Steve Carell & Jim Carrey Get Britta-d As 'Community' Star Gillian Jacobs Joins 'Burt Wonderstone'

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by Oliver Lyttelton
February 16, 2012 11:23 AM
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Whether or not NBC's outstanding "Community" makes it to a fourth season -- and we dearly hope that it does, but given that the show was yanked from the schedule late last year, and is yet to make its way back, things are looking a little grim -- we're going to be seeing a lot more from the cast in the near future. Nominal lead Joel McHale will next be seen in Seth MacFarlane's "Ted"; breakout star Donald Glover is mixing up movie roles like "The To-Do List" with his musical career as Childish Gambino; his on-screen partner Danny Pudi will be seen alongside Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand in "My Mother's Curse"; Ken Jeong is everywhere; Alison Brie has a major supporting turn in "The Five-Year Engagement"; and even the show's Dean, Jim Rash, is now an Oscar-nominee thanks to co-writing the script for Alexander Payne's "The Descendants."

But so far in its third season, the real standout has been Gillian Jacobs, who plays inept would-be-do-gooder Britta, and studio casting directors are starting to take notice. She was in the running to play the female lead opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in "The Dictator," will be seen very soon opposite Steve Carell and Keira Knightley in "Seeking a Friend at the End of the World," and according to The Hollywood Reporter, will soon be reuniting with Carell in the comedy "Burt Wonderstone."

The film stars Carell as a Vegas magician who is deseated by a cooler rival (Jim Carrey) and has to fight his way back to the top, and has a strong supporting cast in place, including Olivia Wilde, James Gandolfini, Alan Arkin, Steve Buscemi and Brad Garrett, with "30 Rock" veteran Don Scardino at the helm. Shooting has been underway for a little while, but Jacobs is a late addition to the cast as a woman who sleeps with Carell after one of his shows.

With a script polish from Jason Reitman, we're feeling much more positive about this than your usual A-list comedy, and Jacobs is yet another funny person to join the cast. Let's just hope the heat on her, and her castmates, convince NBC to give the show one more shot. New Line haven't yet set a release date for the project, but we'd expect it to be sometime next year.

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