Screen Junkies » akiva schaffer

Jonah Hill Will Take Safety Seriously In ‘Neighborhood Watch’

Wookie Johnson — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:02:08 +0000

The haunted shadow that once was Jonah Hill is indeed joining the Ben Stiller science-fiction omedy Neighborhood Watch. The Akiva Schaffer comedy also stars Vince Vaughn and follows a group of neighborhood dads who start a neighborhood watch as a means to get away from their families and goof off. The plot kicks in when they stumble upon and must thwart a plot to destroy the world. Hill will play a sidekick to Vaughn’s character, one who always makes up things about his “rough” past.

This is the first role for Hill since he stepped into Captain America‘s Superhumanizer and set it to reverse. (THR)

Sleep Easy, Residents: Jonah Hill In Talks To Join ‘Neighborhood Watch’

Penn Collins — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:42:38 +0000

On the heels of news yesterday that Rosemarie DeWitt will be playing Ben Stiller’s wife in Neighborhood Watch, today we get slightly more compelling news that Jonah Hill is in talks to join the familiar tandem of Stiller and Vince Vaughn in the “everyman vs. aliens” comedy.

Certainly, the well-worn pairing of Stiller and Vaughn could use a little spice, but is Hill the right guy for the job? Hill is hilarious in his own right, but the cast and familiar premise could use a bit more than just “a funny guy;” it could use a decent dose of something different. In Moneyball, Superbad, and the upcoming The Sitter, we’ve seen Hill tackle different personas, but he’ll need to really stretch to bust the audience out of the familiar Stiller/Vaughn funk.

Neighborhood Watch will follow two suburban dads (guess who) as they stumble upon an extraterrestrial threat from which they must save their community. Huh. Might want to bring in Christopher Walken, Zach Galifianakis, and a Quentin Tarantino cameo just to be safe.

Old Schlubby Pal Vince Vaughn To Join Ben Stiller In ‘Neighborhood Watch’

Penn Collins — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:10:13 +0000

In news that makes sense because, really, could it happen any other way, Vince Vaughn will be joining Ben Stiller in the Akiva Schaffer-helmed Neighborhood Watch. This comedy will follow Stiller and Vaughn as regular-Joe dads that find their involvement in their neighborhood crime watch could save the planet.

Both Stiller and Vaughn could use something of a fresh start after spending the past five or so years largely coasting in rom-com and sequel fare to lackluster popular and critical reception. It would seem that this could serve as an excellent opportunity with the edgier Schaffer behind the camera and a recent draft of the script penned by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the braintrusts behind Superbad.

So with the pedigree of director and writers, let’s hope that there’s at least some semblance of a wrinkle here. Perhaps Ben Stiller could be a junkie like he was in Permanent Midnight and Vince Vaughn could play a sex-crazed self-mutilator. No? Okay, no.

Akiva Schaffer, Ben Stiller Team Up To Make Your Neighborhood Safe?

Penn Collins — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 23:41:39 +0000

Akiva Schaffer, who most of you might know from Lonely Island and as the tiny guy in all those little SNL Digital Shorts, has an offer to knock off all that silly hippity-hop nonsense and get back to pictures with Neighborhood Watch, a comedy that Ben Stiller is supposedly close to starring in.

The film focuses on a group of dads, one of whom would be Stiller, that establishes a neighborhood watch as a bonding exercise but find themselves in over their heads when they uncover a plot to destroy the world. This film would mark the third time that Stiller has signed on as a nightwatchman, only to find himself in over his head. Dicey stuff.

Speaking of the Night at the Museum franchise, Shawn Levy is looking to offer a hand as producer of Watch.

Neither Schaffer nor Stiller have committed yet, but this could serve both parties well, as Schaffer could use this as a very high-profile gig to establish himself, and Stiller could use Schaffer’s edge in doing a comedic film that doesn’t have a number after it. Or the word “Focker.”