Monday, May 12, 2008

It's not Apatow until the critics say so

John Mayer has a new video and it's gone viral. It's actually directed by Judd Apatow. Here's a brief article:
In "Makin' Music with John Mayer," the 30-year-old artist takes the viewers behind the scenes of his songwriting process.

The video, with cameos from Kristen Bell and Apatow regulars Martin Starr and Steve Banos, features Mayer as he supervises a team of songwriters to pen him his song. According to the short film, he employed a coke addict to snort drugs for him as he wasn't really into drugs but needed the depression for a great song. He enlisted the help of his songwriters to write a track about something everybody can relate to, "when you're f*cking one supermodel to make the other ones jealous," and the finish process was presented over to a focus group, which includes one baby in a stroller.
You can view it here.

In Natalie Portman news, she has pulled out of Wuthering Heights.

SNL veteran Kristen Wiig is being hailed as the next Dan Aykroyd. She's up there, for sure.
It was meant as a compliment and Kristen Wiig was genuinely flattered.

"Oh, thank you," Wiig said when it was suggested to her that when comparing the current Saturday Night Live cast, of which Wiig is a member, to the classic SNL casts, she is the new Dan Aykroyd.

Not in the looks department, of course. Akroyd? . . . well, we love him, but we recall Homer Simpson proudly proclaiming at one point that he and Dan Aykroyd share some physical attributes. 'Nuff said.

Anyway, the heart of the compliment was based on talent.

Back in SNL's early days, John Belushi's characters always were sort of like John Belushi, and Bill Murray's characters always were sort of like Bill Murray. Not that they weren't hilarious, but those larger-than-life comedians always tended to play versions of themselves.

Aykroyd, on the other hand, was the guy who had to become different people. He never seemed to be playing a version of himself. And that versatility allowed the skits to go in all kinds of different directions.

These days, Wiig has grown into that role on SNL.

She joined the cast in 2005, but in the past two seasons she has gone from someone you saw occasionally to someone who seems to be in just about every skit.

Wiig is that kind of blank-slate comedian who changes in every skit and never merely is drawing upon her own persona.

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