I’d love to see him do it again, as I think Gervais is one of the most honest, frank people in show business, and unlike quite a few of them has really earned his place with work like The Office, Extras, An Idiot Abroad, The Ricky Gervais Show and his stand-up tours. With a dark sense of humour and an endearing self-deprecating wit, he is an ideal host simply because it’s a shock to those expecting the simpering autocue platitudes uttered by the more conventionally minded.

However, to say he didn’t offend anyone would be ludicrous. Although most took it very well, with Johnny Depp in particular appearing in a sketch about fake animosity on Gervais’ new project, Life’s Too Short, things are tense in the Golden Globe camp. If the organisers nearly had a heart attack, they should’ve done a little research first.

This year, there’s a similar spate of lacklustre films that will no doubt drag hordes of Hollywood stars to the venue in the hope they’ll be honoured for their work. I can only hope Ricky is waiting for them, as it’s nice to see if people can take the punches if they’re willing to associate themselves with films that aren’t up to much, to say the least. If Gervais isn’t chosen, however, he’s thinking of doing a podcast with a few celebrity friends, recorded live as the event takes place, which should be nothing short of hilarious. Either way, the viewer wins, right?

War Games tells the story of two computer whiz-kids who manage to wangle their way into military computers, and assume the various buttons they’re pushing are just simulated computer processes. However, this is far from the truth – what they’re actually doing is priming various nuclear devices aimed directly at Russia. Little more serious than Lulzsec, right?

The original featured Matthew Broderick (the loveable rogue from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and Ally Sheedy (the shy Allison Reynolds in The Breakfast Club), and there’s no news yet on who’ll be replacing the two iconic actors, but I’d say Shia LeBeouf is a shoe-in for the Broderick role.

Seth Gordon’s also been busy outside of King of Kong – he also had a director’s chair on the set of Horrible Bosses, as well as one of the Freakonomics (which we loved and reviewed, here) and even episodes of The Office and Breaking In.

It’s definitely a great concept for a film, but it’ll be interesting to see how they’ll tweak the story, given that the Red Scare is no longer so scary and Hollywood’s sights are set more towards the Middle East. More on this as it develops.

That’s right, this ex-couple have teamed up to make a film – playing to their acting strengths with a quirky comedy. Diaz, who we last saw fighting crime in Seth Rogen’s The Green Hornet, plays a money-grabbing , marijuana-smoking, foul-mouthed teacher, who makes a bee-line for the clean-cut and wealthy substitute teacher, played by none other than the Trousersnake himself.

Joining the school faculty is Forgetting Sarah Marshall’s Jason Segal, who takes on the job of a gym teacher, as well as Dinner for Schmucks star Lucy Punch, playing Diaz’s rival for the sub’s affections. Phyllis Smith, who is best know for her role as Phyllis Lapin-Vance in the US version of The Office, can also be seen teaming up with Diaz in what looks to be a well-matched comedy pairing.

Of course, it’s not long since JT was last on our screens, having been nominated for various awards for his role in the critically acclaimed The Social Network. He also stars in another upcoming comedy, Friends with Benefits, opposite Black Swan’s Mila Kunis.
Bad Teacher is scripted by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky – the names behind the 2009 comedy, Year One, which starred Jack Black and Michael Cera, as well as a number of episodes of The Office in the US. Judd Apatow’s right-hand man, Jake Kasdan, is directing.

It might look like another case of Diaz playing a bad-girl-turned-good (A Life Less Ordinary, In Her Shoes etc), but there should be a fair few laughs to be had out of this ridiculous premise and star-studded cast.

Bad Teacher hits UK cinemas on 24th June. Check out the trailer below!

It has been reported that Carell will be playing Meryl Streep‘s therapist in Great Hope Springs.

Streep will be working with director David Frankel who she previously worked with on The Devil Wears Prada, when she played the scary fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly.

This time she will play a middle aged woman whose marriage of 30 years is in tatters. The pair agree to attend marriage counselling.

Carrell is in talks for role of Dr Field, who works with the couple at getting their relationship back on track.

At the moment, it’s unclear who will be playing Streep’s husband in the film, however Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Gandolfini are both lined up to be in the film, so could it be one of them?

Carell is known for his part in the US version of The Office and a whole range of comedies, such as Anchorman and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. He has played more serious roles in the past, such as Little Miss Sunshine when he played a gay scholar of French author Marcel Proust, but he is mostly known for his humour. You’ll next see him in Crazy, Stupid, Love, which also stars Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Kevin Bacon and Julianne Moore. Carell is also working as a producer on the film.

Streep has recently taken on the role of Maggie Thatcher for a biopic, called The Iron Lady, about the former UK Prime Minister.

It’s a great cast isn’t it? But does the plot sound interesting enough?

Hesher is a project which has been in development for over four years now and, despite still being without a UK release date, the trailer has finally been released!

The film stars none other than Hollywood’s current award-winning darling, Natalie Portman, who, having had a slight rom-com blip with No Strings Attached after the amazing success of Black Swan, looks to be returning to slightly more substantial film roles with Hesher. This film sees Portman take on the part of Nicole – a supermarket checkout girl who takes a young boy (played by Devin Brochu) under her wing.

However, the film’s star looks set to be Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who will play Hesher himself. Hesher’s a reckless young man with a troubled past, who somehow becomes part of the family at the centre of this drug-fuelled drama, as well as becoming ‘both mentor and tormentor’ to the awkward 13-year-old with a crush on Nicole.

This is certainly great role for Gordon-Levitt, who starred in last year’s sci-fi favourite, Inception, and was heavily nominated for his performance in (500) Days of Summer – although, if you’re anything like me, he will sort of always be 10 Things I Hate About You‘s Cameron James.

The film also stars Rainn Wilson, who is best known for starring in the American version of The Office.

Hesher first screened at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It is also the first feature-length film from director Spencer Susser, who has also written the film’s script.

Hesher is due to be released in the US during April, and we can’t wait for it to hit UK cinemas soon after! Meanwhile, you can check out the trailer below.

Ricky Gervais is a man of many, many talents. BAFTAs, Golden Globes, The Office, the introduction of Karl Pilkington to the world at large, Extras, Flanimals… suffice to say, he’s not been a lazy comedian.

Science is the latest in his list of four stand-up acts, and from the offset you know it’s going to be just as funny, smart and fascinatingly insightful as the last ones were. Even if you’ve only seen one, or none, it’s hard not to find his self-deprecating sense of humour endearing. He’s open and frank about everything, from his childhood, to the size of his member, to a serious crime he once committed. Though with him, it’s hard to tell fact from fiction, something he relies on in building the audience up and knocking them down repeatedly over the 80 minute-odd running time.

He tackles a variety of issues, and each seems to flow into the next without a single moment’s hesitation or a rather tangential sentence connecting the two. He once again returns to the issue of fat people and political correctness, something he feels passionate about – you may think Frankie Boyle steps over the line more than anyone else, but you’d be wrong. The difference between the two is Frankie’s comedy tends to rely on the fact he’s being taboo, whereas Ricky’s telling jokes and doesn’t care who it offends.

No one is safe from his barrage of criticism, and it’s interesting to see him openly admit to the amount of cash he can spend or discuss his distaste for autograph hunters. Clearly, he’s a funny man and an entertainer, but like every other level-headed celebrity he wants the spotlight to switch off when he goes off-stage. Sadly, it never does, and his increasing fame makes for some amusing situations when he’s constantly accosted by people wanting him to sign endless piles of his own material.

Delving back into Biblical issues again (always a favourite – his dissection of Genesis in Animals was nothing short of legendary), he talks about Noah and the concept of evolution, the 5 million species of animals and the illogical nature of religion. He’s never offensive with his views – bear in mind he spent a significant amount of time as a God-fearing child – but he’s unrelenting in his placement of science above all else.

It’s also interesting to hear an extended version of the brief bits of intelligence and wit we hear in between Karl Pilkington‘s endless verbalised idiocy. Gervais is by no means a stupid man – he’s extremely intelligent, very knowledgeable and is able to back up any point, however controversial it may seem, with a lot of evidence and theories that support his views.

He may not see Science as educational, but it’s hard not to walk away feeling slightly enlightened, although the joke he tells in his encore (c’mon, an encore in stand-up is hardly a spoiler) is likely to ruffle the most relaxed of feathers and reminds you that for all his charm, wit and intellect, he’s still Ricky Gervais, the man responsible for David Brent and his infamous dance.

There’s also a few special features to be had – a wonderful half-hour chat with Karl himself, a bit on New York, and the day Karl met Warwick Davis. That last one has to be seen to be believed. It really is incredible, and hysterically funny.

He’s disturbed, sick, depraved, arrogant, prejudiced, hateful, selfish, and an utter genius when it comes to turning all of that into appealing comedy that will have you bent double with laughter from start to finish. A triumph for the man, and one people will love seeing him improve upon in the many, many coming years of his career.

This Warner Bros. comedy will reportedly be directed by Dan Fogelman, who has previously worked as a screenwriter on the likes of Pixar’s Cars and Disney’s Bolt.

It will be the second collaboration between the pair since Carell left The Office, having worked together on the upcoming comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love.

In fact, the central themes of the two films don’t seem to be too dissimilar either. Imagine is the story of an old rock star who – after being informed in a letter from John Lennon that he has a child – sets about reconnecting with the son he’s never known, played by Carell. Crazy. Stupid. Love, on the other hand, sees Carell playing a father struggling to manage the relationship with his children amidst a marital crisis, and is directed by I Love You Phillip Morris‘s John Requa and Glenn Ficarra.

Imagine is set to be produced by Carell’s own production company, with the rest of the cast yet to be announced. We’ll keep you posted!