web counter
 

Romantic Comedy Casting News

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (19)

6a00d83451b46.jpg

A couple of high-profile romantic comedies recently added supporting players to their cast. First up is Date Night, which revolves around a married couple (played by Tina Fey and Steve Carell), whose routine date night goes awry. The film will be directed by Night at the Museum’s Shawn Levy; the script was penned by Josh Klausner.

In addition to Fey and Carell, James Franco has been added to the cast as a bumbling con man, while Mark Wahlberg will play a securities expert who hits on Fey’s character. In addition, “Gossip Girl’s” Leighton Meester has been added as the couple’s babysitter, Kristen Wiig has been added as Fey’s best friend, Benjamin Button’s Taraji P. Henson will play a cop, and Common will play the villain.

Pretty decent cast (particularly Fey and Carell), but with Levy as director and the guy who wrote Shrek the Third and its forthcoming sequel, Shrek Goes Fourth, there can be nothing but earth-shattering disappointment on the horizon.

The other high-profile project is Get Him to the Greek, a spin-off of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which follows the two characters played by Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. Hill will play a fresh-out-of-college intern assigned to the job of driving around Brand’s Aldous Snow. Three new supporting players have been added to that cast as well. Elisabeth Moss (“West Wing,” “Mad Men”) will play Jonah Hill’s repressed doctor girlfriend; Rose Byrne will play Brand’s Courtney-Love type rocker ex-girlfriend, and Sean Combs will play Jonah Hill’s boss.

Kind of a hit-and-miss cast, and the somewhat amusing “chemistry” between Jonah Hill and Russell Brand in Sarah Marshall would seem to have a short shelf life. But, Nicholas Stoller is back, writing and directing, so there is some hope. Shame we can’t swap out Nicholas Stoller for Shawn Levy in Date Night and create the ultimate romantic comedy.









Each Time You Like, Share, Tweet or Stumble a Pajiba Post, An Angel Does the Paul Rudd Dance

← Spielberg Apparently Digs Transformers 2 | The Five Best Movies Featuring an Accountant →









Comments

Kristen Wiig ROCKS MY WORLD!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Sofía's Identical Hand Twin at April 15, 2009 11:01 AM

"Hey, Tina. What's up? How's your mother? We should hang out."

I like the cast, though I don't love Carrell and I hope Common gets to do more than growl and look menacing, but man, that movie sounds dangerously wacky.

Posted by: Tracer Bullet at April 15, 2009 11:06 AM

when i was a kid, my dad made this little "treat". he'd take a piece of wonder bread, remove the crust and roll it up into a ball. the dough, alchemized by the heat and sweat of his palms would become slightly gummy. then he'd drop it into the sugar bowl, roll it around, and, as he popped it into his mouth, would say 'yum- white trash donut'.

he would always try to get me to eat one. i never would.

these movies are like a filthy little piece of goo studios want to pop into my mouth. i'm not going to.

you know, i caught my 8 year-old reading my collected works of william blake a few weeks ago. i'm not saying she was getting it all, but she seemed to really like it. that's my girl.

Posted by: jimmy at April 15, 2009 12:00 PM

Re: The Sarah Marshall spin-off: why is it impossible to not beat every good/funny movie to death?

Posted by: Lindsay at April 15, 2009 12:37 PM

Tracer Bullet: that rocked.


As for Lady Tina, personally I don't think she has what it takes to carry *THIS* type of film.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at April 15, 2009 12:56 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^^ AgelessMate. COM ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A 35+ year old female who is on the "hunt" for a much younger, energetic, willing-to-do-anything male. The cougar can frequently be seen in a padded bra, cleavage exposed, propped up against a swanky bar in San Francisco (or other cities)waiting, watching, calculating; gearing up to sink her claws into an innocent young and strapping buck who happens to cross her path. "Man is cougar's number one prey"

Posted by: alish at April 15, 2009 12:57 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^^ AgelessMate. COM ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A 35+ year old female who is on the "hunt" for a much younger, energetic, willing-to-do-anything male. The cougar can frequently be seen in a padded bra, cleavage exposed, propped up against a swanky bar in San Francisco (or other cities)waiting, watching, calculating; gearing up to sink her claws into an innocent young and strapping buck who happens to cross her path. "Man is cougar's number one prey"

Posted by: alish at April 15, 2009 1:14 PM

...the guy who wrote Shrek the Third and its forthcoming sequel, Shrek Goes Fourth, there can be nothing but earth-shattering disappointment on the horizon.

You say that like there is no hope. Hopefully this guys will follow up Shrew Goes Fourth with back-to-back additions to the sequal train...

Shrek Drinks a Fifth with a release 3 hours later of Shrek Sucks on a Six-Shooter

Posted by: PissBoy at April 15, 2009 1:28 PM

Holy shit. Beware!!! The spambots are getting really sexual...with better broken English. Othewr than the sentence fragment starting the comment and the missing article concerning the cougar's prey...it was pretty spot on.

Did the U.S. recently spend money to help impoverished nations teach grammar and syntax?

Posted by: PissBoy at April 15, 2009 1:49 PM

Jimmy: heee. That's so Klassy, and hilarious.

PissBoy: I'd totally watch those two Shrek movies. The only thing that would make that franchise bearable would be more alcohol, more guns, and possibly zombies.

Posted by: figgy at April 15, 2009 2:15 PM

Am I the only one at Pajiba holding up the Jonah Hill is not remotely funny flag? The only funny thing he did was the minute trying to buy the boots in 40 Year Old Virgin. I just don't fucking get it.

At least he's continuing the trend of fat guys dating way out of their league in this movie. I was going to do a presentation of Fat White Guys in sitcoms and movies with ridiculously hot wives/GF's, a trend that started with Kramden and Flintstone and went to Bunker (Edith was a piece of ass back in the day) James, Belushi (the crappy one)and many many others. Elisabeth Moss is cute, but still way out of his league.

Oh, and Jonah Hill....still not fucking funny.

Posted by: Rubble44 at April 15, 2009 2:51 PM

Fucking Wahlberg and that crinkled brow! Can't the man have a different reaction to something?

Posted by: david at April 15, 2009 3:10 PM

I'm with you, Rubble. I find him obnoxious and gross (not because of his looks, he just has a gross personality) and not the least bit funny or likable. Just annoying and gross, not the least bit charming.

Posted by: figgy at April 15, 2009 3:18 PM

I imagine Jonah Hill to have that 'sour' smell to him. No matter how much he bathes...he just smells kinda, i dunno, tangy. Like...if the flavor of a 9-volt battery on your tongue had a smell...THAT would be it.

But I do laugh at some of his work though. Like the whole "Is he masturbating with a plastic bag over his head? He should really have a spotter." part of Knocked Up was pretty good.

Posted by: PissBoy at April 15, 2009 3:26 PM

Why did the Spambot single out San Francisco? Are we the home of the Cougars? I had no idear.

Posted by: coveredinbees at April 15, 2009 3:31 PM

Dr Girlfriend!!!

Oh, just his girlfriend who happens to be a Doctor.


Nevermind

Posted by: Park at April 15, 2009 4:01 PM

I'm not a huge Jonah Hill fan, but I actually thought he was the only funny (well, remotely funny) thing in Accepted.

Posted by: Hoof Hearted at April 15, 2009 4:21 PM

Jimmy,
that was the funniest story I have ever read. White trash donut sounds so disgusting and hilarious. Thank you for that.

And yes, Jonah Hill looks like his smell would leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Posted by: Wormer at April 15, 2009 6:23 PM

sean combs? fuck sean combs.

Posted by: chayes at April 15, 2009 11:09 PM