year-Old Virgin," "Serenity," "Jarhead," "King Kong" and Steven Spielberg's untitled 1972 Olympics movie.
Langley joined Universal in 2001 as senior vp production after seven years at New Line. She was named exec vp in October 2003 and was involved in the development of "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and "In Good Company." She is currently the executive in charge of Spike Lee's "Inside Man"; "Prime," starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep; and "You Me and Dupree," starring Owen Wilson.
"We put her in this position to ascend to this job, and she is more than willing and more than capable," Stuber said. "She will be, frankly, terrific at it."
Snider said that she was pleased Parent and Stuber will remain within the Universal fold.
"Oh, my God, we have been through so much together, and it just makes for really deep bonds and genuine affection," she said. "I'm happy for them and proud of them."
Universal Pictures Vice Chairmen of Worldwide Production Mary Parent and Scott Stuber Transition Into Exclusive Producing Deal
Found here
LOS ANGELES, April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Pictures Chairman Stacey Snider announced today that Vice Chairmen, Worldwide Production, Mary Parent and Scott Stuber will transition into their five-year exclusive producing agreement with the studio. In 2003 when Stuber and Parent were promoted they signed a seven-year agreement with the studio, the first two of which they would serve as Vice Chairmen, Worldwide Production, and the balance as producers on the lot. Also announced today, Universal Pictures Executive Vice President of Production, Donna Langley will become the President of Production, reporting to Snider. Langley's promotion is effective immediately and Stuber and Parent's transition to producing will occur at the end of 2005, when the executive portion of their contract finishes.
The addition of Stuber and Parent to Universal's roster of production companies provides the studio with another respected and reliable feature film supplier for its annual slate. "After eight-years of overseeing the development and production of what are arguably Universal's biggest hits and franchises, we are ecstatic to have Mary and Scott's vast talents transferred to producing films for the studio as one of its ongoing major suppliers," said Snider. "Our belief in Scott and Mary has always been so great that two years ago when we discussed their future with the studio, we happily made this long- term agreement as we wanted to be the beneficiaries of their productivity and talents in any capacity. One of the key ways companies can continue to grow, evolve and embrace the future is by working to fulfill the dreams of those that have served it with exceptional results -- and Mary and Scott have clearly done just that."
In regards to new President of Production, Donna Langley, Snider added, "Donna is a superlative executive with great taste and all of the skills to handle the production chief duties. Additionally, she has a great team supporting her. One of Universal's strengths is developing executive talent from within the organization and Donna is an example of this fact."
"We got into this business because we both love movies and it has been a dream of ours to become producers. Having the opportunity to do this at a studio we love, with a group of people we consider family is our dream come true," said Stuber and Parent. "We feel incredibly fortunate that when we were given our current position two years ago, Ron and Stacey were generous enough to help us realize our goal with a home on the Universal lot. Donna is someone we have known for more than ten years, and couldn't be more deserving of running production."
Donna Langley was named Executive Vice President, Production for Universal Pictures in October of 2003. Since that time she has been intimately involved in the development and production of numerous Universal feature films including 2004's world-wide smash "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and the critical and audience favorite "In Good Company." She is currently working on the upcoming "Inside Man," starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen and directed by Spike Lee, which is set for production later this year; the comedy "You Me and Dupree," starring Owen Wilson; and the romantic comedy, "Prime," starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. Langley has been actively involved in the update of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" starring Keira Knightly for Universal's Focus Features due in theatres later this year.
Prior to joining Universal, Ms. Langley served as Senior Vice President of Production for New Line Cinema, having first joined New Line in 1994. At New Line she oversaw a number of films including "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," which she also executive produced, and "The Cell."
Scott Stuber and Mary Parent joined Universal Pictures in 1997 as Senior Vice Presidents of Production. In 2001 they were each named President of Production, rising to Vice Chairmen, Worldwide Production in 2003. Over the past eight years they have supervised over ninety films, twenty-one of which reached $100 million or more domestically -- with seventeen of these films reaching this milestone from the time they began running production in 2001. During this same period the studio received twenty Academy Awardⓕ nominations resulting in seven Oscarsⓕ.
Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBC Universal. NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates the No. 1 television network, the fastest-growing Spanish-language network, a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.
Source: Universal Pictures
From MTV News: He's dodged balls, tapped kegs and dug his claws into some little bunnies. Now Vince Vaughn will bring his patented wiseass grin to the airwaves with a little help from "Three Kings" director David O. Russell. In the still-untitled comedy, Vaughn will play the derisive host of a radio call-in show whose world falls apart when he realizes he's turning into his callers. The man behind the lens for "Spanking the Monkey" and "I Heart Huckabees" admits he's aiming for a mainstream hit this time around. "This ain't no 'Huckabees,' " Russell told Variety. "There is no question, this aims to be more accessible."
Found here.
You can now watch the Wedding Crashers trailer on the movie's official website.
More screen caps:
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Psycho
Sat Apr 9 03:00P
Sun Apr 10 01:00P
on Trio
Swingers
Sun Apr 10 08:00P
Mon Apr 11 12:00A
on Independent Film Channel
And here's a mini-alert...The Dan Band will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday, April 11.
Ben Stiller and his pals are the powerful new kings of Hollywood comedy. And the studios don't get a look in
Liz Hoggard
Sunday April 10, 2005
The Observer
Article found here.
One has a broken nose. Another a rubber face. The short, chubby one doesn't even brush his hair. And yet these are the new kings of Hollywood. Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jack Black and Owen Wilson operate as an unofficial repertory company. The group, which revolves around Stiller, are friends, with some relationships going back 20 years. From Dodgeball and Anchorman to Elf and Zoolander, they appear in one another's films so often you get confused as to whose movie you're watching.
What's more, the Slacker pack have virtually shut the studios out of the development process. By coming up with their own concepts, finding screenwriters and then offering the whole package for production, they are reshaping screen humour.
'Right now, they're the ruling oligarchy in terms of comedic films,' confirms OK! 's LA columnist Ashley Pearson. 'And they've managed to translate that worldwide. Often, American comedies don't do well overseas because of different cultural sensibilities. But they've managed to find things that are universally funny without going for the easy laugh. They're able to inject all the different elements - romantic comedy, drama and slapstick - into a new genre. And they play against each other as comic foils.'
'What all these guys have in common,' says Greg Gutfeld, the American-born editor of UK Maxim, 'is they're not out to show that they're cooler than you are by bringing you down. They don't operate with wise-ass humour. Most of their comedy is directed at themselves; it's a self-loathing kind of humour that is more disarming. They enjoy making themselves look idiotic and, if you think about it, that's really, really smart.'
'They're happy to approach sentiment,' agrees Steve Coogan, who took part in a recent read-through of Stiller's latest film, Tropic Thunder. 'They're very comfortable with vulnerability. British humour tends to be about the head and not the heart, there's a bit of a kneejerk reaction to sentimentality. What these films do is play to the strengths of actors like Ben Stiller or Jack Black, so it feels like a natural extension of character. It's very instinctual and organic.'
Ever since There's Something About Mary, Stiller's position as Hollywood's top comic antihero has been unshakeable. Rumour has it he rang his agent and said: 'I have five words for you: Owen Wilson; Starsky & Hutch.' Within days, he had sold the idea to Warner Brothers and landed a budget of $60 million. But then few actors have made so much money out of their own pathologies. Meet the Fockers took $204m, There's Something About Mary $176m and Meet the Parents $166m.
What Stiller et al have done is create a new brand of comedy that goes beyond the gross-out humour of the Farrelly Brothers. Next-generation humour is 'smart-dumb' comedy, inspired in part by the films of Harold Ramis (Animal House, Caddyshack). Yes, there may be body fluids, but the writing is sharp and character-based. 'Slapstick is stupid,' argues Gutfeld. 'Someone falling down, or getting a ball in the groin - it's been done. But they seem to find new ways to make you laugh while they're enduring horrible pain. Will Ferrell is a pleasure to watch because you know he is almost indestructible.'
Their films reach all demographics. Best of all, they are funny in a way that women don't find offensive. No wonder Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston and Cate Blanchett want to work with them (Kidman handpicked Ferrell for Bewitched). 'What a lot of these actresses can't do is be funny,' says Pearson. 'They put themselves with these sure-thing comedians to make it happen.'
'Most people who meet these guys will tell you they're actually really nice people,' observes Gutfeld. 'You could go up and say hello to them on the street. They're like the antidote to Sean Penn. You see Sean Penn and you don't even want to go near him because he's such a misanthrope. He's the ultimate dead white male. I would never buy a magazine with Sean Penn on the cover, but I'd buy one with Will Ferrell. That's how guys think.'
'I'm not sure they're nice guys exactly,' laughs Pearson. 'I mean Ben is pretty settled down with a second child on the way. But he's very, very difficult on set, which he himself admits. He's never happy with his performance; he's very hard on the other actors. It's not because he's a diva, but he's really committed to the work. As far as the other guys are concerned, Vaughn and Wilson are some of biggest party boys in LA. Owen has dated one lapdancer after another.'
The comic actors started appearing on screen together in 1996's The Cable Guy. And the camaraderie goes back years to shared experience in grungy comedy clubs. Many of them performed improv on Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s, or the little-seen but influential Ben Stiller Show (Fox TV pulled it just as Stiller was awarded an Emmy with co-writer Judd Apatow).
Apatow met Stiller as a student and introduced him to Jim Carrey. Stiller became a fan of Wilson after seeing him in Bottle Rocket and called up the actor to propose collaborating. He had given Jack Black a role in The Cable Guy and used both Wilson and Ferrell in Zoolander. Other members of their clique include Luke Wilson, Owen's brother; Christine Taylor, Stiller's wife who appeared in Dodgeball and Zoolander; Meet the Fockers director, Jay Roach; and rapper Mos Def. 'There is a semi-social scene where everyone bumps into each other,' says Coogan. 'But it's not debauched into the old Belushi generational way. It's much more professional. It's not rock'n'roll.'
Even their agents are creatives. Eric Gold and Jimmy Miller run Mosaic Media Group, one of Hollywood's hottest management companies, but they started out as stand-ups on the comedy circuit, where they discovered both Apatow and Carrey. Today, the managers do much more than just represent clients. They edit and shape their comic ideas. They also get to decide who joins the clique. One film executive complained: 'There's always a wall being put up with those guys.'
During the making of Elf, Ferrell and Miller disagreed with the editing choices of director Jon Favreau (Swingers). Both versions were tested with audiences and although Favreau's choices won out, he is now considered creatively out of touch with Miller and Ferrell, and New Line has confirmed that he won't be part of the sequel.
Over the next few months, we'll be seeing a new wave of Slacker pack films including The Wedding Crashers, starring Vaughn and Wilson as bachelors who prey on women at weddings, and Kicking and Screaming, with Ferrell as a soccer dad, while Fun With Dick and Jane features Carrey and T茜a Leoni as a couple who turn to robbery.
No one is claiming their humour is politically correct, but these actors are happy to play characters who are oddly insecure in their masculinity. Starsky & Hutch even had a homoerotic undercurrent. 'They're not ideologically committed in any way,' says Coogan. 'But it's not the same old macho humour. It's Just Gay Enough.'
They participate in readings of each other's scripts, without the studios present. 'They have free-thinking ideas sessions where a lot of stuff from their personal lives goes into the film,' says Pearson. Apatow's latest movie, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, stars Steve Carell as a sexual naif (a refreshing change from 'woman as virgin'). At an early read-through, Paul Rudd suggested a problem of premature ejaculation. Apatow told of a teen experience when he panicked after his girlfriend guided his hand beyond first base. 'These guys are teaching us what comedy is,' DreamWorks's Adam Goodman has said.
Coogan puts it down to an understanding of populist taste. 'Comedy needs to have a broad appeal. In Britain, there's sometimes a feeling that comedy is terminally lowbrow in terms of art, a poor man's culture, and that is not the case in the US. If something's successful, then it's good. If it makes money, even better.'
Not everyone agrees. Part of the appeal of these films has been their low production costs. Now the studios are being forced into bidding wars. 'This is not what a studio wants to see happen,' says Pearson. 'Believe me, the number-one priority is finding a way to recreate this formula in a way it can control.' Meanwhile, Stiller is in imminent danger of being overexposed (he's made eight movies back to back in two years). Roach, who directed him in Meet the Parents, wouldn't be surprised if he moved into more cerebral roles, like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation. Stiller has vowed to take a year off.
Gutfeld isn't sure he'll be missed. 'For me, a Ben Stiller film never gets beyond the pleasantly inoffensive. I put Vaughn and Ferrell and the Wilsons in quite another bracket. Ferrell is intensely likable even when he's dangerous. And Vaughn looks like he's always waking up from a hangover; you never know if he's just going to collapse. But if he stays alive, he'll be the next Jack Nicholson.'
Article found here.
From Entertainment Weekly, April 15, 2005 issue.
Microphone Fiend of the Week
"The ex-Swinger will play a snarky radio-show host who adopts his callers' tics in a new comedy from David O. Russell. The project has no title yet. Good Morning, Wiseass must have been taken."
Illustration by Stephen Savage
(I just couldn't resist adding a couple of details to the caricature: View image)
~
Actor and comedian Vince Vaughn celebrates during the final seconds against the Louisville Cardinals before his team's 72-57 win in the NCAA Men's Final Four at the Edward Jones Dome on April 2, 2005 in St. Louis, Missouri. Edit: Standing next to him is Peyton Reed, who will be directing Vince's next project, "The Break-Up". Thanks, Robyn!
Found here.
Vince Vaughn is set to star in an untitled David O. Russell-directed and -written comedy for Universal Pictures.
Vaughn will play the wiseass host of a radio call-in show he runs with his producer girlfriend. His life is turned upside down when he starts taking on the qualities of his neurotic callers. Russell wrote the current draft of the screenplay, which is based on a screenplay by David Cohen and Tony Lord.
The filmmakers are eyeing an early fall start date.
As opposed to some of Russell墜 more quirky and independent fare, the movie is designed to be a big, commercial comedy with his "sensibilities," Russell said.
Russell initially took on the project as a rewrite job but decided to direct it.
"I was so tickled by it, I thought, Gee, maybe it would be fun to make this," he said.
Russell, who met Vaughn at the Festival de Cannes in 1996 when the director was promoting his "Flirting With Disaster," said the actor follows in the tradition of a certain type of humor.
"There墜 Walter Matthau, there墜 Bill Murray and there墜 Vince Vaughn. I think it墜 a certain lineage of comedians," Russell said. "The guys are funny being who they are. They don墜 put on some kind of broad character, usually. It墜 very natural, it墜 very authentic. It墜 maybe a little bit depressed, but in their depression or their groundedness, they墜e funny. It墜 not like they墜e a drag to be around; they墜e funny in their depression in some way. I would say Vince is a bit more manically entertaining."
Russell said that the movie has roles for two female comedians as well as a female "discovery role."
This is the second project Vaughn has set up at Universal. He is starring in the romantic comedy "The Break-Up" with Jennifer Aniston, which is slated to begin shooting in June.
Vaughn also stars in New Line墜 upcoming summer release "The Wedding Crashers" with Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams.
Russell most recently wrote and directed "I Heart Huckabees." He also rewrote and directed "Three Kings" and wrote and directed "Spanking the Monkey."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
I'm keeping this post at the top because I don't want anyone to miss it.:D
Still Swingin': A Look Back At An Indie Classic
A look back at the landmark indie, "Swingers," that was so "money" it launched the careers of Jon Favreau ("Elf," "Dinner for Five"), Vince Vaughn ("Be Cool"), Heather Graham ("Boogie Nights"), Ron Livingston ("Office Space") and others. The promotional special produced by the IFC features all new interviews with cast and crew members.
Friday, Apr 1@9:40 PM
Additional Show Times
Friday, April 1 10:40 PM ㋒
Saturday, April 2 12:40 AM ㋒
Saturday, April 2 1:40 AM ㋒
on IFC
Also, Swingers (the actual movie) will air on IFC at these times:
Fri Apr 1 08:00P
Fri Apr 1 11:00P
Sat Apr 2 02:00A
Wed Apr 6 09:00P
Thu Apr 7 12:30A
Thu Apr 7 05:45P
Sun Apr 10 08:00P
Mon Apr 11 12:00A
Sat Apr 23 09:35P
Sun Apr 24 02:35A
Sun Apr 24 06:15P
Here is the article from Complex magazine.
Vince Vaughn has lived in the movie capital half his life, but rather than dress the part and kiss ass he's followed an old-school path and distinguished himself as an elite actor. Steve Kotler catches up with Vince at a neighborhood joint wit the best waffle fries in town.
Photography by Terry Richardson
Vince Vaughn is too tall not to notice. He is 6'4" or 7'7" or 9'2', some inhuman Hollywood height, a standout in this business of dwarves. He's a sequoia in a tomato patch. When he shows up at a Los Angeles eatery of his choosing, one of those rare restaurants that's much more of a local's joint than a hipster hangout, he appears at first as a monster shadow on the horizon.¬Ý The shadow moves closer and even in this low-key scene, the approaching darkness garners some local attention. Vaughn is nonchalant. He doesn't act like a guy who knows he's being noticed, he acts like a guy who's just dropped by for lunch. He walks in and distributes a few casual nods to the waitresses, tosses his keys, lighter and cigarettes on to the table and folds his big frame into a small chair. By way of greeting he says, "Try the waffle fries." He's very serious, "The waffle fries," he repeats, "they are the thing they know how to do here."
Vaughn's cool may be the kind of cool that comes from knowing where to get the best waffle fries or where to find the best bowling alleys, which of the local piano players can handle a Monk tune, but his cool is not Hollywood's cool. He's a throwback actor, cool in the style of Dean Martin much more than James Dean. His comedy runs in the Chevy Chase tradition; low-key, unpredictable and a little dangerous. In the new sequel to Get Shorty, appropriately titled Be Cool, he plays Raji, a white record executive who thinks heÄôs more of a player than P.DiddyÄîand he pulls it off. His comedy is good enough that heÄôs become Hollywood royalty, part of the Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Owen and Luke Wilson crew, a casual collective that takes little seriously, least of all themselves.
With them, Vaughn fits in just fine, in a town bloated with self-importance, he believes in preparation, long days, ordinary kindnesses. HeÄôs the first one to point out his faults and downplay his triumphs. ÄúMy diction is terrible,Äù he says, frequently, despite the fact that terrible diction might seem a hindrance in his line of work. When asked about the long list of films heÄôs appeared in, his only comment is, ÄúA lot of those were little roles, walk-ons basically.Äù
He comes stripped down, by other local standards. While everyone else is buying mansions in Beverly Hills, Vaughn has a house in Franklin Hills, a few blocks north of Silver Lake and Los Feliz, his old stomping grounds, the stomping grounds he made famous in Swingers. His difference is not indifference. His way, well, itÄôs just been this way since way back. HeÄôs been acting since he was seven, school plays, drama class. Sure, he had a normal childhood. He played some sports in schoolÄîwith his size how could you avoid itÄîbut it wasnÄôt his thing. ÄúI was never great at sports,Äù he says. ÄúWhen I got to high school and coaches started yelling at me and getting all seriousÄîit just wasnÄôt my passion. Anything you do, as it starts to get more serious you have to really like to work at it.Äù
And what Vaughn liked to work at was acting. He talks about movies in terms of process and technique, something he learned from watching old westerns with his father. ÄúMy dad was very of-this-earth,Äù says Vaughn. ÄúHe liked men who acted like men. He judged films by one criteria: Was it believable? Did he really buy that guy as that guy or that girl as that girl. Everything else wasnÄôt important.Äù
Acting, for his father, was about hard work. Vaughn took acting classes in Chicago, landed spots in commercials. They earned him a SAG card, and he carried that card and his fatherÄôs influence with him to Los Angeles.
ÄúWhen I got to L.A.,Äù says Vaughn, ÄúI took more classes. I always wanted new information. That was what we all tried to do back then. ItÄôs different now. ThereÄôs a real focus on trying to be really famous or coming off really cool and, in Hollywood, itÄôs not cool to try at something, itÄôs much cooler to have never taken acting classes, to act like you donÄôt care, to not try.Äù
Vaughn wasnÄôt buying into that kind of cool, but Hollywood wasnÄôt buying into him either. He got bit work, but it wasnÄôt leading him to the places he wanted to go. So he teamed up with Jon Favreau, and together they made Swingers. It was pure guerrilla theater. They had no money, no time. They shot it in 21 days, without permits, often in bars crowded with Hollywood crowds. All those folks trying to be cool by being indifferent. ÄúWeÄôd be in a bar shooting and thereÄôd be all these people, all these barflies, just rolling their eyes at us,Äù Vaughn remembers. ÄúLike, ÄòLook at these guys, these guys just donÄôt get it. They really got together their small movie and theyÄôre really trying to do something. What a bunch of fucking losers.Äô They looked at us like we were totally off the reservation.Äù
Swingers was off the reservation. It was a totally different kind of indie film. Back in 1996, when everyone else was making serious movies about serious themes like race, child abuse, rape, incestÄîthe whole earnest indie canonÄîVaughn and Favreau made a movie about guys find a little meaning in a whole lot of meaninglessness. And it worked, worked better than anyone could imagine. Swingers busted the Äò90s free from the death grip of flannel and grunge and jump-started the whole retro-swing movement. It was a film about their lives and the world they knew and it worked because it was believable. Vaughn was believable. In fact, so believable that it launched his whole career.
Steven Spielberg saw it and declared Vaughn Äòa new movie starÄîan American icon to be.Äô Then he put his money where his mouth is, casting Vaughn in his first blockbuster, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. This was followed by a string of more serious roles. Some were good, some were okay, a few were downright lousy. But, later, in reflection, Vaughn decided those movies were lousy because of how they were made. ÄúPeopleÄôs agendas were not necessarily the best agendas for storytelling,Äù is how he puts it. ÄúWhen you make movies, sometimes everybodyÄôs guessing whatÄôs going to be good, always saying, ÄòIs this good?Äô I prefer people arguing over what they think is good, having an opinion and standing by it.Äù
So Vaughn decided to have an opinion, to produce and costar in 2001Äôs Made. And while he still loves the film, it didnÄôt make the splash of Swingers. Afterward, he faded from sight. Down, but not out. He was biding his time and waiting for the right part. That part came as a shyster stereo salesman in Old School. It was a perfect fit, despite the fact that Vaughn never went to college and found the whole collegiate culture absurd. He used to team up with fellow actor Patrick Van Horn, dress up like college kids and head down to a UCLA bar in Westwood to watch the basketball game.
ÄúWeÄôd pretend to be Joe College,Äù says Vaughn. ÄúWe bought two-for-one pitchers and acted like these over the top school-spirit guys. Every time UCLA scored we would high-five as many people as possible. We were pathological, drinking, drunk, high-fiving, the ultimate college guys. But no matter how crazy we got, our high fives were always welcome.Äù
Whatever it wasÄîthe practice he got at the frat bar or the fact that Old School was so suited to VaughnÄôs strengthsÄîthe movie served as a reminder to Hollywood that Vaughn wasnÄôt to be forgotten, and Hollywood responded. HeÄôs got a batch of new films coming out: Thumbsucker, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and the much anticipated sequel to Get Shorty, Be Cool.
VaughnÄôs character in Be Cool is Raji, a white record executive whose entire persona is borrowed from hip-hop culture. ItÄôs a send-up performance, etched with VaughnÄôs comedic nonchalance, tailor made for an urban audience that loves to laugh at guys who are too Äústreet.Äù To prepare for the part he watched every episode of the Äò70s sitcoms Good Times and Sanford and Son. Those were the shows that Raji would have watched, those were the characters that his character wanted to be. And once he figured that part he did what he always does: He worked his ass off.
These days heÄôs got an unofficial partnership with a crew of regular funny guys who also like to work their asses off: Stiller, Ferrell, the Wilsons. Together they went from Old School to Dodgeball to the soon-to-be released Wedding Crashers, about two guys who sneak into weddings to pick up girls.
ÄúOur technique is to hide in plain sight,Äù Vaughn explains. ÄúWe stand out. Sometimes people who donÄôt belong at a party put themselves right out there, front and center, and no one ever figures it out because theyÄôre doing such outrageous shit that you just donÄôt question their presence. It works in real life. When I was younger I knew a family who lived in a trailer park. The mom would go into grocery stores and walk out with stuff they needed in her hand, not even trying to hide it under her coat. She wasnÄôt stealing Äòcause she wasnÄôt hiding anything. It was all about the hiding in plain sight and having the confidence to pull it off.Äù
As far as preparing for that role, Vaughn is still a method-acting guy but admits tht heÄôs too recognizable to anonymously crash a party. Instead, he drew on another set of experiences. During the same period he was playacting as a frat boy, he was also going to bars and trying to pick up womenÄîbut doing so as various characters.
One of VaughnÄôs favoitres was a real prude. A guy who thought sex was this big important thing, a real extension of two people connecting. He didnÄôt want to go home with anyone. He wanted to get a phone number, have a proper date. He wanted to hold doors open and buy presents and have long talks. Jon Favreau, his partner in crime for the excursion, played the exact opposite.
ÄúFavreau played a character who looked at sex like food,Äù Vaughn says. ÄúHe doesnÄôt give a fuck about feelings, he doesnÄôt want to hear about this or that. HeÄôs an animal who loves to fuck.Äù
TheyÄôd meet girls, and Favreau would launch into a story about VaughnÄôs character, about how he dated this girl for two months and never even went up her shirt. The whole time Vaughn is going on about how he wasnÄôt emotionally ready for that, how that kind of loose behavior wasnÄôt respectful.
ÄúBut hereÄôs the interesting thing,Äù says Vaughn. ÄúThe girls would look at me and say ÄòOh, thatÄôs so sweet, thatÄôs the right way to be, you stay who you are.Äô Yet they were much more drawn to FavreauÄôs character: theyÄôd act like they hated him, but theyÄôd always turn back to Favrau and say, ÄòSo youÄôre saying youÄôd take me into the bathroom and screw me right there?Äô And Favreau, of course, would say, ÄòIÄôll screw you right now, in the bathroom, and IÄôd be doing you a favor.ÄôÄù
But were their performances believable?
ÄúWell,Äù says Vaughn, Äúwe had good nights, we had bad nights.Äù
Which in the end, is how it usually works for regular guys.
Found here.
Before anyone heard of Vince Vaughn, he was in a little movie called Swingers. He was easily the funniest character in that movie - and then went on to a series of dramatic roles that seemed to kill his career. And But I've always wondered why? But, he's turned it around in the last few years and has become one of Hollywood's go-to guys when it comes to comedy.
News today that Vaughn will join David O. Russell's next project, an untitled comedy at Universal Pictures. In the movie, Vaughn will play the wiseass host of a radio call-in show whose life gets turned upside down when he starts becoming his callers. The movie is based on a pre-existing script by David Cohen and Tony Lord that was re-written by Russell.
Russell last made I Heart Huckabees. Vaughn can be seen later this summer alongside Jennifer Aniston in "The Break-Up". He can also be seen in Wedding Crashers with Owen Wilson. The full trailer for that movie debuted online yesterday. You can check it out here.
Here's another article (with little more info) about the David O. Russell project. Found here.
By Borys Kit and Liza Foreman
Vince Vaughn is set to star in an untitled David O. Russell-directed and -written comedy for Universal Pictures. Studio-based Mandalay Pictures, Gregory Goodman and Russell are producing.
Vaughn will play the wiseass host of a radio call-in show he runs with his producer girlfriend. His life is turned upside down when he starts taking on the qualities of his neurotic callers. Russell wrote the current draft of the screenplay, which is based on a screenplay by David Cohen and Tony Lord.
An early fall start date is being eyed.
As opposed to some of Russell's more quirky and independent fare, the movie is designed to be a big, commercial comedy with his "sensibilities," Russell said.
A longer trailer for Wedding Crashers is up on MTV.com. (It's the link that says "MTV Exclusive Trailer: "Wedding Crashers")
Found here.
Vince Vaughn has been set to star in an untitled fantasy comedy that David O. Russell has written and will direct for Universal Pictures, Variety reported.
Vaughn will play the wiseass host of a radio call-in show whose life gets turned upside down when he starts becoming his callers, the trade paper reported.
Russell started with a pre-existing script by David Cohen and Tony Lord, but changed it dramatically. Russell's previous comedies include I Heart Huckabees and Flirting With Disaster.
Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.
