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netilily

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	A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film. But after ballooning costs force the studio to cancel the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter real bad guys.... (more)
Production Status :	In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres :	Comedy
Running Time :	1 hr. 47 min.... (more)

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• `Thunder' seamlessly blends comedy and action

  "Tropic Thunder," Ben Stiller's extravaganza of a Hollywood satire, couldn't be any more "inside-baseball" if it contained referen

  ces to the infield fly rule and Rule 5 draft picks.

  This movie-within-a-movie is certainly his most ambitious production as a director and it contains some of the biggest belly laughs of his career. But while it blends comedy and action sequences far more skillfully and seamlessly than this summer's "Pineapple Express," which shifted from one genre to the other, the endeavor winds up feeling overwrought and repetitive.

  Stiller produced, co-wrote the script and stars as Tugg Speedman, an increasingly irrelevant action hero who now leads the ensemble cast of the Vietnam War epic "Tropic Thunder." Tugg's previous attempt at being taken seriously, the critical disaster "Simple Jack," found him playing a slowwitted farm hand; "Tropic Thunder" may be his last shot at redemption.

  When Tugg and his equally pampered cast mates turn out to be too distracted to commit to the production, and costs start spiraling out of control, the overwhelmed first-time director (Steve Coogan) leads them into the jungle to bond and fend for themselves. But what they think is a carefully crafted exercise in make-believe turns out to be all too real when they run into a heroin manufacturing operation led by a cigar-chomping, preadolescent drug lord (Brandon Soo Hoo, who's fierce at just 12).

  Jack Black is typically manic and a bit one-note as Jeff Portnoy, the drug-addicted comic star of the flatulent "Fatties" franchise. (Think "Klumps," only more obnoxious, if that's possible.) But it's Robert Downey Jr. who takes the humor to a daring, inspired level with his hilarious turn as Kirk Lazarus, an Academy Award-winning Australian actor who's so method-y, he undergoes skin-pigmentation surgery to play a black soldier.

  While this probably sounds tasteless and potentially offensive, a couple of factors make it work. First, of course, there's Downey himself, who's intelligent enough to bring nuanced bravado and even some surprising sympathy to the role. (He also delivers the film's funniest and most insightful speech about the strategy it takes to play mentally impaired characters.) And considering Downey's propensity for digging deep for his own roles, including his Oscar-nominated performance in "Chaplin," it's a cute, sly in-joke to have him poke fun at himself in this regard.

  Second, there's Brandon T. Jackson as rapper-turned-actor Alpa Chino (say the name out loud to yourself), who is black and who calls Kirk out for the ridiculousness of co-opting his culture.They all end up trekking through the marshy wild together, bickering and steadily unraveling, along with scrawny first-timer Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), who's just happy to have a gig. Nick Nolte is a perfect casting choice to play the grizzled vet whose rescue memoir is the basis for "Tropic Thunder," with Danny McBride getting some goofy laughs as the film's mulleted explosives expert.

  Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, studio chief Lee Grossman (Ton Cruise) barks orders and gets off on the power he wields even in this time of crisis. Cruise's supporting performance has its wondrously freaky moments, but it's not nearly as hysterical (or career-altering) as the early hype would suggest. Hollywood insiders will scream in recognition at this portly, profane volcano of a man, but mainstream audiences will probably just chuckle here and there — and that's true of many of the gags in "Tropic Thunder."

  The screenplay from Stiller, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen doesn't have anything particularly original to say about the insanity of Hollywood excess — Matthew McConaughey, for example, is appropriately slick as Tugg's agent, whose primary goal is ensuring that his client has TiVo while on location — but the film makes its points mostly in a vivid, lively way. That is, until the explosions and other knowingly over-the-top moments of violence grow redundant. As in his 2001 fashion parody "Zoolander," Stiller's direction is too straightforward to engage us on anything but a superficial level.

  Having said that, make sure you arrive at the theater on time for "Tropic Thunder." The fake trailers at the start might just be the best part of the trip.

  "Tropic Thunder," a DreamWorks Pictures release, is rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material. Running time: 106 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

  ___

  Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

  G — General audiences. All ages admitted.

  PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

  PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

  R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

  NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted.

  ...(more) - 08 12 2008 7:51AM

• Casting Couch: Cruise Gunning for Food Fight; Babel Star Goes for the Kill

  Los Angeles (E! Online) - Tom Cruise is making all the right moves in the kitchen.

  Following up his much-buzzed-about, side-spl

  itting performance sending up a Hollywood mogul in Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder, the A-lister is cruising for more laughs, tentatively signing on to Food Fight, a comedy for Universal poking fun at snobby gourmet types.

  Per the Hollywood Reporter, the 46-year-old Cruise will essay the role of a New York chef who's forced to pack his knives and leave the elite world of first-class eateries to cook meals at a school cafeteria.

  The movie will be penned by Adam Brooks, the writer-director of the recently released Definitely, Maybe. No word yet on a helmer. Filmmaker Steven Brill (Drillbit Taylor) was originally in talks to take the reins on Food Fight, but a deal couldn't be reached.

  Save what were essentially cameos in Tropic Thunder and Austin Powers: Goldmember, the last time the thesp tickled our funny bone was in 1996's Jerry Maguire, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

  Of course, Cruise's big screen breakthrough came in the 1983 comedy Risky Business, so Food Fight would represent something of a return to form. In the intervening years, he's mostly plied his trade in dramas, thrillers and action flicks like Mission: Impossible. In fact, he'll continue in that vein with next year's World War II drama, Valkyrie, in which he plays a Nazi colonel out to assassinate Hitler.

  But he's also loosely attached to join forces again with Stiller and costar in a feature film update of The Hardy Boys detective books for 20th Century Fox called The Hardy Men. Last but not least, he's being touted for the lead role in Old School director Todd Phillips' Men, a dramedy about an ad exec who becomes roommates with his wife's artist-lover in order to sabotage their affair.

  Meanwhile, in other casting news:

    • Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi, who scored an Oscar nod for her turn as a deaf girl in 2006's Babel, is in negotiations to topline Map of the Sounds of Tokyo, a drama about a fish-market employee who moonlights as a contract killer. Spanish helmer Isabel Coixet is slated to write and direct.

    • Mary-Louise Parker has been tapped to star in the Broadway revival of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler for the Roundabout Theater Company. The thesp last graced the Great White Way in Craig Lucas' Reckless, which nabbed her a Tony nomination. Previews begin Jan. 6 at the American Airlines Theater, and the play officially opens Jan. 25.

  (E! Online articles will no longer appear on Yahoo! after Fri., Aug. 15, but you can always find them at www.eonline.com.)

  ...(more) - 08 14 2008 4:45PM

• 'Tropic Thunder' retains No. 1 spot at box office

  LOS ANGELES - "Tropic Thunder" defended its position at the top of the box office with $14.6 million in ticket sales over the long

  Labor Day weekend. Vin Diesel's sci-fi thriller, "Babylon A.D.," debuted in second place.

  The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Tuesday by Media By Numbers LLC:

  1. "Tropic Thunder," Paramount, $14,602,121, 3,473 locations, $4,204 average, $86,935,945, three weeks.

  2. "Babylon A.D.," Fox, $11,541,571, 3,390 locations, $3,405 average, $11,541,571, one week.

  3. "The Dark Knight," Warner Bros., $11,127,290, 2,750 locations, $4,046 average, $504,798,337, seven weeks.

  4. "The House Bunny," Sony, $10,177,701, 2,714 locations, $3,750 average, $29,728,944, two weeks.

  5. "Traitor," Overture Films, $10,006,327, 2,054 locations, $4,872 average, $11,507,654, one week.

  6. "Death Race," Universal, $7,889,755, 2,537 locations, $3,110 average, $24,739,285, two weeks.

  7. "Disaster Movie," Lionsgate, $6,945,535, 2,642 locations, $2,629 average, $6,945,535, one week.

  8. "Mamma Mia!" Universal, $5,421,815, 1,968 locations, $2,755 average, $132,512,495, seven weeks.

  9. "Pineapple Express," Sony, $4,448,782, 2,047 locations, $2,173 average, $80,832,163, four weeks.

  10. "Star Wars: the Clone Wars," Warner Bros., $3,764,410, 2,444 locations, $1,540 average, $30,672,432, three weeks.

  11. "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," MGM, $3,525,970, 692 locations, $5,095 average, $13,309,881, three weeks.

  12. "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," Universal, $3,443,120, 1,713 locations, $2,010 average, $98,671,990, five weeks.

  13. "Mirrors," Fox, $3,326,853, 1,820 locations, $1,828 average, $25,395,133, three weeks.

  14. "The Longshots," MGM, $3,041,255, 2,089 locations, $1,456 average, $8,190,879, two weeks.

  15. "College," MGM, $2,619,730, 2,123 locations, $1,234 average, $2,619,730, one week.

  16. "Journey to the Center of the Earth," Warner Bros., $2,415,283, 801 locations, $3,015 average, $95,194,543, eight weeks.

  17. "Hamlet 2," Focus, $2,126,310, 1,597 locations, $1,331 average, $3,152,510, two weeks.

  18. "Fly Me to the Moon," Summit, $2,050,645, 630 locations, $3,255 average, $6,783,708, three weeks.

  19. "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," Warner Bros., $1,864,131, 1,252 locations, $1,489 average, $41,536,342, four weeks.

  20. "Step Brothers," Sony, $1,668,902, 1,036 locations, $1,611 average, $98,237,639, six weeks.

  ___

  On the Net:

  http://www.mediabynumbers.com

  ___

  Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Rogue Pictures are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; DreamWorks, Paramount and Paramount Classics are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.

  ...(more) - 09 12 2008 5:06AM