I have always appreciated when people follow in the footsteps of their famous parents. In fact, I think it is fun to see actors collaborate with their own children on-screen, of which there are more than enough examples. The following are 30 of our favorite movies and TV shows that proved to be a family affair for the stars involved.

Adam, Jackie, Sadie, And Sunny Sandler (You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah)

Not only did producer Adam Sandler star as the father of two girls played by his real daughters, Sadie and Sunny, in the You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah cast in 2023. The Netflix original coming-of-age dramedy also stars the comedian’s wife, Jackie, while Idina Menzel handled the role of Adam’s onscreen spouse.

Andie MacDowell And Margaret Qualley (MAID)

According to MAID developer Molly Smith Metzler, it was actually star Margaret Qualley who brought up the idea of casting her own mother, Andie MacDowell, as her character’s mother. The Golden Globe-nominated Four Weddings and Funeral star plays Paula (a woman with severe bipolar disorder) opposite the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast member in the Netflix original miniseries based on Stephanie Land’s memoir.

Angelina Jolie And Vivienne Jolie-Pitt (Maleficent)

Vivienne Jolie-Pitt gave her debut (and, so far, sole) onscreen acting performance opposite her mother, Angelina Jolie, in 2014’s Maleficent — a live-action reimagining of Sleeping Beauty from the villain’s perspective. According to Vanity Fair, the then-5-year-old got the part of a younger version of Elle Fanning’s character, Aurora, because other children were too afraid of the Academy Award winner in full makeup and costume in the title role.

Ben And Jerry Stiller And Anne Meara (Various)

Ben Stiller shared the screen with both of his late parents, legendary comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, multiple times — the first being the 1989 mockumentary, That’s Adequate, followed by 1991 horror-comedy, Highway to Hell. Ben later played a sadistic fitness guru who purchases a youth weight loss camp from his parents’ characters in Disney’s 1995 summer comedy movie, Heavyweights, before casting them 2001’s Zoolander, with Jerry as Maury Ballstein and Meara cameoing as an egg-throwing protester.

Billy Ray, Miley, And Noah Cyrus (Doc, Hannah Montana)

Both Miley Cyrus and her sister, Noah, made their acting debuts on the medical drama, Doc, which was led by their musician father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Years later, the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer took a supporting role on Miley’s smash hit Disney Channel show, Hannah Montana, which Noah would also appear on in various unnamed roles.

Brendan, Domhnall, And Brian Gleeson (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 1, Frank Of Ireland)

Brendan Gleeson reprised Mad-Eye Moody in the penultimate installment of the Harry Potter movies, which also starred his son, Domhnall, as Ron Weasley’s older brother, Bill, in 2010. More than a decade later, the Academy Award nominee starred opposite the Star Wars movies actor and his younger son, Brian, in an episode of their Amazon Prime comedy series, Frank of Ireland, as a new boyfriend of the title character’s mother.

Blythe Danner And Gwyneth Paltrow (Sylvia)

In 2003, Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow played the title role of a biopic about Sylvia Plath. To play the renowned writer and poet’s mother, Aurelia, Paltrow’s real-life mother, Tony and Emmy Award winner Blythe Danner was cast.

Chris, Tristan, And India Hemsworth (Thor: Love And Thunder)

After his older brother, Luke, portrayed his comic book character in a play in Thor: Ragnarok, Chris Hemsworth made 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder a real family affair. Not only would Luke return, but Chris’s son, Tristan, appeared as the title character’s younger self in a flashback and his daughter, India, played Gorr the God Butcher’s daughter, Love.

Clint And Scott Eastwood (Gran Torino, Trouble With The Curve)

The first time Clint Eastwood acted alongside his son, Scott, was in 2007’s Gran Torino for a scene in which — as the Suicide Squad star claimed to Conan O’Brien — his father threw a few unscripted insults toward his character. Five years later, Scott starred in the baseball movie Trouble with the Curve as a minor leaguer discovered by his father’s character.

Damon Wayans And Damon Wayans Jr. (Blankman, My Wife And Kids, Happy Together)

Daman Wayans Jr. debuted as the younger version of his father’s character — aspiring superhero, Kevin — in the funny ‘90s movie Blankman, before landing a recurring role on his sitcom, My Wife and Kids, and later inviting him to play his dad on his own sitcom, Happy Together. In early 2023, Deadline reported that the Wayans are developing a new sitcom that will pair them up as an on-screen father-son duo once again.

Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, And Rumer Willis (Various)

Rumer Willis’ first two acting gigs were alongside her mother, Demi Moore, as Angela Albertson in the underrated ‘90s movie, Now and Then, and as the daughter of Moore’s character in the classic stripper movie, Striptease. The actor and singer’s next two roles would be alongside her father, Bruce Willis, with an uncredited cameo in the 2000 comedy, The Whole Nine Yards, and as the daughter of Willis’ character in the 2005 thriller, Hostage.  

Donald And Kiefer Sutherland (A Time To Kill, Forsaken)

The first time Donald and Kiefer Sutherland appeared in a movie together — namely 1996’s A Time to Kill — Donald played a civil rights lawyer and Kiefer played a vicious white supremacist. Nearly two decades later, the father and son played a father and son in a western called Forsaken.

Eugene, Dan, And Sarah Levy (Schitt's Creek)

The Schitt’s Creek cast has more than two related actors in it. Eugene Levy and his son, Dan (who also created the hit sitcom together), play Johnny Rose and his son, David, and Dan’s sister, Sarah, also stars as Café Tropical owner, Twyla Sands.

George And Mayan Lopez (Lopez Vs. Lopez)

Comedian George Lopez teamed up with his daughter, Mayan, and Debby Wolfe to create the NBC sitcom, Lopez vs. Lopez. The series — which  was renewed for a second season, according to Variety — also stars George and Mayan as a father and daughter forced to reconnect after year when they have no choice but to move in together.

Henry And Jane Fonda (On Golden Pond)

The 1981 film adaptation of the acclaimed play On Golden Pond was a very special moment in Henry Fonda’s career. In addition to being his final performance, which earned him a Best Actor Oscar, it saw him share the screen with his real-life daughter, Jane, who played his estranged daughter.

Johnny And Lily-Rose Depp (Tusk, Yoga Hosers)

A nearly unrecognizable Johnny Depp plays Guy LaPointe in Kevin Smith’s bizarre A24 horror movie, 2014’s Tusk, which also stars his daughter, Lily-Rose, as a convenience store employee. When Smith made a spin-off in 2016 focusing on Lily-Rose and Harley Quinn Smith’s characters called Yoga Hosers, Depp reprised the French-Canadian P.I. as well.

Judy Garland And Liza Minnelli (In The Good Old Summertime, The Judy Garland Show)

As The Guardian recalls, the multi-talented Liza Minnelli was just three years old  when she made her acting debut with a brief cameo at the end of 1949’s In the Good Old Summertime, alongside her mother — the iconic Judy Garland. The Wizard of Oz star later invited her daughter to perform with her on her variety program, The Judy Garland Show, in the early 1960s.

Kirk, Diana, Michael, And Cameron Douglas (It Runs In The Family)

It Runs in the Family, marks a rare instance of a movie starring three generations of an actor family. It stars Kirk Douglas and his former wife, Diana, as the father and mother of a man played by their real son, Academy Award winner Michael Douglas, whose own actual son, Cameron, also stars as his eldest son in the 2003 dramedy.

Leslie Mann And Iris and Maude Apatow (Knocked Up, This Is 40)

Leslie Mann’s character in 2007’s Knocked Up and its 2012 quasi-sequel, This is 40, is married to writer/director Judd Apatow in real life. Their children, Iris and Maude — the latter of which went on to star in the Euphoria cast as Lex Howard -- appear in both This is 40 and Knocked Up with Leslie Mann.

Martin And Charlie Sheen And Emilio Estevez (Various)

Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez are celebrity siblings who have acted together multiple times, including once with their father, Martin Sheen, with small roles in Badlands. However, every other time the actors appeared alongside Martin was individually — with Charlie in Wall Street, Cadence, and Hot Shots, most notably, and with Estevez in In the Custody of Strangers and The Way.

Meryl Streep And Mamie Gummer (Heartburn, Evening, Ricki And The Flash)

When speaking to Jimmy Fallon, Mamie Gummer looked back on her acting debut as a toddler in the 1986 dramedy Heartburn, which was led by her mother, Academy Award winner Meryl Streep. More than twenty years later, Gummer played her mother’s younger self in the 2007 romantic drama, Evening, before playing her estranged daughter in 2015’s Ricki and the Flash.

Ralph And Julia Macchio (Cobra Kai)

Ralph Macchio’s daughter, Julia, has made a name for herself as an actor in movies like Girl Most Likely and shows like Showtime’s City on a Hill. She would share the screen with her father on a couple episodes of Netflix’s Karate Kid sequel series, Cobra Kai, as Daniel LaRusso’s cousin, Vanessa — a young, but highly skilled, child psychology grad student.

Ryan And Tatum O’Neal (Paper Moon)

According to Collider, the record for youngest Oscar winner is still held by Tatum O’Neal for her performance in 1973’s Paper Moon. Her character in the crime dramedy directed by the late Peter Bogdanovich is a precocious, Depression-era orphan who teams up with a con artist who could be her father, played the actor’s actual father, Ryan O’Neal.

Robin And Zelda Williams (In Search Of Dr. Seuss, Nine Months, House Of D)

Zelda Williams had her first taste of show business with her father -- Academy Award winner Robin Williams -- right beside her in the 1994 TV movie In Search of Dr. Seuss and the following year with her small role in the Hugh Grant-led rom-com, Nine Months. Her first starring role in a theatrically released film was in 2004’s House of D, which also marked the third and final time she acted alongside her late father.

Sean And Dylan Penn (Flag Day)

Sean Penn and Robin Wright’s daughter, Dylan Penn, got her start as a model before she took up acting. Her biggest role to date was as the unwitting daughter of a criminal played by Sean in 2021’s Flag Day, which the two-time Academy Award winner also directed.

Sylvester And Sage Stallone (Rocky V, Daylight)

In the Rocky movies’ fifth installment, Rocky Jr. was the debut role of star and director Sylvester Stallone’s real-life son, Sage, who would later appear with his dad in the ‘90s action movie,  Daylight. Sage went on to become the founder of Grindhouse Releasing — which prevented him from reprising his Rocky V role in Rocky Balboa — and, according to CNN, sadly passed away at 36 in 2012.

Thandiwe Newton And Nico Parker (Reminiscence)

Nico Parker — known for Disney’s live-action Dumbo remake and HBO’s The Last of Us cast — is the youngest daughter of actor Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker Ol Parker. However, in the 2021 futuristic noir, Reminiscence, she appeared alongside the Westworld star as a grandmother and granddaughter. 

Tom, Colin, Elizabeth, Chet, And Truman Hanks (Various)

Tom Hanks has shared the screen with all four of his children. He cast Colin Hanks in a small role in That Thing You Do! before appearing alongside him again in 2008’s The Great Buck Howard. Elizabeth Hanks was also in That Thing You Do!, but debuted in Forrest Gump. Chet Hanks has been in Larry Crowne and Greyhound and Truman Hanks normally does technical film work, but has appeared in three of his dad’s movies — News of the World, A Man Called Otto, and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.

Will, Jaden, And Willow Smith (The Pursuit Of Happyness, After Earth, I Am Legend)

Jaden Smith has played his father's onscreen son in two of Will Smith's movies — the first being his debut role in 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness and the second in the M. Night Shyamalan movie, After Earth. Willow Smith also made her acting debut as her father’s daughter in a heartbreaking flashback sequence from 2007’s I Am Legend.

If you're familiar with some or all of these films, you may agree that much of these parent-child pairings demonstrate the magic that can come from family members working together on screen. 

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. 

Whenever a Judd Apatow movie comes along you are almost guaranteed to see some of Hollywood’s biggest stars being put in rather ridiculous situations, but few of those compare to his latest film, The Bubble, which debuted on Netflix on April 1, 2022. The movie, which centers on a group of actors brought together to film the sixth installment in the fictional Cliff Beasts dinosaur franchise on a closed set, sounds like some fever dream, but it is all too real and the list of actors involved is something else.

The Bubble cast features everyone from the acclaimed director’s wife, Leslie Mann, and daughter, Iris Apatow, to Hollywood action stars like Karen Gillan and Pedro Pascal, and even David Duchovny, and that’s barely scratching the surface. With so many names involved, you know we had to go through and break down the entire cast from this hilarious COVID Netflix comedy.

Karen Gillan (Carol Cobb)

Leading The Bubble cast is Karen Gillan, who portrays Carol Cobb, one of the longtime stars of the Cliff Beasts franchise, which is now in its sixth installment when the new Netflix movie starts. And, just like her character, Gillan knows a thing or two about successful action franchises.

Gillan has been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since she first played Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014 and has continued to pop up in some of the best Marvel Movies in that time. The actress, who had a breakout role on Doctor Who, has also been a part of the Jumanji franchise since the long-dormant property was brought back with 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Her other credits include Gunpowder Milkshake, Stuber, and Oculus, to name a few.

Iris Apatow (Krystal Kris)

Iris Apatow, the daughter of director Judd Apatow and co-star Leslie Mann, pops up in The Bubble as Krystal Kris, a Tik Tok star who has recently joined the Cliff Beasts 6 cast.

Throughout her career, which started with a performance in her father’s 2007 romantic comedy Knocked Up, Apatow has appeared in a number of her dad’s films including Funny People and This is 40, as well as the Netflix original series Love, on which she portrayed Arya Hopkins.

Fred Armisen (Darren)

Taking on the role of Cliff Beasts 6 director Darren in The Bubble is former Saturday Night Live mainstay and Portlandia co-creator, Fred Armisen.

Throughout his career, Armisen has also appeared in countless movies, including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Easy A, The Smurfs film franchise, and most recently The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Outside of SNL and Portlandia, Armisen has been a part of shows like Crank Yankers, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Documentary Now!, Big Mouth, and Late Night with Seth Meyers, where he serves as the late night talk show’s band leader.

Maria Bakalova (Annika)

Maria Bakalova plays Annika, one of the employees at the hotel where the Cliff Beasts 6 cast is holed up during the closed shoot in The Bubble.

Bakalova is most recognizable from her appearance in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, in which she portrayed Sacha Baron Cohen’s on-screen teenage daughter, Tutar Sagdiyev. Her performance was met with universal praise and earned her a Critic’s Choice Award and nominations at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA Film Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, to name a few. Her other work includes Bulgarian dramas Transgression and Last Call, as well as the 2022 A24 horror movie Bodies Bodies Bodies.

David Duchovny (Dustin Mulray)

Taking on the role of Dustin Mulray, another mainstay of the Cliff Beasts dinosaur action franchise in The Bubble, is David Duchovny, who brings with him years of experience in comedy, sci-fi, and just about every other genre imaginable in film and TV.

Best known for his portrayal of FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on the long-running supernatural thriller series, The X-Files, and its film adaptations, Duchovny is also remembered for leading the comedy-drama series Californication as Hank Moody, with both roles earning him Golden Globe Awards and other accolades. Duchovny’s other work includes Aquarius, Twin Peaks (the 2017 revival), Evolution, and Beethoven.

Keegan-Michael Key (Sean Knox)

Keegan-Michael Key shows up in The Bubble as Sean Knox, another longtime member of the Cliff Beasts franchise, and one who seems to be down for any and all stunts.

Although best recognized for the long-running sketch comedy show, Key & Peele, alongside Jordan Peele, Key has an extensive body of work outside the hit Comedy Central series, including Mad TV, Reno 911!, Whose Line is it Anyway?, Friends from College, and Schmigadoon!, to name just a few. His film work includes a great deal of animated features like Toy Story 4, The Lion King, the Hotel Transylvania series, and the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie.

Leslie Mann (Lauren Van Chance)

Showing up as Cliff Beasts franchise star Lauren Van Chance in The Bubble is Leslie Mann, who has appeared in a number of her husband’s films, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People, and several others over the years.

Throughout her career, Mann has been a part of several dozen other film projects including George of the Jungle, Big Daddy, Orange County, Blockers, Motherless Brooklyn, and Blithe Spirit, to name just a small portion of her film work. Man has also popped up on shows like Freaks and Geeks, Modern Family, and The Simpsons. She is next set to lead the upcoming Amazon original series, The Power.

Pedro Pascal (Dieter)

Taking on the role of Dieter, one of the members of the Cliff Beasts 6 cast, in The Bubble, is Pedro Pascal, who fans of The Mandalorian will recognize from the sound of his, oh so familiar, voice.

In addition to playing one of the most badass Star Wars characters introduced in quite some time, Pascal has also made his mark on TV with explosive performances on shows like Game of Thrones and Narcos (with The Last of Us HBO series on the way). Pascal has a great deal of film credits to his name as well, including Wonder Woman 1984, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, If Beale Street Could Talk, and the ridiculous upcoming Nicolas Cage action comedy, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

Peter Serafinowicz (Gavin)

Peter Serafinowicz shows up in The Bubble as Gavin, the producer of Cliff Beasts 6 who has been put in the unenviable position of making sure the production doesn’t go off the rails.

One of the actors who have appeared in Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (he voiced Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace and Solo: A Star Wars Story and portrayed Denarian Garthan Saal in Guardians of the Galaxy), Serafinowicz has also popped up in movies like Shaun of the Dead, The World’s End, and John Wick: Chapter 2 throughout his career. He has also appeared in dozens of TV shows, with some of the most notable being The Tick, Archer, and South Park.

Guz Khan (Howie Frangopoulos)

Guz Khan appears in The Bubble cast as Howie Frangopoulos, another longtime actor in the successful yet out-of-this-world dinosaur action franchise, Cliff Beasts.

Fans of the Netflix original movie Army of Thieves will certainly recognize Khan from his portrayal of Rolph in the 2021 heist comedy, but that’s just one part of the British comedian’s career. Since making his debut in 2016, Khan has had major roles on shows like Borderline, Zapped, Man Like Mobeen, and Our Flag Means Death, as well a few movies, including Finding Fatimah and Walk Like a Panther.

Harry Travaldewyn (Gunther)

Relative newcomer and star-in-the-making Harry Travaldewyn shows up in The Bubble cast as Gunther, the COVID-19 compliance officer who is constantly trying to keep everyone healthy (from COVID, anyway) and under control on the set of Cliff Beasts 6 so that the movie's complicated production can finally come to a close.

The new Judd Apatow movie is only Travaldewyn’s second film credit to date, with his previous feature film being the Netflix historical drama, The King, in 2019. He’s next set to appear on the TV series Call My Agent and in the upcoming comedy-drama, Sweet Sue.

Nick Kocher (Scott)

Taking on the Scott, a member of the Cliff Beasts 6 crew, in The Bubble is former Saturday Night Live writer Nick Kocher, who has appeared in a number of movies, shows, and short films throughout his career.

A co-founder of the internet sketch comedy duo BriTANick alongside Brian McElhaney, Kocher has made brief appearances on shows like The Movie Show, CollegeHumor Originals, Next Time on Lonny, How I Met Your Mother, and Louie. His film credits include Awesometown, Much Ado About Nothing, and Balls Out.

Hopefully, this helps you make sense of the massive The Bubble cast and where you’ve seen the stars before. But, this is just the beginning of the list as Kate McKinnon, Rob Delaney, Vir Das, and multiple other familiar faces pop up from time to time in Judd Apatow’s latest effort. If you want to know what other movies are coming to the popular streaming service, check out our breakdown of the 2022 Netflix movie schedule.

And, if you haven't already, you can stream The Bubble on Netflix.

Take one look at the poster for 2007’s hit comedy, Knocked Up, which features a young Seth Rogen, and you will see the face of a man who has just begun to put in so much of the work which has made him the comedy legend he is today. Seth Rogen has been working nonstop ever since the release of Knocked Up, which also featured an all-star cast including Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Jonah Hill, as well as many other notable names.

It’s actually kind of crazy to believe the power of Judd Apatow’s second directorial effort, as it kind of changed the entire landscape of American comedies for a while. Predating 2009’s, The Hangover, Knocked Up nailed the immature dudes who are slowly, painfully learning to mature, and the women who, unfortunately, have to deal with them. Katherine Heigl famously (infamously?) once made comments about how she viewed the film as possibly being sexist toward women, and in 2021, it feels like there’s a bit more credence to her claims. But, if anything, Knocked Up is a great time capsule of the late aughts. So, here is what those fresh and young faces are currently doing.

Seth Rogen (Ben Stone)

As mentioned in the intro, I mean, jeez, what hasn’t Seth Rogen had a hand in over the years? Actor, producer, writer, director...Seth Rogen pretty much does it all in the industry. On the directorial side, he’s co-directed This Is the End, which starred quite a few people who were also in Knocked Up. He also co-directed the super controversial The Interview, which put us in an iffy place with North Korea back in 2014, and most recently, a short film in 2017 called Bananas Town, all with his frequent partner, Evan Goldberg. He also produced most of those films, and helped write all of them.

On the acting side, he’s been in seemingly everything since Knocked Up. Some of the most notable films include, Pineapple Express, Zak and Miri Make a Porno, Funny People, voicing Mantis in the Kung-Fu Panda series, voicing a hot dog in Sausage Party, the first assistant director, Sandy Schklair in The Disaster Artist (which is likely the last time we’ll ever see him work with James Franco), voicing Pumbaa in the live-action Lion King, and, most recently, as a Jewish immigrant in the comedy drama, An American Pickle. Next up, he’ll play the “favorite uncle” in a semi-autobiographical Steven Spielberg film. He’ll also have a hand at rebooting my beloved Ninja Turtles. So, yes, he’s been a very busy man.

Katherine Heigl (Alison Scott)

As mentioned earlier, the former Grey’s Anatomy star has had a lot of ups and downs since her comments about Knocked Up being “sexist.” Film-wise, she’s been keeping relatively busy. She starred in 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth, and One For the Money, to some success, but she's mostly shifted her focus to TV since then. She received a Razzie nomination for her role in Home Sweet Hell as Mona Champagne back in 2015, and her most recent role was as Michelle Burroughs in a psychological thriller titled Fear of Rain.

TV has been a bit better for the actress, as she’s had leading roles in State of Affairs, Doubt, Suits, and most recently, the Netflix show Firefly Lane, where she plays a daytime talk show host named Tully Hart. It's since been renewed for a second season, which will air in 2022. She is also slated to play women’s suffrage leader, Victoria Woodhull, in a miniseries aptly titled, Woodhull.

Paul Rudd (Pete)

Paul Rudd, who would later star in a Knocked Up spin-off, This Is 40, alongside Leslie Mann, has also been keeping super busy since Knocked Up. On the television side, the former Mike Hannigan of Friends fame was on Veronica Mars, voiced three different roles on The Simpsons, had a recurring role on Parks and Recreation as Bobby Newport, and will also be a voice on the upcoming What If…? Disney+ series.

Film-wise, he’s been in lots of stuff, too, most notably Role Models, I Love You, Man alongside Knocked Up star, Jason Segel, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, and probably, most famously, as Scott Lang, a.k.a., Ant-Man in the MCU. Next up, the actor will be Mr. Grooberson in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and then as Ant-Man again in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. So, phew. Still very hard at work.

Jonah Hill (Jonah)

Jonah Hill has had a really interesting career since Knocked Up, most notably being nominated twice for Academy Awards for his supporting roles in Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street. Most interestingly, though, might be the fact that you really can’t pin this man down in any specific role anymore. He’s also directed the highly underappreciated movie, Mid90s, which, as a '90s kid, really spoke to me as a viewer.

TV wise, Jonah Hill did the animated Fox Show, Allen Gregory, as well as roles on The Simpsons, Reno 911! And Curb Your Enthusiasm. Film-wise, he’s been ubiquitous, as he’s been in films like Superbad, Cyrus, the voice of Snotlout Jorgenson in the How to Train Your Dragon series alongside Knocked Up star, Jay Baruchel, both 21 Jump Street movies, as well as War Dogs and many others. His next project will be the dark comedy Don’t Look Up, which will be coming to Netflix. Whatever Jonah Hill does, I’m there. He’s a great actor!

Leslie Mann (Debbie)

Judd Apatow’s real-life wife (as nearly everybody knows, and those are their two children in Knocked Up), Leslie Mann, like everybody else, has been keeping busy. On the TV side, she did seven episodes on Jonah Hill’s animated series, Allen Gregory. She also did a voice role on The Simpsons, and was a narrator on Makers: Women Who Make America. Those last two were back in 2014.

On the film side, she’s done much more recent work. She was in Drillbit Taylor, the animated franchise, Rio 1 and its sequel, Vacation as Rusty’s sister, Audrey Griswold-Crandall, and, most recently, as the voice of Hope Betterman in The Croods: A New Age. Her next project will have her working with her husband again for his next movie, The Bubble. Looking forward to it.

Jay Baruchel (Jay)

Jay Baruchel, who made his TV debut on Are You Afraid of the Dark? and also had a role on the immensely underappreciated sitcom, Undeclared (I’m sorry, I know these came before Knocked Up, but I feel like I’ll never get to talk about those shows if I don’t mention them now!) hasn’t been seen as frequently as some of the other films’ stars, but he’s had a fascinating career as well.

He’s probably most known as the voice of Huccup in the How to Train Your Dragon series. But, he’s also been in Tropic Thunder, She’s Out of My League, Goon (he directed the sequel, Goon: Last of the Enforcers), This is the End, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and the 2019 slasher, Random Actors of Violence, which he also produced and directed. He also wrote the book, Born Into It: A Fan’s Life, where he writes about his fandom of the Montreal Canadiens. His last project was the starring role on the TV show, The Moodys, which was just recently cancelled. We’ll be keeping a look out for whatever he has next in store for us.

Jason Segel (Jason)

Jason Segel, like quite a few stars in Knocked Up, got his start on the cult comedy, Freaks and Geeks, and he’s been going pretty strong ever since. He’s probably most known for his role in the How I Met Your Mother cast as Marshall Eriksen, but I’m sure you’ve seen him around in several other things as well, most notably (here it comes again) Undeclared, but more recently, the AMC show, Dispatches from Elsewhere.

Film-wise, he was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man, The Muppets, Sex Tape (I never thought I would type the words “The Muppets” and “Sex Tape” so close together, but there you have it), and 2019’s Our Friend. His next theatrical project is the movie, The Sky Is Everywhere, which is based off of a novel of the same name. So, yeah. Muppets Sex Tape. That's now a thing in my head.

Charlyne Yi (Jodi)

Charlyne Yi is always popping up in pretty much everything I watch. Following Knocked Up, she was in Cloverfield, Semi-Pro, the EXCELLENT Paper Heart, in a voice role for the Netflix animated movie, Next Gen (which my son loves, by the way), Trolls: World Tour, which my kids both loved and hated, and was most recently a voice in The Mitchells vs. the Machines, which we haven’t watched yet, but will.

She’s also done a lot of TV work, like Steven Universe, Twin Peaks, when it was brought back, Lucifer, Good Girls, and the HBO Max original series, Tig n’ Seek in a voice role. We’ll be keeping track on how anything else the actress has in store for us next develops.

In the end, Knocked Up was the little comedy that could. The film, perhaps unsurprisingly, has left a lasting legacy, and it still ranks up there as one of the best comedies of the earlier 2000s. But, if you’re looking for more recent films, like say, this year, then make sure to check out our list of 2021 movies. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find the next Knocked Up on that list.

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.

To be totally blunt, the marketing for director Kay Cannon's Blockers has been terrible. It starts with the fact that it carries a lame, neutered title, but helping nothing is the awful tagline "Parents can be such..." Furthermore, the trailers have been incredibly weak, with the previews unable to get across the timing and context of the humor. And while the main story and tone have not been misrepresented, the quality level certainly has been.

I point this out because it's important to recognize that Blockers definitely isn't the movie that the marketing suggests. Rather, it's legitimately one of the funniest and most well-built studio comedies that we've seen in recent years -- anchored by six leads who all do an amazing job carrying their weight. It's certainly not the most original premise, being a fairly straightforward teen sex comedy, but it really delivers in all the best ways, and even manages to sport some real heart to go along with the major laughs.

Based on an original screenplay by brothers Brian and Jim Kehoe, the film begins by introducing us to parents Lisa (Leslie Mann), Mitchell (John Cena), and Hunter (Ike Barinholtz), who are all brought together when their respective daughters become immediate best friends on their first day of school. Because the parents are all very different people, they don't exactly click at first, leaving them to basically just be tangential acquaintances more than anything while their daughters grow closer.

Jumping ahead to high school, the parents are shown to all be living very different lives with their growing kids: Lisa is a single, helicopter mom terrified about Julie (Kathryn Newton) leaving her to go away to college; Mitchell is a conservative sports nut who is regularly outsmarted by the mature and smart Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan); and Hunter is basically an outcast, being divorced because of an affair he committed, and basically loathed by his daughter, Sam (Gideon Adlon). The relationship between the three adults is casual at best -- but it gets taken to the next level on prom night.

While doing some snooping, the parents discover that their daughters have made a sex pact, promising each other that they will all lose their virginity on the same night, and it naturally leads to a bit of freaking out. With Hunter resisting along the way, just wanting Sam to have the best night of her life with her nerdy date Chad (Jimmy Bellinger), Lisa and Mitchell start hatching a plan to cockblock their children and keep them away from their respective dates (Graham Phillips, Miles Robbins) -- sparking a night of hijinks and ridiculousness.

Kay Cannon makes her directorial debut with Blockers after years of establishing herself as a writer and producer, and immediately cements herself as one of the most exciting new comedic filmmakers with the work. While so many titles these days that feel overwrought with long improvised sequences that feel excessive and forced -- particularly from first time directors hesitant cutting material -- Cannon keeps her movie lean and focused. Not only is every scene funny (and often raunchy without feeling forced), but there is also no fat to the story. Having almost the entire film set over the course of one evening lends itself to a tight, fast moving plot, and Cannon navigates it wonderfully.

Obviously helping tremendously is the fact that the movie is working with some excellent talent playing the principals. Leslie Mann, John Cena and Ike Barinholtz have regularly played supporting roles in these kinds of comedies, but Blockers lets them really show what they can do as leads, and they absolutely kill it. They each have their own spin on a personality we've seen before, have spectacular interplay (comically heighted by the fact that the characters don't really like each other all that much), and they prove bold when going for a big laugh (be it Cena participating in a butt chugging contest or Mann doing gymnastics in a hotel room trying not to be seen).

Brilliant as the central trio is, however, what is easily the most impressive part of Blockers is the way in which it lets Julie, Kayla and Sam actually be just as funny as the grown-ups. A typical film would treat the girls' adventure like a vestigial B-plot, providing nothing to the central narrative beyond the next location for their parents to go, but that's not this movie. Instead, they shoulder a great deal of the comedic weight themselves, and ultimately create some of the best moments through their natural chemistry as a trio. Geraldine Viswanathan in particular emerges as an absolutely fantastic scene-stealer, her character's maturity and boldness lending to some big laughs throughout, but Kathryn Newton and Gideon Adlon also deserve special highlight for making what could be rote, stereotypical characters feel real and honest. Tradition suggests that a comedy has to pick a perspective and stick with it, either the kids or the parents, but Kay Cannon and the Kehoe brothers gamble on a balance, and it's a home run.

It often feels like teen sex comedies are a dime a dozen, but quality trumps overexposure in any genre, and Blockers is pure proof. It certainly helps that it feels as though its success totally comes out of nowhere, but at the end of the day low expectations is just a small part of it. It's simply a well-made, incredibly funny film built on talent from all involved, culminating as a real winner.

Blockers, the new raunch comedy about a group of parents trying to prevent their teens from losing their respective virginities, hits theaters this coming weekend. If you've seen the trailer for the flick, you've seen the eggplant emoji jokes, the car chases and one memorable scene involving butt chugging. However, there's one facet of the movie the trailer doesn't make clear. Former pro wrestler and current Blockers movie star John Cena takes it off in the movie, and he and his co-stars have been pretty open about what happens.

His co-star Leslie Mann recently opened up about one scene in question during an appearance on Today this week, admitting that John Cena does drop trou in the upcoming flick, saying about the scene,

We're about to get into some more specific spoilers, here, so if you want to go into the comedy with no knowledge, head out now. The scene in question Leslie Mann was discussing was a butt-chugging scene during the movie, a scene that has played a big part in the trailers for Blockers. In order to gain access to a high school party, the trailer shows that John Cena and co. have to pretend they are cool and willing to drink with teens, after which Cena's character pulls down his pants and totally butt chugs. It's a scene that has already stood out in the ads and is likely to continue to stand out when the movie hits screens.

Director Kay Cannon has called John Cena's nude work in Blockers "naked Marco Polo," telling MTV,

Cena also previously has talked about his nude work in Blockers, bringing up that he does at least have a shirt on during the butt-chugging scene, so that one was not full nudity. He told Ellen a while back that after Trainwreck's nude scene he and Nikki Bella now go over the options before he signs on the dotted line.

The actor has also mentioned that fans should stick around until the end of the movie for more nude surprises, noting,

The additional nude scene in question, as John Cena mentioned also mentioned to MTV, took six hours to shoot. So, in conclusion, there's plenty of John Cena in Blockers and if all of that seems like your type of thing, you can check out the movie when it hits theaters on April 6. In addition, you can take a look at the less nude movies hitting theaters with our full schedule.

When actors have to do promotion for their new movies the day can get very long and very boring. They have to answer the same question dozens of times from one media member after another. As we often have a reporter in that chair, we totally get it. Sometimes the actors get a little punch drunk, or sometimes they just need to entertain themselves to keep from going crazy. That is how moments like this happen. Dakota Johnson and Leslie Mann were recently talking to media about their new film, How to be Single, when they started flirting with a cute reporter, and apparently tried to set him up with their friends.

Since the movie is about single women, maybe it shouldn’t be too surprising they they totally hit on the Miami’s WSVN reporter Chirs Van Vliet. Maybe this was them being "in character." If it was, then that’s as close as they got to actually talking about the movie, as the actresses’ obsession with the state of their reporter’s shirt takes up literally the entire interview segment. At no point does he actually get a chance to ask them about the movie. We assume he was going to ask them something, and not just read out pickup lines. If that was his plan, however, then the interview actually went almost perfectly, based on the reaction to the lines he had.

The most interesting part of the exchange is when Dakota Johnson and Leslie Mann, discovering that the reporter is in fact single, make sure to inform a couple of women outside of the frame of this fact. It actually makes us wonder, if we see more of these interviews, is this something all the reporters were asked? Was this entire media event just a ruse to try and find dates for their friends? We’ve heard of worse plans. The reporter, for his part, appears to be a deer in the headlights. He’s not sure whether he just won the lottery or is being punk’d. It actually gets a little awkward. It doesn't look like he ever really considers not doing as they ask, but he's not totally on board either. Like he feels like he should be saying no, but doesn't want to kill the interview.

How to be Single is a comedy that follows several characters dealing with the single life in New York City. Dakota Johnson’s character, Alice, is newly single, and learns the ropes of this newfound lifestyle from Rebel Wilson's Robin. In addition to Leslie Mann, the film also co-stars Alison Brie.

While we weren’t able to learn anything new about the film from this interview, if the movie is as entertaining as Dakota Johnson and Leslie Mann were here, then How to be Single could be a good time at the movies.

Last night, the People’s Choice Awards entertained a lot of people with its picks, but there were a few moments that stood out from the rest, including the time that Leslie Mann presented the the Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress Award to Dakota Johnson and totally broke the zipper on her dress, leaving her to hold the unzipped zipper closed. You can catch the amusing wardrobe malfunction, below.

It’s a little difficult to tell exactly what happened, here. Clearly that dress was already primed for a disaster, as Leslie Mann simply walked up to Dakota Johnson and gave her a weak to medium hug before we saw her whisper an apology. She then even held the actress’ dress. After that, Dakota took over, holding the back of her dress as she prepared to give her thank you speech. Instead, she gave us the best response ever:

Double negative aside, at least the 50 Shades of Grey star had a sense of humor. The rest of her speech talked about how grateful she has been for fan support and how the role in the 50 Shades franchise has really changed her life. If you’ve been keeping tabs, Dakota Johnson had popped up in a few things before landing the 50 Shades of Grey gig, including having a small part in 21 Jump Street and The 5-Year Engagment. She also starred in the short-lived—but very cute—TV series Ben and Kate. Clearly, however, 50 Shades of Grey has put her on the map, and even a dress malfunction can’t stop that.

Still, the moment should should provide a constant source of amusement the day after. I just love how she's awkwardly leaning over the mike as she talks at the People's Choice Awards. At least she's not prone to tripping and falling like one major a-lister.

Fashion is always a big deal at these sorts of events. Obviously, the dresses celebrities wear are high-end but usually a little more casual than what we see at the Oscars, but it’s not like Johnson’s Armani Privé was an off-the-rack dress with plenty of snags. I guess it just proves that no matter how luxe the fabric and how carefully made the garment, women’s clothing is more made to be fashionable than functional or durable. At least she looked pretty darn good while holding it shut.

We appear to be going through something of an adult comedy renaissance. We’re also seeing a lot of great movies with funny women leading the way. While it’s not clear quite yet just how "adult" How to be Single will actually be, it has yet to be rated, from the first trailer the movie certainly gives the impression of being a bit more of a movie for grown-ups, and it certainly has all the funny women you’ll need.

While this isn’t a red band trailer, you may not want to watch this with your grandmother around. You may have to explain too much. While the language is not vulgar, it is blunt and matter of fact. Seriously, apparently "tit punching" is a thing, and this trailer has it.

The How to be Single trailer follows Dakota Johnson as the newly single Alice learning the ropes of how to be single in New York City by her friend Robin, played by Rebel Wilson, who looks to be having more fun than anybody in this movie. Any movie that is about being single will also be about having sex, and that’s certainly the case here. Robin has turned living life solo into an art form, knowing every trick and twist to enjoying herself, while still having plenty of sex, because you know, priorities. Alice, on the other hand, appears to be utterly lost when it comes to handling being single. Most people probably fall into one camp or the other, giving you your choice of characters to relate to.

What’s most interesting about the trailer is not what it shows us about the movie, but what it does not. Our previous information about the film gave us the impression that its structure was something along the lines of Love, Actually or Valentine’s Day’s, with multiple characters running through multiple, simultaneous storylines. The trailer however shows us almost exclusively Rebel Wilson and Dakota Johnson. Both Leslie Mann and Alison Brie also have significant roles in the movie, but they’re nearly non-existent here. It’s very possible that there’s a lot of this movie that we are not being shown. We may be in store for a series of trailers showing us the multiple storylines. It’s also possible that a decision was made to focus more on this part of the film as a primary story.

Whatever the final film turns out to be we’re certainly interested in learning more. Everybody on board is funny and the movie looks like a good time. Whether your single life looks (or looked) like this or you just wish it did, How to be Single is an education we may all need to have The movie will be out this February.

Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders' The Croods had a rather impressive voice cast full of stars - but the sequel is evidently going even bigger. How do we know? Because all of the lead cast members will be back, and this time around joined by Leslie Mann and Kat Dennings.

The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop that the two very funny ladies will be joining the ensemble of The Croods 2. As things stand, the rest of the cast includes Nicolas Cage (as Grug), Emma Stone (as Eep), Ryan Reynolds (as Guy), Catherine Keener (as Ugga) and Clark Duke (as Thunk). Weirdly there still aren't any plot details available, but the trade does have word on the roles that Mann and Dennings will be playing.

It seems that part of the plot of The Croods 2 will involve the titular family meeting another prehistoric clan, and competing in some fashion. Mann will be playing the matriarch of the other tribe, while Dennings' character is the daughter, who is evidently being affected by having her desire to hunt suppressed.

Weirdly enough, this won't be the first time that Leslie Mann and Kat Dennings have played mother and daughter. They played similar familial roles in Robert Rodriguez's family comedy Shorts - though given that movies rather dismal performance at the box office, there's a pretty good chance you didn't know that. The two actresses also both had roles in director Judd Apatow's breakout his The 40 Year Old Virgin, though their characters didn't have anything to do with one another.

While DreamWorks Animation has been struggling in recent years, The Croods was a big hit when it came out in 2013. It wasn't a superior domestic performer, making $187 million domestically against a $135 million budget, but it was a monster hits overseas, pulling in an additional $400 million. That goes a long way in explaining why the animation company is willing to shill out a few more dollars to make the voice cast even more impressive.

Like the original, Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders' The Croods 2 is based on an original screenplay that they wrote, and the movie is presumably now working its way though the long, long animation process. 20th Century Fox has plans to release the movie in theaters on December 22, 2017, which is pretty safe box office territory considering no other film has yet planted a flag in that month. Presumably the new family will have members beyond Kat Dennings and Leslie Mann's characters, so stay tuned for more updates.

It looks as though the further adventures of the Griswold family will head to theaters fashionably early. It is being reported that the fumbling family farce, headlined by star Ed Helms, will once again put the ol' family Truckster back on the road a little more than two months ahead of its original schedule.

According to a scoop by The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is moving the release date of the upcoming franchise revival, simply titled Vacation, from its originally set release of October 9th up to the more vacation appropriate July 31st. The move represents a big vote of confidence from the studio regarding the film’s ability to compete in the ultra-competitive summer movie season amongst some big-budget bonanzas. It certainly stands as a surprisingly auspicious sign for the movie, possibly due to good reactions from early screenings, considering that this once-beleaguered sort-of-sequel had been held up in developmental purgatory for years and even experienced delays well after receiving the greenlight.

In the film, it looks as though we’ll see the baton of the overzealous dad - who fruitlessly attempts to treat his family to an unrealistically idealized cross-country family trip (once again) to the magical land of Walley World - passed from Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold to his son, Rusty Griswold, played this time around by Ed Helms. He’ll be joined by Christina Applegate, who plays Rusty’s wife, Leslie Mann, who will fill the role of his sister, Audrey, plus Chase and Beverly D’Angelo, who will return to reprise their roles as the elders of the Griswold clan. Additionally, stars like Chris Hemsworth, Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key, and Regina Hall, amongst others, will show up.

The film continues the continuity of the original series that (barring the made-for-DVD stinkers) consists of the 1983 seminal comedy classic National Lampoon’s Vacation, followed by the similarly-branded European Vacation in 1985; the perennial holiday standard Christmas Vacation in 1989; and the less-celebrated Vegas Vacation in 1997. The last of these saw the "National Lampoon's" label finally dropped. The franchise has seen some big name writers and directors take helm of the franchise, including both Harold Ramis behind the camera and the late John Hughes with the pen, but their shoes will be filled by an interesting duo of actors-turned-writers in John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein, who will both serve as co-writers and co-directors.

For Daley, the former star of TV’s Bones and Freaks and Geeks, the gig comes as the culmination of a creative resume that he has been quietly building while still acting, with work on scripts like the Horrible Bosses films and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. For Goldstein, whose screenwriting credits run far deeper, the foray behind the camera will be territory just as new for him as it is for Daley, since neither of them have actually directed a feature length picture. Based on this latest move by the studio, though, signs seem to point to them doing just fine.

Vacation will begin a new generation’s pilgrimage to see a moose. Will it have moviegoers whistling "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah" out of their assholes? We shall certainly see when the film hits theaters on July 31st.

In this new era of women empowerment, it seems like every other day we are hearing about a female protagonist-driven film getting the green light. The current trend definitely has huge box-office smashes like The Hunger Games franchise and the Twilight saga to thank. The latest lady-pic How to be Single may not be as huge as the aforementioned films, but with its recent additional casting of three hilarious comediennes, it may still pack a pretty strong box-office punch if done right.

How to be Single is the girl power flick of the moment as, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson and Leslie Mann are all currently in negotiations to star in the upcoming romantic comedy. The three funny femmes will join Alison Brie, who is all but officially locked down for the ensemble comedy.

The film is said to be on par with other relationship pics with multiple intersecting storylines like He's Just Not That Into You and Valentine's Day. The plot follows characters, both male and female, as they try to navigate the single life while exploring topics of blind dating, casual sex, fear of commitments and marriage. The underlying message of the film suggests "it is not our relationships, but our single times in between, that define us."

Brie's comedic breakout came through her role in the popular TV series Community. She voices a few characters on the Netflix original animated series BoJack Horseman and can be seen in the upcoming Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart buddy comedy Get Hard. Wilson broke through with a small role in Bridesmaids and can be seen in the sequel to Pitch Perfect, slated for release in May. Dakota Johnson recently appeared in 21 Jump Street and The Five-Year Engagement and, if all goes as planned with Fifty Shades of Grey, will likely be a name we hear a lot more in the coming years. Mann, who has been making movie-watchers laugh since the '90s, is playing Audrey Griswold in the upcoming John Francis Daley Vacation reboot, set to hit theaters in October.

So there's no doubt the cast, all who have comedic roots of some sort, lays a solid foundation for How to be Single. Not being familiar with the source material, I'll have to wait until there's a trailer to judge it further. If it goes the way of Love Actually (which I think sets the bar for modern ensemble romantic comedies) it has a solid shot at leaving an impression on its audience and making a few bucks along the way.

How to be Single will also co-star Dan Stevens, Lily Collins and Tuesday Knight. The script was written by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein (original draft) and Dana Fox (current draft) and is based on the novel of the same name by Liz Tuccillo. Christian Ditter will direct the Drew Barrymore executive-produced film, which plans to start shooting in New York this April with a release around Valentine's Day of 2016.

A funny cast doesn't guarantee a funny movie, but it sure does help. In that respect, the reboot/remake of the classic 1980s comedy Vacation is headed in the right direction, as Leslie Mann is reportedly in talks to join previously cast Ed Helms and Christina Applegate. If all goes well, the This is 40 star would play Audrey Griswold. Chris Hemsworth and Charlie Day are also said to be in negotiations to board the series.

New Line's plans for the new Vacation film put the comedy somewhere between sequel and reboot, as the story will center on Rusty Griswold, son to Clark and Ellen, who's grown now and looking to take his own kids on a road trip, much in the way his own father took him, his sister and their mother on a road trip when he was younger. With Ed Helms on board to play Rusty, we were left to wonder who might play Audrey. THR reports that Leslie Mann is circling the role.

The film will have Audrey married to up-and-coming news anchor Stone Crandall, the character Chris Hemsworth is in talks to play. As mentioned, Charlie Day is also in talks, and original Vacation stars Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo are expected to return, reprising their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold, respectively.

Chase and D'Angelo's return to their roles is where this reboot feels a bit more like a sequel. The fact that Rusty and Audrey aren't being played by the original actors -- Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron -- isn't even that big of a shift here, as those two roles were recast for the three sequels that followed, European Vacation (Jason Lively, Dana Hill), Christmas Vacation (Johnny Galecki, Juliette Lewis) and Vegas Vacation (Ethan Embry, Marisol Nichols).

Leslie Mann seems like a great candidate for the role of Audrey, especially when taking into account her list of feature comedies, including This Is 40, Knocked Up, Big Daddy and Orange County. She's also worked with John Francis Daley, albeit under different circumstances. Daley is penning the screenplay with his Horrible Bosses co-writer Jonathan Goldstein. Mann and Daley both appeared in Freaks and Geeks. While Daley starred as one of the titular "geeks," Mann appeared as teacher Miss Foote in the "Chokin' and Tokin'" episode of the beloved and unfortunately short-lived 80s-set teen dramedy.

With Ed Helms in the role of Rusty, it wouldn't be at all surprising if the character turned out to be a chip off the old block, having grown up to be the same kind of enthusiastic family man that Clark was and likely still is. Whether or not that proves to be the case remains to be seen. It's not quite as easy to imagine what's going on with Audrey in the present day, even with Mann's face and sense of humor set to the role. Is she happily married? Does her husband get along with the Griswolds or is there tension there? And more importantly, how big of a role does Audrey have in this story? We'll find out eventually, as the film's set to start shooting in Louisiana next week.

Who cares that The Other Woman is getting trashed by critics? Audiences are turning out in force, which means great things for its leading ladies. Specifically, it means Leslie Mann is being hotly sought to headline a new comedy from DreamWorks called Las Madres.

Variety reports Leslie Mann is attached to star in Las Madres, a comedy about three unemployed friends who grow so frustrated with the difficulty in penetrating the job market that they decide to try their hand at bounty hunting. There's no mention if all three friends are female or who might be considered for the other two lead roles at this time. The project is currently in the early stages of development.

DreamWorks initially bought Las Madres as a pitched script from Lona Williams, the scribe behind the absolutely hysterical beauty pageant mockumentary Drop Dead Gorgeous. The studio has since brought on Pam Brady to punch up the screenplay. Best known for penning episodes of South Park, Brady will likely give the comedy a bit more bite. Could this mean Las Madres will be gunning for an R-rating? It seems likely as Brady's former film credits include such raunchy and wild laffers as South Park: Bigger Longer Uncut, Team America: World Police, and Hamlet 2.

It's a smart move for DreamWorks to snag Leslie Mann while they can. The Other Woman, in which she plays the cheated-on wife who befriends her husbands' mistresses to get revenge, is tearing it up in theaters right now. Critical opinion be damned, this comedy that co-stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton pulled in $24 million its opening weekend, enough to beat out Captain America: The Winter Soldier for the top spot at the box office. This past weekend was another win for The Other Woman, as it snared the #2 spot with $14 million, coming in an understandable second to the superhero tent pole that is The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Here's hoping Las Madres will give Mann a script worthy of her talents. But on paper it's already looking pretty amazing. Williams is not especially well known to comedy nerds, but the blistering humor and giddy irreverence she showed in Drop Dead Gorgeous has me on board for anything she writes. Bringing South Park heavy-hitter Brady on is just gravy. Now all this project needs is a director worth a damn. Bridesmaids helmer Paul Feig would likely be a wish list pick. But if DreamWorks is looking to go lower budget, I'd suggest Jamie Travis, the helmer of the hilarious and underseen buddy comedy For a Good Time, Call…

Check out its trailer to get a sense of why I think Travis would be a great pick for Las Madres's director's chair:

Director Nick Cassavetes is taking some curious risks in casting with his upcoming comedy The Other Woman. Just last week he cast model Kate Upton in the revenge comedy penned by Melissa Stack, and now THR reports outrageous rapper Nicki Minaj is in final talks for a role that would mark her live-action film debut. Notably, Minaj's only previous acting role was a lending her voice to an animated character in 2012's Ice Age: Continental Drift.

The Other Woman stars Cameron Diaz as a single lady who plots revenge when she discovers her boyfriend (Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is married. But here's the twist: she doesn't do so alone. She introduces herself to his spurned wife (Leslie Mann), and the two team up to get back at him even better. Upton will play another of this smooth operator's other lovers (the other other woman, if you will), and should she sign on, Minaj would portray an outspoken assistant on her third marriage who works at Diaz's law firm.

Lately, most headlines Minaj has been scoring involve her tempestuous behavior as a judge on American Idol, so the "Super Bass" singer could use some reputation rehab. Perhaps The Other Woman will give her a chance to poke fun at her persona, and win back some fans that have been less than pleased with her antics on Idol. Personally, I adore Minaj's ballsy fashion sense and the humor it shows. So I'm hoping she'll manage to make this part more interesting than the stereotypical "sassy black friend" role it seems to be.

The Other Woman is slated to shoot late spring/early Summer.

I know what you're probably thinking. Yes, Kate Upton is gorgeous, but does this Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model even act? Actually, Upton has two movies to her credit, having had a bit part in Brett Ratner's Tower Heist, as well as a role in the already forgotten Farrelly Bros. comedy The Three Stooges. But while I don't remember her from the first and never saw the second, I have to admit, Upton seems the perfect pick for this latest role Variety reports she's landed.

Penned by buzzed about screenwriter Melissa Stack, The Other Woman has been described as The First Wives Club for a younger audience. Cameron Diaz is set to star as a woman who is horrified to discover her gorgeous boyfriend (Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is actually married…and also cheating on her with a new, younger girlfriend. In this plucky dark comedy, this "other woman" decides to rat him out to his wife (Leslie Mann) so they can join forces in farcical revenge! Mwa ha ha!

You might have guessed from this setup which part Upton will play. And if you guessed the pretty younger model of gorgeous blond, you're right! Apparently this cheating cad has got a type. Of course Upton looks the part, being younger, bustier, and enviably hotter than her lovely female co-stars. But it's interesting because Upton also has a persona that is decidedly bubbly, not bitchy. So, it'll be interesting to see if she's just a bit part here or will get to score a bit of funny vengeance for herself.

The Other Woman is being helmed by The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes, who previously worked with Diaz on the 2009 tearjerker My Sister's Keeper. Production on this cheeky revenge comedy is expected to begin in New York late spring/early summer. So, we expect further casting confirmations to come soon. For now, Deadline reports Chicago Fire star Taylor Kinney is in talks for a role in this comedy as well, but at this point no details have emerged about his could-be character.

If social networking has done anything, it has made public the multitude of people involved in relationships where their significant other is cheating on them. And it's always astounding to see how many of those people get angry at the other person rather than the person who was intentionally defying them. Hopefully Cameron Diaz's new film will be a breath of fresh revenge-filled air, especially since the film is now two cast members closer to production.

The Hollywood Reporter names Leslie Mann and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) as the latest stars to join Diaz in the upcoming comedy The Other Woman, director Nick Cassavetes’ first feature since 2009’s My Sister’s Keeper.

The film will follow Diaz’s character who is chuffed to discover she is the “other woman” in an affair with a cheating husband (Coster-Waldau). Diaz then teams up with the husband’s wife, to be played by Mann, in order to get revenge. Should this show some verve and without limiting its appeal to the most common denominator section of the population, it could very well receive as much critical success as it probably will at the box office.

Mann was last seen in husband Judd Apatow’s This is 40, and will star opposite Emma Watson in the crime comedy The Bling Ring, whose first trailer dropped recently. Coster-Waldau, who was in the surprise horror hit Mama, can be seen on the season three return of Game of Thrones on March 31 on HBO, and later this summer will star in the Tom Cruise sci-fi epic Oblivion.

Scripted by Melissa Stack – whose I Want to F--- Your Sister script made the 2007 Black List - The Other Woman will begin production in New York in late spring/early summer.

Judd Apatow is calling it the "sort-of-sequel to Knocked Up," but we're just calling it one of the easiest movies to look forward to at the end of this year. This Is 40, Apatow's first film since Funny People, is coming to theaters December 21, and now a new trailer has dropped over at Yahoo! Movies. Take a look at it below.

As you can see, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann are reviving their characters from Knocked Up, along with Apatow and Mann's real-life daughters playing the daughters here, but this time the family is taking center stage. You'd better believe Apatow is back in very, very autobiographical territory, and there are a lot of bits in this trailer that seem like they must be drawn from real life-- the hilarious opening conversation about second wives, or especially the playing Words With Friends on the toilet. There doesn't seem to be a plot here, exactly, more like a series of ruminations on a couple trying to stick together as they approach 40 and realize, well, they're stuck with each other.

But that's OK-- the best parts of The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Funny People all have less to do with the plot and more to do with the conversations Apatow writes among his characters, and how much he gets us to care about them even while earning laughs with some truly out-there jokes. I was one of the many disappointed with Funny People, but the idea of returning to Rudd and Mann's characters seems genius, and already in this trailer I'm itching to get a chance to spend time with them again. Let us know if you agree in the comments, and you can learn more about This is 40 by clicking here.

If you find yourself seeing The Change-Up this summer and envying the house occupied by Jason Bateman and Leslie Mann's characters- the big kitchen counters, the lushly carpeted bedroom, the giant cushy couch-- keep in mind that the neighborhood isn't so great. Not only is there a burly grip or sound guy standing just outside pretty much every wall, but there's a dusty prop storage area right next door, and even though we're in Georgia, it's still January, and it's still freezing in there.

Because the house, of course, is just one of the many enormous sets that Universal has built at an old warehouse just west of Atlanta, where The Change-Up had been shooting for nearly three months when I visited the set in early January. The film is actually set in Atlanta, unlike a lot of productions that shoot there, and the production had already visited local landmarks like Turner Field and Piedmont Park-- a good time for them to wrap outdoor shooting, since a giant ice storm set in on the city the day we left the set. And even though this January day would be one of the last the crew spent in Atlanta, stars Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds and Leslie Mann were at work on a scene that comes early in the film, in which Reynolds's slacker friend character visits their lovely home and provides some, well, slightly inappropriate advice to their five-year-old daughter.

Just what that advice was varied from take to take. We watched director David Dobkin take Reynolds through dozens of different versions of the short scene, in which the little girl asks "Uncle Mitch" to attend her dance recital and he responds with everything from "Only if it's exotic dance" to "Absolutely not. Now go upstairs and do something with your hair." The young actress was a champ, hitting her cue each time, allowing Reynolds to toss her ludicrously (but safely) high in the air, and even faceplanting perfectly on cue every time he pushed her up the stairs at the end of the scene. Mitch, as you can probably tell, isn't really the most responsible uncle, and like a lot of things in movies by Wedding Crashers director Dobkin, it's a scene that wouldn't be funny in real life but hopefully will wind up hilarious onscreen.

"If you’re doing anything that you hope is worth doing, hopefully you’re making somebody uncomfortable, right?" Dobkin said later when the six of us visitors sat down with him at the big kitchen table on set. And the unexpected discomfort in The Change-Up actually starts with the premise, which takes the classic PG-rated notion of the body-switching comedy-- think Freaky Friday-- and transplants it to the foul-mouthed world of Dobkin and screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who also wrote a little R-rated comedy called The Hangover. Where characters in other body-switching comedies get switched by a magical wizard or toy, Dave (Bateman) and Mitch (Reynolds) switch after a night of drinking that ends with them peeing in a magic fountain. And The Change-Up is like other comedies in the genre, seeing its characters caught in wacky situations, it's probably got more sex and poop jokes than all the others combined.

All of it was on display in the scene we saw them shoot, despite the fact that two twin infants were on hand in their high chairs as Mitch joins Dave and his wife in the kitchen while the boys prepare for their night out. Mitch and Dave are longtime friends who have grown apart in recent years, as Dave spends time with his wife and three young kids while Mitch continues living a raucous bachelor lifestyle. In this scene we see Mitch arrive at the house, flirt shamelessly with Dave's wife (Leslie Mann) right in front of him, and usher Dave off to a night at a Braves baseball game-- a night that ends with them getting drunk, admitting they're each jealous of the other's life, and peeing in that magic fountain. The next morning they wake up in each others' bodies, and all kinds of hell breaks loose from there. In fact, why don't you check out the red-band trailer below as a reminder of just what's in store.

The director, writers and the cast were all wary of letting loose any jokes or gags beyond what you're seeing in the trailer, and understandably so-- comedies, especially raunchy comedies like The Change-Up, always rely on taking you by surprise. So when we talked to Dobkin, Lucas, and then Bateman and Reynolds together in breaks between scenes, we mostly focused on the bigger picture-- what it's like to make an R-rated comedy in this post-Hangover era, how to keep pushing the envelope without making it totally absurd, how to adapt the squeaky-clean PG kind of body-switching story into this raunchy comedy style, and of course, the eternal hilarity of hitting kids.

Tomorrow we'll have our conversation on the set with Bateman and Reynolds, including details about their years-long friendship that led them to team up in the film and what we learned about their characters by snooping around the sets that act as their bedrooms. Today, though, check out what Dobkin and Lucas had to say about deciding to team up on the film, where they see the future of R-rated comedy, and as Lucas puts it, why "if you learn anything in this movie, we’ve failed." The Change-Up hits theaters on August 5.

First things first: this is an R-rated take on a typically PG genre. It's going to be raunchy and kinda gross, and both Lucas and Dobkin want you to know this from the start.

Lucas: It will hopefully offend everyone here. To take a movie like that that’s generally been done –really well –but in a Disney, teen type thing and take that and put it in a really unhealthy world of R-rated comedy -- that was the whole pitch. It's harder to shock people [these days], for sure. There are very few things out there that make people go 'whoa!' There ARE a few, thank God. And they're all in this movie!

Dobkin: Look, you’re going to know what it is. It’s a body-switching movie and [Reynolds's character Mitch] is a child that gets thrown into a domestic situation. What you’ve just seen there, just imagine that guy getting inside your body and running your life. Like that’s the fun of it, is that he completely doesn’t understand children or relationships or how to have a daughter or anything like that, so that inherently becomes part of his journey and what he learns is not on that path.

Lucas: You'll see today, we don’t take anything super seriously, The second you get super precious with the genre is to turn it around. But you do need heart in the movie--you can’t do jokes for two straight hours. The fear is – and this is always an instinct that happens in development – but there’s always a fear that these movies become a little more dramatic, like, "What’s he really learning?" We want everyone to learn a little lesson, but no one goes to an R-rated comedy to learn how to live their life better. You go to get away from your life for two hours and have a great time. So if you learn anything in this movie, we’ve failed.

After they had such a huge success with The Hangover, Lucas and his writing partner Scott Moore felt pretty comfortable writing R-rated comedies, and started pitching ideas at each other based on their own lives.

Lucas: We have these dinners, once a month or so, a bunch of guys go to dinner and have steak and talk about stuff. At first it was me and another guy who were the two married guys, and all the single guys would laugh at us – I got married young, but we’ve won a few over to our camp. The conversations we’d have – it’s like the people they pull out of the jungle who don’t understand how electricity works. I’m asking questions that are so dumb about being single like, “What do you say, how do you do it? That sounds so crazy!” and they’re like, “You’re married, do you have sex like once a day? Or twice a day?” and I’m like “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

Some of that stuff got into the script. And that’s some of the funniest stuff. There’s a scene in the movie where [after the body switch] Jason’s like, if I’m gonna impersonate you, how many times do I have to have sex with your wife? And Ryan’s like, it’s Tuesday. And Jason’s like, I don’t understand, you don’t have sex on Tuesdays? And Ryan’s like No! We never have sex on Tuesdays. You’re completely safe on a Tuesday, it’s not even gonna come up.

Dobkin: When I first heard the idea, and it was “a single guy and a married guy switch bodies,” I was like, “That’s really kind of clever actually,” and I tried to wrack my brain and I was like, “I definitely haven’t seen it.” But it was a fun way to address men and how fucking weird men are about stuff, and I was like, “Okay, this is kind of cool." It’s the R-rated point of view of it so it’s got a punk rock thing to it that I really dig.

This is an amazing screenplay. You move through it so quickly and you laughed out loud so much, it was a little bit shocking. It was actually a challenging piece of material because once you got in, the actors had to ground it, as far as making it believable. You realize how much sleight of hand these guys succeeded at. You’re like, “How much of that are we going to get away with when we shoot it and how much do we actually have to fill in the blanks and justify it?” I’m with it cause I’m laughing and almost anything you laugh through you’ll accept, but it’s quite a tightrope and it’s been really interesting.

Lucas and Moore had done a little bit of rewrite work on Wedding Crashers, which was one of the reasons they sought out Dobkin to direct The Change-Up. Lucas told us about the one joke of theirs that made it into the film-- "And it was Scott’s too, which sucks."

Lucas: Remember the dinner scene? There’s a joke about the families getting together… and Owen makes a joke about the Klingon Revolution. It’s a Klingon joke. Like, our only joke is a Star Trek joke? I feel filthy about it.

So we met David that way, and we all had three-year-old kids. And he read the script and he’s like, I get it. The opening scene is about waking up in the middle of the night and feeding your kid and there’s a lot of stuff about parenting young children. So I think he was a perfect choice, because I think you have to know a little bit about how ferociously tough it is in the first year or two to raise kids to get the movie.

Dobkin: I always look for ideas that are really far out there but I’m always trying to tell a story through the characters, and if you keep them grounded and you’re really actually following through the story in a dramatic sense. In Wedding Crashers for example, there are two stories that are happening in it--one is about a friendship that’s about to splinter because one of them is growing out of something that the other hasn’t yet, and the other is a love story that Owen has with Rachel and he’s kind of growing up. When you’re following the characters very carefully through the scenes, it really informs all the comedy and everything else and I think that’s where the tone comes from. You put them in some absurd situations, but they’re always challenging them on some sort of character level.

Everyone was very honest about the fact that there were a lot of different permutations of actors who could have take on the script before Reynolds and Bateman came on board. See if you can imagine the various different versions of the movie they're each alluding to having been possible at some point.

Dobkin: I’m always looking when I cast people to do something that I think they haven’t done. I felt what Ryan’s doing here I have not really seen him do, and what he does on the other side [when switching bodies with Bateman] is brilliant as well. And same for Jason Bateman, by the way. Jason ends up being that guy for most of the movie which is really kind of awesome and freaky and weird. They’re not imitating each other in the movie. We’re not interested. I mean, they piss in the fountain so how fucking serious do you think we’re taking the body switching?

With casting, there was a very short list that the studio. I was very lucky. The writers brought me the screenplay, I loved it, we took it to studios, Universal understood it. It’s my first picture with them. There was a very short list, there was a budget number, and if you could get someone off this list and you can hit that budget, you have a greenlight. We’re in a very strong position and Ryan and Jason were on that original list and they both said “Yes” so we were off to the races.

Lucas: We've worked on movies where the casting has definitely upped it, and we've worked on movies where casting has hurt us. It's easy to blame the cast, because it's everyone's fault [when something doesn't work.] But casting is "who's available, who can we afford, who's interested?" The list gets pretty small when you're down to who wants to do your movie. I think these two guys are awesome. The worst thing is, I would probably tell you that anyway, even if I hated them, because I'd never tell you I hated them, and it sucks because I lie all the time and now I'm actually telling the truth.

I don't know what you guys think of them, but... they're still fresh. The Hangover had this thing where it could have been Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Steve Carell. Or it could have been three guys you didn't know that well. And part of its success, I think, came from the fact that you didn't quite know who they were, and these guys might kill a hobo in this movie. Will Ferrell is never going to kill a hobo. He's a great guy, but he's got another movie to do after this one, and he'll never go that far. I think this movie benefits from that. We know Jason and Ryan, but I'm not sure I've seen them do hard-R. I think that's part of the appeal. I think audiences get a little tired of the big comedy movie stars. It can start to be a negative. I think audiences, especially for comedy, don't mind a guy who hasn't been in every prior comedy. Anyway, long answer, but they've done great, they're awesome in this. They're really friends, and it is really hard to manufacture that, it's like a romantic comedy where you can tell they hate each other. And this is great because it's hard R, and Jason Bateman doesn't get the call very often to do dirty material. He's always the nice dad who's struggling a little bit. And he gets to do that in the first third of this movie, and then he's just an animal. I think that was the appeal for him.

The body-switching gag requires that Bateman and Reynolds both set up their established characters-- Bateman as the frazzled dad, Reynolds as the hard-living bachelor--and then each of them become the other. Both Dobkin and Lucas really saw the two actors stretching themselves in both roles.

Dobkin: With Jason, you can see him play the married guy but also the guy with the sarcastic, sardonic wit. With Ryan, you know what I loved him in? Adventureland. He was fucking awesome in that movie and you could not tell if you were worried about him or if...he played that right in the middle. And he has so much warmth and so much charm that going into something like this with him...because I always want the characters to be lovable. I don't know how to follow characters that aren't flawed and making mistakes. So you gotta pick guys you're already going to believe in.

Lucas: [Reynolds is] a goldmine. It's kind of frustrating when someone is cool, good-looking, hard-working and really funny. Could you just not have been funny? Leave me something! It was jogging in the gym this morning, and I looked over, he's working out. If you ever want to feel horrible about yourself, work out next to that dude. I'm just going to go back to my room and eat donuts. But he's great. And the improv thing is really dangerous, because you've got to stick to a schedule, but every day he comes in with five funny lines, and he sticks with them, tries them out in different ways, or you can throw him something in the middle of a scene and he'll just work it in.

Even on the set six months before The Hangover Part II set a massive box office records for R-rated comedies, the original film was still a big part of the conversation, and not only because Lucas and Scott Moore had written the script for that. Lucas reflected on what he learned about the genre from writing the script for The Hangover, while Dobkin talked about seeing the current success of R-rated comedy as an invitation to push the envelope even further.

Lucas: I think Todd Phillips did an awesome job [with The Hangover]. Not everyone can direct those kinds of movies. It’s a very specific skill to direct a movie like that, to keep it from going so silly, too dark, too mean. When we were writing Hangover, it was bachelor party in Vegas, and -- just like body-switching movie -- you were probably like “Really, another dumb-guys-go-to-Vegas movie?” So we’re trying to find new ways into old stories. Audiences -- particularly young people -- now are smarter and have other options. If you don’t put something new out there, you’re kinda dead. So I think it’s great to be totally honest that we have to work harder to get people to go. Hopefully it will make movies be a little bit better.

Dobkin: Going in and doing R-rated comedy, especially now that so many movies are succeeding at such a high level with it, if you’re not trying things and pushing things, I don’t think you’re in a place where people are going to laugh with it. I think that’s really an important part of the dialogue that’s going on among the filmmakers, the actors and the writers that do this kind of thing. Obviously, this studio is really letting us run with it and they’re very supportive, but I’m always surprised that no matter how it’s worked, I think they still look at it as a fluke. I think there’s something within the system that they just fucking don’t believe it, and as you get close to production most of the time, they’re all starting to question and backpedal and you feel like you’re in the 1950s. It gets a little bit mind-numbing at times and it’s a real drag unfortunately Ultimately if you’re doing anything that you hope is worth doing, hopefully you’re making somebody uncomfortable, right?

Check back tomorrow for more from The Change-Up set, including our interview with Bateman and Reynolds. The Change-Up hits theaters on August 5.

Like many of you, I was none to pleased to hear this morning that Megan Fox is in talks to join the cast of Judd Apatow's untitled Knocked Up spin-off (in this writer's opinion, there's a pretty solid reason why her last couple films were flops at the box office). Hopefully some of you will be pleased by this new bit of casting, though.

Deadline reports that Albert Brooks is now in talks to join the cast of the Apatow comedy. The film centers on the relationship between Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's characters in the 2007 hit film and according to the site, Brooks will play Rudd's father. After taking some time away from the film world - he hasn't done live-action since 2005's Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World - Brooks is making his comeback, having just completed work as the main villain in Nicolas Winding Refn's upcoming action film Drive.

I absolutely love this idea. While Brooks and Rudd aren't as similar as Seth Rogen and Harold Ramis, who played father and son in Knocked Up, I can already picture the chemistry between the two. Perhaps it will be just great enough to carry Megan Fox's dead weight.

Personally, I loved Funny People, but with both critical and public reception more lukewarm for it than Judd Apatow’s previous efforts, the acclaimed director is heading back to more familiar territory. His next film, still untitled, will follow married couple Pete and Debbie. Yes, that would be the same Pete and Debbie previously seen in Knocked Up played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann.

Both Rudd and Mann have already signed on to reprise their roles as a married couple, though word is the project won’t be a straight spinoff or a sequel. Think The Cleveland Show with less talking bears or Get Him To The Greek with less P. Diddy. Expect the two main characters you’ve come to love, though not necessarily inhabiting the same world we saw in Knocked-Up. I wonder if they’ve gotten out to see Spider-Man 3 yet?

The film will begin shooting this summer in Los Angeles in preparation to be released June 1st, 2012. Apatow will write, direct and produce, the fourth time he’s done so after The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked-Up and Funny People.

No further plot details are known, but it will be interesting to see whether he casts a net as wide as he did in Funny People or reels it back in a bit to tell a more simplistic love story here. Either way, Judd Apatow has proved enough to warrant interest from both comedy and drama fans. Here’s to hoping he keeps sharpening his skills and improving en route to becoming the director he’s capable of being.

Here's a little reminder of what Pete and Debbie are all about, in the form of a scene from Knocked Up: