Remember kids, the truth is always far, far stranger than fiction. It was a little more than a year ago that we found out the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon series "Yogi Bear" would be getting a big screen treatment. There was no casting announced or anything like that; just that the project was happening with "Surf's Up" director Ash Brannon at the helm and that it would feature a mix of live-action and CG animation.

Well today, the plot thickened. Variety reports that Anna Faris, Justin Timberlake and Dan Aykroyd are all in negotiations to join the cast of the movie, which will now be directed by "Journey to the Center of the Earth" helmer Eric Brevig from a script by Brad Copeland ("Wild Hogs"). Read more...

When he's not tearing up the world stage as a musical superstar, Justin Timberlake dabbles in film. One of his latest projects is "The Open Road," an indie dramedy where Timberlake plays a minor league baseball player who reconnects with his estranged major league father (played by Jeff Bridges) when his mother becomes ill.

The subject matter allows Timberlake to show his acting chops, which he does in the below clip featuring him and Bridges having a heart-to-heart at a local bar. "The Open Road" hits DVD and Blu-ray on November 17.

First there was a rumor -- ironically, spawned on Facebook -- that Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield had joined the cast of the Aaron Sorkin-penned, David Fincher-directed "The Social Network." They were to play Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Internet entrepreneur Sean Parker and FB co-founder Eduardo Saverin, respectively.

Then, MTV's Eric Ditzian spoke with Eisenberg at the "Zombieland" junket and got a pretty clear non-denial denial from the young actor.

See how he casts his eyes around? It's sort of like he's trying to hide something, isn't it? Well apparently, he was! Read more...

“The Open Road” isn’t the kind of movie I’d go out of my way to see. Nothing against Jeff Bridges or anything. I know as well as you do that the Dude abides. It’s just that dramedies about fathers and sons getting to know one another as adults isn’t what I usually seek out in a major motion picture. I am, to a fault, a genre guy. Though I do like a good vintage romance or comedy, especially from the 1960’s and earlier. I’m thinking about checking out “The Open Road” when it opens this weekend though.

Because Justin Timberlake’s starring in it.

Strange, I know. What twenty-seven year-old man goes to a movie because an ex-boy band member is starring in it as a baseball player? Hey, I like the guy. His “SNL” performances are funnier than most of the past twenty years of the show, it’s worth slogging through all of “Southland Tales” just for his bizarre musical interlude and he’s pretty badass in “Black Snake Moan”. I even dig some of his solo tunes. Read more...

All sorts of news flying around the web today. Some of this would have run earlier on the blog, had it not been for a midday technical SNAFU. Here's a round-up of what we missed:

-- I don't know if it's the "first" to hit the web (I'm pretty sure it's not), but IGN UK have posted their review of "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." It's mostly high praise for Stephen Sommers' high-energy action flick, and I couldn't be more pleased. I'd been feeling uneasy about "Joe" in recent months, but all of those fears were literally BLOWN THE EFF UP when I saw the movie myself this past weekend. (IGN UK)

-- "Monster Squad" director Fred Dekker revealed at a weekend screening of his family-friendly classic that he's currently hard at work on a script for "Cliffhanger 2." For those who don't recall, "Cliffhanger" stars Sylvester Stallone as a mountain climbing rescue worker who ends up pursuing an international gang of thieves along snowy mountain peaks. Word emerged back in May that a reboot was in the works, and now it looks like we have further confirmation. (FirstShowing) Read more...

Our 2009 MTV Movie Awards host Andy Samberg was on Jay Leno last night to talk about his days as a temp, loving mothers, his early stand-up career... and of course to plug his Best Kiss contender, "Pommel: The Bobby Brooks Story." I don't think we've got a choice on this one, readers ... we're going to have to give it to him!

If you're wondering about the steps one must take to become an MTV Movie Awards host, Samberg revealed his troubled years in the temp scene. One job involved "tying ribbons" for a greeting card company -- a job he and his fellow Lonely Island members Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone were fired from because they were daring to talk while tying ribbons. The Lonely Island trio decided to leave rather than stay silent, but their tragic story has a silver lining: "[while it lasted, temping] worked out perfectly because we were never up that early, and we were able to have McDonalds' breakfast... it was delightful!" Read more...

Justin Timberlake almost got "Moist" for his first movie in theaters-- and now that he's no longer wet behind the ears, director Barry Sonnenfeld is looking at the singer as a possibility once more to get the project's juices flowing.

"Moist" is a darkly comic novel by Mark Haskell Smith about a morgue attendant named Bob, who is "living way below his ability," spending all his free time playing video games, until he comes across a severed arm with an erotic tattoo of a woman he falls for. In the course of trying to find out who she is, Bob ends up becoming Roberto, a kingpin of the Los Angeles Mexican mafia -- ultimately replacing the man who the severed arm belonged to in the first place.

"I love the book," Sonnenfeld said. "Tonally, it's like 'Pineapple Express.'" Read more...

The talent, the moves, the hot girlfriends: A generation of kids want to grow up to be Justin Timberlake. But who does Justin Timberlake emulate?

Would you believe The Dude? (Or el Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing).

"I looked at him and said ‘I want to be you when I grow up!’" the former N*Sync star (and future Oscar host?) told MTV News about his "Open Road" co-star Jeff Bridges. "Just to work with someone who’s been [acting] that well for so long and still to be so collaborative and into it as much as I was [was impressive]. He is, without a doubt, my favorite actor I’ve ever worked with. He’s the best." Read more...

The last time Mike Myers starred in a comic film creation all his own, the entirely forgettable "Austin Powers in Goldmember," the flick opened to a stellar $73 million weekend at the box office. That was six years ago and as we just learned over the weekend, a lot can change in that kind of time.

"The Love Guru" opened on Friday to the kind of reviews usually reserved for movies starring Larry the Cable Guy, not to mention an embarrassing 4th-place finish. Perhaps no one sunk the knife deeper than A.O. Scott in "The New York Times" who called it, "an experience that makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again." Wonder if Myers turned and mugged for the camera after he read that one.

So this begs a few questions, the key one being...what the hell happened? Did Mike Myers suddenly become unfunny? Did our collective taste change? Is his new comic creation a little too familar (I'm going with this one)? Or is Justin Timberlake to blame? Read more...

Well, this film's street cred just shot way up with me. Sure, you know you're going to get all the Mike Myers and Verne Troyer goodness you can imagine this weekend when "The Love Guru" opens but Stephen Colbert?!? Now you're talking. Check out our exclusive clip below.