Tag: jenna fischer

Jenna Fischer Talks To Melissa From WAMG

Hi all… Melissa, your beloved geek here. I just had the privilege of talking with Jenna Fischer, star of the upcoming indie film A LITTLE HELP, and HALL PASS. (Do I need to mention that she plays the role of Pam on THE OFFICE). She was extremely nice, and very sweet. I thank her much for her time. So, naturally I have to share it with my fellow geeks!!! ENJOY!!

Your character is very relatable and real. How did you prepare for such an intense role?

The character that I play is so unlike me. At the same time it was fun playing such a misfit. I actually had to learn to smoke for this role, because I don’t smoke. I am not a beer drinker either. For most big budget movies, they will make cans with fake beer in them, but for an indie film, they just don’t have the budget. So for two hours, I had to drink beer while filming, and I got drunk. I just don’t have a taste for beer.

Even growing up in the hometown of Anheuser Busch ?

I have never really had a taste for it.

Your character goes on a date in the film and they end up sleeping together. How do you prepare, or go into a scene where someone is talking dirty on top of you?

I think a big thing for me is whether or not the male actor is uncomfortable going into the scene. If the man is a gentlemen, he is more uncomfortable than I am going into the scene. We spent some time together beforehand, rather than just “Hello, now I’m going to hump your leg”. The scene could have been more graphic than what it was, but in the end it was important to the story of my character. He is actually a very funny guy. His name is Jim Florentine. He’s on the Howard Stern Show all the time and he does these prank calls where he harasses telemarketers. You should listen to him sometime, he’s very funny!

I thought we could wrap up with your rescue work. I was actually very impressed to find out that you have done some work with animal rescue and have even fostered. Can you tell us about the organization that you are involved with?

Kitten Rescue. I haven’t been able to foster lately, but I have in the past. I had two that I named Mifflen and Dunder, but now they have homes. I fostered them until they were old enough to be adopted. I just got a picture of them now that they are a year old. It’s really cool. My mother actually got her kitten from Stray Rescue in St. Louis. They do a wonderful job. I think it really is God’s work.

A LITTLE HELP is playing during the St. Louis International Film Festival on Sunday, November 21st at the Hi-Pointe Theater at 4pm. Jenna Fischer will be on hand (schedule permitting) to recieve a SLIFF Cinema St. Louis Award and follow the film with a Q&A session.



Synopsis: “A Little Help” takes an affecting, seriocomic look at a few pivotal months in the troubled life of dental hygienist Laura, who’s played with delicately shaded nuance by St. Louisan Jenna Fischer (“The Office”) in her first major starring role. Stuck in a tense and loveless marriage to Bob (Chris O’Donnell) and no longer able to connect with her alienated 12-year-old son (Daniel Yelsky), Laura is already coming emotionally unmoored when she finds herself completely at sea after the unexpected death of her husband. Stunned by this abrupt turn, Laura becomes entangled in a web of bizarre lies that further complicates her life. Rejecting the unwelcome advice given by her intrusive mother (Lesley Ann Warren) and judgmental older sister (Brooke Smith), Laura finally receives “a little help” from an unexpected source – her sister’s husband, Paul (Rob Benedict), whose unrequited crush on Laura offers both new problems and new possibilities. The feature-film debut of respected TV veteran Michael Weithorn – creator of “King of Queens” and writer/producer on “Family Ties” – “A Little Help” features original music by Jakob Dylan.

Watch This New Trailer For The Farrelly Brothers’ HALL PASS

One week. No Rules. See Owen Wilson & Jason Sudeikis in the new trailer for The Farrelly Brothers’ HALL PASS courtesy of Apple iTunes.

Synopsis from Apple:

Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are best friends who have a lot in common, including the fact that they have each been married for many years. But when the two men begin to show signs of restlessness at home, their wives (Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate) take a bold approach to revitalizing their individual marriages: granting them a “hall pass,” one week of freedom to do whatever they want…no questions asked. At first, it sounds like a dream come true for Rick and Fred. But it isn’t long before they discover that their expectations of the single life-and themselves-are completely, and hilariously, out of sync with reality.

From writers Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, Pete Jones, and Kevin Barnett, Warner Bros. Pictures’ HALL PASS will be in theaters on February 25, 2011.

Trailer for SOLITARY MAN – Michael Douglas’ Other Movie

With all the hype and anticipation surrounding Michael Douglas’ return as Gordon Gecko in Oliver Stone’s WALL STREET sequel, MONEY NEVER SLEEPS, Douglas’ other movie, SOLITARY MAN, has sort of fallen under it’s shadow. Written and co-directed by Brian Koppelman (with David Levien) the movie sounds familiar, at first glance. Douglas plays Ban, a former car dealership owner whose bad decisions as a businessman and a ladies’ man has destroyed his life and marriage.

Brian Koppelman’s only previously directed film was KNOCKAROUND GUYS (2001) but as a writer he’s been better received with films like ROUNDERS, OCEAN’S THIRTEEN and THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE. In SOLITARY MAN, Douglas is joined by Susan Sarandon as his ex-wife, with a supporting cast that includes Danny Devito, Jesse Eisenberg (ZOMBIELAND), Jenna Fischer (SLITHER) and Mary-Louise Parker, who appeared in the infamously long-titled but excellent THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD.

SOLITARY MAN seems to be one part anti-romantic comedy, one part dysfunctional family dramedy and one part potentially enjoyable. From the trailer, the cast seems to gel well, with a story that’s interesting enough to create curiosity about how Ben’s life turns out in the end. The trailer succeeds both at being funny and dramatically genuine enough to please audiences. SOLITARY MAN played three film festivals during late 2009 and has a current IMDB rating of 8/10 with 71 votes. That’s not too shabby! Check out the trailer below… SOLITARY MAN is set to hit theaters on May 7, 2010.

Review: ‘Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story’

Zac:

The newest film out of the Apatow camp is by far the weakest, but still has some good laughs and an enjoyable turn by John C. Reilly as Dewey Cox.
As a spoof movie, it is a fun romp, and has to be a million times better than the likes of Epic Movie or that recent string of horrible looking crap. Though, the movie doesn’t work the whole time and drags for much longer than it should in the middle which ultimately leaves a stale taste in your mouth when it is all said and done.
John C. Reilly as Dewey Cox is a joy to watch throughout at the sheer ridiculous of his character and he hams it up and plays the absurdity to a T. Unfortunately the absurdity isn’t very interesting sometimes and unfortunately not as funny as it thinks it is on a number of occasions. A perfect example is the Beatles scene which should have been gold with the actors involved but falls far short of your lofty expectations.
The supporting characters don’t have much to do either with Jena Fischer acting being almost down right bad at a couple of points. Tim Meadows, Chris Parnell, and Matt Besser are all one trick ponies as the band behind Cox, with Meadows having one of the better repetitive gags in the film. David Krumholtz is solid as the manager and is spoofing himself from Ray; and he does it well. The cameos are also weak with Jack White as Elvis and Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly as the only notable mentions, outside The Beatles scene, and they’re barely worth noting.
The movie works best in the early goings when it’s blatantly making fun of the themes of the musical biopic and doesn’t try to hide it at all, but once Dewey Cox becomes a star the jokes become fairly hit or miss, outside a great Dylan parody sequence, until the last reel or so of the movie.
It should be noted that the songs are good fun though, with some funny lyrics and tunes that aren’t all that bad either, and Reilly is more than capable of handling the singing duties. The songs are usually the highlights of the film and when the film is dragging there aren’t any new songs; and this of course happens during Dewey’s “song block.”
In the end, Walk Hard is moderate to mostly entertaining fair that is best served as a rental, but it’s good to see John C. Reilly get the spotlight as he is one of the most unappreciated actors working today.

[rating: 3/5]