Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86672 posts
Wed Jul-08-09 05:40 PM
"MacGruber: The Movie. Yes, this is real. (swipe)"
I'm one of the few on this board (I think) who think Forte is legitimately hilarious in a very off-the-beaten-path sort of way. While I think a Falconer movie would have been a better idea for an SNL Forte vehicle, let's cross our fingers hard that this doesn't massively suck. (Val Kilmer co-starring is pretty hilarious though.)
'SNL' spies opportunity Forte's MacGruber headed for the bigscreen By DAVE MCNARY
Will Forte's bumbling spy MacGruber is headed for the bigscreen as the latest in a long line of "Saturday Night Live" characters to make that transition. "SNL's" Kristen Wiig will reprise her Vicki character for the feature. Val Kilmer and Ryan Phillippe are in talks to join the cast.
Forte -- who will return to "SNL" in the fall -- debuted the parody of the 1980s action-adventure series "MacGyver" in 2007. He'll co-write with "SNL's" Jorma Taccone and John Solomon; the logline's being kept under wraps. Taccone will direct.
Relativity Media topper Ryan Kavanaugh, Lorne Michaels and John Goldwyn are producing the project, which will begin shooting next month. Relativity's Tucker Tooley will exec produce along with Erin David and "SNL" head writer Seth Meyers.
"MacGruber" will be distributed under Relativity's Rogue banner, which utilizes Universal distribution.
Forte stars in Endgame's upcoming "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy."
"SNL" honcho Michaels has produced more than half a dozen features that transitioned show characters to the bigscreen including "Wayne's World," "The Ladies Man," "Coneheads," "Superstar," "Stuart Saves His Family" and "A Night at the Roxbury."
Forte and Taccone are represented by UTA and Mosaic. Wiig’s repped by UTA and Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment.
I mean, I think the sketches are usually quite funny, but I can't imagine a full length movie version though.
Lorne seems to be willing to bankroll anybody from his show who wants to make a movie about anything...I mean, most of the SNL spinoffs have been pretty awful movies, even if alot of them were pretty funny at the same time...
3. "my boy emailed me this:" In response to Reply # 0
MacGruber! Making unnecessary adaptations of second-tier sketches. MacGruber! Paying Will Forte less than what it costs for the catering. MacGruber! It might just break even. MacGruber!!!
------- "A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have." - TR
5. "Meyers and Forte need to be stabbed." In response to Reply # 0
and either Lorne's losing his fucking mind, or Pepsi paid him a gang of cash for the Super Bowl commercials. Then again, the guy did also produce a Pat movie at one point.
12. "No shit. *I'm* funnier than Meyers" In response to Reply # 11
and I'm just some douchebag on a message board.
Forte's OK in very, very small doses. For example, he did make the "Punching People Before Eating" and "Extreme Challenge" digital shorts. But not carrying a sketch, and certainly not carrying an entire fucking movie. But he deserves a lot of shit for this for a) concocting MacGruber in the first place, b) continuing the sketch well past its sell-by date, and c) agreeing to make it a movie. The paycheck won't matter, because I can guaran-god-damn-tee that this will open lower than It's Pat without adjusting for today's dollar value and ticket prices, and he likely won't get anywhere near top billing again.
10. "The problem with SNL movies is extending the sketch" In response to Reply # 8
and those are usually 8-12 minute recurring sketches. The average MacGruber is a minute at the longest. I really don't know how they could possibly make a movie out of that bullshit. Or who the fuck would go see it.
21. "plus the sketches no longer have an ending" In response to Reply # 10
it doesn't necessarily have to end on a punchline, but it's a bad sign that almost NONE of them end on a punchline. also, it's pretty obvious when a sketch rambles on at the end while getting quieter and then you throw up the applause sign.
13. "I completely agree that Forte is hilarious" In response to Reply # 0
He and Hader are easily my favorite current cast members. I was happy to read Forte will be back next season. He's been on awhile now, and I feel like they didn't give him too much to do last year, so I thought there was a chance he wouldn't be back.
An entire McGruber movie, though? I don't know about that. In all honesty, I'll probably see it should it come out just because I find Forte so funny.
15. "This will be the movie Get Smart should have been*" In response to Reply # 0 Wed Jul-08-09 10:36 PM by SoulHonky
I could definitely see them crafting a solid 90 minute send-up of action movies. They'll have to widen the scope of the sketch but that's what they always do with these films.
* Whether they'll be able to do it successfully is another issue but having the Lonely Island guys involved will be a push in the right direction IMO. Really, the only issue I have with this is Meyers' involvement.
16. "I want a Gilly movie." In response to Reply # 0
As for MACGRUBER... I knew it was coming. Lorne has been talking about the property's movie viability for quite some time now. I think they can make it work if they just shoot for making a straight up MacGyver spoof. And Jorma cowriting & directing definitely has my interest piqued. I'm not anticipating anything great here, but I'm not gonna hate until I see some footage of what they're shooting for.
29. "Here's the dude I know's exact quote:" In response to Reply # 28
"It's pretty high up there. Probably third behind Wayne's World and Blues Brothers. It's funnier than Blues Brothers but not a better movie. And of course it's better than Coneheads even though I like Coneheads just fine."
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