At The Movies

Funny People
In this quirky drama about comedy, we look backstage into the lives of two comics: a famous stand-up veteran (Adam Sandler) and a young guy just starting out in the biz (Seth Rogen). George Simmons has his onstage act honed to perfection, but his personal life is bleak and depressing. When a medical scare forces him to confront his own mortality, he decides to leave a legacy by reaching out to newcomer Ira Wright and helping him find his way onstage. In the end, George learns more from Ira than he could ever hope to teach. This film ventures deeper into serious themes, but without losing the funny.

On DVD

Miss March
A young man (Zach Cregger) awakens from a four year coma to hear that his once virginal high school sweetheart has since become a centerfold in one of the world's most famous men's magazines. He and his sex crazed best friend (Trevor Moore) decide to take a cross country road trip in order to crash a party at the magazine's legendary mansion headquarters and win back the girl. This movie is really hilarious if you love jokes about sex, abstinence, pop culture (especially rap) and adolescence in general. Shades of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure abound throughout.

The Buzz..

Robert Downey Jr. is trading in famous fictional characters for a road trip. The actor, who will star as Sherlock Holmes and Tony Stark in Iron Man 2, will team up with The Hangover star Zach Galifianakis for Due Date. The pair will play mismatched buddies racing to get to the birth of Downey's character's child. Expect the movie to be a raunchy comedy. Due Date will be directed by Hangover helmer Todd Phillips.

Star magazine reporter Kate Major may have been a little hasty in resigning her position after falling for interview subject Jon Gosselin, but it appears his affections are already spoken for. Gosselin says that dating multiple women isn't his style and that "my heart is always with Hailey," referring to rumored 22 year old fiancee Hailey Glassman.

Matt Groening was surprised by an award for the longest running sitcom in history with the Simpsons surpassing Ozzie and Harriet's record of 435 episodes.

Ben Silverman, the man who was supposed to lead NBC back to the top of the ratings mountain, is leaving the network after two years on the job and no change in the standings. Silverman is "returning to his entrepreneurial roots," as an NBC press release puts it, to form a new multimedia venture with media mogul Barry Diller. He'll stay at the network for a short time to help launch the fall schedule, then depart.

Mila Kunis has joined the cast of Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan as a mysterious (and possibly not real) dancer. The role will place Kunis opposite Natalie Portman, who will play a New York ballerina contending against a possibly supernatural rival.

Eddie Van Halen is recovering from hand surgery, according to Rolling Stone. The guitarist sought out specialists after he noticed increasing pain in his left hand during the band's recent tour. They discovered a bone spur, a twisted tendon and a cyst in the joint of his left thumb. Van Halen says, "[The] surgery was a success. Now I just have to let it heal. I am totally jazzed that they found the problem, fixed it and in about four months my hand will feel like I am 18 again." He adds that his stitches come out in a few days and he should be able to play as hard as ever once he recovers fully.

Spider-Man director Sam Raimi will helm a big screen adaptation of Warcraft, a film that will be based on the videogame franchise World of Warcraft.

Sony Pictures has acquired the rights to concert footage featuring Michael Jackson in his last days rehearsing for what would have been his This is It concert tour. Terms of the deal are still being worked out, but the Jackson family estate is expected to collect 90% of what's left after AEG recoups its production costs for the tour, which never happened due to Jackson's untimely death. Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) is assembling the 80 hours of footage into a film, which will include at least three videos. One of the videos will be an alternate video of Thriller. The film was meant to have been shown in 3D but it is unknown if the plans will remain the same.

A concert version of Star Wars, featuring a live symphony orchestra, huge screens, film clips and a traveling exhibit, will kick off a North American tour in October with plans to go global in 2010.

Avril Lavigne fans will want to circle this date on their calendars: November 17th. It's the day when the singer will release her fourth album. The record is being produced by her husband, Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibly.

Madonna is set to release a greatest hits collection along with a new single. Titled Celebration, the greatest hits collection will be available as one or two disc set, and for real fans, a separate DVD featuring videos never seen before will also be available for purchase. Two new songs will also appear on the new disc, due out on September 29th.