As expected, this decision seems to hinge exclusively on Fox’s financial considerations. Last week the studio released a statement saying that it “cannot produce future seasons under its current financial model,” and that it will have to trim the budget of each episode by 25-30%

Considering the network only wants the show for another season after this one, it’s easy to see why they’re playing hardball. The show is limping along in its twilight years, so they’re not going to extend themselves for a 24th season unless they can do it on their terms, voice actors be damned.

All in all, a cancellation this season or next seems like a small price to pay to get people to stop smugly saying they don’t watch The Simpsons anymore because the quality’s fallen off.

I ran into Hahn at the NBC party for the Television Critics Association. I’d seen the Agents pilot so I knew about a bravura scene where Helen finally destroys all her Pete paintings, but I also knew her from films like Anchorman, The Last Mimzy and Our Idiot Brother. She was the perfect mix of scoop and having fun with her crazy show coming out this fall.

Q: What do you get to do with a leading role?

Kathryn Hahn: Well, what I’m thrilled about doing this leading role in particular is that she’s not your typical [leading lady]. She’s really well put together but she’s not the straight woman. She’s not the glamorous straight woman to the guy’s shenanigans. She’s equally a disaster, emotionally and in her personal life.

Q: Like with the paintings in the pilot.

KH: She’s crazy. Oh my God, she’s nuts. What I love about it is that she really is in total denial about the wreckage of her personal life. She thinks she’s got it together. What I love about it is when you meet her at the end of the pilot, she’s actually kind of starting to awaken to that. It’s going to be fun to see where she goes. That’s where I love to be, a little bit left of center. I can’t be a polished girl all the time. I love the women on the verge.

Q: Isn’t the totally polished girl the weird one?

KH: Yes, because who is that person? Where does she exist? This person is so much more real to me. As extreme as her circumstance is, she’s totally in denial, which I think a lot of women can relate to.

Q: How many paintings did you go through in that scene?

KH: 22. I love that they all look like they were from Olan Mills.

Q: How do you top the pilot moving forward?

KH: I feel like we get to see the power dynamics shift back and forth. Sometimes she has the upper hand. Sometimes he does. He might start dating. I think what’s great about the foundation of the show is that it’s not really a romantic comedy as much as it is a workplace comedy. I feel like will they or won’t they won’t be as important as watching the relationships within the office.

Q: As far as emotional/violent scenes, how do you top the paintings?

KH: I have not read it yet but I know where some things go. She’s still working through Pete so she is going to start to see him and other people, date somebody that reminds her of him. She’s going to start dating a therapist. She’s a mess. She thought she had the perfect life in place and when her fiancé died it all fell apart.

Q: Was there a lot of discussion of how much time had passed so a dead fiancé would be funny? Less than a year is still sad.

KH: Right, there was a lot of discussion and we figured a year was kind of perfect. It was just about the time other people would start saying, “Maybe you can date other [people].” I think there’s just a perfect amount of time for her to think, “Maybe I should take down a few of these 22 photographs on the wall.”

Q: Is there a line you won’t cross in comedy?

KH: If it’s mean. I don’t like mean humor. I just don’t like being mean. Beyond that, there’s very few.

Q: Is there a lot of Kathryn Hahn we haven’t gotten to see yet because you haven’t had a vehicle like this?

KH: I think this is exciting because a lot of the roles I’ve been able to book in films have been pretty broad and have been able to exist kind of on the outskirts of society shall we say. They’re a little bit crazy so there’s something about this. I think this kind of vulnerability, I don’t want to say a real woman because they’re all real to me, but there’s a vulnerability in her that I’m excited [to play]. I went to Yale. It’s funny, I didn’t just start in comedy.

Free Agents premieres this fall on NBC.

The movie stars Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, and Sofía Vergara, and is an update of the popular/scorned children’s TV show. I don’t know what else to say about this trailer. Take your kids, I’m sure they’ll be into it.

Looks like they’ve moved away from trying to win an Oscar and have focused exclusively on comedic actors. While making the rounds for Hall Pass, the Farrellys have revealed the current state of casting. In competition for the role of Moe are Hank Azaria and Johnny Knoxville, Will Sasso leads the charge for Curly, and Larry has been offered to Larry David, Woody Harrelson, and Justin Timberlake.

Hmmm… really interesting choices in there. If it were up to me, I’d say Azaria, Sasso, and Harrelson are all perfect. As much as I’d like to see Justin Timberlake poked in the eyes, he’s just not the right fit. (via The Playlist)

Director: Edward Zwick

Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hank Azaria, Judy Greer, Oliver Platt, Gabriel Macht, George Segal

Synopsis: Maggie (Hathaway) is an alluring free spirit who won’t let anyone – or anything – tie her down. But she meets her match in Jamie (Gyllenhaal), whose relentless and nearly infallible charm serve him well with the ladies and in the cutthroat world of pharmaceutical sales. Maggie and Jamie’s evolving relationship takes them both by surprise, as they find themselves under the influence of the ultimate drug: love. Based on Jamie Reidy’s memoir “Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman.”

Release: November 24th, 2010

Sony Pictures Animation has released the teaser trailer for The Smurfs. They desecrate Mount Rushmore. ‘Nough said.

Check out the teaser after the jump.

The Smurfs – Trailer – Watch more Movie Trailers

Don’t freak on me but I forgot to update you guys that Hank Azaria is playing the fugly-ass wizard Gargamel in Sony/Columbia’s very important Smurfs adaptation. Today we have our first look at the "Simpsons" star in full costume and I’ve gotta say, he looks the part. With these grotesque features, he could easily get work at Smurf Land Theme Park. If not as Gargamel, definitely as the groundskeeper who isn’t allowed legally to be alone with children. Or livestock.

The film’s voice cast for the live-action/CGI blend consists of the Laugh-A-Minute All-Stars: Jonathan Winters, George Lopez, Kenan Thompson, Jeff Foxworthy, and renowned funny lady Katy Perry. Combine that knowledge with the fact that this film is directed by Beverly Hills Chihuahua‘s Raja Gosnell, and you’re all but guaranteed to be made uncomfortable. Either by an awkward and confusing Smurf musical sequence or Smurfette’s faux-lesbian posturing. (Coming Soon)