411 Fact or Fiction Movies: Week 105

Posted by Ben Piper on 12.14.2007

Would Adam Brody make a good Flash? Will Jason Lee's talents be wasted in Alvin and the Chipmunks? Should Pee-Wee Herman make a big screen comeback? Will people tune in to the Extras series finale? 411's Jeffrey Harris and Nick Wallander debate these and other topics in week 105 of Fact or Fiction: Movies



Greetings my friends. It is that time of the week yet again, time for some Fact or Fiction. This go ‘round finds Jeffrey Harris and Nick Wallander going toe to toe for entertainment debate supremecy. Let's see how they fare…

1.The O.C.'s Adam Brody would be a great choice to play The Flash.

Jeffrey Harris: Fiction- The answer is no because Justice League is a doomed production and the writing is on the wall. WB is getting way too greedy and ambitious with this project. It's being rushed into production with a strike going on, and while people have already accepted another actor as Batman which was hard enough. And now they want to ruin that. For every Batman Begins or The Dark Knight there's a dumbass CINO (Catwoman In Name Only), Constantine, or Batman And Robin waiting in the wings. Adam Brody as Wally West/The Flash? I dunno. It could work. At least it's not Ryan Reynolds. I still think the JL project is bad news.

Nick Wallander: Fact- The legitimacy of the Justice League project as a whole is a whole different issue all together, but as far as the casting of Brody is concerned, I would have to agree with it. I do so for two basic reasons. 1) He has proven he can be a very funny performer. His three years on The OC made that show more watchable than it should have been. His supporting roles in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Thank You for Smoking were humorous as well. The guy can convey the sarcastic wit I've seen from The Flash in his previous incarnations. 2) It is better that a less established actor takes on this role. The expectations for Brody won't be that high and thus he can't disappoint as many people. Basically, at the end of the day, Adam Brody is a budding star in Hollywood. This could be his shot at establishing himself as a legitimate performer for big budget productions. I don't see him messing up such a chance.

Score: 0 for 1

2. You'll be tuning in for Extras: The Extra Special Season Finale next Sunday on HBO.

Jeffrey Harris: Fact- I'm a huge fan of Ricky Gervais and would watch just about anything he's involved in. Except maybe the upcoming sequel to Night At The Museum.

Nick Wallander: Fiction- Why? Well, because I don't have HBO. I assume a large chunk of the reading audience is in the same boat as I. Sure, I have heard a lot about this show, but I have seen nothing to back it up. I don't feel like shelling out $70 for an HBO DVD set (We all know they rape us on those sets), so like The Sopranos, I'll be missing this show for a long time. Hell, I may never see it. It is too bad though because I like good television.

Score: 0 for 2

3. You think Jason Lee's charisma and talent will be wasted in Alvin And The Chipmunks.

Jeffrey Harris: Fact- Lee's career was starting to wane several years ago. Then it started to go through a revitalization and rebirth with My Name Is Earl. And then he screws it up again with Alvin And The Chipmunks. For shame Jason Lee. The teaser trailer for this movie featured Alvin eating Theodore's shit which pretty much sums up how much of a piece of shit this movie will be. I understand getting paid at all. But seriously Jason Lee, you are not Breckin Mayer. One understands why Breckin Mayer would do those shitty ass live action Garfield movies. But you did not need to do Alvin And The Chipmunks which looks like it will be one of the worst movies of the year.

Nick Wallander: Fiction- Jason Lee's talent won't be wasted here. It will probably be the only thing keeping this movie afloat. Money says it will tank anyways, but it won't be because of Jason Lee. Odds are that it is a sloppy script with a handful of poop jokes to wrangle in the kids. The producers of this movie brought in Jason Lee for a reason and that was because they needed his talent and the fact that people now recognize him. Breckin Meyer sure as hell didn't have that much going for him. Ultimately when the reviews start coming in will be when we know how this one truly plays out.

Score: 0 for 3

Switch!!!

4. You expect Snoop Dogg's Father Hood to be an enjoyable guilty pleasure.

Nick "Wizzle" Wallander: Fact- Yeah, I think guilty pleasure is the best word for it. You all might recall I did a box set review of the first season of I Love New York, so you know that I am willing to watch a lot of garbage television. That is okay though, because I know it isn't Emmy winning stuff. Look, whether I like Snoop or not doesn't matter here. I am still intrigued to see how this guy handles a child. Many of you reading this are probably picturing this bad ass gangsta getting all soft and mushy when there is a baby tossed in front of him. Also, I am fairly certain that this show will be a step up from watching Hell Date on BET.

Jeffrey Harris: Fiction- Umm . . . No. I wouldn't watch this movie, not even if you paid me. I find Snoop Dogg annoying more often than not, unless Denzel Washington is shoving a pen in his mouth to get him to cough up drugs.

Score: 0 for 4

5. While Walk Hard looks extremely dumb and goofy, you still anticipate it being a quality entertainment.

Nick Wallander: Fact- Sue me for saying this, but I believe it will be a quality comedy. You are probably curious as to why. Well, it comes down to the fact that I now have total faith in Judd Apatow. The man had an amazing year with Superbad and Knocked Up being the biggest comedies of the year, so there is no reason to doubt him at this point.

Jeffrey Harris: Fiction- Looks like a great time to me, and a lot better than these shit spoof, parody movies we've seen lately like Date Movie and Epic Movie. Plus, it's Judd Apatow, the guy can do no wrong at this point. And well it could be just one movie to muck that up, but I don't think it will be this one. Though this movie could be a tough sell for winter audiences, plus with John C. Reilly in lead actor territory after playing the supporting role or lovable lummox for almost his entire movie career.

Score: 0 for 5

6. You would be in support of Pee-Wee Herman making a big-screen comeback.

Nick Wallander: Fact- The man still has what it takes. Paul Reubens has a decent track record of still being funny. Just check out his recent work in Pushing Daisies and Reno: 911. It is due time for a whole new generation to experience the Pee Wee phenomena.

Jeffrey Harris: Fiction- You mean that "Entertainment Weekly" article from some months back wasn't absolute trash and was actually serious about a new Pee-Wee Herman movie that isn't going to happen? News to me. This movie is so 20 years ago. I don't know what kind of audience they are bucking on for this, I don't think a lot of tickets will sell to the Adult Swim crowd. Parents aren't going to take their kids to see this. There was nothing special about Paul Reubens cameo in Reno: 911. I don't see how that justifies a new Pee-Wee Herman movie.

Final Score: 0 for 6

Wow, when it rains it pours, I guess. Two weeks in a row the column ends in a no-hitter. Kind of weird considering that they both essentially agreed on the Walk Hard topic, but gave differing answers irregardless. Anyways, thanks to Jeffrey and Nick for taking part.

Useless Trivia Question of the Week
Mad props to everyone who wrote in last week in response to the question "Who portrayed the first openly homosexual character (series regular) on American prime time television, what was the character's name, and on what show did this occur?" The answer is of course, Billy Crystal, who portrayed Jody Dallas on Soap. Congratulations to Chine from Denver, Colorado who was the winner of a hand-written letter from me.

As always the first person to email me with the correct answer and their home address within the continental US will receive a hand-written letter. On to this week's question…

Question: Two current movie stars were born with the name Michael Douglas. One is the Oscar winning son of Kirk. Name the other, as well as the inspiration for his name change.

See you next time,
-BP