GUFFAW
by William L. Graham

Cue testosterone-jacked announcer voice:
In a world where independent studios crash and burn like killer meteors, and distributors drown in a Tsunami of credit-card-financed dreck, where comedies suffocate you with shit jokes and tubby actors dangle their digglers in your face;  there comes a man -- one man who will stand up, who will put his StarMeter on the line, who will hold his boom box above his head and shout out to the world:  “Hey, man. Go see my film.”

And you should go see War, Inc.  I’m not gonna go all lefty on you, but truly, “In a world” where it is tougher and tougher to get anything made, War. Inc. is that rare animal that uses humor to take on a very dark, very adult subject.  And if it wasn’t already hard enough to get such a film out, the Neo-Con attack machine - including those who created “Swift Boating” as campaign sport - is coming after Johnny.  These guys are in full Cujo froth, which tells me you can criticize the war, but don’t you dare criticize my profits.

Get the whole story from Larisa Alexandrovna at the Huffington Post.  She helpfully includes a list of the theatres where War, Inc. is playing.

Meanwhile, I’m voting with my $10 at the movies.

>> read the whole story - Huffington Post
>> read Cusack's political satire War, Inc. finds its aud - LA Times
>> read Being the new John Cusack - Slate 

GUFFAW
by William L. Graham
(originally published January 4, 2008)

Ok, it’s a dead weekend for comedy.  I mean that literally -- only one major opening and that’s the horror pic 'One Missed Call.'

However, here’s the fun stuff.  'Juno', the little film that Fox Searchlight is hoping to be this year’s 'Little Miss Sunshine,' is going wide.  The teen preggers flick is expanding -- just about doubling its venues to over 1900.   

And it appears that more than Juno’s belly is growing – she’s growing muscles too.  Fox’s big pic '27 Dresses' starring that other knocked-up lady, Katherine Heigl, is getting its release pushed back a week to get out of the way of her little sister.  Now that’s some indie clout!

But that ain’t all.  This causes 'Mad Money' starring Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes and Diane Keaton to open up against '27 Dresses' on January 18.  So we get a chick flick double dip for the weekend and the 'Mad Money' producers are, well, just plain mad.

>> more about Box Office wars at latimes.com

GUFFAW
by William L. Graham
(originally published December 13, 2008) 

Hey Golden Globes, where are my boys?  C'mon, '07 was the Summer of Seth, wasn't it?  And Judd "The Smartest Man in Hollywood" Apatow scored a comedy hat trick with 'Knocked Up', 'Superbad,' and 'Walk Hard.'  Has that ever been done before?  I mean we're talking the Billy Wilder of dick jokes, the Mike Nichols of lowbrow.  Well, I guess the Mike Nichols of Mike Nichols did get nominated, but that's a distinction without a difference, isn't it?  And, JRile got a nom, but Judd is the man -- lifetime achievement in one year.

Anyway, think about it.  The Golden Globes - it's about the gold.  Who brought in the gold?  It was Judd!  Huge gold.  I mean, excuse me, Bob "The Golden Compass" Shane and Robert "Lions For Lambs" Redford, but it's not about who can spend the most - it's about who can make the most, isn't it?  I mean, give me $100 million dollars and I'll spend it for you, no problem.  But who can take those train loads of cash to the bank?  Judd, that's who!

By the way, Judd, if you're listening, I've got this script.  It's superfunny.  Call me, dude.

>> Related story:  Apatow Gets a A
>> Related story: SPIT TAKE/ The Summer of Seth

GUFFAW
by William L. Graham
(originally published December 10, 2007) 

"The Golden Compass" loses it way, comedy films continue to post solid box office returns.  Even though it snagged the number one spot, the super expensive "Golden Compass" is seen as underperforming by bringing in only $26 million against its $180 million cost.  Yikes! 

Nipping at its CGI heels in the second and third box office spots are family holiday comedies "Enchanted" and "This Christmas," showing some legs in their third week in release.  And speaking of legs, "Fred Claus," seemingly unharmed by bad reviews, scored fourth place in its fifth week in release - take that humourless film critics! 

Teen pregnancy comedy "Juno" opened huge in limited release in four theatres - could this be another hit for Jason Reitman?  Dark family comedy "The Savages" continued a solid limited run in nine theatres - keep an eye out for Oscar nom for Laura Linney's selfless performance.  And as for Philip Seymour Hoffman - is a hat trick of noms a possibility? ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," "The Savages," and "Charlie Wilson's War")  At any rate, we think the producers of the recent spate of downer dramas are in for some "Atonement."

To see how comedy fared at the box office, see Top Ten list below or
>> click here for the full chart. 

Find the Funny's Comedy at the Box Office:

1. Enchanted
2. This Christmas
3. Fred Claus
4. Bee Movie
5. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
6. Dan in Real Life
7. Juno
8. Margot at the Wedding
9. Lars and the Real Girl
10. The Savages