The just-announced Adam Sandler vehicle "Jack and Jill" can be and has been summed up in one easy sentence, which was also likely the original high-concept pitch: "Sandler will play Jack as well as twin sister Jill."

Nothing else is known about this movie, at least not from Variety's report, except that it will be a romantic comedy and it was scripted by former "SNL" writer Steve Koren, who also penned the high-concept Sandler flick "Click."

My guess is the plot will involve a relationship begun by one of the twins, and the other twin will jealously attempt to break up the romance. Or maybe Koren has gone a little further and made both twins pursuing separate mates, each reciprocally disliked by the opposite twin. Read more...

FROM MTV.COM: George Simmons is a dying comic. Not just dying onstage — he's really dying, of leukemia. In Judd Apatow's "Funny People," Adam Sandler, in a strong and resolutely unsentimental performance, plays this character as a guy who's worked his way to the top of his trade — from bottom-rung standup gigs to blockbuster movies — and now, at 40, doesn't know what to do with the news that his time is up. What's it all been for? He recently moved into a huge Malibu mansion, through which he wanders like Charles Foster Kane adrift in the empty splendor of Xanadu. Which is to say, alone. "I don't have any friends," he tells Ira Wright, the guy he's hired to impersonate one. "I have showbiz friends."

Ira (Seth Rogen at his most winning) is just starting out in the comedy business. George caught his act at an L.A. club — one of the places where George himself started out — and while he didn't much care for the muddled performance, he liked the material Ira had written. So he's hired the younger man to write some similarly funny stuff for him — and, in addition, to share beers, shoot the breeze, tuck him in at night and help him sort through all the memorabilia and expensive cars he's accumulated over the course of his now suddenly abbreviated career, and start getting rid of it. Ira is star-struck and delighted: Finally he can start spending a lot less time with his roommates — Mark (Jason Schwartzman), a comic who's hit it big in a witless TV sitcom (and annoyingly leaves his hefty paychecks lying around the apartment), and Leo (Jonah Hill), a bristly and talented fellow writer who's also trying to make it in standup.

Continue reading 'Funny People': Near Dark, By Kurt Loder

It's a sexy day Around the Blogosphere. Only two item to highlight though. I'm not being lazy, it's just that we're pretty darn busy. Plus, I'm going for a theme here. As the above headline illustrates. Is it a coincidence that both of the writers pegged in today's post happen to be MTV writers? Actually yes, yes it is. You can believe me or you can not, but it's the truth.

First we have a list from Christopher Campbell over on SpoutBlog: "10 Actors Who Shouldn't Do Sex Scenes," inspired by an Adam Sandler moment in this week's "Funny People." A moment which doesn't bear repeating here. That's kind of the point with Chris's list. Not that Sandler makes the 10. He isn't even in the running, says Chris. I like that "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe makes the cut. And I agree. Read more...

This Friday, comedy superstar Judd Apatow unleashes his official summer comedy for 2009, "Funny People." In it, Adam Sandler stars as George Simmons, a blazing hot comedian/actor who learns that he is afflicted with some sort of incurable disease. He hires a budding young comic named Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) to be his personal assistant, and the two become fast friends as George comes to grips with facing his own mortality.

To celebrate the impending dose of Sandler, today's eBay Prop-Watch highlights a cool item from the 2006 family comedy "Click." In it, Sandler's character comes to possess a superpowered universal remote which is capable of screwing with time in a variety of ways. He overuses it, learns his lesson and all is set right in the end. Sorry for the spoilers. So what might today's Prop-Watch pick be? Read more...

There's kind of a crazy number of releases dropping on our heads this week. Even if you put aside the 800 lb gorilla in the room -- the arrival of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on IMAX screens -- there are still a great many options to choose from.

The biggest of them is probably Judd Apatow's contribution to summer '09, "Funny People." A more serious comedy, "People" follows superstar comic George Simmons (Adam Sandler), who is afflicted with an incurable disease and has less than a year to live. He hires a young up-and-comer named Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) to be his personal assistance/protege, and the two form a close friendship. It's good to see Apatow branching out a bit from the usual zany comedy. He has a light touch when he wants to; it shines through in "Knocked Up" and I'm excited to see how it plays in "Funny People." Read more...

by Judd Apatow

As arguably the biggest comedy director working in Hollywood today, Judd Apatow is a funny guy and almost as importantly, he’s been a longtime friend to the MTV Movies Blog, acting as one of our first guest contributors way back when “Knocked Up” was coming out. Well, the big guy is back. Apatow’s next project, of course, is “Funny People.” And lucky for us Judd’s re-joining the MTV Movies Blog gang with a series of exclusive columns hitting every single Thursday between now and the film’s release. So without further ado, here’s Judd…

How to Make A Fake Movie

"Funny People" is the story of a famous comedian having a life crisis. Basically, George Simmons finds out he is ill and then wonders what the hell he did with his life. Was it all worth it? In order to make this character feel real we had to create the story of his career. In order to do this we combined real clips from Adam [Sandler]’s early stand-up days, some very old home videos of him and a bunch of fake movie clips which we created. Read more...

You may know that director Judd Apatow has wrangled a laundry list of stars for his forthcoming "Funny People," that includes -- along with leads Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann and Eric Bana -- Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Norm MacDonald, Sarah Silverman, Aziz Ansari, RZA, Dave Attell and others. But did you know a certain Detroit rapper will also be joining the crew?

That's right: Marshall Mathers himself will be making an appearance in the film. You'll have to wait until July 31 to see exactly why, but we've got the very first look at Eminem's tableside chat with Sandler's character, a dying stand-up comedian named George Simmons. Take a gander below, and don't forget to read the first of Judd Apatow's exclusive blogs for MTV, wherein he answers a bevy of questions you haven't even asked.

by Judd Apatow

As arguably the biggest comedy director working in Hollywood today, Judd Apatow is a funny guy and almost as importantly, he's been a longtime friend to the MTV Movies Blog, acting as one of our first guest contributors way back when "Knocked Up" was coming out. Well, the big guy is back. Apatow's next project, of course, is "Funny People." And lucky for us Judd's re-joining the MTV Movies Blog gang with a series of exclusive columns hitting every single Thursday between now and the film's release. So without further ado, here's Judd...

Judd Apatow's Answers to Questions You Haven’t Asked About "Funny People"

Will I like "Funny People" more than any other movie I see this summer including the kick ass Star Trek?

You definitely will. You will like it way more than every movie that comes out this summer, and it will be a tie with "Star Trek."

What is the movie about? Read more...

In Hollywood these days, few names are as desired on the movie marquee as that of Judd Apatow -- the 800-pound-gorilla of all that is funny. Now he’s ready to unveil his third directorial effort after “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up” –- two comedies that caused more pants-peeing than the Big Gulp at 7-11. Apatow's July 31st release, conveniently (and seemingly autobiographically) titled “Funny People,” is looked to with anticipation by the same loyal fans who have been won over by his family-and-fart-jokes formula.

“We all collaborate from the inception,” Apatow explained of his key to comedy success in the Adam Sandler film and beyond. “As soon as I start writing, I call the actors and talk about what I’m doing, and then we rehearse and improvise.” Read more...

As I mentioned recently, there are few things I love as much as a good "movie-with-a-movie" scene, be it a glimpse at "Habeus Corpus," "Chubby Rain" or Eli Roth’s upcoming Nazi flick "The Nation’s Pride." So recently, when I got a few minutes with comedy mastermind Judd Apatow, I had to ask him about all of the upcoming mini-movies in "Funny People" that will pair Adam Sandler with the likes of Owen Wilson.

"There’s a poster in his house from a movie called 'My Best Friend is a Robot,' and Owen is the robot," Apatow said of his July 31st comedy, which stars Sandler as a comedian whose career has taken off with a series of popular – if not ill-conceived – high-concept movies. "There’s also a movie called 'Redux,' where he turns into a baby." Read more...