JasonBateman-related stories
Posted Oct 5th 2009 11:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, OpEd, Reality-Free
Does it seem like every other month there's some talk about the proposed
Arrested Development movie? Perhaps that's because it's an idea that simply won't go away until the film is actually in theaters and fans of the Emmy-winning Fox series will finally be satisfied. Well, satisfaction may be just around the corner. The
Arrested Development movie is really developing now. Creator
Mitchell Hurwitz is at work on the screenplay -- working with co-executive producer James Vallely -- and the Bluths are creeping closer to big screen reality.
Continue reading The latest about the Arrested Development movie
Posted Sep 1st 2009 10:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Michael J. Fox's
Teen Wolf was infectious fun back in 1985. By the time we got to Jason Bateman and
Teen Wolf Too, a lot of the luster had worn off. Still, MTV thinks there's still plenty to mine from the concept, as they've
ordered a pilot for a Teen Wolf series.
MTV VP Liz Gately says, "It has a fresh take and is very different from the original." They go on to explain that it's more similar to
An American Werewolf in Paris (not
London, but
Paris). I'm still trying to wrap my brain around why remakes seem to be all the rage right now. Especially if this remake is so different from the source title. Why is it a remake then?
Have we reached a creative laziness where it's just easier to try and sell the public on a property they've already heard of than something brand new? If this is as "very different" as Gately says, then why not just call it something else entirely? Vampires and werewolves are popular enough right now with the kids that you don't need a 24-year old movie title to sell a series.
Posted May 4th 2009 12:22AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E03) I'm still not completely sure what I think about
Sit Down, Shut Up yet. This is the third episode, and this is what I have so far: it's funny enough that if I were flipping channels and came across it, I'd keep it on FOX, but if I didn't have to review it, I wouldn't set my DVR.
This week's episode, in which Knob Haven High was up for a distinguished school award, definitely had its funny moments -- the very end where Ennis realizes that he slept with Miracle's mother made me chuckle. However, it wasn't consistent enough to keep my mind from wandering in the middle. I had to rewind a couple of times because I completely spaced out and missed a few scenes.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up: World's Greatest Teacher
Posted Apr 27th 2009 1:47AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E02) Last week, when I rewatched
Sit Down, Shut Up for my review, I said that while I still wasn't enthralled by it, the show was much better upon the second viewing. Since I thought episode 2 was much better than the pilot, I expected to like it even more upon rewatching. Oddly enough, I didn't.
As stellar as this cast is, I'm trying to separate my feelings about this show from my feelings about them. I love
Kristin Chenoweth on
Pushing Daisies, so I don't really want to admit that her work on this show reminds me of a more grating
Amy Sedaris with none of the humor, but it kind of does. I don't know if it's the way her character is written, or the fact that Chenoweth's particular brand of pixie cuteness doesn't translate unless you're looking at her, but she just sounds shrill to me.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up: Miracle's Are Real
Posted Apr 20th 2009 3:03PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free
What do you call an animated show whose premiere is sandwiched between two other highly-rated animated shows yet still
manages to be third in its timeslot? You could call it a lot of things. You could call it "poor" or "slow". You know what I call it? A one-season show.
Seriously, I watched the premiere of
Sit Down, Shut Up (and it was
reviewed here on TV Squad), and while I thought some bits were funny, I don't see it lasting more than a season on Fox, if that. This is a network that is quick to pull the plug on many quirky shows (including Hurwitz's previous work,
Arrested Development).
I could be wrong.
Arrested Development lasted three seasons and animated shows are only a fraction of the budget of live-action ones. If his last show is any indicator,
Sit Down, Shut Up is probably one of those shows that rewards loyal viewers with various Easter eggs and hidden double-meanings. Hopefully Fox will give it time.
Posted Apr 19th 2009 9:31PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E01) I still stand behind the
early look of Sit Down, Shut Up I did a few days ago: the pilot was underwhelming. For everything that works about it, there seem to be at least two things that don't. However, before I did this review, I decided to watch the pilot again, so it would be fresh in my mind. What I found is that the show definitely grows on you.
While I didn't really laugh at all the first time through, re-watching it allowed me to pick up on some of the more subtle things that I missed. That, combined with the fact that I've seen the second episode, which is much better, really made me appreciate this episode more.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up: Pilot (series premiere)
Posted Apr 17th 2009 5:02PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Animation, Early Looks, Reality-Free
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has been breathlessly anticipating
Sit Down, Shut Up (premiering on FOX Sunday at 8:30 PM ET), the newest series from
Arrested Development creator
Mitch Hurwitz.
SDSU is an animated series based on a live-action Australian show by the same name. It follows a group of under-performing teachers at a Florida high school.
The teachers are all flaky, disinterested in their students, and with the exception of Larry Littlejunk (
Jason Bateman), highly under-qualified for their positions. An example? Miracle Grohe (
Kristen Chenoweth), the science teacher, beat Larry out of the job by stripping off all her clothes and yelling, "I ain't come from no monkey!"
The humor manages to be both broad and subtle at the same time, much in the way
Arrested Development managed to be. However, though Bateman himself calls this show an animated version of
AD, that's overstating it a bit.
Sit Down, Shut Up, is more like
Arrested Development's annoying younger brother.
Continue reading Sit Down, Shut Up -- An early look
Posted Apr 16th 2009 10:04AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Reality-Free, Press Kits Unwrapped
I don't know about you guys, but I've been super-excited about the premiere of
Mitch Hurwitz's new animated show,
Sit Down, Shut Up. It seems like I've been hearing about it forever, but it finally premieres this Sunday night on Fox. Recently, the screener came up for grabs, so naturally I jumped at it. What I didn't realize is that I would be getting the whole press kit with it.
All press kits are not created equal: I'd definitely enjoy a
talking Barney bobblehead from
How I Met Your Mother, but a busted picture of
Eliza Dushku's face from
Dollhouse really wouldn't do a whole lot for me. The press kit for
Sit Down, Shut Up is kind of low-rent, but it
is for a Mitch Hurwitz show on FOX. The low-rated
Arrested Development didn't exactly make FOX a boatload of cash while it aired, so they're probably waiting to see how the ratings go for this one before they shell out any more dough on fancy tschotkes for the press.
Continue reading Press Kits Unwrapped: Sit Down, Shut Up
Posted Apr 10th 2009 2:25PM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Animation, Interviews, Casting, Reality-Free
With
Arrested Development, Mitchell Hurwitz went through the ringer with critical support, winning awards, and grassroots campaigns to convince Fox to keep the show on the air that ultimately failed. So what does Hurwitz do for a follow-up? He takes some of the same cast (Will Arnett, Jason Bateman), goes back to the same network (Fox), and back to an idea he had before
Arrested hit the airwaves.
The new show is
Sit Down, Shut Up, an animated series that debuts April 19th at 8:30 PM, in between
The Simpsons and
Family Guy.
"It's funny, this is a show that I actually wrote in the year 2000, and it was an adaptation of a live-action show from Australia," Hurwitz said in a recent conference call. "I kind of kept it in the drawer for a long time, and finally brought it out, mostly because I needed money, which - I enjoy money, and I also use it for all sorts of different things in my life, but mostly for food and shelter."
Continue reading Mitchell Hurwitz talks Sit Down, Shut Up and Arrested Development
Posted Mar 11th 2009 12:15PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Video, Animation, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Reality-Free
The fact that
Will Arnett may not actually be the father of wife
Amy Poehler's baby is just one of the shocking tidbits you learn from
Jason Bateman on the soundstage for
Sit Down, Shut Up,
Mitch Hurwitz's upcoming animated comedy in which he and Arnett both lend their voices. We heard about the
mini Arrested Development reunion almost a year ago, and while the series doesn't premiere until April 19th, FOX has given us a taste of what to expect.
The video is great because it's not even a preview of the show, nor does it talk about the animated series in any way. Instead, it's three minutes of Jason Bateman and Will Arnett talking about height, "hair hats" man boobs, and intelligence (or lack thereof). It's blatently aimed at rabid, drooling
Arrested Development fans who are clamoring for any smidgen of a hint of the show's former glory-- and it works.
Continue reading Amy Poehler is "surprisingly promiscuous" - VIDEO
Posted Feb 23rd 2009 11:17AM by Debra McDuffee
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten
I think I'm getting old. I realized this last season while watching an episode of
Kyle XY. Matt Dallas, who plays Kyle himself, and his baby blues weren't doing anything for me. Chris Olivero (Declan) and his hunky jock thing didn't excite me either. I turned to my husband, mildly horrified when it hit me: "Honey, the hottest guy on this show is the dad!"
When my husband shook off his case of the giggles, he gently reminded me that the dad was, actually, closer to my age than the teenage boys. True, but I am so not as old as that dad... but I do think he's hot.
In fact, there have been a lot of hot dads, let's call them DILFs, on TV in recent years. Gives us oldies some eye candy too, I suppose. So, in descending order (yep, you've got to wait until the end for the super-hotties):
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: TV DILFs
Posted Jan 18th 2009 2:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
The long, drawn-out cancellation of
Arrested Development was one of television's greatest crimes against humanity. It ranks right up there with the approval of a new
Knight Rider when the original was already one too many, the spinoff
Baywatch Nights, and the made-for-TV movie
Knight Rider 2000. That's right, I just hassled the Hoff. If any of you want a piece of me, I also come with a side of "whoop-ass."
But with the
Arrested Development movie clawing its way inch-by-inch towards the big screen, Mitchell Hurwitz will at least have one other project on the horizon and on the very same network that tried to destroy him. Either he's showing he's a good guy and can take rejection in stride, or he's trying to bring down the place from the inside. You make the call.
Fox announced that Hurwitz's new show,
Sit Down, Shut Up, will air sometime next fall. Critics also got an advance screening at
the Television Critics Association conference last week.
Continue reading Arrested Development creator returns to the network that killed him, possibly for vengeance?
Posted Jun 24th 2008 5:25PM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, Arrested Development, Reality-Free
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.
Continue reading Will Arnett tells Arrested Development fans to threaten FOX
Posted Jun 16th 2008 10:23AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Jason Bateman is keeping himself busy. Hot off his pilot directing debut with Do Not Disturb, he has signed a deal with 20th Century Fox for a first-look at the new series. Obviously, he doesn't hold a grudge from the network's shoddy treatment of Arrested Development.
The new series will be developed under the banner of Bateman's company, F+A Productions. Do Not Disturb stars Jerry O'Connell and it was the only live-action comedy pilot Fox picked up as a new series for next season.
"He did an excellent job on the pilot visually, brought great energy and enthusiasm to it and, as an actor, he really understands how to talk to and motivate actors," said Gary Newman, 20th TV co-chairman. Bateman is also scheduled to lend his voice to the Fox animated series Sit Down, Shut Up which is scheduled to begin in the fall.
Jason Bateman has come a long way since Silver Spoons. I'm still eagerly waiting for the new season of It's Your Move.
Posted Jun 13th 2008 4:42PM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Arrested Development, Video, Retro Squad, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
A lot of hilarious, yet terrible, things run in the Bluth family--huge mistakes, catchphrases, and unconventional modes of transportation. In honor of TV Squad's
Arrested Development week, let's take a look at some of the qualities that make the Bluths unique.
Drinking and Drug Problems - Lucille's drinking problem is world-famous, but the other Bluths have been known to use alcohol and drugs on occasion. Lindsay had some issues with Zanatab back when she was part of "The Solution," and Buster can't get enough juice. G.O.B. frequently used roofies (known to him as forget-me-nows) on other people during his magic career. In the clip below, the Bluth siblings and Tobias got drunk to prepare themselves for an intervention. Michael only lets loose when he's drunk, and it's a wonderful thing to see. I love that he's wearing a Franklin wig.
Continue reading Common bonds: Bluth family traits - VIDEOS
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