On the comedy Richter scale, you'd be surprised by just how close Albert Brooks and Megan Fox would rate. There's just one major difference: Albert Brooks is a comedic legend who is actually trying to make people laugh. Megan Fox? Not so much.The laughter she illicites are of the unintended variety. She's got a nice rack, though. Gotta count for something. Both have been pretty quiet lately but are set to make a big splash again as part of Judd Apatow's untitled Knocked Up spinoff.
THR noted Megan Fox's signing, which will mark her first mainstream effort since the Jonah Hex debacle. There was also that little thing where Michael Bay replaced her with another emotionless femme-bot for his next Transformers movie. No word on what her role is, but let's do some math. The film will take place years after Knocked Up, and feature the troubled couple Pete(Paul Rudd) and Debbie(Leslie Mann). They were in a rut before, and now years later I'm betting the rut is back big time. So I'm guessing that Fox will be a temptation of some sort for Pete and a rival to Debbie. Call it a hunch.
As for Brooks, Deadline notes his signing isnt confirmed yet but looks like a done deal. He'll be Pete's dad, marking Brooks' first on-screen gig since 2006's Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World(it's as "funny" as it sounds). He had a small voice role in The Simpsons Movie back in 2007, and will be seen again soon in Nicholas Winding Refn's action pic, Drive. Brooks has been behind some of the funniest comedies of the last twenty years, with my favorite being Defending Your Life(opposite Meryl Streep). He was nominated for an Oscar for Broadcast News, and was the voice of Marlin in Finding Nemo. The last fifteen years of his writing/directing work have not been kind, let's just put it that way. As an actor, though, his presence can only be a plus and should fit right in to Apatow's brand of humor.