There comes a time in our lives when a comedy arrives in theaters that is so iconic, you can’t help but love it years later and want everyone you know to watch it as well. For me, that was The 40-Year-Old Virgin. From the time I saw the amazing Steve Carell-led movie, I knew I was in for a fun time. 

But now, the movie is turning 18 in 2023, and the cast has gone on to do some wildly amazing things with their careers. From Carell to Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, here is where The 40-Year-Old Virgin cast is today, and what they have been up to over the last several years. 

Steven Carell (Andy Stitzer)

First up on the list is the amazing Steve Carell, who played the lead character, Andy Stitzer, in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. The actor has gone on to appear in many movies, such as Evan Almighty, Date Night, Anchorman 2: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Battle of the Sexes, and more. He’s also started to appear in many more dramatic roles as well, including Beautiful Boy, Foxcatcher (which earned him an Academy Award nomination), Welcome to Marwen, and more. 

Carell obviously also had major success as the lead in the American version of The Office cast, but besides that, he was the lead of the Netflix series, Space Force, and was one of the leads of the popular Apple TV+ show, The Morning Show. He was also a lead in FX’s The Patient. 

Coming up, Carell is going to be in the new Wes Anderson film, Asteroid City, as well as Despicable Me 4, where he's reprising Gru from the Despicable Me franchise, as well as a movie titled Imaginary Friends.  

Catherine Keener (Trish Piedmont)

Moving on, we have Catherine Keener, who played Trish Piedmont in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Keener has been in many movies since this, including Into the Wild, Unless, Captain Phillips, The Croods, Trust, Genova, Capote, An American Crime, The Adam Project, Polar Bear and others. She was also one of the characters in Jordan Peele’s directing debut, Get Out, and voiced Evelyn in Pixar’s The Incredibles 2. 

Keener also has experience in television with roles in shows such as Kidding, Show Me a Hero, Modern Love, and Forever, among others. She also recently had a guest role on the Bob Odenkirk-led show, Lucky Hank. Coming up, she is actually going to be in Joker 2, otherwise known as Joker: Folie à Deux, so keep an eye out for her. 

Paul Rudd (David)

Paul Rudd has truly had a great career over the past couple of decades, and in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, he played David. Since, Rudd has been making a name for himself in many movies and television series. Most recently he’s played Ant-Man in several Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, but he’s also appeared in several other films, including Knocked Up, This Is The End, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Sausage Party (which is getting a sequel series), The Little Prince, This is 40, Dinner for Schmucks, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and more. 

Rudd has also been in a lot of television lately as well, including parts in his own series, Living with Yourself, as well as roles in shows such as Parks and Recreation, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, The Shrink Next Door, Tiny World, Burning Love, and Reno 911!, among others. 

Coming up, Rudd will be in the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel, as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and the third season of Only Murders in the Building. 

Romany Malco (Jay)

Romany Malco played Jay in the movie, and he’s certainly seen his career grow over the last eighteen years. He’s been in movies such as Night School, Almost Christmas, Holiday Rush, When The Bough Breaks, Gulliver’s Travels, Think Like A Man and more. 

Malco also appeared in TV shows in main roles such as Weeds, No Ordinary Family, A Million Little Things, Mad Dogs, Blunt Talk and others. He also frequently guest stars on podcasts. 

Seth Rogen (Cal)

Rogen played Cal here, and has certainly made a name for himself in Hollywood over the last few years. He’s been in so many movies, it’s hard to name them all, so I’ll list some of his best – The Fabelmans directed by Steven Spielberg, This Is The End, Knocked Up, The Interview, the Neighbors franchise, and more. He’s also done voice roles in movies such as Sausage Party, The Lion King and the Kung Fu Panda franchise. 

Rogen has also been very successful in television. In terms of acting, he’s had recurring roles on Arrested Development, The League and done plenty of voice roles. He also had a lead role in the Pam & Tommy cast. Rogen also works as an executive producer, and worked on the popular Amazon Prime series, The Boys, as well as the superhero series, Invincible. Coming up, he’ll be in a television series called Platonic, and working on many other television shows as a producer.  

Elizabeth Banks (Beth)

Next up on this list is Elizabeth Banks, who played Beth, and she’s done so much since the film was released. Her best roles in movies so far include Brightburn, The Hunger Games franchise, Invincible, Lovely, Call Jane, The Lego Movie and its sequel, the hilarious Pitch Perfect movies and Magic Mike XXL among more. She also directed Cocaine Bear. 

Banks also had a role in Scrubs, as well as a major role in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, and a major role in Mrs. America. Coming up, she is going to be in movies such as The Beanie Bubble, Migration, A Mistake, and Signal Hill.

Leslie Mann (Nicky)

Moving on is Leslie Mann, who portrayed Nicky. Mann has been in movies such as Knocked Up, 17 Again, Rio and its sequel, The Comedian, Welcome to Marwen, The Bubble, Cha Cha Real Smooth, the stop-motion film ParaNorman and more. 

Mann has also been in many guest roles on television in shows such as Modern Family and The Simpsons, and also narrated Makers: Women Who Make America. Coming up, she is going to be in Rocking the Boat, a comedy also starring Rebel Wilson. 

Jane Lynch (Paula)

Jane Lynch’s Paula was one of my favorite characters, and Lynch only continued to grow in popularity after her appearance in this movie. She is certainly known much more for her roles in television, with one of my personal favorites being Sue Sylvester from Glee, but she’s been in many other television roles. 

These include a recurring guest part in the legendary Two and a Half Men, The L Word, Angels From Hell, Final Space, and more. She also had a guest role on the Hulu original show, Only Murders in the Building. Lynch has hosted several game shows, with some of her best being Hollywood Game Night and Weakest Link. 

The actress has appeared in movies such as For Your Consideration, Julie & Julia, Chimps, Role Models, and more, among voices roles for Wreck-It-Ralph and its sequel. Coming up, Lynch will be in Animals and Fairy Tale Forest.  

Kat Dennings (Marla Piedmont)

Last but not least, we have Kat Dennings, who played Marla Piedmont in the comedy. Dennings has worked on multiple television shows in main roles, including Dollface, 2 Broke Girls, and more, but she also portrays Darcy Lewis in the MCU, a role she’s reprised several times, most recently in Thor: Love and Thunder. 

Other than that, she’s appeared in television shows such as Drunk History, Big Mouth, and others. Dennings has also had roles in movies like The Answer Man, Daydream Nation, Friendsgiving, To Write Love on Her Arms and more. 

With a cast this impressive, it’s not a surprise that they’ve been in so much since the film came out. Maybe now you'll have a new movie or show to binge-watch. 

From the moment he was introduced in the pages of 1940’s Batman #1, The Joker was established as one of Batman’s most colorful enemies, and it didn’t take long for him to become cemented as the Caped Crusader’s arch-nemesis. So naturally the majority of the villain’s appearance in other media has been tied to Batman, including Barry Keoghan cameoing as The Clown Prince of Crime in 2022’s The Batman. But in 2019, Joker was given a movie of his own starring Joaquin Phoenix as the title character and no Caped Crusader in sight (though Dante Pereira-Olson did play a young Bruce Wayne). 

Between scoring accolades like winning two Academy Awards and becoming the first R-rated movie to cross $1 billion, there’s no question that Joker was a tremendous success. So while it had originally been intended as a one-off movie, talks began of making a sequel, and by summer 2022, Joker 2, a.k.a. Joker: Folie Á Deux, was officially confirmed to be moving forward. Among the things we know about Joker 2 is who’s in the cast, so let’s go over Lady Gaga and the other actors who will be joining Joaquin Phoenix in this upcoming DC movie.

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix’s version of The Joker was originally Arthur Fleck, a clown and aspiring stand-up comedian who suffered from a neurological disorder causing him to uncontrollably laugh at inopportune times. The series of events that unfolded in Joker, including losing his job, having his medication taken away, discovering how his mother had lied to him and him killing a trio of drunken businessmen after they attacked him, Arthur turned his back on society and became the nihilistic Joker. His first order of business: murdering talk show host Murray Franklin on live television.

Although the police car carrying Arthur away was intercepted by the rioters inspired by Arthur’s actions, we later saw him being held at Arkham State Hospital. He’ll continue to be there when we reunite with him in Joker 2, with most, if not all of the sequel being set at the mental institution. However, the vibe at Arkham we’ll be a lot different than it was in the first movie, but before going over that, we need to talk about Joaquin Phoenix’s leading lady.

Lady Gaga

The last several years have seen Lady Gaga make a splash in the acting world with A Star is Born and House of Gucci, and now she’s lending her performing talents to the comic book movie space. At the start of August 2022, Gaga confirmed that she would appear in Joker 2, and later down the line, it was officially verfified that she's playing Harleen Quinzel, a.k.a. Harley Quinn. This will make Gaga the second actress to play the character in a live-action movie, with Margot Robbie having already made three Harley appearances in the DC Extended Universe.

Lady Gaga playing Harley in Joker 2 (and getting pretty method with the role) makes sense. She is usually depicted as a psychiatrist at Arkham who falls in love with The Joker and becomes his partner-in-crime, so it’s easy enough to throw her into Arthur Fleck’s life. Also, the Folie Á Deux subtitle, which translates to “madness of two,” refers to a collection of psychiatric syndromes where a delusional belief or even hallucination can be passed from one person to another. Sounds pretty apt for a woman who embraces her lover’s warped view of reality and starts dressing like a clown, yeah? Finally, Joker 2 will reportedly be a musical (which is one of the reasons it has a much bigger budget than what the first movie received), and we all know how romance stories thrive through song and dance.

Zazie Beetz

During Joker, it looked like Arthur Fleck found a little happiness through dating Sophie Dumond, a single mother who lived in his apartment building. However, it was later revealed that Zazie Beetz’s character only knew Arthur from occasionally seeing him from down the hall, and that his moments with her earlier in the movie were a delusion. Joker was Beetz’s second comic book movie, having previously played Domino in Deadpool 2, and she’s also well known for Atlanta, Invincible, The Harder They Fall and Bullet Train. With Beetz returning for Joker 2, does this mean Sophie will visit Arthur at Arkham for some reason, or could he be hallucinating again, this time as part of one of the sequel’s musical numbers?

Brendan Gleeson

Now we come to the other new people along for the ride in Joker 2. First up is Brendan Gleeson, who Harry Potter fans will recognize as Alastor “Mad Eye” Moody. If you’re not enamored with the Wizarding World franchise, you probably know Gleeson from movies like In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin, or maybe you caught him playing Winston Churchill in the TV film Into the Storm or Bill Hodges in the short-lived TV series Mr. Mercedes. It’s been reported that Gleeson is “likely” to play someone tied to Arkham in Joker 2, like a security guard or the warden. If it’s either of those two positions, there’s a good chance that Gleeson’s character time with Arthur Fleck won’t end well. 

Catherine Keener

Catherine Keener has also come aboard Joker 2 in what’s been described as a “major role,” though no other details have surfaced yet. Keener is a two-time Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nominee for her performances in Being John Malkovich and Capote. Her other notable credits include The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Into the Wild, Get Out, The Adam Project and the Showtime series Kidding. I could see Keener playing a therapist who works alongside Harleen Quinzel at Arkham, but time will tell whether that is indeed the case.

Jacob Lofland

Jacob Lofland made his film debut in the 2012 Matthew McConaughey movie Mud, and that was followed a few years later by him starring as Aris in two of the Maze Runner movies and recurring as Kendal Crowe on Justified. You may also remember Lofland for playing the young version of Eli McCullough on Piece Brosnan’s short-lived AMC series The Son. According to THR, Lofland will appear in Joker 2 as an inmate at Arkham who forms a relationship with Arthur Fleck, but it’s unclear if this will be a twist on an established Batman rogue from the comics or a brand-new character.

Harry Lawtey

Joker 2 will be Harry Lawtey’s fourth movie, having previously appeared in City of Tiny Lights, Benediction and The Pale Blue Eye. In the TV realm, you may have seen him in the short-lived Netflix series The Letter for the King or on HBO’s Industry, where he plays Robert Spearing. It’s safe to say that Joker 2 is Lawtey’s biggest project yet, so it’s good that his role is reportedly a “big one.”

Joker 2 will arrive in theaters on October 4, 2024, five years after its predecessor came out, and as of November 2023, it was in the final stages of post-production. Keep your eyes peeled for more additions to the sequel’s cast and new details about the characters.

After years of uncertainty over whether or not Joker 2 would actually happen, the sequel has been making big progress over the last several months following director Todd Phillips revealing that this upcoming entry in the DC movies slate will be officially titled Joker: Folie à Deux. This includes the lineup of actors joining Joaquin Phoenix being slowly assembled, and today brings word that one of the stars from 2017’s Get Out is taking part in Joker 2.

Catherine Keener, who played matriarch Missy Armitage in Jordan Peele’s feature-length directorial debut, has landed what Deadline describes as a “major role” in Joker 2, although the outlet mentioned that there are no details yet about this mysterious character. Along with Get Out, you may recognize Keener from movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and The Adam Project, and TV shows like Kidding and Modern Love. Keener is the fifth actor to be unveiled for Joker 2, as along with Zazie Beetz expected to reprise the role of Sophie Dumond, Lady Gaga and Harry Potter star Brendan Gleeson have also come aboard.

Set in a separate continuity from the DC Extended Universe and Matt Reeves’ The Batman world, 2019’s Joker followed Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, a party clown and aspiring stand-up comedy whose struggles with mental illness and being mistreated by various people in his life lead to him becoming the Clown Prince of Crime and inspiring an uprising against Gotham City’s wealthy citizens. Along with being met with a decent amount of positive critical reception, Joker became the first R-rated movie to cross $1 billion at the box office. So while Joker was initially conceived as a standalone movie, with a performance like that, it’s hardly surprising Warner Bros. and DC decided to move forward with a sequel.

Regarding what to expect from Joker 2, although there’s been no official comment on this, Lady Gaga, who confirmed in early August that she’s in the movie, is reportedly playing Harley Quinn. This would line up nicely with the Joker: Folie à Deux title, as that latter French term is a psychiatric syndrome in which two or more people share the same delusion, and Harley Quinn is traditionally depicted as falling in love with The Joker while treating him at Arkham Asylum when she was a psychiatrist. Gaga would be the second actress to ply Harley Quinn in a live-action film setting, with Margot Robbie having already done so in Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad.

It’s also been said that Joker 2 movie musical, which is apparently one of the reasons why the sequel is reportedly costing a lot more compared to Joker. Another reason why Joker 2’s budget has reportedly ballooned to roughly $150 million is because Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips are both being paid $20 million this time around, while Lady Gaga is apparently collecting $10 million for her role. While it’s anyone’s guess at this point how Catherine Keener will fit into the Joker 2 picture, evidently we’ll be seeing a lot of her.

Joker 2 is set to come out on October 4, 2024, and as soon as specific plot details and information about the new characters trickle in, CinemaBlend will pass those along.

When I think of actors who make great villains, Catherine Keener is far from the first person to cross my mind. That may be exactly what made her performance as the villain of Netflix’s fun, time travel adventure, The Adam Project, so unexpected and memorable.

Yet, while looking up some of the best Catherine Keener movies for this particular list, I came to realize that the two-time Academy Award nominee has actually been mastering the art of playing bad for years now, as you will be able to see by streaming the titles below. Let’s start, however, with a role that is not quite so sinister, from one of the earlier years of her career.

Johnny Suede (Amazon Rental)

An aspiring musician (Academy Award winner Brad Pitt) struggles to maintain the style and personality of the rock ’n roll legends he idolizes.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: In what is described in the promotional material as a “smooth comedy” from acclaimed writer and director Tom DiCillo, things start shakin’ up for Brad Pitt’s title character from Johnny Suede after he begins a romance with Catherine Keener’s Yvonne, who challenges him to begin seeing himself for who he really is.

Rent/Buy Johnny Suede on Amazon.

Being John Malkovich (Peacock)

After taking a job as a file clerk, a puppeteer (John Cusack) finds a portal hidden in his office building that allows him to inhabit the mind of actor John Malkovich (Malkovich as himself).

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: Johnny Suede’s Brad Pitt makes a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in 1999’s Being John Malkovich alongside Catherine Keener, who received her first Oscar nomination for playing the scheming, manipulative Maxine Lund in this extremely inventive, surreal, satirical fantasy from writer Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze.

Stream Being John Malkovich on Peacock.
Rent/Buy Being John Malkovich on Amazon.

Death To Smoochy (Amazon Rental)

A disgraced, fired children’s TV star (Academy Award winner Robin Williams) plots revenge against his replacement (Academy Award nominee Edward Norton), who is already growing disillusioned by his job dressing as a purple dinosaur as it is.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: Three years after Being John Malkovich, Catherine Keener played a TV producer in another dark, bizarre and unique, but highly misunderstood and unjustly underrated, satire called Death to Smoochy, which fellow star Danny DeVito also directed.

Rent/Buy Death To Smoochy on Amazon.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (HBO Max)

A middle-aged tech store employee (Academy Award nominee Steve Carell) is urged by his friends to make some changes to his life after they discover that he has never had sex.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: Catherine Keener gives one of the sweetest and funniest performances of her career as a woman who falls for Carell’s titular character in 2005’s The 40-Year-Old Virigin - the theatrical, feature-length directorial debut of Judd Apatow, which remains one of his most beloved smash hits to this day.

Stream The 40-Year-Old Virgin on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy The 40-Year-Old Virgin on Amazon.

Into The Wild (Netflix)

Wishing to get away from his privileged life and start anew, a recent college graduate (Emile Hirsch) abandons all of his belongings and sets out on a cross-country trip hitchhiking to Alaska, encountering a unique variety of interesting characters along the way.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: In 2007, Catherine Keener gave yet another sweet, but not very funny, performance as a fellow nomad who proves to be an especially inspirational figure to Hirsch’s Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild - director Sean Penn’s mesmerizing dramatization of author Jon Krakauer’s cautionary non-fiction tragedy.

Stream Into The Wild on Netflix.
Rent/Buy Into The Wild on Amazon.

Capote (HBO Max)

Acclaimed writer Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman in a well-deserved Oscar-winning performance) becomes dangerously and emotionally attached to an inmate (Clifton Collins Jr.) on death row for the murder of a Kansas family while researching the crime for his latest book.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: In 2006, Catherine Keener earned her second Academy Award nomination for playing Harper Lee, who would one day publish To Kill A Mockingbird, in Capote - an intriguing inside look at the real life story behind the shocking non-fiction crime novel, In Cold Blood.

Stream Capote on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy Capote on Amazon.

An American Crime (Tubi, IMDb TV, Peacock)

A single mother (Catherine Keener), with the help of her subservient six children and other neighborhood youngsters, subjects a teenage girl (Elliot Page) to horrific and senseless abuse after her parents put her and her younger sister in their care while they are away.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: Catherine Keener’s villainous role in The Adam Project looks like Mary Poppins when compared to her Emmy nominated portrayal of Gertrude Baniszewski in An American Crime - a Showtime original, feature-length dramatization of the unspeakable circumstances surrounding Sylvia Likens’ death in 1960s Indiana.

Stream An American Crime on Tubi.
Stream An American Crime on IMDb TV.
Stream An American Crime on Peacock.

Get Out (Amazon Rental)

A Black photographer (future Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya) cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong while visiting the parents of his white girlfriend (Alison Williams), unaware how horrifyingly correct his instincts would turn out to be.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: While this thriller is not a true story, but very true to real life in many upsetting aspects, Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning debut as a writer and director, Get Out, features a brilliantly subtle, yet equally disturbing, performance by Catherine Keener that draws some amusing parallels to the plot of Being John Malkovich.

Rent/Buy Get Out on Amazon.

Incredibles 2 (Disney+)

After they are forced to come out of hiding to save the day, a family of superheroes (including Holly Hunter as Elastigirl) are given a much-desired second chance to “relive the glory days” and hopefully reinforce public opinion about vigilanteism.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: Without giving too much away, Catherine Keener’s naturally endearing quality, once again, proves to be an effective misdirect for her character in 2018’s Incredibles 2 - the long-awaited, action-packed sequel to one of the best Pixar movies from returning writer and director, Brad Bird.

Stream Incredibles 2 on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Incredibles 2 on Amazon.

The Croods Movies (Peacock Premium, Hulu)

After their home is destroyed, a family of cave people search for a new place to live and later discover a whole new way of living when they cross paths with a more “evolved” family.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: Another notable voice acting performance from Catherine Keener is as the motherly Ugga Crood from 2013’s fun prehistoric animated hit, The Croods, whom she would reprise alongside the all-star cast of The Croods: A New Age in 2020.

Stream The Croods on Peacock Premium.
Rent/Buy The Croods on Amazon.

Stream The Croods: A New Age on Hulu.
Rent/Buy The Croods: A New Age on Amazon.

Where The Wild Things Are (Netflix)

Disillusioned by the common pressures of boyhood, the angsty and overly imaginative Max (Max Records) runs away from home and finds himself in a strange land where unusual beasts reside.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: In 2009, Catherine Keener reunited with Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze for a visually stunning and surprisingly dark adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s seminal children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, in the role of Max’s mother.

Stream Where The Wild Things Are on Netflix.
Rent/Buy Where The Wild Things Are on Amazon.

Enough Said (HBO Max)

A divorced massage therapist (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) discovers that her new client (Catherine Keener) is the ex-wife of her new beau (James Gandolfini), which she keeps secret as she allows her new friend to vent about the previous relationship.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: Years after she made a funny appearance on Seinfeld, Catherine Keener gives one of her most endearing performances in 2013’s Enough Said - a clever romantic comedy from Oscar-nominated writer and director Nicole Holofcener.

Stream Enough Said on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy Enough Said on Amazon.

The Adam Project (Netflix)

A troubled 12-year-old (Walker Scobell) crosses paths with a pilot who also happens to be his future self (Ryan Reynolds) and joins him on an adventure to ensure a better tomorrow by preventing the invention of time travel.

Why it’s worth checking out if you like Catherine Keener: When you are done binging the other great Catherine Keener titles above and have a better understanding of how well she has played a villain in the past, revisit her race across time against Reynolds and Scobell in The Adam Project - Netflix’s, overall, critically well-liked tribute to Amblin-produced sci-fi classics, from director Shawn Levy.

Stream The Adam Project on Netflix.

This is just the tip of iceberg of what to look out for if you are a Catherine Keener fan, but they most definitely round out the majority of the actress’ greatest hits.

It is no question that Seinfeld helped launch some great careers in entertainment. However, I am not necessarily referring to the main Seinfeld cast, but the guest stars who were not so well known at the time, such as a pre-Entourage cast Jeremy Piven. Also, you may remember Bryan Cranston’s recurring role, but may not realize he is not the only Breaking Bad cast member to appear on the sitcom, nor is Courteney Cox the only Friends cast member with a prominent guest role. When Seinfeld hits Netflix on October 1, 2021, see if you can spot any of the following as soon-to-be stars, starting with another groundbreaking comedian.

Sarah Silverman (Emily)

With a short stint on Saturday Night Live and a couple of years on HBO’s Mr. Show with Bob and David, Emmy-winning comedian and actress Sarah Silverman was still an up-and-comer when she appeared on the Seinfeld Season 8 episode, “The Money.” She plays Kramer’s girlfriend, Emily, whom Michael Richards’ character claims is great in bed, but not fun to share a bed with when it comes to getting shut-eye afterward.

Bob Odenkirk (Ben)

Also known for Mr. Show with Bob and David as the “Bob” from the title, Bob Odenkirk, who played a medical student Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) dates in the hope of eventually achieving her dream of dating a doctor in another Seinfeld Season 8 episode, “The Abstinence.” The former Saturday Night Live writer went on to lead a hit action movie called Nobody and, of course, earn Emmy nominations as Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and the prequel spin-off Better Call Saul.

Anna Gunn (Amy)

Another Breaking Bad alum who appeared on Seinfeld earlier in her career is two-time Emmy winner Anna Gunn (Walter White’s wife, Skyler), who played a girlfriend of Jerry’s whom George (Jason Alexander) is convinced he saw smooching with Jerry’s cousin after losing his glasses in Season 5’s “The Glasses.” I could actually make a whole list of Breaking Bad actors who have appeared on Seinfeld, but let’s move on to another cable drama star for now.

Michael Chiklis (Steve Pocatello)

Michael Chiklis rose to fame as the Emmy-winning lead of FX’s The Shield, as The Thing in two Fantastic Four movies, and as part of the American Horror Story cast in Season 4. Years earlier, he was on Seinfeld Season 3 as a party host who ends up hosting Jerry and Elaine longer than anticipated, after their ride (George) leaves early for a one night stand, and later causes Jerry trouble when he appears at his building unexpected.

Daniel Dae Kim (Student #1)

Another star of a popular TV crime drama is former Hawaii Five-0 cast member Daniel Dae Kim, who is also well known from the Lost cast as Jin-Soo Kwon. On Seinfeld’s final season, Kramer and his friend Mickey (Danny Woodburn) were hired to pretend they had symptoms of certain diseases for medical students to guess, and the actor plays the student who correctly diagnoses Kramer with gonorrhea.

Mariska Hargitay (Melissa)

One of TV’s top crime procedural stars is Law and Order: Special Victims Unit cast member Mariska Hargitay, who has earned several Emmy nominations and one win during her two decades playing Olivia Benson. She probably would have earned some awards recognition for playing a fictionalized version of Elaine on the sitcom-within-a-sitcom, Jerry, if George had not cut off her audition (and if the show hadn’t been cancelled, too) in the Seinfeld Season 4 finale, “The Pilot.”

Jeremy Piven (Michael Barth / TV George)

Also in the Seinfeld Season 4 finale, Michael Barth does an unmistakable imitation of George Costanza when trying out for the role based on Jason Alexander’s character, which he ends up landing. However, you could have mistaken Barth for someone other than Jeremy Piven, who looks nothing like his Emmy-winning Entourage character, Ari Gold, in the episode.

Brad Garrett (Tony Abado)

Another Emmy-winning sitcom star who once guest starred on Seinfeld is Brad Garrett, who made his Season 7 appearance mere months before debuting on Everybody Love Raymond as Robert Barone. He plays a mechanic so overly protective of Jerry’s car that he steals it for himself, unaware that he is carrying a set golf clubs once used by President John F. Kennedy.

Megan Mullally (Betsy)

A winner of two Emmys as Will & Grace’s Karen Walker (and who should have been nominated for playing the ex-wife of her real-life husband, Nick Offerman's, character on Parks and Recreation) is Megan Mullally. One of her earliest sitcom appearances was on a classic Seinfeld Season 4 episode (“The Implant”) as a woman dating George, who accompanies her to the funeral of a loved one where he is accosted for “double-dipping” a chip.

Jennifer Coolidge (Jodi)

Seinfeld also marked the acting debut of Jennifer Coolidge, who later played Stiffler’s Mom in American Pie, Paulette in Legally Blonde, and joined the 2 Broke Girls cast as Sophie Kachinsky. The White Lotus cast member appeared in Season 5 as a masseuse dating Jerry, whom he can’t seem to get to give him a massage. Not to mention, she hates George so much, he starts to become obsessed with her.

Courteney Cox (Meryl)

Jennifer Coolidge has also guest starred on Friends, which, of course, made a star out of Courteney Cox just months after her Seinfeld appearance. She also appeared in Season 5 as a girlfriend of Jerry’s who pretends to be his wife so they can both get a discount at their local dry cleaners.

Debra Jo Rupp (Katie)

You may remember that Debra Jo Rupp had a recurring spot on Friends as Phoebe’s sister-in-law, Alice, before she played Kitty in the That ‘70s Show cast and, even later, had a role on WandaVision. However, she also had a recurring role on Seinfeld, appearing in two episodes as Jerry’s loyal, but extremely incompetent, agent, Katie.

Maggie Wheeler (Cynthia)

Probably the funniest and most memorable recurring role on Friends was Janice, played by Maggie Wheeler, who also had an earlier role on Seinfeld. In Season 3’s “The Fix Up,” Jerry and Elaine crack a scheme to pair the romantically challenged George with Elaine’s romantically fed-up friend Cynthia (Wheeler), which, expectedly, has its ups and downs.

Jon Favreau (Eric The Clown)

Another actor who landed a recurring role on Friends was Jon Favreau, before he became one of the most successful filmmakers working today as the director of Iron Man and the creator of the Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian, to name a few achievements. I bet you had no idea that he was the birthday clown who told George to get over his predilection for Bozo in the Seinfeld Season 5 classic “The Fire.”

Tobin Bell (Ron)

Speaking of clowns, one of the creepiest clowns in horror movies is Billy, the puppet whom Jigsaw often talks through in the Saw movies. I bet you didn’t realize that the man who played Jigsaw, Tobin Bell, appeared on a Seinfeld Season 4 episode (“The Old Man”) as a record store owner who offers Kramer and Newman an unjustly low price for some used vinyl, including a Frank Sinatra album in mint condition.

James Spader (Jason Hanky)

Also known for playing great villains (such as Raymond “Red” Reddington on The Blacklist or the AI enemy of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron) is James Spader. The three-time Emmy-winner actually channels some of that same signature sinister energy to play Jason Hanky, who refuses to apologize to George for a past insult despite being required to make amends as part of a 12-step program, on a Seinfeld Season 9 episode.

Patton Oswalt (Video Store Clerk)

Also known for playing a Marvel villain (voice of the title character in the animated series M.O.D.O.K.) is Patton Oswalt, a popular comedian even better known for sitcoms like The King of Queens and movies like Ratatouille. One of his very first acting appearances was on Seinfeld as an employee at a video store from which George tries to rent Breakfast at Tiffany’s so he does not have to read the book.

Catherine Keener (Nina West)

A Scream Queen in her own right (mostly for appearing in one of the best horror movies in recent memory, Get Out) is Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener, who also had an early Seinfeld appearance. In Season 3, she plays the painter of Kramer’s iconic portrait and a girlfriend of Jerry’s who toys with his head with a letter she plagiarizes from a Neil Simon movie.

Stephen Tobolowsky (Tor Eckman)

A character whose methods to cure George’s inflamed tonsils remind me of Catherine Keener role in Get Out is Tor Eckman in the Season 2 episode, “The Heart Attack.” The holistic specialist is played to ridiculous perfection on Seinfeld by actor Stephen Tobolowsky, whom many will recognize from Groundhog Day, his recurring role in the Silicon Valley cast, and as Sammy Jankis in Christopher Nolan’s Memento.

Lauren Graham (Valerie)

Another acclaimed star of TV (like from being in the Gilmore Girls cast) and movies (such as Bad Santa) is Lauren Graham, who played the other half of one of Jerry’s most overly complicated romantic relationships on Seinfeld. When Valerie (Graham) puts Jerry on her speed dial, her stepmother (Louan Gideon) is initially furious, until she begins to take a liking to him and wants to put him on her speed dial, which threatens Jerry’s position on Valerie’s list!

I am not even sure if that is the weirdest relationship Jerry has ever been in, nor am I convinced that we have covered all the best Seinfeld characters with this list. However, what I do know is that you may never watch the hit sitcom the same way again, knowing that it was once a big break (or an obscure highlight) for some of your favorite celebrities.

The world’s favorite prehistoric family (after the Flintstones, at least) is back in the informally titled The Croods 2, a follow-up to the hit animated film that would also spawn a Netflix-exclusive spin-off series. All the main actors who play the titular kooky cave dwellers, including Emma Stone, are returning to their original roles (as well as a few new, but familiar, names) in the The Croods: A New Age voice cast.

In Dreamworks’ sequel to its 2014 Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature, the Croods meet another family who call themselves the Bettermans and appear to be one step above them in the evolutionary plane (or as their frequent boasts claim). Some are delighted to be in the presence of such inventive and unique people, but others feel upstaged by the Darwinian challenges these new acquaintances seem to project, to speak broadly of the plot that is.

Are you curious to learn about who the Croods will meet in this new chapter of their lives? Might you need refresher on who’s who from the original film after you watch The Croods: A New Age, which is now in theaters as of Wednesday, November 25, 2020? We can help in both instances with this in-depth look at the following 11 characters from the Croods sequel and the actors playing them, starting with the most patriarchal of patriarchs, at least in the age of neanderthals.

Nicolas Cage (Grug Crood)

It is funny to see an actor like Nicolas Cage, always craving something fresh to add to his performances, voicing a caveman who prefers to keep things the same as much as possible, which puts him at odds with the Bettermans in The Croods: A New Age. Cage has also lent his voice to films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Teen Titans GO! To the Movies, but Grug Crood is the first animated role that the Oscar-winner has reprised in a sequel.

Catherine Keener (Ugga Crood)

Also known for voicing a role in a recent animated superhero movie (Incredibles 2), two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener is even better known for acclaimed, live action films such as Being John Malkovich and Get Out, to name a few. In The Croods: A New Age, she returns to the role of Grug’s wife Ugga, who learned the value of new ideas in the previous film which, hopefully, helps her get along with the Bettermans.

Emma Stone (Eep Crood)

Once again playing Ugga and Grug’s eldest daughter, Eep, in The Croods: A New Age is Emma Stone, the Oscar-winning star of La La Land, Birdman, and Superbad, her feature film debut. Eep is, essentially, the actress’ biggest animated voice acting to date, having previously played Australian Shepherd Mazie in Marmaduke, Lois Lane on Robot Chicken, London Tipton’s dog Ivana on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

Clark Duke (Thunk Crood)

Also making his feature film debut in Superbad and lending his voice to several characters on Robot Chicken was Clark Duke, also know for playing Jacob in the Hot Tub Time Machine movies, Marty in the Kick-Ass movies, and the aptly named Clark on the last two seasons of The Office. He provides the voice of Eep’s younger and more naive brother Thunk, who has, probably, the most enjoyable time living in the environment that the Bettermans have created around them The Croods: A New Age.

Cloris Leachman (Gran Crood)

One of Hollywood’s eldest and most celebrated living legends, with 287 credits to her name dating back to 1947, is Academy Award-winner Cloris Leachman, whom some viewers may know best as Frau Blücher from Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks’ send-up/sequel of the 1931 horror classic. The 94-year-old has played roles in several animated projects (including A Troll in Central Park, The Iron Giant, and Adventure Time) before The Croods: A New Age, which marks her second time playing Ugga’s mother, Gran.

Ryan Reynolds (Guy Crood)

The Croods’ newest adoptive family member is Guy, who was known to annoy Grug with his inventive instincts and romantic connection with Eep in the first film. It is a fitting characteristic for the young man voiced by Ryan Reynolds, who received a Golden Globe nomination for annoying others in the first Deadpool movie and also voiced the title character of Turbo - another Dreamworks animated film from 2013 about a snail who enters the Indy 500.

Peter Dinklage (Phil Betterman)

Joining the cast of this animated franchise is Peter Dinklage, whose previous voice roles include Mighty Eagle in The Angry Birds Movie and its 2019 sequel, Captain Gutt in Ice Age: Continental Drift, and even his Game of Thrones character Tyrion Lannister in the Telltale Games adaptation of the series. He plays Phill Betterman in The Croods: A New Age, the patriarch of a family who claim to be a “better” than the titular cave dwellers.

Leslie Mann (Hope Betterman)

Playing Phil’s wife, Hope Betterman, in The Croods: A New Age is Leslie Mann, which is not much of a stretch for the actress whose real-life husband is filmmaker Judd Apatow. Mann is used to playing the Mrs. to immature men, such as in Knocked Up and This Is 40 (both of which saw her married to Paul Rudd), The Change-Up (in which she was, technically, married to both Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman), and George of the Jungle, in which she fell in love with Brendan Fraser as a man raised by apes.

Kelly Marie Tran (Dawn Betterman)

Phil and Hope’s daughter, Dawn Betterman, really hits it off with Eep when the two families meet in The Croods: A New Age. The young lady is voiced by Kelly Marie Tran, who also voices the title role of Disney’s upcoming fantasy film Raya and the Last Dragon, but her best-known role to date is Rose Tico from the previous two films of the Skywalker Saga, but more prominently in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Randy Thorn (Sandy Crood)

Despite how much of a scene-stealer Sandy is, you might not recognize the man who plays the youngest member of the Croods, Randy Thorn, by name. That is because, despite lending his voice to several other animated classics (most notably playing Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon 2), he is also the sound designer for both The Croods movies, which is his primary job in Hollywood and has earned him two Oscars (for 1984’s The Right Stuff and The Incredibles).

Chris Sanders (Belt)

You may not also recognize Chris Sanders, the man who plays Guy’s pet sloth, named Belt for how he spends much of his time wrapped around his human companion’s waist. Sanders has also voiced a few memorable animated characters, such as lovable alien from Lilo & Stitch, but his main objective on that Disney film (as well as on How To Train Your Dragon, the first Croods film, and the live action The Call of the Wild, more recently) is directing.

What do you think? Do you find Belt more adorable than ever now that you know he has the same voice as Stitch, or are you a bigger fan of him as a director? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on The Croods: A New Age, as well as even more inside looks into the cast members of your favorite movies and TV shows, here on CinemaBlend.

As fans were quick to point out following the release of Jordan Peele's Get Out last year, the fact that the movie stars Catherine Keener creates a funny connection to Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich. After all, both movies star the actress as characters who participate in procedures to put the mind of one person in the body of another. It's a cute fan theory to suggest that they are connected, but surprisingly I was the first person to bring it up to Keener when I interviewed her last week:

I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Catherine Keener and Bob Odenkirk last week during the Los Angeles press day for Incredibles 2 -- where they feature as the star newcomers to the cast -- and my final question to the pair was in reference to the legacy of the Pixar superhero franchise. Recognizing that it has been 14 years since the release of the first Incredibles, I asked if there was a role from their past that they would love to reprise. Keener essentially opted out of the question, saying that when she is done with a role she's done with it, but then I kind of dropped her jaw revealing the Get Out/Being John Malkovich connection.

For those not familiar with one or both of the movies (get ready for spoilers), here's the breakdown. In Being John Malkovich, Catherine Keener plays Maxine Lund, a woman who, along with a co-worker, discovers a special portal in a strange office building that allows a person to access the mind of actor John Malkovich. In Get Out, it's a bit more sinister and targeted, as Keener's character, Missy Armitage, is a hypnotherapist who traps black men and women in the depths of their own minds so that their consciousness can be replaced by an aging white man/woman. The fan theory is essentially that Maxine leaves her peaceful existence at the end of Being John Malkovich, changes her name, and starts up a similar operation in Connecticut -- though that's pretty dark.

That being said, it's a fan theory of which Jordan Peele himself approves. Late last year the writer/director was asked by Vanity Fair about the connection between Get Out and Being John Malkovich, and went as far as to sanction it, saying,

Those wanting to enjoy Catherine Keener's performances in either of those films can do so, as both are now available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD. If you want to see her most recent awesome work, however, you should definitely head to a theater near you this weekend, as Incredibles 2 will be in theaters everywhere.

After a hell of a long wait, 2018 will finally be the year that director Brad Bird and the folks at Pixar bring us back into the world of The Incredibles. To date, not much has been revealed about the upcoming sequel, titled simply The Incredibles 2, and the known cast has been limited to the titular family (Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible, Holly Hunter as Helen Parr/Elastigirl, Sarah Vowell as Violet Parr, and newcomer Huckleberry "Huck" Milner as Dashiell Parr) and notable supporting players (Samuel J. Jackson as Lucius Best/Frozone and Brad Bird as Edna mode). Now, however, the rest of the major side cast and their characters have been announced, and it's packed with big names like Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener, Jonathan Banks, Isabella Rossellini, and Sophia Bush.

But it's not just names that Pixar has decided to show us today. The studio has also officially released first-look artwork at each of the new players, and specific details that clue us in on exactly what it is that we can expect from each member of the announced cast. So without delay, let's dive in!

First up we have Holly Hunter's Helen Parr, who we previously learned will be the central protagonist in The Incredibles 2 (similar to how The Incredibles was primarily about her husband). A former superhero herself with the ability to stretch into any form, she will find herself in the spotlight in the sequel as she is asked to lead a very important campaign that will reintroduce superheroes back into society. With the arrival of a new major villain on the scene, however, it also puts a target on her back.

While Helen Parr will be becoming a major player on the world stage, it will be Craig T. Nelson's Bob Parr who is left taking care of things at home. He not only finds himself challenged with the tasks of looking after the household and his children, but finds an extra special surprise taking care of baby Jack-Jack - who he discovers not only has superpowers, but a whole wide variety of different ones.

As mentioned Sarah Vowell will be back as Violet Parr, who has a special ability that matches her shy personality: she has the power to turn invisible and generate protective shields. Unfortunately, the plot details for her character in the official release are pretty slim, mostly highlighting the fact that her meek personality doesn't stop her when it comes time to fight side-by-side with her family against a threatening enemy.

Eleven-year-old Spencer Fox voiced Dashiell "Dash" Parr in the first Incredibles, but the fact that his voice has changed a lot in the last 14 years meant that he couldn't come back to play the part again in The Incredibles 2. Instead, Pixar has cast young newcomer Huckleberry "Huck" Milner as the speedy, enthusiastic young superhero. Like the character's sister, we don't really know a great deal of what he'll be doing in the sequel, but apparently he will still be dealing with some of the key issues he had in the previous story, specifically his desire to show off his powers despite it not being allowed by his parents.

Samuel L. Jackson was playing Lucius Best a.k.a. Frozone four years before his entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Nick Fury, and fourteen years later he will be back playing the role in The Incredibles 2. Lucius is Bob Parr's best friend and former associate from the golden age of superheroes who has the power to turn any water in his environment to ice. We don't know a great deal about his larger part in the plot of the film, but surely he will be very excited by what Helen Parr is doing to try and make being a superhero legal again.

When it comes to making supersuits, nobody in the world of The Incredibles is more skilled than the diminutive, snappy Edna Mode (who will once again be voiced by director Brad Bird). In The Incredibles 2 we probably shouldn't expect her to change her mind regarding capes, but like Lucius Best, she has a lot to gain from superheroes being allowed to do what they do legally once again.

Here we have yet another example of recasting, as some of you may remember Rick Dicker from the first Incredibles, where he was voiced by animator/voice actor Bud Luckey. In The Incredibles 2 he will be brought back to life by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Jonathan Banks. Dicker is a key member of the Super Relocation Program, which is the government's solution to helping superpowered individuals move around the country whenever their special abilities are revealed to the public. He's a good friend of the Parrs, but they are left on their own when Dicker loses his job and his entire department is shut down.

The Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul connection will help us ease into the introduction of our first new character here, who will be voiced by Jonathan Banks' co-star, Bob Odenkirk. In The Incredibles 2 he will be voicing Winston Deavor, who is the co-owner of one of the world's biggest telecommunications companies. He is described as "ultra-wealthy, savvy and suave," but perhaps most important is that he is said to be a big fan of the Supers. He has big plans to change the image of these heroes in the public eye, and presumably Helen Parr will be a significant part of that.

You see above where I identified Winston Deavor as the "co-owner" of one of the world's biggest telecommunications companies? That's because it's a conglomerate that he owns and operates with his sister, Evelyn Deavor (voiced by the fantastic Catherine Keener). While her brother his more of the flashy sales guy, Evelyn is said to be the real brain behind their work, as she is a genius when it comes to technology. She's a problem-solver, and gets the job done via tinkering.

Voyd, who will be voiced by Sophia Bush, is the first new superpowered character that has been announced for The Incredibles 2 - and in a certain light, she kind of mirrors Jason Lee's character from the first movie. Rather than being a huge fan of Mr. Incredible, she is instead totally obsessed with Elastigirl - and while Buddy didn't have any kind of special abilities, Voyd does. As you might have guessed from her name, he has the abilities to generate voids that allow her to cause objects around her to shift in space and disappear/appear.

Lastly we have Isabella Rossellini's character, who is identified solely as the Ambassador. She is described not only as a dignified presence on the global stage, but also a friend of the Supers who wants to see their actions legalized around the globe. If it's not Winston Deavor who The Incredibles 2 sees propping up Helen Parr as the face of good superheroes, it's probably her.

This is by far the most we've learned about The Incredibles 2 to date - but sadly the movie isn't exactly coming out next week. We still have a few months left before the highly-anticipated sequel arrives in theaters, with Disney/Pixar having it set for June 15th. It's one of our most anticipated titles of the year, so we'll be sure to keep you up to date with all of the latest info that is revealed about the animated blockbuster.

David Simon, creator of HBO’s The Wire and Treme, is gearing up to make TV audiences praise his name again with another hard-hitting social drama. HBO has officially given the greenlight to Simon’s Show Me a Hero, a politics-filled miniseries led by the talented Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) and Catherine Keener (Enough Said). My fingers are already crossed that Michael K. Williams’ casting is right around “The Corner.” (David Simon joke.)

Show Me a Hero, which will be shown in six parts, was co-written by Simon and Baltimore Sun journalist William F. Zorzi (The Wire) and based on the 2000 nonfiction book from former New York Times journalist Lisa Belkin. Directing all six parts will be the Academy Award-winning director Paul Haggis (Crash), who last helmed the interlocking 2013 love story Third Person. Simon began developing the project a while back, but HBO was waiting until cast members and a director were locked down before officially putting in the order.

According to Deadline, Isaac will play Nick Wasicsko, the youngest mayor in the history of Yonkers, NY. His youth makes him particularly unequipped to handle the shitstorm that occurs when a federal court orders him to build low-rent housing units inside the town’s white neighborhoods. Expectedly, his attempts to do so polarize the town, creating huge problems within the local government and completely destroying Wasicsko’s life. Just once I’d like David Simon to make a light, witty comedy.

Keener co-stars as Mary Dorman, a homeowner in East Yonkers who “comes to a remarkable realization during the battle over where to build low-income housing.” Will that realization be something along the lines of, “We’re all insensitive?” The miniseries' events take place in the late 1980s, so we can probably expect the points of view to be brusquely hateful in nature. And knowing HBO’s reputation…

Show Me a Hero is the third miniseries Simon has developed with HBO, joining 2000’s Emmy-winning The Corner and 2008’s Emmy-nominated Generation Kill. (Treme is nominated for Outstanding Miniseries in this year’s Emmy Awards.) Chances are good that this project will earn itself a chance for the same accolades, and that the rest of this cast will be filled by equally talented thesps.

There’s no telling when Show Me a Hero will go into production. Keener recently finished filming Peer Pedersen’s family drama The Greens are Gone with Cary Elwes, while Isaac is currently inside a giant mystery box filming J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII. I’m betting we’ll be watching Show Me a Hero long before that space adventure makes it to theaters.

Every year, millions of people descend on Las Vegas, hell bent on having a damn good time. For some, that involves trying (and usually failing) to take money from the casino. For others, that involves clubbing, getting hammered, seeing Penn and Teller, going to a strip club, and/or screaming VEGAS!!!! at unreasonable volumes. The key to Las Vegas is that it can be damn near anything to anyone. It offers a seventy-two hour or so timeout from real life. Everywhere an observer looks, there are overt signs of tourists having unreasonable amounts of fun.

The latest film to riff off this expectation of fun is Last Vegas. Starring Morgan Freeman, Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline, the PG-13 comedy seems to follow four old dudes who want to turn back the clock and have another misadventure before getting too fucking old for hijinks, I think. I haven’t exactly seen it, but based on the mediocre trailer and the meh minus reviews, I’m pretty confident we’re in for an older quartet working their way through all the Vegas-y things we’ve come to expect and trying desperately not to die. That sounds inoffensive and probably passable enough, but it doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel.

I want to see a Vegas movie that defies expectations and goes a little stranger (like The Cooler). I want to see one that tackles one of the more secretive, bummer subplots bubbling beneath the Sin City surface and crying out for its own film. I want to see a movie about the one-time gangster paradise that has the courage to tone it down and fixate on the more monotonous and seemingly boring aspects of Las Vegas vacations and local life. I want to see one of these six films.

The Tiredness That Comes With Getting Drunk Too Early

Starring: Dane DeHaan as "Tired" Ted Murphy and Miles Teller and Donald Glover as his very awake, right level of drunk friends Trevor and Salamander.

Going to Las Vegas is a lot like tailgating as a college student before a big football game. There is alcohol everywhere, and without any obligations owed to the real world for at least a day, there is always a temptation to dive in DuckTales style into one of those huge Fat Tuesday's drinks. On the one hand, hitting the bottle early can prove a great way to spice up 11 AM and make afternoon craps games a whole lot less awkward. On the other hand, it can also torpedo your entire night, as our hero Tired Ted discovers when he realizes, much to his horror, that all he really wants to do is go to bed at 9 PM on a Saturday.

Unfortunately, there’s no easy solution to this predicament. His loud, obnoxious and right level of drunk (for Vegas) friends Trevor and Salamander (pronounced SAL-A-MANDDDDDDDER) are planning to go until at least 3 AM, and it’s too late in the game to take a nap. So, rather than hear his sleepiness get referenced for the rest of their friendship, Tired Ted heroically decides to tough it out and plow forward, all while encountering second winds, red bulls and a hooker played by Gabourey Sidibe who claims her sexual energy could wake up coma patients.

Releasing Studio: Universal

The Horrible Drive Back To LA

Starring: Rob Corddry as Mike McDougal, Judy Greer as Melinda McDougal and Maggie Elizabeth Jones as Melissa McDougal

Mike McDougal lives in Los Angeles and has some disposable income. That means once a year or so, he’s culturally obligated to throw a few button down shirts, his wife and a big pile of cash (fuck paying Vegas ATM fees) into his Prius and drive nine miles an hour over the speed limit through the desert on the 15 and into Las Vegas. This year, on his wife’s insistence, he agrees to bring along their seven-year-old daughter, but thanks to her obsession with seeing the sharks at Mandalay Bay, the proposed leaving time of 10 AM winds up getting pushed back to 2:30 PM, which as any Los Angeles resident knows is a World War II level disaster.

Stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for two hundred and seventy miles, alongside a wife who really wants to make it home in time for The Good Wife, which she may have forgotten to DVR, and a daughter who can’t stop talking about how much she hates one of her first grade classmates (that stupid Alyssa), poor Mike is nearing his breaking point, especially given the twenty-three-year-old asshole behind him in the Beamer who seems to think honking will implore his fellow drivers to move faster. He knows if he lets his wife and daughter have it, he’ll eat death glares for the next six or seven hours, but he has to do something to break out of this funk. So, he does what any sensible middle-aged man who gives zero fucks would do: he takes to the shoulder and decides to gun it in hopes he can make it at least halfway back before getting the ticket he knows is coming.

Releasing Studio: Paramount

How Easy It Is To Get Lost Inside Caesar's Palace

Starring: Anna Kendrick as Rebecca, Ellie Kemper as Megyn, Lauren Ambrose as Jackie and Katrina Bowden as their idiot friend Beth.

Fresh off the plane and ready to put down their shit, no-nonsense Minneapolis girls Rebecca, Megyn and Jackie are excited to check into their suite at Caesar’s Palace and reconnect with their absent-minded friend Beth who recently moved to Los Angeles to pursue modeling. Unfortunately, they’re told by the woman at the counter that Beth already checked into the room but left a note indicating a) she has all the room keys, b) her cell phone is charging in the room and c) she’ll be waiting somewhere inside the mall at Caesar’s Palace for them to arrive.

Shot in real time, Lost In Caesar’s Palace follows our three heroes as they wander through the mall inside the gigantic Vegas hotel looking for their friend and more importantly, the room keys she possesses. At first in awe of the stunning architecture and painted ceilings, the ladies grow progressively more annoyed as they criss-cross in every which direction looking for their idiot friend in what could be the most confusing maze on Earth. Through shopping detours, horrible directions from drunk idiots and the occasional scream, they learn a little bit about life and absolutely nothing about the best way to navigate Caesar’s Palace.

Releasing Studio: Focus Features

Those Creepy Hooker Tickets People Hand Out

Starring: Tonita Castro as Rosa, Jaime Pressly as Shanelle, Ving Rhames as Legs, Teck "Money" Holmes as Ray Ray and Nick Offerman as The High Roller

Every night, hundreds of thousands of advertisements for prostitutes are dropped on the streets of Las Vegas. By the time tourists wake up with hangovers the next morning, all of those creepy little cards that range in rating from PG-13 to NC-17 are gone thanks to workers like Rosa and Ray Ray. Ordinarily, the two simply throw out all of the discarded advertisements, but thanks to a chance encounter, there’s a whole lot more at stake today.

Sometime around 3:30 AM, the High Roller, drunk as a skunk, met his dream woman, a prostitute who goes by a name that starts with an "s". She wrote down her number on one of those cards and passed it along, but in his hammered state, he dropped it somewhere on Las Vegas Boulevard between the Venetian and Paris. He wants it back and is willing to pay anyone who finds it a thousand dollars. Rosa and Ray Ray combine forces to take up the challenge, but they’ve got some competition in the form of Legs, a street performance artist who overhears the High Roller’s offer and decides to get that money for himself.

Releasing Studio: Lionsgate

Mean Mugging Sales Clerks At The Expensive Malls

Starring: Evan Rachel Wood as Beatrice, Nina Dobrev as Ariel and Teresa Palmer as the girl in the Target dress.

As employees inside Marni at Crystals, Beatrice and Ariel spend their days talking about their shared desire to move to Europe and the various shoppers who walk around the mall, an overwhelming majority of which can afford Starbucks, Pinkberry and little else in the immediate vicinity. Now and again, the ladies grow bored and actively try to coax women inside as a means to break up the crushing boredom of their eight-hour workdays, but more often, they sit near the window, judging and mean mugging any less than affluent-looking window shopper who gazes inside.

On her way into the store, the girl in the Target dress felt the sting of the mean mug, but that didn’t stop her from spending a healthy chunk of money and surprising the cashiers who thought they knew it all. Infatuated and obsessed with knowing how she has so much confidence, the two girls begin hanging out with the stranger and in the process, start learning a slew of details that are enough to completely upend their once judgmental worldviews. Look for this one to get some early Oscar buzz before slowly fizzling out by awards season.

Releasing Studio: Fox Searchlight

Loud Eurotrash Neighbors

Starring: Paul Giamatti as Michael Brown, Catherine Keener as Leslie Brown, Alexander Skarsgard as Bjorg and Benedict Cumberbatch as Reginald

An overwhelming majority of Las Vegas visitors choose to do their partying at clubs, inside casinos or just generally, out and about somewhere. A small minority, however, choose to treat their hotel rooms like European raves. Meet Bjorg and Reginald. They’re a newly married gay couple from Sweden/ Luxembourg on their honeymoon in Vegas. They love nothing more than playing their music loud, much to the chagrin of neighbors Michael and Leslie Brown who prefer to turn in around eleven.

Scheduled to stay in adjoining hotel rooms for the next six nights, Michael and Catherine decide to do everything they can to smoke their fellow travelers out, at least until they learn Reginald will soon begin working as an admissions offer at Duke, the same college the Brown’s daughter has her heart set on attending. So, with the help of some strong liquor and good intentions, they decide to take one for the team and befriend the Europeans in an effort to eventually get a leg up in the highly competitive admissions process. Be on the lookout for a great cameo from Anton Yelchin who plays Bjorg’s much younger former lover Evgeny and for several DJ sets from former Jersey Shore star Pauly D.

Releasing Studio: Warner Bros

Writer-director Nicole Holofcener has been collaborating with edgy leading lady Catherine Keener since the indie auteur's first feature Walking and Talking in 1996, so it's little surprise that Keener has just signed on to play a major role in Holofcener's latest comedy, which currently is only known as the Untitled Nicole Holofcener Project. However, other additions to the cast are a bit more unexpected, though no less enticing.

THR reports that Tony Collette has also committed to co-star in Holofcener's latest comedy, joining a cast that includes Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Ben Falcone (Bridesmaids), and teen fashion and feminism blogger Tavi Gevinson, who will be making her feature film debut here. None of these performers have worked with Holofcener before, but this shouldn't prove an obstacle, as most of the above are known for being able to nail scenes of quick-witted dialogue, which is a trademark of Holofcener's style.

Louis-Dreyfus will front the film as a divorcee who is re-evaluating her identity when the last of her kids prepares to move out. She finds inspiration in a seemingly chic and totally together woman, played by Keener. And things are looking up when she begins a romance with a like-minded man (Gandolfini)…that is until she discovers he is her new idol's ex. According to THR, Gevinson will play a girl named Chloe, who is generally ignored by her parents and so has had to grow up fast. But it's currently unclear how this tied in to the main plotline, and there's no mention of what role Falcone or Collette will play.

The Untitled Nicole Holofcener Project is now shooting in Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Olsen's huge breakout year is behind her, and none of the roles she's filmed since getting enormous buzz with Martha Marcy May Marlene have yet come to theaters, but her career is one that came out of the gate fast. Before anybody knew who she was beyond "the sister of Mary Kate and Ashley," Olsen had also filmed roles in the thriller Silent House, which opened earlier this year, and the comedy Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, which is on its way to a June release. Today we've got our first look at the movie, which as you'll see, has quite the all-star cast to back up newcomer Olsen. Take a look below.

If you're a moviegoer of a certain age or a fan of older films, the draw here is clearly not Olsen but Jane Fonda, who rocks a huge wig and some really outlandish clothes as the aged hippie grandmother who winds up dispensing advice right and left. The set up for the movie is a little groaningly familiar-- even Catherine Keener seems to indicate she's already read this story of an uptight lawyer converting to free love-- but Fonda seems to be put in the middle to make it all worth it. The resume of director Bruce Beresford, most famous for directing Driving Miss Daisy, doesn't really suggest there will be a lot of nuance here, but you really never know what a bunch of good actors can do when put in a scene together.

Peace, Love & Misunderstanding opens June 8, opposite Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and, er, Prometheus. OK, so maybe you won't see Misunderstanding over the giant Ridley Scott sci-fi epic, but there's plenty of time to spend at the movies this summer, right?

In her long career as an actress you're always thrilled to see in this or that supporting role, Catherine Keener has made a lot out of what might seem like stock wife or friend roles. In movies like Capote or Cyrus or The Soloist, you look forward to the work she'll do in the margins, confident she'll come up with some interesting way to play it. So while Variety's report that Keener will play Tom Hanks's wife in the hostage thriller Captain Phillips isn't all that thrilling on the surface, we can at least count on her to make it a little more interesting.

Captain Phillips, as you might remember, is based on the real-life drama of the Maersk Alabama, an American container ship taken over by Somali pirates in 2009. Hanks is playing the titular heroic captain, who sacrificed himself and was taken hostage in order to save this crew, and actually managed to escape. In the Variety report they note that Keener's character, Andrea Phillips, "remained strong throughout the hostage ordeal"-- pretty much the most generic thing you can say about somebody's wife. But while some actresses might make you wonder where they're getting all this superhuman strength, Keener usually puts it all up there on the surface. You're not inclined to doubt her for a second.

In any case, when she wraps Captain Phillips she'll be moving on to something even more fascinating, the Charlie Kaufman musical satire Frank or Francis, reuniting her with the Being John Malkovich director. WIth a schedule as busy as ever this year, Keener will still be impossible to miss on the big screen.

All the little specifics are finally starting to fall into place for A Late Quartet. The indie from Yaron Zilberman has been speculated about since Ethan Hawke boarded to play a depressed, cheating second violinist back in August, but now he’s out and his When The Devil Knows You’re Dead co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman is in.

According to IndieWire, details beyond that are a little scarce, but Christopher Walken and Catherine Keener may also be in. If that’s the case, we could be looking at a serious future Oscar contender, provided it gets enough distribution to be noticed.

The basic plot follows a renowned string quarter in a period of confusion after their leader is diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. All of the members have their own personal problems and each deal with the group chaos in very different ways. We still don’t know who would be playing what roles. Based on age, Walken would seem the likely candidate to be the quartet’s leader, but Hoffman seems like the logical choice to play the tragic role, at least based on acting strengths. We may not know all the details, but we certainly know enough to be very interested.

James Franco is well on his way to being a gay icon given his performance in Milk, his portrayal of Allen Ginsberg in Howl, and his somewhat inexplicable cover shoot as a transvestite for the magazine Candy. And Alan Cumming, who starred as a pansexual emcee in Broadway's Cabaret and has been an LGBT activist for over a decade, is well established in the gay pantheon. So while a team-up between the two wasn't necessarily inevitable, it makes perfect sense, especially with Franco's mysterious performance artist pal Carter directing.

Cumming spilled the beans to THR about this strange project, titled Maladies and starring Franco as a young actor who retires due to what he believes is mental illness. Cumming explained that his part is small, "and just for Christmas" whatever that means, but Claire Danes and Catherine Keener also round out the cast. Cumming referred to the project as "really fascinating," and there's seriously no telling what to expect from it; Franco has shown a willingness to make any and every kind of art, and Maladies could be a straightforward portrait of an artist or something totally experimental. As with just about everything the unpredictable Franco gets involved with these days, though, it'll probably be worth a watch no matter what.

David Schwimmer's Trust is part of the Toronto International Film Festival lineup that I am very, very excited to be seeing this September, but I"ll admit, after watching the film's first trailer, I'm not sure it's one I'll be seeking out first thing. It's not just that Schwimmer's previous directorial effort Run, Fat Boy, Run was a punishing excuse for a "comedy" or that movies about the dangers of cyber-stalking feel very late-90s, but well, this movie seems to abuse the talents of both Clive Owen and Catherine Keener, and that I cannot abide.

Check out the trailer below (via TIFF Reviews), in which a teenage girl learns that maybe it's not necessarily a good idea to give away all our secrets to a stranger on the internet, and see whether or not you share my skepticism. If I manage to catch Trust in Toronto I'll make sure and bring you an update.

Late last night I saw the Louis C.K. concert film Louis C.K.: Hilarious, which I may or may not review because, well, it's a comedy concert film and you pretty much know what you're in for. But one of his lines that stuck with me, and has been quoted at me repeatedly this week, is the phrase "White People Problems." You know, the kind of stuff you complain about when the basics like food, water and shelter are covered-- bad cell service, delays at the airport, etc. etc.

Nicole Holofcener's Please Give is a movie about White People Problems suffered by white people living in one of New York City's most beautiful neighborhood. But because it has great affection for its characters and goes in a few surprising directions, Please Give feels a lot more human and relateable than it might have, reflecting a few greater things about all of us even when its closing moment is a woman buying a pair of $200 jeans.

Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a pair of Manhattan antiques dealers, called into the homes of the dead by their children to assess what furniture might be worth something and pay them a pittance so that they can mark it up 200% and sell it to the even wealthier. Kate feels constantly guilty about it and makes up for it with usually wrongheaded and good-hearted gestures, like offering leftovers to a man who isn't in fact homeless, or bursting into tears when a developmentally disabled kid shows her how to shoot hoops.

Kate and Alex, who live with their teenage daughter (Sarah Steele), are also waiting for their elderly neighbor Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert) to die so that they can annex her apartment; the woman's granddaughters Mary (Amanda Peet) and Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) visit frequently and have mixed feelings on the neighbors they see as both vultures and kindred spirits. Kate and Alex throw Andra a birthday dinner and meet Rebecca and Mary for the first time properly; what spins off from there are a series of connections and understandings that don't change everyone, exactly, but give new perspective on what it means to care for each other.

If there's a message to the movie, it's that-- take care of each other as best you can, and the small stuff will work itself out. Luckily Please Give is also very funny, making the sentimentality much easier to handle when it starts creeping in near the end. It's one of those indie movies in which not much happens and everyone talks a lot, but the good humor and easily relatable stakes of all the relationships make it a compelling comedy as well. With great performances all the way down to line-- Hall in particular gets better to watch every time she's onscreen-- Please Give is satisfying on pretty much every well. It makes you wish every comedy could be this good.

For more of our Sundance 2010 coverage, click here.

It made Katey’s list of the movies she’s most looking forward to at Sundance and now Fox Searchlight has released the first trailer for the John C. Reilly comedy Cyrus. Coincidence? Yep.

In it, Reilly stars as a lumpy guy who meets the perfect girl, played by Marissa Tomei, only to discover she has a fully grown son, played by Jonah Hill. Jonah isn’t particularly happy to have Reilly in his life, and the trailer makes it seem like a more realistic take on Step-Brothers. Though it lacks that wacky, big-budget Step-Brothers polish, it’s full of great one-liners and brilliantly perfect dialogue as in a scene where Jonah describes Reilly’s hair as a crippled tree reaching for heaven. Check out the first Cyrus trailer below: