Tuesday's latest while we deal with chaos in Illinois

When it comes to the next Jewish Liasion for the White House, there's no shortage of names. That said, here's an email that's been going around within the Jewish community of late:

New White House Staff!
So far there is:
Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Ronald Klain, Larry Summers, Paul Volcker, Tim Geithner and Peter Orszag. Maybe it's just because I'm Jewish, but am I the only one noticing that Obama and Biden are not so much assembling staff, as gathering a minyan?

Michael Cera is starring in a new comedy, which is apparently gone unnoticed for the past few months unttil a few weeks ago.

Look at most movie databases, and you'll find no mention of a new film called "Paper Hearts."

But talk to indie film insiders and the unconventional comedy, which stars Michael Cera and boasts other credits from Judd Apatow's talent stable, and you'll quickly realize how high expectations are running for this semi-secret project that's expected to debut at next year's Sundance Film Festival.

"It's pretty much 'the one,' at least as far as festival programmers are concerned," one seller said.

You can't blame programmers or buyers for investing their hopes in the title. It's not every day that the star of two movies in the boxoffice top 25 from the previous year toplines a movie whose rights are available -- let alone one on which word has been kept very quiet.

Those familiar with "Hearts" describe it as part-documentary, part-scripted comedy about the real-life relationship between Cera and his girlfriend, Charlyne Yi, another member of the Apatow acting crew (she played the pigtailed stoner in "Knocked Up"). Like Cera's recent "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist," music also is a key theme.

Nicholas Jasenovec, a relative unknown who has worked on past Apatow titles, makes his directing debut with the pic.

Seventeen shows that got cancelled way too early...

Details about the DVD release of Pineapple Express have been unveiled:

Single-Disc Theatrical Edition: - Includes the 112-minute theatrical cut with the following features:

* 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
* English and French DD5.1 Surround
* English and French subtitles
* Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast, including Director David Gordon Green, Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Ed Begley Jr., and Rosie Perez
* “The Making-of Pineapple Express” Featurette
* Deleted and Extended Scenes
* Gag Reel


Single-Disc Unrated Edition: - Includes both the 112-minute theatrical cut and the new 117-minute unrated version with the same features as above.

Two-Disc Unrated Edition: - Includes the single-disc unrated content plus a bonus disc with the following additional extras:

* Cast and crew making-of featurette
* The Action of Pineapple Express
Seth Rogen, James Franco & Director David Gordon Green discuss adding the element of hard-core action into the comedy genre, including a behind-the-scenes look at several stunts.
* Phone Booth
Before the role of Angie was cast, Judd Apatow played the part off camera. This piece shows the phone booth scenes that made the movie, and the voice that was really behind those phone calls.
* Line-O-Rama
Back-to-back shots of the actors’ different delivery of certain lines from the film, featuring Seth Rogen, James Franco and Craig Robinson.
* Direct-O-Rama
A Blooper reel featuring David Gordon Green directing and taunting the cast from behind the camera featuring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez and Craig Robinson
* Item 9 Experiments
Alternate Footage featuring smoking experiments on various characters and their reactions to smoking the top secret government "Item 9" weed.
* Saul's Apartment
Random characters from the film meet up and share hilarious moments in Saul’s (James Franco) apartment and get stoned.
* Raw Footage
Unedited raw footage for the following scenes: Cross Joint, My Cat’s Birthday, Tit Butter and Dinner’s gonna be cold tonight.
Begley's Best
* Ed Begley Jr. discusses his endorsement of non-toxic cleaning products called “Begley's Best” and shows us how he fulfills customer orders.
* Red and Jessica’s Guide to Marriage
Red & his wife Jessica give special tips on how to make a marriage work.
* Injury Report
The cast discuss the many injuries they have sustained during the shoot. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Seth Rogen and James Franco and compete for who got hurt the most.
* Stuntmaster Ken
Ken Jeong gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the stunts from the film.
* Rehearsal Footage
Footage of James Franco and Seth Rogen rehearsing scenes for the movie.
* First Table Read
Footage from the very first table read of Pineapple Express before filming begins.
* Comic-Con Panel
Excerpts from the Comic-Con panel. Filmmakers and Cast answer questions from “random” audience members. Questions are really being asked by staged comedians.
* Red-band theatrical trailer
* Digital Copy of the movie for playback on PC, PSP™ and iTunes

Bill Keightley's legacy was honored at the Mississippi Valley State game this past Sunday.