When it comes picking a cast for your indie comedy, you can’t do much better than the one director Maggie Carey has assembled for her film The To Do List. This one is a who’s who of upcoming and established comedy talent.

It features Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Bill Hader, Alia Shawkat, Sarah Steele, Rachel Bilson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Donald Glover, Scott Porter, Andy Samberg, Connie Britton and Clark Gregg and tells the story of “close friends and a special summer project, loosely inspired by the real-life adventures of first-time writer/director Carey.”

The movie is set in 1993 as valedictorian Brandy Klark wants to shed her uptight image before college, so she assembles a to do list of all the “activities” she missed out on in high school. “Quickly realizing that she’s way out of her depth, Brandy solicits her best friends, older sister and burnt-out boss for their help and advice. If the group is going to complete the list by September they’ll need plenty of imagination and very open minds.”

The To Do List arrives in theaters on July 26th. Check out the trailer after the break.

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• Alec Baldwin is very excited to be the first host of this season of SNL, so excited he felt the need to hump Bill Heder.

• Netflix had a pretty big week, between splitting off into 2 companies and pissing off their clientele. This song pretty much explains it all.

• What happens when the world’s biggest game of dodgeball starts on a football field? Complete pandemonium.

• One of the wrongest-yet-funniest comedies on TV started back up this week as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia returned to FX. In order to prep for the season, here is the blooper reel from last season.

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• Charlie Sheen’s big roast on Comedy Central is happening Monday and this new spot starring both Charlie and Martin Sheen is having us buy that it may be pretty funny.

• Apparently, hockey is cool again, between Kevin Smith’s upcoming hockey epic and the first trailer for Sean William Scott’s Goon (not to be confused with the comic), things are looking pretty violent in sports cinema.

• For those who were suckered into watching the series finale of Entourage on Sunday and got the complete lack of an ending that was given, this is how the series should have ended for everyone.

• PSA’s are all the rage these days, so isn’t it about time the web video community started mocking them? We think so, with this PSA about driving recklessly.

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We don’t usually post highlights from Saturday Night Live here at the site. However, in the case of last night’s season finale with host Justin Timberlake and musical guest Lady Gaga, the footage is just too funny to pass up.

Obviously, others agree as the finale scored the best ratings for the show in seven years, Plus, we got another in the series of digital shorts with Timberlake and Andy Samberg, which started several years go with Dick in a Box, then Motherlover and now with last night’s new one: 3-Way.

The new short also features Lady Gaga and goes a long way to explain the rules, well at least the “Golden Rule”, when it comes to a threesome. Yes, that means exactly what you think it means.

Okay, enough talk. Click through to check out highlights from the show. Great job SNL.

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I’m a shameful(less?) Anglophile, which in turn makes me an unabashed(ful) Francophobe, and some of the tenderest English patches of my otherwise iron heart are reserved for Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and, of course, Edgar Wright, the three gents who, through their collaborations in such fine works as the sitcom Spaced, and the films, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, demonstrated a mutual respect, appreciation, love for American pop-culture—something I’ve seen very seldomly outside of America.

In fact, it’s so rare, I don’t think there’s actually a term for it (Americaphile? Colonialphile? Washingtonian-a-philia?). So when there’s a project featuring at least two of three, I take notice.

And now we have Paul wherein another favorite, Seth Rogen, voices the titular Paul, an alien who came crashing to earth some 60 years ago and was immediately kidnapped by the US and taken to mysterious Area 51, never to be heard from again…

…until 60 years later, specifically while two British, alien-obsessed Americaphiles Graeme (Pegg) and Clive (Frost) are making a tour across the US on their way to Comic-Con, simultaneously hitting every E.T.-related point of interest along the way.

Naturally that leads them through the (evidently) lone highway toward Area 51, with the only other car on the road being piloted by the freshly escaped Paul. Crashes ensue, and the boys meet Paul, who explains he’s fleeing from government agents and asks, his ride being totaled, to tag along.

He does, of course, and farther along the way they attracted the attention/pick up a collection of equally strange and terrible characters, including flighty Bible-thumper Ruth (Kristen Wiig), her truck-driving, shotgun-wielding father (John Carroll Lynch), and a handful of spooky government agents (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader among them), the collection of which all builds up for the big cameo at the end.

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Those who watch NBC comedies Parks & Recreation, Community and Saturday Night Live know that some of the considered “favorites” of those shows consist of Donald Glover, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, and Aubrey Plaza. Sure, there are a few others, but now we’re getting all of these names in one place with the new indie comedy The Hand Job.

From Variety:

Hader’s wife, Maggie Carey, is set to write and make her feature directorial debut on the coming-of-age story; Plaza will star as a type-A valedictorian who’s determined to lose her virginity before leaving for college. Project does not have a start date yet, as financing is still coming together.

In addition, TV veterans Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”) and Alia Shawkat (“Arrested Development”) have joined the ensemble, while Plaza’s “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” co-stars Johnny Simmons and Mae Whitman have come aboard to provide comedic support.

So as if the list of stars wasn’t enough with NBC’s top four, they’re adding two Arrested Development alumni to the mix. This could just be the indie comedy (and hopefully more) of the year.

We’re just hoping they keep the title.

A few months ago, we first brought you the trailer for Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s newest comedy, this time taking place in the US, titled Paul. Fanboys (especially those who attended Comic-Con this year) had heard nothing but great things about this upcoming film, and when the first trailer hit, we got anything but tickled with humor. The trailer showed us all of our favorite actors and actresses that could make a good flick, but was cut in a way that was lacking in any comedic payoff whatsoever. It looks like things have changed with a brand new trailer, however.

This new International trailer finally gives us the goods. For those who don’t know, the film follows Pegg and Frost’s characters across country to their first ever San Diego Comic-Con. On the way, they decide to pass through the famed Area 51 and come across Paul, an escaped alien, voiced by Seth Rogen. After choosing to befriend the little guy, they are forced to keep him safe from a shadowy government figure (Sigourney Weaver) who sends her best men after him (Bill Hader & Jason Bateman).

The flick has plenty more cameos, nods to other geeky franchises, and yes, alien nudity. Check out the full trailer after the jump and catch Paul in theaters on March 18th.

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Nerds everywhere have been hearing more and more about the next big Simon Pegg & Nick Frost (stars of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) film called Paul. All we really knew was that it starred our favorite English duo plus Bill Hader, Jason Bateman, Sigourney Weaver, Kristin Wiig, and Seth Rogen. That is until a little show called San Diego Comic-Con happened, and now all we want is more from the film.

The premise of the film has Pegg and Frost as two Brits traveling across the country on their way to Comic-Con. Along the way they come across a rogue alien escaping from Area 51. Rogen lends his voice as the titular Paul, the alien, with Bateman and Hader as the Men in Black-style FBI agents who are sent to retrieve him.

From what we hear, the footage they showed during the Comic-Con panel did the film more justice, but this will appeal to the mass audience. Expect to see plenty of fan service throughout the film, as just about everyone involved in it has some bit of geek cred to their name.

Check out the first trailer for the film after the jump. Catch Pegg and Frost in Paul on March 18th of next year.

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Fans of Saturday Night Live and Will Forte rejoice! The very first trailer for the upcoming MacGruber, based on the Will Forte SNL skit, has finally hit the web, and it looks pretty damned funny.

Penned by Forte, along with other SNL writers Jorma Taccone (Hot Rod) and John Solomon, the script adapts the 30-second MacGuyver spoofs in which MacGruber must disarm a ticking bomb, which never happens due to the ensuing antics. The film was stretched and fluffed into a almost spy-like plot in which MacGruber must take down international terrorist Deiter von Cunth (Val Kilmer), all while sporting a blond mullet and looking cool.

This is the first SNL alum-starring, Lorne Michaels-produced film since 2008′s Baby Mama starring Tina Fey and Amy Pohler. Expect this film to do better than the aforementioned film, given the talent involved. MacGruber also stars Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Ryan Phillippe, and others.

Check out the very first trailer (Red Band, so NSFW due to language) after the jump, and expect to see MacGruber blowing stuff up on screen on April 23rd.

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For those getting ready for Nicolas Cage’s version of 1992′s Bad Lieutenant, they should do two things. One: check out our review of the new film before they decide to buy a ticket, and two: check out this amazing video that SNL’s Bill Hader and Mean Magazine put together about a year ago when the remake was first announced.

Hader is currently one of the “Not Ready For Primetime Players” on Saturday Night Live, but he’s also one of the more popular character actors of the past few years. Most will remember him as one of the officers from Superbad, the Shaman in Year One or the park owner in Adventureland. His next big role will be alongside Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Paul.

Check out the video after the jump, and join us in complaining that Werner Herzog decided to cast Nic Cage in the lead role in Bad Lieutenant rather than going with Hader.

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This week we have at least one high quality comic from every publisher. From Image this week, I’m sad to see Rick Remender’s The End League go, but like all good things they must come to end. This time with brilliant art by some guy named Eric Canete and NYC Mech‘s Andy MacDonald.

From DC Comics, I’m intrigued with the Great Ten spinoff series from Checkmate, with their spotlight in Final Crisis. This could make for an intriguing read.

From Marvel, we have the last issue of Captain America Rebirth in which we get an idea how Steve Rogers rejoins the universe. There is also the excellent new issue of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, which is about the most fun in a comic you can get. Also, check out the latest Deadpool book, this one is penned by Fred Van Lente, who I really liked the silent story he did in that Deadpool #900 issue. This one is Deadpool Team-Up with a descending order number starting out at #899. I’d really like to know what the reasoning behind that is, but whatever.

Additionally, there is the Spider-Man Short Halloween book featuring stories by Saturday Night Live stars, Seth Meyers and Bill Hader.  I’m sure this will be nothing if not a ton of fun, so check that out as well.

Finally, one of my favorite noir writers Charlie Huston returns to comics with his new miniseries featuring Deathlok! I’m not particularly fond of the character, but then again I wasn’t fond of Moon Knight either until Huston relaunched it in awesome fashion.

As always, we here at The Flickcast care about what you read, so leave us a comment and let us know what you liked/didn’t like from this week’s comics. For a more complete list of what comes out this week, check out the one at Midtown Comics.

Don’t be so quick to write this movie off as conventional kiddie-fare. Smart, beautiful and prescient, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is bound to become an animated classic. It tackles the timely topic of obesity and our insatiable appetite for consumption with grace and wit. The story is adapted from the children’s book of the same title that was originally published in 1978.

Flint (Bill Hader)  has been an aspiring inventor his entire life. More often than not, his whimsical inventions go awry, irritating the put-upon inhabitants of Swallow Falls. They have plenty to be irritable about, as they subsist mainly on sardines,  the town’s only claim to fame. They understandingly don’t embrace his rat/bird hybrid or other misbegotten inventions. Flint’s father (James Caan), a fisherman, is disgusted that his son doesn’t fall in step and help run his tackle shop. He can’t express himself without using fishing metaphors, and his eyes are hidden behind a bushy unibrow.

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