"The Drunk And On Drugs Happy Funtime Hour"

Showcase’s all-new Canadian original TV comedy series "The Drunk and on Drugs Happy Funtime Hour", starring actors Mike Smith, Robb Wells and JP Tremblay ("Trailer Park Boys"), started production May 26, 2010 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.


The 6-episode, half-hour series, attempts to build on the popularity of the stars of the "Trailer Park Boys", who say the new show is inspired by "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "The League of Gentlemen".

"...Set in the sleepy fictional town of 'Port Cockerton', the series catches up with 'Mike', 'Robb' and 'JP' in the midst of shooting their new sketch-variety TV show called 'The Happy Funtime Hour'. Disastrously, an actor hired to play a wacky German scientist (Maury Chaykin) assumes the personality of his character after synthesizing a powerful and addictive hallucinogen derived from local berries. Chaos ensues in the town as the cast ingests the drugs and begins to believe they really are the characters they portray on the show – including deranged pirates, drug-addled playboys from a 1980's television show and a group of not-so-super superheroes..."


The 3 "Trailer Park Boys" actors play a total of 24 characters throughout the new series, as well as write and produce, for director Ron Murphy ("Being Erica") and producers Paul Pope, Louis Thomas.

Aside from Chaykin, guest stars will include Jay Baruchel ("Tropic Thunder"), Pat Roach and John Dunsworth.

"The series is definitely a departure from our previous work," said Wells who played 'Ricky' on "TPB". "But with bold characters and a storyline that pushes the envelope, "Drunk and On Drugs" still has a huge dose of our trademark humour that I think our fans expect from us."

"The Drunk and on Drugs Happy Funtime Hour" is produced by Happy Funtime Productions 2007 Inc. in association with Canwest Broadcasting with the participation of the Canadian Media Fund, Film Nova Scotia and the Bell New Media Fund...

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Drunk And On Drugs 
Happy Funtime Hour":

 

Parkes Picks Up "The Fallen Idol"

According to reports, producer Walter Parkes ("Men In Black 3") will remake director Carol Reed's "The Fallen Idol", originally written by author Graham Greene.

Screenplay is by David Farr ("Spooks").

Parkes and partner Laurie MacDonald will finance the new film through their Parkes/MacDonald/Imagenation deal with the Abu Dhabi Media Company, in association with France-based rights holder Studio Canal.

"The Fallen Idol" (also known as "The Lost Illusion") was released in 1948, based on the short story "The Basement Room", by Graham Greene. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film.

The story is told through the naive eyes of a diplomat's young son, 'Phillipe', who idolises his best friend, the diplomat's butler 'Baines'. Baines has constructed a heroic persona, full of exotic adventures, that fascinates the boy. But in reality, the servant is stuck in a loveless marriage, while dreaming of happiness with a younger woman (whom he describes to Phillipe as his niece).

After Baines has an argument with his jealous wife, she falls from a landing to her death. Although her fall was in fact an accident, Phillipe believes that he has seen Baines deliberately murder her, and the boy's attempts to protect Baines when the police investigate almost lead to the butler's arrest.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Fallen Idol"...

Gong Li Shares Love In "Shanghai"

The Weinstein Company presents "Shanghai", a period drama directed by Mikael Håfström ("Vendetta"), following an American (John Cusack) in the city of Shanghai who, through the investigation of the death of a friend, ends up falling in love, while stumbling upon a political conspiracy.

Also starring are Gong Li, Chow Yun-Fat and Ken Watanabe.

"...In the months leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, an American man (Cusack) arrives in Shanghai to find his friend recently murdered. In investigating his friend's death, he stumbles upon a secret the United States government has been keeping and falls in love in the process..."

Lensing of "Shanghai" started on location in Shanghai, China until the shooting permit was revoked, forcing the producers to relocate to Bangkok and the UK.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Shanghai"...

Hudson Tries On "Something Borrowed"

Shooting has started in New York on Alcon Entertainment’s romantic comedy “Something Borrowed” starring Ginnifer Goodwin (“He’s Just Not That Into You"), Oscar nominee Kate Hudson (“Almost Famous”), Colin Egglesfield (“Melrose Place”), Steve Howey (“Bride Wars”) and John Krasinski (“The Office”).

"...'Rachel' (Goodwin) is a talented attorney at a top New York law firm, a generous and loyal friend, and, unhappily, still single…as her engaged best friend 'Darcy' (Hudson) is constantly reminding her. But after one drink too many at her 30th birthday party, perpetual good girl Rachel unexpectedly ends up in bed with the guy she’s had a crush on since law school, 'Dex' (Egglesfield)…who just happens to be Darcy’s fiancé. When Rachel and Darcy’s lifelong friendship collides with true love, it leads to unexpected complications and potentially explosive romantic revelations..."

“Something Borrowed” is directed by Luke Greenfield (“The Girl Next Door"), from a screenplay by Jennie Urman, Jennie Snyder and Jordan Roberts, adapted from the best-selling novel "Something Borrowed" by author Emily Giffin.

The film is being produced by Alcon Entertainment principals Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove (“The Blind Side”), Molly Smith (“The Blind Side"), Hilary Swank (“Million Dollar Baby”), Pamela Schein Murphy (“Purple Violets”) and Aaron Lubin (“The Groomsmen”).

Ellen H. Schwartz (“The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement”) is executive producer.

DP is Charles Minsky (“Valentine’s Day”), production designer is Jane Musky (“The Bounty Hunter”), editor is John Axelrad (“Crazy Heart”) and costume designer is Gary Jones (“Valentine’s Day”).

Slated for release Summer 2011, “Something Borrowed” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Click the images to enlarge...

PGA "Produced By Conference"- June 4-6

The Producers Guild of America reports that 40 of the entertainment industry’s most powerful producers, representing over 100 of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, will speak at the second annual Produced By Conference (PBC) June 4-6, 2010 at 20th Century Fox Studios in LA.

"...Reaching across film, television and new media industries, PBC is a rare educational forum with dozens of conference sessions designed to provide all producers with valuable career tools and insights necessary in today’s competitive marketplace..."

"We’re thrilled that this year’s PBC program will feature some of the top producers from the film business," said film producers Gale Anne Hurd and Rachel Klein, PBC event co-chairs. "They will candidly be exploring both the challenges and opportunities in today’s marketplace, no matter if you are interested in producing blockbusters, documentaries or indies."

The list of speakers for 2010 PBC includes Bonnie Arnold (“How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Last Station,” “Toy Story”), Mark Cuban (“The Road,” “Everybody's Fine,” “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”), Bruce Cohen (“American Beauty,” “Milk”), Andrew Z. Davis (“Your Highness,” “Role Models,” “Rush Hour 2, 3”), Dean Devlin (“Independence Day,” “The Patriot”), Tracey Edmonds (“Good Luck Chuck,” “Soul Food”), Gary Goetzman (“Where the Wild Things Are,” “Mamma Mia!”), Jeff Gomez (“Avatar,” “Pirates of the Caribbean”), Mark Gordon (“2012,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Saving Private Ryan”), Brian Grazer (“The Da Vinci Code,” “A Beautiful Mind”), Nicole Grindle (“Toy Story 3”), Marshall Herskovitz (“Blood Diamond,” “The Last Samurai”), Grant Heslov (“Good Night, and Good Luck.,” “The Men Who Stare at Goats”), Charlotte Huggins (“Journey to the Center of the Earth”), Gale Anne Hurd (“The Incredible Hulk,” “Armageddon”), Jon Jashni (“Clash of the Titans,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” “The Hangover”), Mark Johnson (“The Chronicles of Narnia”), Hawk Koch (“Primal Fear,” “Heaven Can Wait”), Jon Landau (“Avatar,” “Solaris,” “Titanic”), Ali LeRoi (“Are We There Yet?”), Gary Lucchesi (“Underworld” franchise), Jack Murray (“My Bloody Valentine 3D,” “Date Movie”), David V. Picker (“Lenny,” “The Jerk”), Jane Rosenthal (“Meet the Fockers 1, 2,” “What Just Happened,” “The Good Shepherd”), Charles Roven (“The Dark Knight,” “Get Smart,” “The Bank Job”), Ridley Scott (“Robin Hood,” “Gladiator,” “Thelma & Louise”), Galyn Susman (“Toy Story 3,” “Up,” “Ratatouille”), Paula Wagner (“Mission: Impossible I, II, III,” “Vanilla Sky,” “The Others”), Richard D. Zanuck (“Jaws,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Alice in Wonderland”), Sarah Green (“Tree of Life”) and Laura Ziskin (“Spider-Man 1, 2, 3,” “Pretty Woman,” “As Good As It Gets”)...

CBS Books More "Flashpoint" - June 4

CBS will launch the third season of the Toronto-lensed action cop series "Flashpoint", Friday, June 4, at 9 PM.

The show was created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and stars Enrico Colantoni, Amy Jo Johnson, Hugh Dillon and David Paetkau.

"...'Flashpoint' follows an elite tactical unit, called the 'Strategic Response Unit' (SRU), styled after the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force (ETF). The SRU are tasked to resolve extreme situations that regular officers are not trained to handle including hostage-taking, bomb threats and heavily armed criminals. Equipped with high-tech tools and a cache of weapons and explosives, members use negotiation tactics and intuition to try to avoid the use of force..."

"Flashpoint" is currently being distributed by New York's Alchemy Television and Tele München Group to all international markets outside of North America. TV networks airing the series in more than 50 countries include Tv2 in New Zealand, ITV3 in the UK and stations in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Latin America.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Flashpoint"...