Arrested Development

Perhaps you folks saw the tidbit from the LA Times late last week where Jason Bateman was asked to respond to David Cross, who told me in an interview last week that the 'Arrested Development' movie is "not going to happen."

Bateman took pains to not only say the movie was still on, but to say that "bloggers" made way too big a deal of Cross' opinion.

"I think he was simply saying, 'Who knows?' " he told the LA TImes. "He wasn't saying anything definitive, but a lot of people with blogs and whatnot, in the interest of making a splash headline, stretched things a bit."

Yeah, those damn bloggers. Always quoting people directly and then reporting on it. How dare they!

Here's the flaw in Jason's argument: We already knew that this was just David Cross' opinion. Neither I nor any of the other "bloggers" who wrote about this presented it as anything but.

Fans of 'Arrested Development' might not be too happy with David Cross after they read this interview. Why? Because he has doubts that an 'AD' movie is ever going to come to pass.

"(I)t's not going to happen," Cross told me the other day when I spoke to him about his new stand-up special, 'David Cross: Bigger and Blackerer,' which premieres on the new cable channel Epix on Saturday (Friday night) at midnight ET.

"Way too much time it's been (since the show ended)," he told me. "I mean, there's so many people involved. Everyone's doing their own thing, you know. And everybody's aged. It's just not going to happen. I'm sure I speak for everybody when I say we'd love for it to happen, we'd love to work on it, but just I don't think... not going to happen."

In the special, which Sub Pop will release on DVD in June, Cross talks about all his usual hot points: religion, the health care debate, politics... and airplanes. If you don't get Epix, the channel is providing a free pass to see the special online. The first thing I was curious about: the pre-teen kid who came out and did a piece of his act at the start of the special.

It seems these days when anyone talks about Arrested Development, the conversation inevitably turns to the still up-in-the-air film sequel -- something that's proven to be more elusive than finding your own Cornballer. Last we heard, the film was actually in development (a term that only loosely means what it's supposed to in Hollywood), but in the meantime, though, there is some good news - IFC has picked up the off-network rights to Arrested Development.

The last time Opie got involved in a television show, we wound up with Arrested Development. Now he's hoping he can bring back the funny, maybe this time with ratings. FOX has picked up a penalty-heavy pilot commitment for Ron Howard's new multi-camera IRS-based sitcom.

Think of it as a classic workplace comedy modeled after the Taxi formula. And we'll have the added fact that the IRS is despised by the American public. And yet, at the heart of the show is a guy who genuinely thinks he's doing something valuable and important. Beyond this character will be the typical ensemble of wacky co-workers you'd expect.

It's oddly refreshing that this will be done in the multi-camera format; making a strong comeback of late. It's being proven that buddy and family sitcoms can still be funny in this format, so why not the workplace comedy? As much as I love The Office and 30 Rock, I could handle something more like Taxi or NewsRadio from time to time.

It's been a while since we heard any news about that Arrested Development movie that might be happening, might not be happening, was being written, was being thought about, etc. Now comes word from Jason Bateman that the movie is still a go and it's still being written as we speak.

Bateman tells Collider.com that Mitch Hurwitz is still writing the script, and once that's done they have to get the scheduling of the filming down (which won't be easy with so many cast members).

Arrested Development was a critical darling that managed three seasons of low ratings before FOX pulled the plug. Creator Mitch Hurwitz reunited with AD star Will Arnett for this past season's animated disaster Sit Down, Shut Up.

Now, they're reuniting with AD co-executive producer Jim Vallely for a third shot. This one's a live-action single camera comedy on FOX starring Arnett as a jackass. It's off to a good start; Arnett plays jackass very well.

The premise: Arnett is rich Beverly Hills stock and falls in love with a tree-hugger who hates him and every shallow thing he stands for. Just for being live-action, I think this one has potential. Arnett is waiting for the right vehicle to make him a star, and we already know what Hurwitz is capable of. Could this be their pot of ratings gold?

Yup, there's an Arrested Development documentary, and the trailer is below. I didn't even know this film was coming out, but it looks like it's the ultimate drug for hardcore AD fans (at least until the movie comes out). Besides the cast and crew being interviewed, we also see comments from people like Andy Richter, Keith Olbermann, and many other fans.

Jeffrey Tambor guarantees that Michael Cera will be in the Arrested Development movie.

That's what Tambor said at a recent Uprights Citizens Brigade show. He says that even if he has to call Cera up on the phone and order him to be on the set, Cera will definitely be in the big-screen version of the TV show. I can picture Tambor going to Cera's house, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him to his car to go to the set. And then Cera would be blindfolded and handcuffed to the car door, and if he tries to get out, two bodyguards will punch him in the gut and tell him to shut up. Then they'll get to the set and Cera will be kept in a cage when he's not filming scenes for the movie, fed scraps of food like bagels and Pringles (Sour Cream and Onion flavored).

Sorry, the scenario got out of hand there for a moment.

I also have no doubt Cera will be in the movie. Of course, I never thought there would even be a theatrical Arrested Development, so I'm not exactly Kreskin when it comes to this stuff.

It does look like that Arrested Development movie will get made at some point, some way, some how. But it's not a given that every single member of the cast will be in the film. There have been many reports that the only cast member holding out is Michael Cera, who played George Michael. Is it because he doesn't want to go back to something he already finished? Is it because he has a movie career (Superbad, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, Youth in Revolt, etc)?

Creator Mitchell Hurwitz puts an end to the stories and rumors in this interview with Fancast. He says that...uh, yeah, actually, Cera is the one holding up the film.

30 Rock has been the little show that could for two years. Like Arrested Develoment a few years back, it has a rabid fan following and the critics just adore it. Unfortunately, it also has the same problem that plagued AD: low ratings. While those numbers did tick up during last year's strike-shortened season, the show still only averaged 6.4 million viewers, good enough for 94th place among all shows. It's also proven it does well with alternate viewing methods like online streaming and DVR recording but the networks are still struggling with how to account for that.

If ever there was a time for Tina Fey's little show to find that bigger audience, this would be it. Sure winning the Emmy for Best Comedy for the second year in a row is great. Hell, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin took home awards for Best Actor and Actress as well this time. But even that doesn't mean anything when the ratings numbers come in. What does matter right now is Sarah Palin. Thanks to John McCain picking the one woman on the planet who looks exactly like Tina Fey, suddenly she's the most famous comedian on the planet, and that could just save her show.

Warning: the following may cause dizziness, headaches, dry mouth, and severe pain to fans of Arrested Development. Ask your doctor before reading it.

So everyone seems to be on board for a big screen version of the already-classic FOX comedy. Everyone except Michael Cera, that is. While doing press for his new indie comedy Nick and Norah's Ultimate Playlist, Cera told The National Post that he hasn't heard anything about a movie version of the show, and that "I don't think I would want to see a movie of the series if I was a fan, anyway." He also doesn't understand why people would want a movie if they can watch the three seasons of the show on DVD.

Ouch.

Aside from a couple of TV shows in the 1990s (Drexell's Class and Total Security -- ever heard of them?), most of Jason Biggs' career has been in the film industry -- most notably as Jim Levenstein in the American Pie series.

Now it looks like he might be headed back to TV with a CBS comedy about a family that "loves too much." He's in final negotiations to headline the as-yet-untitled project, which has received a pilot commitment and an order for six additional scripts.

The show revolves around adult siblings and their parents, all of whom are over-involved in each others' lives.

Jeffrey Tambor, aka Arrested Development's beloved George Bluth, is the
latest star to sign up for a guest stint on the HBO comedy Entourage. Tambor joins Sopranos star Jaime-Lynn Sigler and Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester on the guest star roster for Entourage's fifth season, premiering in September.

While both Sigler and Meester are set to play possible love interests for everyone's favorite semi-successful actor Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier), Tambor will be throwing a wrench into their plans for love when Vince suddenly discovers his propensity for older bald dudes. Okay, that's not true at all. Fact is, there's no word on what role Tambor will be playing, or if he'll be playing himself. Regardless, it's Jeffrey Tambor, so it will be awesome.

Since producers probably won't use my love interest idea (although I am totally copyrighting that right now, just in case) what are your opinions on Tambor's role? Should he be a studio exec? Mentor? Rival for Jaime-Lynn Sigler's affection? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

As I was surfing the world wide web over the weekend, I stumbled on a fun clip on the Entertainment Weekly website featuring actor Will Arnett. The caption describing the clip said "Will Arnett - Part 1. How to get the Arrested Development movie made."

Even if according to U.K.'s The Times, Jason Bateman confirmed that the rumored Arrested Development movie is definitely happening, I'm not getting my hopes up too quick and I'm ready to try anything and almost everything to ensure that the Bluths appear in a movie (be it on the big screen, a DVD or a special TV movie). That being said, I clicked on the play button to listen to what Arnett had to suggest.

Welcome to Subtle Subtitles. For those of you who are uninitiated to the purpose of this feature, we're asking you to come up with your funniest quote or description for what's going on in the screen grab we choose for the week. Winners are announced in the following Friday's contest.

Last contest's winner: Nick

"You're going to give yourself a hernia if you keep at it."

This week, in honor of Super Friends Retro Squad, a scene from 'Reflections in Crime' ...


(Top photo credit: 20th Century Fox)