As we’ve previously learned about Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim play directors who are tasked with creating a billion dollar movie and of course they screw it up. So they choose to set up a new business in an abandoned mall and hilarity ensures as their delightful characters – played by Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, John C Reilly, Will Forte and others – stop by for zany adventures.

We also know that it pissed a ton of people off at Sundance recently.

At least one couple storming out of the theater actually hollered back at the screen. Heidecker and Wareheim could barely contain their glee at a post-screening Q&A. “What’d he say?” Heidecker demanded.

The incident happened during a scene where the two guys are riding around in a cart chasing hobos out of the derelict mall, screaming “Get the f— out!”

A man stomping out of the theater at that moment shouted back, “We f—ing ARE!” About two dozen people had already fled before that, and many more took off after. About two-thirds of the audience remained by the time the credits rolled. (Via Entertainment Weekly)

The rest of that article is totally worth the read, because their interaction with the pissed off audience is hilarious.

The directors will brave on with their creation, which hits theaters on March 2, but Billion Dollar Movie is actually already available for download and On Demand as well. In fact, they’re so hellbent on success, that Heidecker and Wareheim have spent the past few weeks tracking down a number of celebrities, and making them sign a pledge to not only see the movie in theaters, but also to bring at least one family member with them, while also swearing to not see The Lorax.

Thankfully, Tim and Eric recorded these celebrities making and signing their pledges and I have a bunch of them after the jump.

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Hey, come on, guys, Tower Heist wasn't THAT bad...

The big news at the box office this week was that Brett Ratner’s torn-from-the-headlines tale of greed and sassy fat Jamaicans, Tower Heist, was a huge disappointment, landing in second place and bringing in $10 million less than most analysts projected. That would be great news, I guess, except the excitement is tempered somewhat by the fact that people expected Brett Ratner’s schmucky, bad vaudeville romp to make $35 million in the first place. Meanwhile 50/50, the rare non-genre-garbage movie that was actually about something, has made $32 million so far in its entire six-week run.

It seems like it used to be that studios would put out a movie they thought was good and maybe it would be a disappointment, and then decide, okay, the crowd has spoken. These days, it just seems like the crap gets shoved down everyone’s throat before anyone has a chance to make a decision, because that’s what someone assumed the public wants. I know, I know, no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public and all of that, but that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to try. Come on, tell me that wasn’t the idea behind Jack and Jill.

Anyway, Puss in Boots was number one for the second weekend in a row with $33 million and blah blah blah who cares. Full top 10 after the jump.

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The Caltech Beavers in February after winning their first conference game since 1985.

The 2007 documentary Quantum Hoops is a must-watch for any basketball fan because it tells the story of the 2006 Caltech men’s basketball team and their epic quest for immortality. The five seniors on the 2006-07 squad, having no high school basketball experience at all when they accepted their spots on the roster at Caltech, were looking for the team’s first win in 11 seasons. Even more, the Beavers were looking for their first conference win in 21 years. They were the Washington Generals of Division III basketball.

Now their story is being told again, this time as a Disney comedy that has been picked up by Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films. “Think Dodgeball meets Revenge of the Nerds,” some pun-laden studio press release will eventually proclaim.

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Going against his normal strategy of staying attached to a project just long enough to impress people at a Jonas Brothers concert, Brett Ratner has actually directed a movie. Tower Heist stars Ben Stiller as the manager of a luxury apartment complex, where in the penthouse lives a rich investor played by Alan Alda. When Stiller and the rest of the apartment staff discover that Alda is a scam artist who’s lost all their money in a Ponzi scheme (TOPICAL!), he leads the plucky crew of knockaround schlubs that includes Precious and Casey Affleck in a heist to steal back their money (because Jamaican house cleaners always have plenty of disposable income to invest with Wall Street guys, didn’t you know?). The story of a dorky Jewish guy proving how down with the brother man he is really spoke to Ratner, but to give it the full nachos-stained crotch fondle, he brought on Eddie Murphy as the criminal consultant to give it that quintessential Brett Ratner scene, an interracial buddy duo arguing in a car. Will they argue about the radio? Soul food? Boxing? I can’t wait to find out!

"HEY I SEE A TRANNY PULL OVER!"

And there’s really loud music playing over the whole thing, because Brett Ratner movies are essentially the conversation you have at a club, where the content doesn’t matter as long as there’s enough background noise to convince stupid people they’re having fun. NTZ NTZ NTZ NTZ NTZ NTZ…

[via Yahoo, opens November 4th]

This was a particularly interesting chart that was a late addition to my career graphs post the other day. Wanted to make sure you saw it, because, you know… creepy.

MOAR TRADE NEWS, NOM NOM NOM

Ben Stiller & Vince Vaughn in negotiations to co-star in Neighborhood Watch. Vince Vaughn hasn’t seemed to care about making good movies in half a decade and Ben Stiller… was in Little Fockers… but hey! Remember Zoolander?  Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad), NW is a “sci-fi comedy about a suburban neighborhood watch group that uncovers a plot to destroy the world.” On the possible plus side, it’s set to be directed by Akiva Shaffer (Guy 1, the Ape Sh*t Killer from The Lonely Island), and if anyone can bring back good, dumb comedy (as opposed to the obnoxious, pandering Kevin James sh*t), it’s the Lonely Island guys.  Or it could just be another way for Vince Vaughn to eat food and collect a paycheck. We’ll see. [THR]

Disney is making a movie about The Matterhorn ride. Compared to the thousand other idiotic adaptations in the works, this actually doesn’t seem so bad. At least it has a theme, a setting, and a villain. But hey, didn’t they already make this?  Coincidentally, “The Matterhorn” is my favorite depraved sex practice. …If you don’t know what it is, sorry, bro, I’m not telling. Though it is variously known as a “Stinky Yeti.” [THR]

What did you do to Anna Faris’ hair, you bastards?! (Set pic from Sacha Coen’s The Dictator). A girl who looks like Anna Faris getting this kind of haircut should be grounds for divorce. I know that’s sexist, but I feel like there should be some middleground between “whorish Barbie doll designed for my amusement” and visually insulting attempt to become an old lady. [GettyImages]

Diablo Cody to direct Lamb of God. Writer of Juno and Jennifer’s Body set to make her directing debut in a story about “a young conservative religious woman who loses her faith after a plane crash, decides to go to Las Vegas to live the life of a sinner, and on her journey finds her way back to her faith.” I’ve always said that once you strip away the grating slang and kitschy hipster music, Juno is a solid movie.  But having seen Jennifer’s Body, I wonder if that’s mostly a credit to Jason Reitman. Hard to say at this point, but I am drafting plans for Burnsy, Ufford, and I to write more frat fiction under the pen name “DiaBro Cody.” |ComingSoon|

Kevin Smith Made a Distribution Deal and Sh*t. Read the rest of this entry »