If everything goes according to the most recent plans, Arrested Development won’t feel like it’s missed a moment since its cancellation.

Series writer Dean Lorey took to his blog this weekend with some very welcome news about the return of Arrested Development:

We’re really doing this thing. Mitch Hurwitz, Jim Vallely and I are off writing the new season of ARRESTED to premiere on Netflix in 2013. The original cast is back. There are offices and parking spaces. We’re shooting this year. I wish I could give more specifics but, for the moment, even the schedule is being kept under wraps. But it’s happening and it’s great to be back with my pals from the show. More later as it becomes okay to release further details…

If this is true, and there’s no reason to think it isn’t, that means we can expect:

• Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth
• Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Fünke
• Will Arnett as George ‘Gob’ Bluth II
• Michael Cera as George-Michael Bluth
• Alia Shawkat as Mae “Maeby” Fünke
• Tony Hale as Byron “Buster” Bluth
• David Cross as Tobias Fünke
• Jeffrey Tambor as George Bluth Sr.
• Jessica Walter as Lucille Bluth

As regular readers of this blog know, I can hardly wait for these new episodes and the follow-up movie. As a matter of fact, I can’t tell you how many people were firing variations of this link off to me through out the day on Monday. (Credit to Jon Rettinger for being the first) With each additional piece of information, it’s looking more and more like this is really happening, and that just continues to amaze me. We haven’t seen new episodes since 2006, and the idea that all of these people coming back together after this long is just a testament in my mind to how special this show was to everyone involved, and that should tell you part of what the fans see in it as well.

Considering the number of television shows on the air these days, it’s easy to overlook the occasional great series, but thanks to DVDs, digital downloads and streaming video, you can now catch up on just about anything.  So why not give Modern Family a go?

Despite many people telling me how wonderful Modern Family was, I just didn’t have the time to give it a go.  When planning my trip to England, and knowing I had a ton of time to kill in airports and planes, I figured I’d download the first two seasons and see if it took.

… I am now so hooked that it’s sickening.

Having now blown through the first two seasons, and now working on the third season, I can see why this series has won so much praise and awards.  It mixes some of the best representations I’ve ever seen of families on television, but then adds in humor that reminds me of Arrested Development. (and we all know about my love for that series.)  There is something for just about everyone in this show, and even the parts you don’t think you’ll like, you’ll probably end up loving.

Am I late to the party?  Yes.  Are you probably all aware of the show and/or already watching it?  Too bad.  I’m still going to tell you how good it is and that you need to be watching it.  Sitcoms have been on a downward spiral for years, so it’s nice to see one that actually is not only amusing, but of real quality.

Give ti a try, you won’t regret it.

Apparently the rumors were true and Arrested Development really is coming back to TV … via Netflix.

Last month it was rumored that new Arrested Development episodes were coming, but after so many false starts on the movie, it was hard to put in faith in this report.  Luckily I was very, very wrong this time.

Netflix announced yesterday that it had struck a deal with Twentieth Century Fox and Imagine TV for new episodes of the cult series to air exclusively on its Watch Instantly service.  The new season is scheduled to air in early 2013, and while the movie wasn’t mentioned, this fits in with the previous rumor, so that too may still be on the table.

By the time this airs it will have been nearly seven years since the series was canceled, and anyone who remembers the show knows we were left with several cliffhangers.  As the two youngest actors have aged – Michael Cera as George Michael and Alia Shawkat as Maeby – one has to suspect they will have to say at least some time has passed, and they will probably just tell us the resolutions to those cliffhangers in flashbacks where they can avoid showing those two.

Of course, this is all assuming that the entire original cast returns, but that seems pretty likely as all of them, with the exception of Cera, have been saying for years they would come back at a moments notice.  (Cera has softened as of late, but that’s what happens when your movie career has become a bad joke.)

With such a long break in production it is natural to wonder if they will be able to capture the same magic they had for the three seasons they were on, but I’m fairly confident that they can.  Because, just like there was always money in the Banana Stand, there will also be a million jokes you can do about the Bluths.

It seems there is a chance that not only is an Arrested Development movie really happening, but there may also be a limited season of new episodes.

That girlish shriek you may have heard this evening was me …

Series creator Mitch Hurtwitz was speaking at The New Yorker Festival on a panel that reunited the entire main cast - Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Michael Cera, Tony Hale, Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Alia Shawkat and Jessica Walter – and said that there was a chance that the series may come back as a limited engagement series, and then finally follow that up with long-awaited movie.

According to Deadline, the plan is to do a 9 to 10 episode limited series with each episode focusing on a different member of the Bluth clan.  Once the new episodes would run their course, they would finally move on to the film (although I will believe all of this when it actually appears on a screen).  Apparently none of the plans involve airing the episodes on Fox, but instead have involved talks with Netflix which is looking for original content.  Premium cable channel Showtime has also apparently been looking into the concept, and that comes partially from the fact that the network’s new entertainment president is David Nevins who assisted in getting the series developed when he was at Imagine TV.

Following the surprise announcement, series star Jason Bateman confirmed the news on his Twitter account:

It’s true. We will do 10 episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early ’13. VERY excited!

The concept of an Arrested Development movie has been floating around since the series ended, and despite numerous promises, it has just never come to be.  It has felt like a cruel joke on fans of the series at times, but with actual entities such as Netflix and Showtime being named, it sounds like things may actually be coming together.

I am ready for some more Bluth family in my life, and I’ll take whatever I can get.

According to Jason Bateman, the Arrested Development movie has a plot, and completion by the end of the year is definitely looking possible.

Just last month series creator Mitch Hurwitz said that the Arrested Development movie was moving ahead at full speed and that he hoped to film it before the end of the year.  After so many false starts it was hard not to say it was just another false start and that you didn’t want to get your hopes up.  Luckily it appears that there truly is movement this time.

Speaking with MTV News to promote the upcoming alien comedy Paul, Jason Bateman spoke to the current status of the film.  He said that he had a meeting with Mr. Hurwitz, and while the script isn’t yet completed, he was able to lay out the entire plot of the film for the actor. It’s incredible. It’s everything you would want it to be and more,” Mr. Bateman told MTV News. ” I really hope he finishes it soon so we can have a shot of doing it before the end of the year.”

“For the very first time, he sat me down last week to talk abut what he’s got and where he’s going and what do I think,” Bateman said. “As a fan of the show, I was vibrating with excitement that he was pulling me behind the curtain. So I can confirm what his update was, which was that he is very deep into the work on it and the odds of him getting it done before the end of the year, as he says he wants to, are good.”

We can only hope this really is finally coming together.  My only fear is that the series was such a slow build with some jokes being telegraphed half a season before they happened (Buster and his hand), that the idea of trying to cram all of the adventures of the characters into the confines of a movie may be tough, but I’m definitely along for the ride.

Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz says we may see a movie as early as this year.

I’m getting to where I feel like an abused girlfriend when it comes to the Arrested Development movie.  It seems like every few months a new hint that the movie is really going to happen comes up, and then everything goes silent again.  The last we heard was back in Oct. of last year when the script was supposedly in the works, and then, as always, everything went silent again.

Now speaking with Digital Spy, Mr. Hurwitz said, “We’ve started that process and it is our sincere hope to shoot it this year and get it out this year.  That’s what we’re hoping, but a lot of things have to fall into place for that to happen.”  I’m not holding my breath, but perhaps I can have a bit more hope?

Hurwitz went on to add:

I want to keep whatever it is we end up with as a surprise, which kind of betrays the fact that we might not have the whole thing worked out!

But I don’t like to toy with the affections of our fans. They’ve been so supportive and we’re so grateful, so I kind of hate to answer the question until I can say, ‘Yep, we’ve shot it, it opens next week’. Otherwise it feels like we’re toying with people and we do not mean to do that. It has just taken a while to get it going.

Then stop toying with us! Just get this lined up, shoot it and release it!

While the series did wrap up pretty much all of the storylines, you just want to see another adventure of the Bluth family.  You want to watch as Michael (Jason Bateman) tries to hold this insane family together and save them from themselves, all while laughing at them.

Please, just get this on the screen already, because it does feel like our affections are being toyed with.

The first weekend box office for any movie is the most important one, and it almost always sets the tone for its entire box office run.

Anyone want to hear me say “I told you so” on Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World now or later?  I mean, I can wait, but it’s coming eventually.  Okay, to be fair, I never flat out said it would flop, I took a lot more words to do it than that, but the same point none the less.

On a $60 million budget, Scott Pilgrim brought in only $10.5 million this weekend to finish in fifth place on the charts for the three days ending Sunday.  In other words, this films has next to no chance of even breaking even at the box office and will have to wait for home video to make anything.

This movie had multiple problems going for it, one of them I feel being very much Michael Cera in the lead role.  While he appears to be similar to the comic character, the problem is we have seen Cera do this role so many times now, we just can’t be bothered to care any more.

It is based on a comic only known to real comic book enthusiasts, and while they were excited for the film, no one else was.  There was no way this was going to play well with the mass market, and as much as you may wish you could succeed without them, when you spend $60 million on the budget you simply can’t ignore them.  Historical data shows that you can’t make back that sort of budget without your average audience members.

While I would love to see some off kilter comics succeed as movies, it just isn’t time yet.  If you want to do something like Scott Pilgrim, go for it, just try remember your audience is more than just the people who bought the books, and you have to make it accessible to as many people as you can.  Casting Cera as the same character he has played endlessly sure doesn’t help your case.

I still have mixed feelings about Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, but I do have to hand it to them for some amazing marketing.

I’ve read the first two volumes of the Scott Pilgrim series, but for some reason I can not seem to get through the third volume.  I think I’ve started it like four times, and I get so bored with it about a third of the way through it that I just move on to something else.  I may try again as I would like to read all six volumes eventually, and I may even head to the theater to see the film, but still not sure on that.

All that aside, the film looks entertaining enough, and then something really odd and cool happened today … an “interactive trailer” got released.

While this is just the second trailer being re-released, it is now interactive in that you can click on it to learn more about the movie.  All of this will clearly be on the DVD/Blu-ray extras, but it’s almost like watching an interactive commentary track now as opposed to waiting.  There’s behind-the-scenes footage, information on design choices in the film, a puzzle about the light switch that is placed seven feet up a wall … you know, the usual stuff.

Definitely a trailer to watch full screen, and if you miss anything, no worries, you can reveal all of the hidden stuff at the end.  This trailer made me a lot more interested in seeing the movie, and isn’t that what this is all about?  (trailer is behind the cut as it auto starts some music … one definite strike against it, but otherwise very cool.)

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The second trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has hit the Internet, and I have to say “yay!” for a much better cut set of clips.

I still stand by what I said after the first trailer came out that I am not thrilled by Michael Cera once again playing the awkward card.  I will say that since that footage was released, I’ve read volumes 1 & 2, and have 3 through 5 in my possession, and with a better frame of reference now, the film looks amazing.

It appears the movie is trying to stay as close to the books as possible, although considering they are condensing six volumes worth of books into one film, there are sure to be some significant cuts to the smaller scenes.  The characters, costumes and even showing sound effects as they appear in the books is all really impressive.

I will admit Mr. Cera at least somewhat resembles the Scott Pilgrim character, but I still have problems with his acting.  He does the same shtick in every film he is in, and he somehow thinks he’s a serious actor.  Whatever, stop taking yourself so seriously and embrace your roles.

Anyway, I’m much more interested in this film having now seen this trailer.  It hits theaters on August 13th.

The trailer has hit for the new film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and I know you will all be shocked to learn that Michael Cera is playing a lovably awkward character.

Based on a comic book that, for once, I know absolutely nothing about, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is summed up in the following manner by the official site:

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), bass guitarist for the garage band Sex Bob-omb, has just met the girl of his dreams. However, he must defeat Ramona Flowers’ (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven evil ex-boyfriends, who are coming to kill him.

Scott Pilgrim has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass — and now is back in town — to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona rollerblades into his world, love hasn’t been easy. He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes control her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor.

As Scott gets closer to Ramona, he must face an increasingly vicious rogues’ gallery from her past, from infamous skateboarders to vegan rock stars and fearsomely identical twins. And if he hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all before it really is game over.

While the premise is cute, and I like the footage overall, the trailer makes it glaringly obvious that Mr. Cera is playing the same character he has played in every movie he has ever been in.  Yet this is the actor that held up the Arrested Development movie for a couple years because “[he] didn’t want to go backwards” in his career.  Dude, you play the same goofball in every movie you’ve ever made, deal with the fact you are a one-note actor and move on!

The film comes out Aug. 13th, I’ll be seeing it about a year later on cable.  If it was anyone else playing the title role, I probably would be more jazzed about it.

Update 06/01/2010: The second Scott Pilgrim vs. The World trailer is now online.

Scripting for the Arrested Development has officially begun.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Arrested Development series creator Mitch Hurwitz and co-executive producer James Vallely havebegun writing the script for the long delayed movie.  Mr. Hurwitz has said in the past that this  wouldn’t happen until all of the main cast had agreed to return, so this seems to confirm that everyone is finally in place.

Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, David Cross, Will Arnett, Alia Shawkat, Portia de Rossi and Jeffrey Tambor all appear ready to return, and filming is expected to start in the spring of 2010.  Scheduling may be the only problem as Arnett is preparing a new series for Fox, Bateman is committed to Hancock 2 (blech … this sequel didn’t need to happen) and Cera has multiple upcoming projects.

No release date has been mentioned as of yet, but if the spring filming date does happen, a late 2010/early 2011 release date seems likely.

I leave you with one of my absolute favorite jokes from the series.

Scattercast is 32 and wishing its feet didn’t hurt.

- Blisters suck.

- More thoughts on the whole Samuel L. Jackson thing.

- Michael Cera finally joins the Arrested Development movie… ingrate.

- Netflix may soon offer streaming-only subscriptions.

- Why aren’t there more movies like Slumdog Millionaire, and why is Hollywood remaking things like Total Recall and The Neverending Story?

Here’s

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for those who wish to download it, subscribe to Scattercast via iTunes.