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'Our Idiot Brother' Director Jesse Peretz Talks Paul Rudd, Sundance & His Experience Working With Harvey Weinstein

  • By Drew Taylor
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  • December 3, 2011 11:36 AM
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  • 4 Comments
News
When “Our Idiot Brother” was released this summer it kind of fell by the wayside. The tale of an easygoing hippie pot dealer (wonderfully embodied by Paul Rudd) who meddles in the lives of his urbanite sisters (played by Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer), was smooth, unfussy, and while rated R, didn’t traffic in the kind of bawdy outrageousness that the other summer comedies did. Its relatively small business was a shame, because the movie was perfectly charming; a light, breezy antidote to all the big budget relentlessness. With the movie hitting DVD and BluRay this week, we talked to Jesse Peretz, a founding member of influential indie rock band The Lemonheads who went on to direct commercials, music videos, and now feature films. We spoke about the development of the project, the long road from Sundance to the local cineplex, and what happens when the Weinsteins pick up your formerly little independent project.
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More: Our Idiot Brother, Jesse Peretz

Contest Giveaway: 'Our Idiot Brother' DVD & Signed Soundtrack

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • November 28, 2011 11:04 AM
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  • 2 Comments
News
Creating a sensation in January at Sundance, the star studded ensemble comedy "Our Idiot Brother" found a fan in Harvey Weinstein who quickly snatched up the film, marking one of the highest profile buys at the festival. The Weinstein Company didn't waste a moment in getting it to theaters this summer, and in case you weren't able to catch it near you, we're giving you the chance to experience the movie.
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More: Our Idiot Brother

Weekend Box Office: Three Straight Weeks At #1 For 'The Help'

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • September 4, 2011 3:53 AM
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  • 3 Comments
There are all sorts of qualifiers to this summer becoming the most financially robust in box office history. Chief amongst them are both the inferior product, but also the illusion of 3D prices, which do an excellent job of covering up the consistently-dropping attendance numbers. In other words, money is money, inflated or otherwise, and not enough people balked at the enhanced prices, even though a number of 3D films loudly flopped this summer.
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More: Films, Film Studios, Weekend Box-Office, Modern Horror, The Help, Apollo 18, Our Idiot Brother, The Debt, Colombiana, The Weinstein Company, Sony, Dreamworks, Focus Features, Shark Night 3D

Weekend Box Office: 'The Help' Defeats Tepid Newcomers And Hurricane Season For Another Week At #1

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • August 28, 2011 4:37 AM
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  • 10 Comments
Usually, studios will look for any possible reason to blame the weather for a film’s poor box office showing. Heat waves only mean audiences will seek the air conditioning of a theater, at least when something exciting is playing. And people will withstand non-apocalyptic snowstorms simply to get away from the cold while enjoying the blockbuster of their choice. But there aren’t a whole lot of options when almost half of a movie’s proposed locations are under siege by a vicious hurricane. Many large chains didn’t even bother to stay open during Irene’s reign, meaning that these quiet end-of-August releases could find no traction heading into the typically-comatose Labor Day weekend.
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More: Films, Film Studios, Weekend Box-Office, Genre Films, Modern Horror, The Help, Columbiana, Our Idiot Brother, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Weinstein Company, 20th Century Fox, Sony, FilmDistrict, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

In Theaters: 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark,' 'Our Idiot Brother,' or 'Colombiana'

  • By Katie Walsh
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  • August 26, 2011 7:29 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Ah, the dog days of August. Used to be that this month was just another typical dumping ground for films that withered on the vine, but it in recent years, it's expanded a bit to swallow up some of the summer blockbuster fare crowded out of May-June-July. But the last weekend in August? Yeesh. Kids are going back to school, college students are back on campus, and everyone's depressed because summer's ending. That psychological breakdown attempts to explain the box office offerings for this weekend. Katie Holmes gets scared in "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," Sundance comedy "Our Idiot Brother" takes advantage of the roomy playing field, and B-action flick "Colombiana" does the same. If you're not soaking up the last dregs of summer out of doors this weekend, or battening down the hatches on the East Coast with the arrival of Hurricane Irene, here are the releases available at your multiplex or art house.
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More: Films, Modern Horror, Our Idiot Brother, Colombiana, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Review: 'Our Idiot Brother' A Breezy, But Uneven Attempt To Replicate The Judd Apatow Touch

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • August 23, 2011 2:53 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Judd Apatow's smash hits of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" (not to mention the countless other successful comedies stamped with his producer tag) have spawned a good handful of imitators but few ever get the formula right. What Apatow does so well -- evidenced as far back as "Freaks & Geeks" and "Undeclared" -- is effortlessly find true character moments in the midst of even the raunchiest gags. For example, in "The 40 Year Old Virgin" when Andy returns home after his "bag of sand" gaffe and walks around his house yelling in frustration, it's both hilarious and true -- we've all had those moments where we've said or done something completely mortifying that we can't change. And Apatow excels at building his stories in a way that makes the usually large ensemble of players feel effortlessly real, with their choices and reactions organically born from situations that arise. That influence is clearly stamped on Jesse Peretz's "Our Idiot Brother" a film that takes an Apatow regular in Paul Rudd, surrounds him with a great ensemble, and strives admirably but unevenly to replicate the comedic and dramatic tones Apatow does so well.
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More: Films, Review, Our Idiot Brother

Watch: Paul Rudd Presents 'Our Idiot Brother: The Hangover, Borat'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • August 10, 2011 2:04 AM
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  • 0 Comments
There is probably no better (or controversial) marketer or movie hustler in the business than Harvey Weinstein. The man is capable of spinning almost anything into buzz about his movies (see last year's NC-17 rating of "Blue Valentine" which he promptly turned into a rallying point around the film), and putting Harvey into the awards season with a project to shill is like putting together peanut butter and chocolate. It's a no-brainer. And while movies that come out during the rest of the year may not get the full Harvey Weinstein treatment, if they can turn a modest profit and live a long life on DVD and digital, the honcho is more than happy. But that said, we don't think we've ever seen him personally get involved in promoting a film like has here.
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More: Films, Actors, Producers, Our Idiot Brother, Paul Rudd, Harvey Weinstein

'Our Idiot Brother' Soundtrack Will Rock Out To Fruit Bats, Nathan Larson, Willie Nelson & More

  • By Matthew Newlin
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  • July 6, 2011 3:07 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Paul Rudd's new comedy "Our Idiot Brother" won't hit theaters until the end of the summer, but the trailer for the film, which has been described as "Apatovian," looks funny as hell. Rudd stars as Ned, the loser brother of Elizabeth Banks, Emily Mortimer and Zooey Deschanel. When not getting in trouble with the law, Ned is busy not being busy and making life unbearable for his sisters. The film is packed with hilarious talent which will also include Steve Coogan, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott and T.J. Miller.
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More: Films, Our Idiot Brother

Watch: Full Length Trailer For 'Our Idiot Brother' Promises Dumb Funny Laughs

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • June 14, 2011 9:40 AM
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  • 4 Comments
On paper, there is no reason us not to like "Our Idiot Brother." The cast is stacked with actors we really like -- Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones, Emily Mortimer, Adam Scott, Steve Coogan, T.J. Miller, Kathryn Hahn, Hugh Dancy and Janet Montgomery -- and seems tailor made to win us over, and while we didn't love this new trailer wholeheartedly, we think there is more than meets the eye.
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More: Films, Our Idiot Brother

Paul Rudd Is A Smiley Moron In First Poster For 'Our Idiot Brother'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • June 10, 2011 8:00 AM
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  • 0 Comments
Even though the film received respectful, rather than rave, reviews on its Sundance bow (our own review was one of the more positive), you can't cast Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Rashida Jones, Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy, T.J. Miller, Adam Scott and Kathryn Hahn in a comedy together without leaving us begging to see the finished film, and that's why we've been firmly looking forward to "Our Idiot Brother" all year long.
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Jesse Peretz, Our Idiot Brother, Paul Rudd, Adam Scott, Steve Coogan, T.J. Miller, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Rashida Jones

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