Latino Review has nabbed an exclusive that claims MacGyver is going to take MacGruber to court. Now, some of you might be having the obvious reaction of “Dude, they’ve been running MacGruber sketches on SNL for like…a hundred (unfunny) years. Why a lawsuit now?”

On the surface it might seem like a money-grab scheme now that MacGruber is going to the movies – however, according to Latino Review’s source (and some legal research) there is a fine line of parody rights that MacGruber may have crossed by making the jump to the big screen. Here is the breakdown of the situation as per “Pinche Taco” Latino Review’s inside informant:

You see, the laws of Parody are extremely strict.  You can do a 5 page mockery of the Fantastic Four in MAD MAGAZINE ( I always loved their movie parodies!).  You can do a 4 minute sketch mocking It’s A Wonderful Life on SNL or MadTv.  But it is a limited right, chicos!  You can’t suddenly do a comic called The Fantastical Four and not get sued blind by Marvel.

So there’s this rich guy named Lee Zlotoff…He created MacGyver and is working on the film at New Line Cinema.  And he is in the wings I hear tell with the Madre of all lawsuits. Not just to shut the film down and save us from this cinematic hell.  No.  He’s looking at [the studio] for dolares.  Mucho Dolares.  And it seems likely that he would get it too. Again, think about it- otherwise I could make the YAWNING- Y MEN about some bored mutants without pissing Fox off.  And of course I can’t.

Pinche Taco has a lot more info to share about the situation but you’ll have to read it over at Latino Review.

I don’t know who to roll my eyes at first in this situation. On the one hand, if this is indeed the state of affairs, I want to look at SNL producer Lorne Michaels (who is making this MacGruber flick happen) like “Bro, didn’t you CYA before you jumped into this?” However, I also want to tell Lee Zlotoff to pipe down and let this MacGruber movie play out.

After all, let’s face it: MacGyver hasn’t been relevant as anything other than fodder for parody or an occasional Simpsons reference for over a decade now. You want to move some DVDs, get yourself a new syndication deal or – the golden goose – a series reboot, Mr. Zlotoff? Then maybe you should consider letting this film spoof your character back into limelight. I’m sure there are plenty of kids who would love to meet Mr. MacGyver again for the very first time.

On the other hand, even though the MacGruber trailer was slightly better than terrible, it still might not be a bad thing to let this movie vanish into legality  – before any more irrepairable damage is done to Val Kilmer’s career.

What do you think? Should MacGyver take MacGruber to court? Or leave him alone and try to reap some back-end benefits?

Source: Latino Review

OK, I’ll admit it. MacGruber is one of my least favorite sketches in the SNL arsenal.  I like Will Forte and Kristen Wiig, but I just can’t get into the mostly dumb situations the character finds himself in, and most of the jokes are tired or worn out. I understand the concept behind it – a bumbling counter-spy agent (that closely resembles MacGuyver) is always too busy explaining himself and working through his own life issues to actually finish the job and ends up being exploded at the end of the sketch.

When it was announced that longtime SNL producer Lorne Michaels was making a movie based on MacGruber, my first response was “What the…?” Then actors Ryan Phillipe (Antitrust), Val Kilmer (Heat), Powers Boothe (Deadwood) joined the cast along with former SNL’er Maya Rudolph (Away We Go), and my interest piqued just a bit. Still, I was very skeptical of what exactly could be done with a MacGruber story that would attempt to hold my interest for 90 minutes.

According to MacGruber’s movie website, here is the official synopsis:

“Only one American hero has earned the rank of Green Beret, Navy Seal and Army Ranger. Just one operative has been awarded 16 purple hearts, 3 Congressional Medals of Honor, and 7 Presidential Medals of Bravery. And only one guy is man enough to still sport a mullet. “

Well, that doesn’t really tell you much about the story but here’s what I could glean from the trailer. Val Kilmer’s character has stolen a Russian nuclear warhead and plans to use it against Washington, DC. MacGruber (Will Forte) is called in to stop him with the assistance of Special Agent Piper (Ryan Phillippe) and MacGruber’s long time girlfriend, Vicki (Kristen Wiig). You can watch the red band trailer for MacGruber at Rogue Pictures’ website (link below). Meanwhile, we’ve posted the green band trailer for your viewing pleasure:

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MacGruber RED BAND TRAILER

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Then come back to check out some stills and leave your comments below:

Let’s face it: Lorne Michaels’ track record with SNL sketch-to-movie crossovers is OK at best.  The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World are the only major success stories.  Let’s just remind you of some of the flops, though: Coneheads, It’s Pat!, Stuart Saves His Family, Blues Brothers 2000, A Night at the Roxbury, Superstar, and The Ladies Man. While a few of them were good for laughs, none of them scream “Buy me on DVD and watch me over and over!”

But like I said, the budgets are kept low, so with the exception of It’s Pat!, Stuart Saves His Family and Blues Brothers 2000, all the films have at least made their budgets back.

I found this  MacGruber trailer to be awfully funny and there are some great scenes in it. I’m looking forward to seeing Val Kilmer chew up some scenery as the bad guy. MacGruber is directed by Jorma Taccone, written by Will Forte and John Solomon, and produced by Lorne Michaels, John Goldwyn and Ryan Kavanaugh.

What did you think of the MacGruber trailer and do you plan on seeing it in theaters?

MacGruber saves the world from exploding April 23^rd, 2010.

Source: Rouge Pictures

A bunch of new images have recently appeared online for what are sure to be some anticipated movies simply as a result of the people involved, not necessarily how good the movies look themselves. They are the new Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) comic book adaptation Scott Pilgrim vs. The World; the new comedy Cop Out directed by Kevin Smith (Clerks); MacGruber, the movie based on the Saturday Night Live sketch; and Your Highness, an historical comedy from the director of Pineapple Express and starring the likes of Danny McBride, James Franco and Zooey Deschanel.

The image above is actually the first of two official images released for Edgar Wright’s fantasy-comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which stars Michael Cera as the titular character who must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil ex-boyfriends in order to win her heart. Although as anyone who has read the original comic series will probably tell you, it’s not as simple as that.

One of the photos released is just of the main cast lined up which can be seen as the above header, but the other one is pretty damn sweet indeed: it shows Cera wielding some sort of red flaming sword whilst his girlfriend and one of the evil ex-boyfriends (Jason Schwartzman) watch from atop a pyramid in some sort of futuristic nightclub. Sound strange? Take a look for yourself (click for bigger versions):

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Scott Pilgrim vs. The World stars Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin and Jason Schwartzman. It hasn’t got an official release date as of yet but one in 2010 is expected.

As 2010 approaches, it’s time to bid farewell to the cinematic happenings of 2K9 – but what does the near-future hold for movie lovers? Luckily for you guys, we here at Screen Rant are dusting off our crystal ball and looking ahead… all the way to the year 2010.

Be sure to read through our entire 2010 movie preview (of over 70 movies!) to get the scoop on when you’ll be able to catch big flicks like Iron Man 2, Christopher Nolan’s Inception, Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Shutter Island, Freddy Krueger’s return to Elm Street, a comic book adaptation that’s sure to Kick-Ass, an animated showdown between Dreamworks’ Shrek Forever After and Pixar’s Toy Story 3 – and for the ladies, a second helping of Sex In The City and an obscure little film called The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

…And that’s just the preview of the preview. Let’s get to the full list of 2010 movies.

You can click on any one of the movie titles to see our archive of coverage on that film.

If you’re impatient and want to skip around, here’s where you can find:

• 2010 Spring movies
• 2010 Summer movies
• 2010 Fall/Winter movies

Enjoy…

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JANUARY

Daybreakers

January 8th

Synopsis: In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher  (Ethan Hawke) works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

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Youth In Revolt

January 8th

Synopsis: Nick Twisp (Michael Cera), a unique, but affable teen with a taste for the finer things in life falls hopelessly in love with free-spirited Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday). But family, geography and jealous ex-lovers conspire to keep these two apart. With Sheeni’s encouragement, Nick abandons his dull, predictable life and develops a rebellious alter ego who leads him on a path of destruction with uproarious consequences.

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The Book of Eli

January 15th

Synopsis: A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man (Denzel Washington) fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis co-star.

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The Lovely Bones

January 15th

Synopsis: Based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and directed by Oscar-winner Peter Jackson, The Lovely Bones centers on a young girl (Saoirse Ronan) who has been murdered and watches over her family and her killer from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

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Legion

January 22nd

Synopsis: After a terrifying biblical apocalypse descends upon the world, a group of strangers stranded in a remote truck stop diner in the Southwest unwittingly become humanity’s last line of defense when they discover the diner’s young waitress is pregnant with the messiah.

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Tooth Fairy

January 22nd

Synopsis: A bad deed on the part of a tough minor-league hockey player results in an unusual sentence: He must serve one week as a real-life tooth fairy.

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Edge of Darkness

January 29th

Synopsis: As homicide detective Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) investigates the death of his activist daughter, he uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts an agent tasked with cleaning up the evidence.

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FEBRUARY

From Paris with Love

February 5th

Synopsis: In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.

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Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

February 12th

Synopsis: A young boy discovers he’s the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods. Based on the book by Rick Riordan.

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The Wolfman

February 12th

Synopsis: Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), a haunted nobleman, is lured back to his family estate when his brother’s fiancée (Emily Blunt) tracks him down to help find her missing love. Reunited with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins), Talbot learns that something with brute strength and insatiable bloodlust has been killing the villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector named Aberline (Hugo Weaving) has come to investigate.

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Shutter Island

February 19th

Synopsis: Up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Hospital. Teddy’s shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals “escape” in the confusion, and as the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything – his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.

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Cop Out

February 26th

Synopsis: A comedy about two cops (Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan) whose adventures include locating a stolen baseball card, rescuing a woman, and dealing with gangsters and their laundered money. Kevin Smith directs. Formerly titled “A Couple of Dicks” and then “A Couple of Cops”. Now it’s called Cop Out.

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The Crazies

February 26th

Synopsis: The inhabitants of a small Iowa town suddenly plagued by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply.

Click to continue reading our 2010 Movie Preview

Universal Studios has posted synopses of some of their major 2010 films, and two are piquing our interest here at Screen Rant.

The first is “Untitled Robin Hood Adventure,” directed by Ridley Scott of Blade Runner, Alien, Black Hawk Down, and I could keep going, fame. Russell Crowe steps into the tights (well, more like armor this time around looking at the Crowe’s Robin Hood costume) of the mythic English folk hero who enacted his own economic stimulus package for the peasants of Nottingham village.

This story has come to the big screen countless times, twice in one year even, with 1991 seeing Patrick Bergin in Robin Hood matching barbs with Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Some would say neither film, which played up the bandit’s romantic soul and added period realism, hit the bull’s-eye, and still consider Errol Flynn’s swashbuckling The Adventures of Robin Hood the gold standard. Scott’s version sounds a bit bloodier than that classic:

The untitled Robin Hood adventure chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richard’s army against the French. Upon Richard’s death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marion (Oscar winner Cate Blanchett), a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Hoping to earn the hand of Maid Marion and salvage the village, Robin assembles a gang whose lethal mercenary skills are matched only by its appetite for life. Together, they begin preying on the indulgent upper class to correct injustices under the sheriff.

Lethal mercenary skills? Have Friar Tuck and Little John been taking lessons from The Fraternity? Seriously though, archery and swordplay aside, there’s a lot to crow about here (excuse the pun). Crowe and Scott have an established track record with both action hits like Gladiator and gritty dramas like American Gangster, while Blanchett brings surprising depth to even the slightest roles. And with the current economic situation not looking to ease anytime soon, this tale is ripe for reinvention.

The second synopsis that sounds promising is MacGruber, a film based on the Saturday Night Live skit, starring Will Forte, Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig, and Val Kilmer.

Before you start the usual heckling that comes when an SNL skit tries to jump to the big screen, check this out:

In the 10 years since his fiancée was killed, special op MacGruber has sworn off a life of fighting crime with his bare hands. But when he learns that his country needs him to find a nuclear warhead that’s been stolen by his sworn enemy, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), MacGruber figures he’s the only one tough enough for the job.

I love it. Kilmer has had comedy chops since his debut in the hilarious slapstick Top Secret! and with Wiig and Phillippe on board as part of MacGruber’s elite team, this one sounds like a can’t miss.

Word is the movie’s getting an R rating for violence as well as its script, which is apparently chock full of quotable, NSFW lines. Will MacGruber join the ranks of The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World of actually watchable, funny, successful films? I hope so.

Source: Universal Studios