Showing posts with label nick frost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nick frost. Show all posts

8/05/2019

Simon Pegg And Nick Frost's 'Truth Seekers' Series Heads To Amazon


We haven't had a true Simon Pegg/Nick Frost pairing since 2014's The World's End, which wrapped up Edgar Wright's beloved Cornetto Trilogy. But fans of the duo, and I count myself as one, are about to get all they can handle, only it will be on the small screen for Amazon.

Pegg and Frost are set to star in the Amazon series, Truth Seekers, which centers on a pair of paranormal investigators whose adventures get dangerous when they uncover a vast conspiracy. Frost will play one of the ghost-hunting duo, while Pegg will have another unspecified role. Jim Field Smith (She's Out of My League) will direct, with Nat Saunders and James Serafinowicz co-writing the scripts with Pegg and Frost.

The project was set up last year at Pegg and Frost's production banner,  Stolen Picture, and at the time this is how it was described by Pegg to Variety...

“Each episode is going to be an adventure, a potential haunting or something. It’ll start as a very parochial idea, a very small business venture for these people, but it will expand as the series goes on to be something far more global. It’s a language everyone understands, the mystery of the unknown. ‘Shaun of the Dead’ was a very parochial story set in North London and somehow it managed to get this global reach because everyone understands the language of zombie movies.”

This will surely give fans happy flashbacks to Spaced, the geeky comedy that introduced many to their brand of humor. Hopefully we get to see a lot of them together, despite Pegg not playing the other half of the investigative team. [Variety]

2/19/2019

'Fighting With My Family' Trailer: Florence Pugh Goes For The Win As WWE Superstar Paige


At Sundance I had the good fortune to attend the world premiere of Fighting with My Family, the WWE Studios film about superstar and former champion Paige. My biggest takeaways from the film were that it was good to see pro wrestling used to tell a traditional underdog story, and that star Florence Pugh is about to emerge in a major way.

Pugh, who had previously earned acclaim for Lady Macbeth and The Little Drummer Girl, captures Paige's wild spirit which made her a favorite to WWE fans. She gets to show more of that in the latest trailer on Paige's rise from an indie wrestler from Norwich, England to WWE Women's Champion.  The film also stars Nick Frost and Lena Headey as Paige's parents, both well-known wrestlers in their own right, and Jack Lowden as her brother Zack, who shares her dream of making it to the WWE. Dwayne Johnson makes a couple of cameos playing himself, and serves as a producer. He and Paige both come from wrestling families, which is one reason he was drawn to the project.

The family had a soft opening last weekend, earning $165K. A full rollout begins on February 22nd. Check out the final trailer below.


2/13/2019

Sundance Review: 'Fighting With My Family', A Crowd-Pleasing Piledriver Of A WWE Drama


When WWE superstar Paige had to announce her retirement from professional wrestling due to injury, I was heartbroken. Always one of my favorite women on the roster, Paige brought an independent spirit and anti-authority attitude that was genuine and not like cartoonish (but charismatic) superstars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Plus she was a beast in the ring and on the mic. I think it's safe to say that crowd-pleasing piledriver of a biopic Fighting With My Family has been high on my radar for a long time, for multiple reasons. Not only is it about one of my all-time favorite women in the WWE, but the film marks a turning of the page (no pun intended) by using wrestling to tell a familiar sports underdog story that is sure to win over audiences.

I was concerned about the casting of Florence Pugh as Paige, real-name Soraya-Jade Bevis. Not because she's an incapable actress; she's actually quite good, it's just that Paige is such a unique personality, rough around the edges but vulnerable and sweet. Her smile lights up the room, but she's totally credible kicking ass in the squared circle. The film isn't just about her, though. It's about her family, who are all professional wrestlers, and what it's like to grow up surrounded by that lifestyle.


For Paige growing up in Norwich, England the times were always rough. Her parents (Nick Frost and Lena Headey) are both wrestlers, running a shabby little organization out of a raggedy old gym. Paige didn't always want to get in the family trade, but after filling in on a match against her brother, Zak Zodiac (Jack Lowden, a breakout here), she's hooked for life. And she shows natural skills right off the bat, performing hurricanranas and taking bumps like a pro.  When the WWE finally calls and invites the kids for an official tryout, it's like the culmination of everything the family has been working towards.

"You're doing this for the family", Paige's father "Rowdy Rick Knight often says. It's a lot of pressure heaped on Paige and Zak. Vince Vaughn plays WWE trainer Hutch Morgan, who puts them through the rigors at the Performance Center. Fans of sports entertainment will get a thrill going inside the intense training regiment at WWE developmental, known as the popular brand NXT. But when Paige gets signed to a contract and Zak is turned away, it throws into doubt whether she truly wants this for herself.


Paige was more than just another WWE superstar. Her rise up from the ranks is one of the great stories in wrestling. At the time, women superstars were known, rather glibly, as "divas". WWE was in a phase of signing non-professionals with backgrounds in cheerleading, modeling, and dancing, who could titillate the mostly-male audience. Paige was unconventionally attractive and she knew her shit in the ring. But most of all, she refused to compromise who she was just to fit in. The movie depicts this in broad strokes, as Paige deals with a trio of mean girls at the facility who want to see her fail.

In a scene where one of Paige's rivals kicks and elbows her for real in the ring, Paige gives her what is known in the business as a "receipt". She punches the girl in the face, only to be reprimanded by Hutch. Situations like this keep occurring, and forced to deal with it alone, Paige has to face the reality that maybe she's not cut out for the WWE, at least not by herself.


It was smart of Merchant to also spend time away from Paige and focus on her family, in particular Zak who is struggling with the loss of his greatest dream. While she's on the verge of becoming a wrestling superstar, Zak just can't make sense of it all. One of the many themes Merchant imparts is wrestling's ability to unite communities and changes lives.  Zak may not be in the WWE but he and his parents are wrestlers, and they use wrestling as their means of giving back to others.  It's good to see a film that treats professional wrestling with the same respect as football or any other major sport.

Paige's story mirrors that of Johnson's in a lot of ways, which is one reason why he boarded the film as a producer. He also, finally (And the Rock says FINALLY!!!) gets to play himself, giving a rousing "jabronie eating pie eating" promo that blows away the starstruck Paige and Zak. Johnson's appearances are few, but his presence is more than just a boost in star power. Johnson is the pinnacle of what a WWE superstar can be, and coming from an upbringing much as Paige did, it shows the potential for what she could be.


Naturally, WWE is presented as the pinnacle of sports entertainment. I get it; for most fans growing up that's the case, but the movie comes out at a time when there have never been more options. WWE isn't the final destination anymore, and plenty of amazing superstars have emerged who have never and may never set foot on a Vince McMahon broadcast. Also, some of the changes made to Paige's story will irk fans who know what she's been through. Merchant's script breezes through her time at NXT, where she was one of their greatest women's champions. We don't see that run at all. Instead, she goes straight from training and onto the her first big match on Monday Night Raw and her legendary debut against champion AJ Lee (played by current WWE star Zelina Vega).  Skipping so much of what she went through does flatten Paige's story a little bit, because it's in NXT where her screen persona was crafted. By the time she appeared on Raw, fans knew her and were ready to love her on the big stage.  It's also a little weird how the final match is portrayed like an actual fight and not one predetermined in a script writer's office somewhere. I get it; the actual in-ring athleticism is legit and a big part of wrestling is suspension of disbelief, but to a layman it won't make much sense.

Appearances by Big Show, Miz, and Sheamus will perk up WWE disciples, but I was glad they didn't overload the film with cameos. Instead, the most colorful personalities all belong to Paige and her family. The matches themselves may be scripted, but the people are real and so are their hopes and dreams. Fighting With My Family may take a familiar path to championship gold, but it still lays the smackdown on you emotionally, whether you're a fan or not.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

12/17/2018

Nick Frost Tricks Fans With Phony 'Hot Fuzz' Sequel


Oh that Nick Frost! What a stinker that guy is! Earlier today he got fans of Brit cop comedy Hot Fuzz all riled up with an Instagram post sporting a hashtag that said a sequel reuniting him with Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright was happening.


That would've been HUGE, and a damn good reason to get hyped. Frost, Pegg, and Wright are all close friends and starred in the incredibly popular Three Flavours Cornetto movies, consisting of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End. Frost, knowing fans have been wanting to see the trio reunite for years, must have been feeling particularly mischievous today.

See, there is no Hot Fuzz sequel. Digital Spy reached out to Frost's people and they confirmed he was just having a laugh, and the actor has since updated his Instagram post to something more truthful...


There have been rumblings of a sequel in the past. In 2011 Frost said there was a script, but nothing ever came of it. Last year, Wright was reported to have talked with Pegg about doing another one, only to state weeks later the story was wrong and there would be no sequel.

Oh well. I don't actually want a sequel to any of their prior movies. A reunion on something brand new, on the other hand? Yeah, that still needs to happen. 

If you're not too angry with Frost you can check him in the WWE film Fighting with my Family which opens in February 2019.


11/14/2018

'Fighting With My Family' Trailer: The Rock Helps Tell The Story Of WWE Superstar Paige


As a longtime WWE fan who watches Paige on Smackdown Live every Tuesday night, I've been looking forward to this trailer for Fighting With My Family. The WWE Studios effort is different from the other knuckle-headed flicks from the brand Vince McMahon built; it's a biopic based on Paige's life growing up as part of a wrestling family. It's especially poignant the timing of it considering the recent injury that put Paige on the shelf and ended her career. Fortunately, the trailer looks like it will do her story the justice it deserves.

Paige is played by rising star Florence Pugh, who is joined by Nick Frost and Lena Headey as her parents, both professional wrestlers in their own right, and Jack Lowden as her brother Zack. When Paige and Zack are recruited to tryout for the WWE, it causes a rift when only she is seen as having the talent to make the cut. Of course they also get some big time help from other WWE superstars, and it doesn't get much bigger than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Interestingly, the film is directed by actor Stephen Merchant, most recently seen in last week's The Girl in the Spider's Web and Logan. He also has at least a tiny role in the film, seen during the dinner table scene. I wasn't sure how Pugh would be in the role but she definitely has Paige's look down, and when she warns "How about I shove your head up your ass?" it sounds exactly like something she would say.

Also starring Vince Vaughn, Fighting With My Family opens February 14th 2019.

8/09/2018

Trailer For Horror Comedy 'Slaughterhouse Rulez' Reunites Simon Pegg And Nick Frost


While the upcoming horror-comedy Slaughterhouse Rulez isn't necessarily about Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's characters, the new trailer doesn't want you to know that. It's focused heavily on the fan-favorite duo from the Cornetto Trilogy of films: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End. They haven't actually teamed up on a feature in years, so seeing them together again is obviously going to be a huge draw.

The film is directed by Crispian Mills, who worked with Pegg on A Fantastic Fear of Everything, and co-stars Asa Butterfield, Michael Sheen, Jamie Blackley, Finn Cole, and Hermione Corfield.  When a sinkhole appears at a prestigious British boarding school the students and teachers must fight to survive the monsters that emerge from it.

Slaughterhouse Rulez hits the UK on October 31st, which seems like an appropriate date. Hopefully we can get it around the same time.

5/17/2017

Simon Pegg & Nick Frost Enroll In 'Slaughterhouse Rulez'


While it may be a while before we see the original Cornetto trio of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost together again, it's enough that at least 2/3 of them continue to work together pretty consistently. Pegg and Frost are teaming up on a brand new venture by starting their own production company, Stolen Picture, and what better way to launch it than with a geeky new comedy from the popular duo.

Pegg and Frost will star in Slaughterhouse Rulez, which sounds like some crazy Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Japanese manga stuff. Here's Deadline's breakdown of the plot:

Slaughterhouse Rulez is set in an elite boarding school – Welcome to Slaughterhouse – where boys and girls are groomed for power and greatness and they’re about to meet their match. The story’s hero, Don Wallace, is a wide-eyed new boy from a modest background forced to navigate a baffling new world of arcane rules and rituals, presided by sadistic sixth formers. Matters of status are aggressively enforced and conversation with school goddess Clemsie, are strictly forbidden.

But this ancient and ordered world is about to be shaken to its foundations – literally – when a controversial frack site on prize school woodland causes seismic tremors, a mysterious sinkhole and an unspeakable horror is unleashed. Soon a new pecking order will be established as pupils, teachers and the school matron become locked in a bloody battle for survival.

Crispian Mills, who directed Pegg in A Fantastic Fear of Everything, co-wrote the script and will direct, with Pegg and Frost also on board to exec-produce.

While this is great news, the prospects for a Pegg/Frost production company, cranking out movies uniquely suited to their brand of comedy/genre mashup, is even better. If we are ever going to see a fourth Cornetto movie, and we all hope one day we will, this is likely the first step in making that happen.

3/10/2017

Simon Pegg And Nick Frost Are Writing A "Special" New Project


Is there anyone who doesn't like Simon Pegg and Nick Frost? I think it's safe to say the longtime friends are better together than apart, and the duo who gave us Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End, Spaced, and Paul are looking to reunite, which should make their fans happy. However, it's unclear exactly what the heck they're doing.

Frost revealed to The Inverse that he and Pegg are writing something together, but he's not clear what it will be yet...

“Simon and I are working on something. We’re trying to do something a bit special at the moment. It’s a work in progress, and we may have some more information on it later in the year."

Frost went on to say that if it were completely up to him, they'd do something like a comedy version of The X-Files...

“I think I’d [want] to do something in the sci-fi world. Something a bit ghost hunter-y, or a bit Monster of the Week in a comedy. With two guys and a girl, it’s like the ‘X-Files,’ but they’re not affiliated with any government agency.”

I'd be down with that, and I bet their followers would be, too. Hopefully he gets the chance to do that, if it isn't what he and Pegg are already working on.

2/09/2017

Dwayne Johnson To Produce And Cameo In Film On WWE Superstar, Paige


It's unfortunate that my favorite female WWE superstar, Paige, hasn't been seen on TV since last summer, but a combination of injuries and personal issues have kept her off the air. Hopefully that will change soon because Paige is not only extremely talented in the ring, but she has a incredible story. And that story, which involves her family's background in the world of professional wrestling, is about to become a new movie produced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Pfft! What's he know about wrestling?!

Deadline reports Johnson will produce and cameo in Fighting with my Family, a comedy-drama written and directed by The Office star, Stephen Merchant, who is basing it on the Channel 4 documentary of the same name. An oft-told story about Paige is how she was a wrestler before she was even born. Her mother, who was also a professional wrestler, battled in the ring without knowing she was pregnant.  Anecdotes like this will likely be part of the film, as well. Here's a synopsis:

Film follows the story of reformed gangster and former wrestler Ricky, his wife Julia, daughter Saraya and son Zak who make a living performing in tiny venues across the country. Ricky and Julia want a better life for their children and when brother and sister get the chance to audition for the WWE, it seems the family dream is coming true and all their troubles will be solved. However, Saraya and Zak are about to learn that becoming a WWE Superstar demands more than they ever imagined possible as athletes and siblings.

Rising star Florence Pugh (The Falling) will play Paige, with Jack Lowden as her brother Zack, plus Lena Headey and Nick Frost as their parents.

Hopefully this gets going soon enough for WWE to hype the crap out of it on Raw and Smackdown?

Our @sevenbucksprod welcomes to our #FightingWithMyFamily cast these two amazing actors. The brilliant/Bad Ass @iamlenaheadey and another Brit who's often mistaken as my twin, the genius @FriedGold (Nick Frost). Excited about these roles because Lena and Nick are playing Julia and Ricky - @realpaigewwe's mom and dad. Both Paige and myself are 3rd generation performers with a long history in the unique and crazy world of pro wrestling. Both our families made bones on the circuit by promoting small gritty wrestling shows to make a buck (my grandmother was the first ever female wrestling promoter in the early 80's and to say that she was "hard core" is an understatement). Ricky and Julia have that hard core DNA too - they do what they gotta do to get the job done. And in the end it always comes down to taking care of your family at all costs. Very cool to see so many brilliant actors respond to our script. Our writer/director Stephen Merchant did a fantastic job and I'm excited to work with him again. We worked together in The Tooth Fairy. He was an asshole then and things haven't changed. #FightingWithMyFamily #LenaHeadey #NickFrost
A photo posted by therock (@therock) on

4/20/2016

Review: 'The Huntsman: Winter's War' Starring Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, And Jessica Chastain


Let's be honest, The Huntsman: Winter's War probably shouldn't exist. Its predecessor, Snow White and the Huntsman, didn't really need to happen, either, but it arrived at a time when fairy tale reboots were just starting to take off, and Snow White movies were something studios were especially enamored with. The grim and gritty take, which saw Kristen Stewart as an armor-clad Snow White, didn't really take off and certainly didn't justify a follow-up. But because Universal wanted a franchise, here we are with a film that only brings back Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron, no Stewart to be found. And maybe it was Stewart or previous director Rupert Sanders (remember they had a very public romantic entanglement) holding things back because The Huntsman: Winter's War is vastly more enjoyable; if Frozen and Lord of the Rings spawned it would look something like this. 


Now, that's not to say the film is as good as either of those, but as a fantasy adventure full of evil queens, magical ice princesses, dwarves, and heroic acts it's a lot of fun. Plus there's something to be said about the fact that it doesn't take itself seriously at all, and certainly the star-studded cast knows not to do so. The construction of the story is a little weird at first, though. The "once upon a time" in this case is pre-Snow White and the Huntsman and follows Queen Ravenna as she manipulates and murders her way into power, alongside her mild-mannered sister, Freya (Emily Blunt). Love, as always, is a dangerous thing in this land, and when Freya's newborn baby is murdered by the man she loves, she goes all Elsa on his ass, and then flees to the North to establish an icy kingdom of her own. There she kidnaps children and raises them to be her army, her Huntsmen, with the law being that love is forbidden. 


The finest warriors by her side are Eric (Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain), who grew up together under Freya's watchful glare. The two fall in love despite the law, and when Freya finds out she exacts a chilly revenge that drives them apart for years. But nothing is as it seems, and when Eric, plus returning dwarves Nion (Nick Frost), and Gryff (Rob Brydon) are tasked with retrieving the stolen Mirror, his past comes rushing back to haunt him. 


What emerges from here is an airy fantasy romance as Hemsworth and Chastain bicker like this was an episode of Moonlighting while battling goblins and their fellow Huntsmen. In terms of tone there is practically no relation between the two films, which nobody will probably complain about. However, it's still incredibly unforgiving for those just checking out this franchise for the first time. The story begins deep in the past before springing ahead past the prior film and into the present in order to tell a story that doesn't really include Snow White at all. All that said the humor more than makes up for it. This version of Eric is a goofy lunk, while the comic relief is punched up by scene-stealer Sheridan Smith as feisty, sharp-tongued dwarf, Mrs. Bromwyn. Naturally, Frost and Brydon are great, and so is Chastain although her somber demeanor can be sort of a drag. It's also a lot of fun to see Blunt vamp it up alongside Theron, although more of the latter would have been even better.  Looking at the roster (which also includes Sam Claflin reprising his role as Snow White's husband), it's kind of amazing that a random sequel to a forgettable film was able to attract the likes of Chastain and Blunt, but the gravitas they bring to their roles is the reason why you seek out actresses of their caliber. 


Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, visual effects supervisor on the first film, takes over as director so the strong CGI remains mostly intact. He also keeps a generally fast-forward pace as the Huntsman and his team drive towards a clear cut goal, another thing missing in its predecessor. However, it's tough to escape the feeling that the whole thing feels sort of arbitrary, the kind of studio-mandated flick that moviegoers claim to hate. The ending is a slog of long-winded diatribes and ice walls, so drowned in special effects that it loses any sense of momentum or emotional connection. It also takes heavy steps to leave the door open for a sequel, which despite The Huntsman: Winter's War being an entertaining romp, simply does not need to be.

Rating: 3 out of 5

3/06/2015

Review: 'Unfinished Business' starring Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, and Dave Franco


Hey look, it's another movie where Vince Vaughn phones in his performance as well-meaning lug with a heart of gold. Who happens to be really, super-duper tall. Okay, he can't really do anything about the height but at some point it would be great to see Vaughn put some effort into one his comedies, or at least play a different sort of character. He certainly doesn't in Unfinished Business, a lazy road trip Euro-comedy that is about as much fun as a conference call. Actually, if I could have endured this film over a conference call it would have been preferable.

Unfinished Business seems to want to be a few different things but never accomplishes any of them. On the one hand, screenwriter Steve Conrad is adept at looking at the impact a career has on a man's self-worth. He wrote The Pursuit of Happyness about a homeless man who needed a job to care for his son; he also wrote The Weather Man about a man whose job drove him crazy; and he also wrote The Secret Life of Walter Mitty about a man who used fantasy to escape his boring job. There are individual moments in Unfinished Business when you can sense Conrad wants to tell a similar story, but he runs up against the need to put Vaughn in a dopey comedy first because that's what people pay to see him in.

The premise isn't half bad with Vaughn playing Dan Trunkman, a salesman in the swarf (metal shavings) business. After getting screwed by the company CEO (Sienna Miller in about her 10th straight thankless role), Dan pulls a Jerry Maguire and quits to start his own business. His fiery exit speech attracts a couple of coworkers. Tim (Tom Wilkinson) is an aging horn dog forced to retire because he's too old. And then there's the unfortunately named Mike Pancake (Dave Franco), a shy, terminally awkward neophyte who has no experience in just about anything. It's a business doomed for failure, but Dan can't let that happen. He's got a family to support; a loyal wife and two troubled kids, the son is being bullied in school and needs to go to an expensive private institution. Don't worry about all that stuff, though. While Conrad seems to be drawing a connection between school and workplace pressures, it's only to fill time until he can get to the next lame sex gag.

When Dan somehow manages to score a big contract that must be finalized in a handshake deal with a douchey guy played by James Marsden (always best as a douche), the trio must go on a business trip full of wacky misadventures. Or not. The thing about Unfinished Business is that it's remarkably tame for the most part. Sure, there's plenty of vulgarity and an abundance of sex talk, mostly from Wilkinson who uses the word "wheelbarrow" more than a man should, but it's all pretty standard stuff. Certainly it doesn't reach the wild and crazy heights most would expect from Vaughn in a set up like this. How can it not be raunchy? How can it not push the boundaries of good taste? Very easily, apparently. The problem is that Conrad really doesn't do "edgy" kinds of comedy, so his screenplay here is never up to the task. Other than an admittedly very funny (and disturbing) scene involving glory holes and Mike Pancake shaking hands with a penis, Unfinished Business has little in the way of laughs.

Chances are you saw all of the funniest parts in the trailers, anyway. All of them involve Franco who has his brother's chameleonic ability to make the most out of every wacked out character he plays. Wilkinson is a seasoned dramatic actor but he's also a very funny guy and, God bless him, he tries so hard find nuance in Tim's grey-haired sexual deviant. But there's nothing to do when his best gag involves buying a sex maid who goes to the wrong hotel room. *snooze* I'd say he was fortunate to have avoided this week's The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (his character died in the first film), but that decrepit comedy was terrible, too. And Vaughn...well, his performance is just lazy. We've seen variations of this role so often from him (most recently in Delivery Man, also directed by Ken Scott) that he doesn't even seem to be trying any more. He doesn't appear to be having all that much fun, either. At least when Adam Sandler drops a comedy goose egg we know he's enjoying another paid vacation with his pals. Fortunately, Vaughn has an action flick in Term Life and HBO's True Detective as motivation to put in more effort than Unfinished Business called for.

Rating: 2 out of 5

2/02/2015

Red Band Super Bowl Trailer for 'Unfinished Business' starring Vince Vaughn


Not every Super Bowl spot last night was for some huge blockbuster action movie. Vince Vaughn has the road trip comedy Unfinished Business on the way, and if it goes like his previous comedies it could be another huge hit for the actor just as he's transitioning to TV with HBO's True Detective.

A new red band trailer for Unfinished Business has Vaughn reteaming with Delivery Man director Ken Scott and co-starring with Dave Franco, Sienna Miller, Nick Frost, Tom Wilkinson, and James Marsden. Here's the synopsis:

 A hard-working small business owner (Vince Vaughn) and his two associates (Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco) travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every imaginable – and unimaginable – way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit.

Unfinished Business opens March 6th. 


11/26/2014

Vince Vaughn Goes On a Business Trip in First Trailer for 'Unfinished Business'


Good for Vince Vaughn that he'll get a chance to show what will presumably be a much darker side on HBO's True Detective next year, but he knows where his bread is buttered. That would be comedies just like Unfinished Business (formerly Business Trip), which put him back as the everyman in a film that looks like Planes, Traines, and Automobiles meets Old School.

Rejoining his Delivery Man director Ken Scott, with Dave Franco, Nick Frost, James Marsden, Sienna Miller, and Tom Wilkinson co-starring, Unfinished Business has Vaughn as a businessman who goes on a European trip to secure a major deal. Of course it goes sideways and soon he's going toe-to-toe with his old boss. This looks like standard course stuff for Vaughn, but the tone of this NSFW trailer shows there may be some dramatic edges. A few, but clearly not too many.

Unfinished Business opens March 6th 2015.

8/20/2014

Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost Working on New Film Together



As sad as it was to see The Cornetto Trilogy wrap up (in perfect fashion, I might add) with The World's End, it opened a world of possibilities for Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Nick Frost. There was never any doubt the trio of longtime friends would get back together again eventually, even as they explored individual opportunities. And fortunately for us it looks like that reunion is happening faster than anybody would have thought.

In an interview with BBC 6 Music, Pegg revealed that he and Wright are already developing their reunion, although it probably won't happen until schedules can be worked out...

Pegg: "Edgar and I were having a conversation the other day about it, and it has a title and everything. We're kind of into a creative cycle now. We've all got different things [going] on and we know we have to get those things done. The coming-together thing is without question on the table and will happen when we can do it."

He went on to talk about the thematic connection between the 'Cornetto' films and how how this next project would be a lean break from those...

Pegg: "When we said the trilogy was over, it was because that group of films was over. They’re all kind of related with each other and deal with a specific idea. There’s a criteria to those films…The next thing we do won’t do that, it will just be something else. It will happen. We made three films in ten years and hopefully in the next decade we’ll make another three…I really love working with those guys and I wouldn’t ever not want to work with them. It’s not even a question."

For the time being Pegg will be busy with Star Trek 3 and Mission: Impossible 5, while Wright will be directing Baby Driver next. For those itching for a Pegg and Frost team-up, the duo will be reprising their Shaun of the Dead characters in a Phineas and Ferb Halloween special to air on Disney XD.  How cool is that?

6/27/2014

Nick Frost to 'Look Away'; Wes Bentley and Jaimie Alexander Make 'Broken Vows'



* Nick Frost, Adelaide Clemens (Silent Hill: Revelation), and Hope Davis (Next Stop Wonderland) are set to lead the black comedy, Look Away. Monty Whitebloom and Andy Delaney, aka the directing duo known as BigTV!, are helming this one which has a pretty sweet premise. Clemens plays "a young woman suffering from so-called “selective blindness” that leaves her unable to see her own mother (Davis). In search of a cure, she sees a therapist (Frost), who’s in love with her and, having Asperger’s, is unable to empathize." Kind of sounds like a variation on Lynn Shelton's Touchy Feely. [Deadline]

* Wes Bentley (The Hunger Games) and Thor: The Dark World's Jaimie Alexander are set to make Broken Vows in the upcoming psychological thriller from debut director, Bram Coppens. Bentley plays a troubled man who goes into psychotic rage after being rejected by a woman (Alexander) he tries to seduce. [THR]

3/12/2014

New Trailer for Nick Frost's New Comedy 'Cuban Fury'!


I will be the first to admit, when I first read the synopsis for Nick Frost's new flick Cuban Fury all I could think of was Balls of Fury (which I actually dug, please hold the tomato throwing until the end of the post). Still, something told me to reserve judgement, this was Nick Frost after all, Simon Pegg gets the credit but he was the heart of the Cornetto trilogy. He plays the down on his luck loser who anyone can root for with perfection. This domestic trailer only confirms my suspicions. Frost plays Bruce Garrett, a child prodigy at competitive salsa dancing that has since let himself go. When his new boss, played by the extremely delectable Rashida Jones, shows an interest in men who dance salsa Bruce decides to dust off his dancing shoes and salsa his way into her heart. Chris O'Dowd plays his co-worker and romantic opponent Drew which, if the trailer is to be believed, will be the source of a large percentage of the funny. I suppose you could say that this could go either way, but you would be wrong, Nick Frost has it in him to carry a film based on his charms alone...I think this is going to be that film. Check it out below!



3/05/2014

New Trailer for 'The Boxtrolls' from the Makers of 'Coraline' and 'ParaNorman'


The amount of work that goes into stop-motion animation requires an extremely long lead time, which may explain why we've been seeing footage from Laika's The Boxtrolls since last summer. The film doesn't come out for months, but now another trailer has been released for what looks like another magical entry from the folks behind Coraline and ParaNorman.

Featuring the voices of Elle Fanning, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Ben Kingsley, Tracy Morgan, and Richard Ayoade, the Victorian-era story follows Eggs, an orphan in the town of Cheesebridge who was raised by trolls beneath the streets. Kingsley voices Archibald Snatcher, an exterminator hired to wipe out the Boxtrolls, who are believed to be stealing the city's children. This trailer also includes an original song by Cee-Lo Green.

With no animated projects from Pixar this year, perhaps there's room for Laika to finally get the attention they deserve? Co-directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi, The Boxtrolls opens September 26th.

1/28/2014

Dance to a New Trailer and Clip from 'Cuban Fury' Starring Nick Frost and Chris O'Dowd


It's Nick Frost, it's Chris O'Dowd, it's that lovely Rashida Jones...how can Cuban Fury possibly go wrong? Well...the first trailer had a lot of moves but seemed a little out-of-step comedically, but maybe this latest cut and a new clip will find the right rhythm?  Frost and O'Dowd play office rivals who take up salsa dancing in hopes of winning Jones' love, and the physical humor between the two actors promises to be a highlight. Let's just hope it's not the only highlight.

Co-starring Olivia Coleman and Ian McShane, Cuban Fury opens in the U.K. next month. Nobody's asked it to dance here in the U.S. just yet.



11/14/2013

Nick Frost Dances into Rashida Jones' Heart in Trailer for 'Cuban Fury'


While talking to Nick Frost during a Q&A for Edgar Wright's The World's End, Nick Frost talked about how his training for the extensive action sequences had come during the six months of dancing he put in for his Brit comedy, Cuban Fury. The film has always sounded like a winner with Frost dancing off against Chris O'Dowd. But now that the first trailer is here, does Cuban Fury have all the right the moves?

Frost stars as a likable, well-meaning regular dude who does what guys do in movies; namely fall head-over-heels in love with Rashida Jones. She's the new girl at the office, and when he discovers her passion for salsa dancing, he of course takes it up as a hobby, hoping to dance his way into her heart. Ian McShane turns up as a sort of dance Yoda, while O'Dowd is Frost's main competition for the dance crown and Jones' affections. Before long it's hip thrusts and awkward sexual tension at high noon.

So it's basically Billy Elliott meets Dodgeball? Eh. Cuban Fury opens in the UK on Valentine's Day but has yet to gain a U.S. date.

8/22/2013

Review: Edgar Wright's 'The World's End' Starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost


In a recent interview with Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright, the comedy trio and longtime friends compared themselves to R&B group, Destiny's Child. It may not seem to make much sense, but it's true in the sense that the members are more than capable of doing great work on their own; however the true magic really happens when they come back together. Doesn't seem so crazy now, does it? The World's End marks the conclusion (maybe??) of their beloved, pop culture-infused "Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy, and like its predecessors Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, it's an entertaining, imminently quotable genre mash-up with surprising layers of depth.