A word from Madison: “I like surprising people by opening the door to them with no clothes on.”

Your Highness is a really big budget movie full of action and special effects, all to make really immature jokes. I totally support that and I enjoy the exercise. It could be funnier but it’s consistently pleasant.

Prince Fabious (James Franco) is the heroic heir to a medieval kingdom. Prince Thadeous (Danny McBride) is his slacker, loser brother. When Fabius rescues the virgin Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) from a tower, the evil Leezar (Justin Theroux) returns to kidnap her back. Thadeous has to step up to help Fabious on his quest to save her.

The production value of Your Highness is on par with any King Arthur or middle earth movie. Leezar shoots magic electro-beams, and the heroes fight monsters of CGI and animatronics. It’s just Thadeous says “F*ck this” and a villain goes naked with his penis digitally removed.

The Danny McBride style of rude swearing is funny with a British accent. It actually comes across as more innocent and endearing. Thadeus is not as abrasive as Kenny Powers, which may strip the film of a little edge. It’s still funny that the star of this huge budget FX movie is totally pissed off that he’s on an adventure.

Leezar is the funniest character. Theroux nails the satirical perspective on an arch evil villain. He messes with Belladonna like a kid making prank phone calls, only it’s the old morphing wizard trick. His ultimate plan for “The F*ckening” gets right to the point of most evil schemes, and his use of magical fairies is totally irreverent.

The action scenes are not very exciting. A carriage chase, sword fights and monster battles look like the genuine article, but don’t flow with any momentum. Thadeous and Fabious meet Isabel (Natalie Portman), a surreptitious warrior, in one such battle. Portman contributes to the film’s tone by keeping a totally straight face while making beaver jokes.

The cave of eyes is a cool fantasy realm, like something out of Labyrinth or The Neverending Story. The wood nymphs are sexy and silly, and there’s minotaur rape. Yeah, they went there. I enjoyed the ride. I probably won’t own it on DVD but it still amuses me when they say “gay” meaning “happy.”

Danny, did you initially want to play Thaddeus?

Danny McBride: I was really more interested in getting the movie made. At the time that we sold this, I wasn’t sure anyone would let me be in this movie. As we wrote it and turned in more drafts, my value was raised slightly and I was considered to the film. So then I attached myself and added a lot of kissing scenes with Natalie Portman.

Since we’re at a college. What was college life like for you guys?

David Gordon Green: It was fun. I lived down the hall from Danny at an arts college. It was a good group of people everybody was a little crazy and worked hard. It was a good time to experiment and fall on your ass in front of your friends and try something new.

DM: David was a year ahead of me. My first year of college David was one of my next-door neighbors. David, you remember when I lit the whole entire hall on fire? Put hairspray down the hall and it was like the tire tracks from Back to the Future.

David, did you immediately know which actors you wanted to cast when you read “Your Highness”?

DGG: We had a pretty good idea. Danny and I talked about working with James again because we had such a good time doin Pineapple Express. We’d been getting to know Natalie so we thought it’d be fun to work with her and we’d filmed with Zooey before. Justin was an actor we admired and the cast became an eclectic group of people we knew or knew of.

Are you guys going to auction off Natalie Portman’s thong from the movie?

DM: That’s a good idea. If David didn’t already have it above his mantel in his home.

DGG: I’m wearing it right now.

Spoiler Alert

DM: There’s a hidden dick that no one that’s seen the movie has saw or commented on. In the scene with the five-headed serpent, there are two huge wicker snakes and the snakes have penises.

DGG: Lot of subtleties. Numerous cinematic subtleties.

Do you have a favorite reveal or joke from the movie?

DM: I like when Natalie is revealed for the first time – cool little moment – and when the trophy is revealed of what in taken from the labyrinth.

DGG: I like all the sweet and romantic stuff. This movie plays on an elegant, ethical level of romance, magic and fairytale. It stirs my sassafras.

Was the accent a lot of work?

DM: The voice was the trickiest thing to learn. It’s a weird fantasy accent. When you’re improvising on a show lik Eastbound and Down you can say whatever comes to your head. We lost a lot of good improvs because the dialect was lost.

DGG: It would switch from Ye Olde English to straight up Virginia.

DM: Ye Olde Virginia.

Thoughts on the Special Effects

DGG: This movie is a lot like kids playing in their backyard only we got real swords, real special effects and real creatures. I sat down with guys like Guillermo Del Toro and said here’s what I’m trying to do, what would you advise? I want this movie to look as technically magnificent as it can. It’s a comedy and we’re all having fun but I want it to be badass. No one’s doing that with effects AND being funny.

Did you make this movie for college kids?

DM: We made this movie for the demented 13 year-old versions of ourselves. We grew up loving these kinds of films. We made this with the hope that there are versions of ourselves who would enjoy the same experience.

Danny, are there any wacky stories of fans that have come up to you thinking you’re Kenny Powers?

DM: I’m such a shut in. I don’t get out much. There are kids who come up who want to give you cocaine or shots of tequila because they think that’s what you’re into. I’d say about half of the time I turn that away (jokingly).

A word from Rhian: “I grew a phobia of taking exams, so I had to go straight to work.”

Cast: Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, James Franco, Danny McBride

Synopsis: A fantasy movie about an arrogant, lazy prince and his more heroic brother who must complete a quest in order to save their father’s kingdom.

Release Date: April 8, 2011

He tells The Playlist that he wants to get behind the camera for his next project.

“We’re writing the last season of ‘Eastbound’ and we’ll shoot that this summer and then I’m trying to develop something to get behind the camera. I went to film school and that’s where I met Jody and David and I was focusing on being a writer and director there and I really would love to step into that role so I’m really trying to focus on doing that next.”

It’s still vague what he might want to direct. There’s a whole stable of films in development at his shingle Rough House Pictures. He could easily hop on Olympic Sized Asshole or Bullies. But stay away from Taking Flight. David Gordon Green called dibs and he’s pretty good with that long chain with a knife on the end of it.

“That was an enlightening process. [Our ‘Suspiria’] doesn’t follow the trend of the traditional horror movies of late, so it’s a leap of faith, financially. It’s actually very faithful. I’m gonna put my spin on it, but in terms of a pitch, it’s going to remain quite faithful to [the original].”

Green also acknowledges that Natalie Portman was attached to the project, but isn’t anymore. Suspiria is a horror movie set at an all-girls dancing academy, so the similarities to Black Swan would have been obvious.

Faithfulness is cool, I guess, but why not just watch the original movie? It’s good, and you don’t have to wait for David Gordon Green to make it – it’s ready right now!

In case this isn’t clear from these posters and the trailer, Your Highness is a kind of blend between medieval fantasy and stoner humor. What genre will David Gordon Green combine with marijuana next? My vote goes to prison rape dramedy. (via Collider)

Then again, they did leave in the Natalie Portman thong shot. Maybe these marketing guys know what they’re doing afterall.

Let's all take a moment to reflect.

Universal has dropped the epic red-band trailer for Your Highness. The David Gordon Green-directed film stars Danny McBride, James Franco, Zooey Deschanel, and an unbelievably sexy Natalie Portman. Franco and McBride pla brothers, one of them brave, the other an idiot. When Franco’s fair maiden (Deschanel) is kidnapped by an evil witch-man (Justin Theroux), the two go on a quest to rescue her. In the process, they find Natalie Portman, who is sporting some kind of amazing Middle Ages thong. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to. A the town crier would proclaim, “Daaaaaaaaaamn!”