Josh Brolin Says ‘Men In Black III’ Is No ‘Jonah Hex’

Men In Black was one of the better genre films of the 1990s, perfectly combining Big Willy Style action-comedy with occasionally bizarre science-fiction elements. Then along came Men In Black II, and suddenly I never wanted to watch another Men In Black movie in my life.

Ten years later and Barry Sonnenfeld is making Men In Black III anyway. Starring series regulars Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Rip Torn, and newcomers Sharlto Copley (District 9), Jermaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords), Emma Thompson, Alec Baldwin, and Josh Brolin (True Grit), the movie has, if nothing else, an excellent cast.

Speaking of Josh Brolin – who’s playing the 1969 version of Tommy Lee Jones in the film – he recently seemed (emphasis on seemed) to heap praise upon the screenplay for MIB3.

For those too lazy to watch, here are the bullet points:

Josh Brolin has not started filming for Men in Black III.When asked if he was happy with the screenplay – or if there was even a final screenplay in existence – he said it was better than Jonah Hex’s.Then, perhaps upon realizing how low that bar was, he said that the screenplay was “great” and “excellent,” but that he couldn’t expand any further.

Check out the video below, courtesy of MTV Splashpage:

Franky, it’s hard to tell if Josh Brolin is being genuine in the interview or if he’s delicately, shall we say, glossing over the truth so as not to bite the studio hand that feeds him. Considering there have been shooting delays and reports of script rewrites – always (sarcastic!) a good sign – it’s very possible, if not likely, that the latter is the case. Heck, maybe Brolin really has no idea what the script looks like in its current form, hence his initial reluctance to talk about it.

I would love nothing more than for Barry Sonnenfeld and company to hit Men In Black III out of the park. It almost seems like a dream now, due to such cinematic horrors as Wild Wild West, Men In Black II, RV, and Be Cool, but Sonnenfeld used to make awesome, entertaining movies. I could watch The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Get Shorty, and Men In Black any day of the week and never get sick of them.

Shooting for Men In Black III began last month in New York and will take a two-month hiatus after wrapping for the holidays. It’s currently set to hit theaters May 25th, 2012. For a script review of Etan Cohen’s original screenplay, which was heavily praised by our own Uncapie, click HERE.

Source: MTV Splashpage

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Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill Confirmed For ’21 Jump Street’

Forget Danny Glover/Mel Gibson or Martin Lawrence/Will Smith. There’s a new Hollywood buddy cop duo on the horizon and it’s… Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in the big screen version of 21 Jump Street.

Columbia Pictures has officially confirmed that both Tatum and Hill will be getting up to crime-stopping shenanigans in the TV show-turned-movie, which sadly will not involve Emma Stone (fans take comfort – she’s busy prepping for the Spider-Man reboot at the time being).

Pre-Tim Burton Johnny Depp starred in the original television series 21 Jump Street, which revolved around young-looking officers of the law that infiltrated high schools and colleges as part of their crime-busting duties. A 23 year-old Hill successfully passed as the barely-legal Seth in Superbad and put his “youthful” voice to good use as an underage viking in this year’s How To Train Your Dragon – the age-defying trick is one that Hill’s arguably quite talented at.

Tatum has been a top contender to join 21 Jump Street for over three weeks now and is also known for playing characters beneath his actual age, in flicks like Step Up or Dear John. We’ll harbor a guess and say that Tatum will play the straight man of the duo, with Hill being the smart aleck of the pair (and based off their previous performances, we recommend the two not switch those roles around).

The cast of the original '21 Jump Street'.

21 Jump Street star and co-writer Jonah Hill says he envisions the adaptation as an “R-rated, insane, ‘Bad Boys’-meets-John-Hughes-type movie.” It’s been over two decades since franchises like Lethal Weapon and 48 Hours emerged on the Hollywood scene and gave us just that. With the exception of Michael Bay’s Bad Boys, there haven’t really been any other successful rules-be-damned onscreen cop duos since then (apologies to Cop Out fans, but… no). Could Tatum and Hill buck that trend?

Phil Lord and Chris Miller – who were previously in contention to helm the big screen version of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – will occupy the directors’ chairs on 21 Jump Street. The two were also responsible for the surprisingly popular and generally well-regarded 3D toon Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, so maybe they’ll raise eyebrows again and deliver an entertaining ’80s show-turned movie.

What do you think? Does 21 Jump Street have potential with Tatum and Hill onboard?

Source: Columbia Pictures

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