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August 17, 2007

Judd Apatow's Walk Hard Trailer

See, the rumor mill does churn up morsels of truth from time to time. Our first report was grasping at wisps and whispers, but later sources confirmed Jack White (of Cold Mountain/Coffee and Cigarettes fame) was set to play Elvis in Judd Apatow's forthcoming music-biopic spoof Walk Hard. Big thanks to reader Mitchell for sending in the trailer which sees Walk The Line and Ray merrily lampooned, with glimpses at Jenna Fischer as a June Carter type, Paul Rudd as John Lennon, and a White Stripe as a karate chopping King. John C. Reilly plays the iconic-cocktail Dewey Carter, a superbad blend of Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, and Brian Wilson (in a sandbox). So meta it hurts.

RELATED: Lisa Marie gets unforgettable with her dead dad on "In The Ghetto."

Posted at 11:17 AM in
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42 Comments

Not only is Jack White playing Elvis, but he actually looks funny in this. Color me surprised.

Posted by: David McCaffredy at 08/17/07 11:48 AM | Reply
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Um. Wow. I think i need a see a few more previews of this to say if i like it or not. It seems a little mediorcre but then again it only showed a couple of minutes of it

Posted by: The Zimzi at 08/17/07 12:00 PM | Reply
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The movies lampooned are Ray and Walk the Line. Never heard of Walk On before. Also, John C. Reilly's character is Dewey Cox - hence the chanting at the beginning of the trailer "Cox, Cox..."

And Jack White's bit is hilarious. Probably the funniest part of the whole trailer.

Posted by: Smiley at 08/17/07 12:03 PM | Reply
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looks pretty terrible.

Posted by: alvysinger at 08/17/07 12:10 PM | Reply
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If by "Walk On" you mean "Walk The Line".

Posted by: Finchmeister at 08/17/07 12:19 PM | Reply
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indeed, finchmeister

Posted by: amrit at 08/17/07 12:20 PM | Reply
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not sure how to feel about this one. on paper, how could it get better? (ps i can't wait to see superbad.) but that just looked like one meta joke after another. obviously difficult to tell on a trailer, but it seems like it's going to thrive on its stunt casting and "hey we've watched a bunch of music icon movies, can't you tell by this joke?" lines. but paul rudd ftw, always.

Posted by: pissymist at 08/17/07 12:23 PM | Reply
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"In my dreams you're blowing me....some kisses". Funny shit.

I love John C. Reilly, so I'm looking forward to this. If you haven't seen it yet, check him out as Dr. Steve Brule on Cartoon Network's "Tim and Eric's Awesome Show: Good Job!".

Also, Mr. Apatow has not let me down yet...

Posted by: Jason at 08/17/07 12:26 PM | Reply
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Looks pretty awesome to me. And I must concur, Apatow is schooling Hollywood.

Posted by: Sean at 08/17/07 12:47 PM | Reply
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at least now when I tell people they have to watch Freaks and Geeks, I can say, hey, remember the funniest movies of the past few years? yeah same guy.

Posted by: bill at 08/17/07 12:49 PM | Reply
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And the best part -- the songs are by Mike Viola, Marshall Crenshaw and Dan Bern.

Posted by: billy budapest at 08/17/07 12:53 PM | Reply
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How has no one mentioned Pam from The Office playing the June Carter role, yet? Y'all are slipping.

The movie looks pretty good. I laughed a few times. Jack White looks surprisingly good in it. "You see how close I came to your head?"

Posted by: The Other Matthew at 08/17/07 1:06 PM | Reply
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umm, the other matthew, it clearly says jenna fischer in the post. and she looks fiiiine.

Posted by: michael scott at 08/17/07 1:09 PM | Reply
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Is that Jason Schwartzman with Rudd/Lennon? Is he playing a swami or is he a Beatle? I've heard Jack Black is playing McCartney which is pretty hilarious.

This actually isn't the final trailer...there's an official and slightly different trailer on Yahoo movies...with a hilarious scene featuring none other than Patrick Duffy.

Posted by: Stephen at 08/17/07 1:12 PM | Reply
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Hell yes! Fuck the biopic. We get it: artist is from a poor upbringing, artist begins to sing (a little shakey at first and by the end of the song gains ample confidence to win the audience over into standing ovations and high fives), artist gets famous (success montage, city lights, bus travels, girls etc.), artist gets into pills or some shit, cue artist downfall, ......and scene. "It used to be about the music!"

Posted by: Boozey Hooker at 08/17/07 1:25 PM | Reply
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Jeezy peezy, I wonder if Will Ferrel will have a cameo?

All in all looks pretty decent.

Posted by: Cogsworth at 08/17/07 1:33 PM | Reply
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After Talladega Nights, it seems as if people are trying to transform Reilly into Will Ferrell Jr., and while he can pull off slapstick, I prefer seeing Reilly in sharper roles.

However, this could be funny. I remember people crapping all over Knocked Up based on trailers and that film, while predictable, was funny.

Posted by: Justin at 08/17/07 1:35 PM | Reply
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I got a pic of John C. Reilly and Jack White.

http://www.tecoapple.com/2007/08/17/trailer-walk-hard/


;)

Posted by: teco apple at 08/17/07 1:48 PM | Reply
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here's the other trailer:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kI911_Xokho

Posted by: mario at 08/17/07 1:57 PM | Reply
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And Jewel, Lyle Lovett, and Jackson Browne.
So ... you know, blockbuster.

Posted by: scott at 08/17/07 2:13 PM | Reply
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Jesus, Judd Apatow must have the best publicist in the world. Isn't he starting to risk over-exposure at this point?

Posted by: jed2 at 08/17/07 2:50 PM | Reply
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Matt Besser's in there too!

Posted by: who at 08/17/07 3:20 PM | Reply
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Thanks Mario.
Yeah, some may like this trailer better.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kI911_Xokho

Certainly saw more comedians: Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell ... was that Martin Short as George Harrison?

Anyway, full cast:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0841046/fullcredits#cast

Posted by: scott at 08/17/07 3:33 PM | Reply
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Holy crap that was a lot of cameos. Ya'll are so up Jack White's ass.

Posted by: Sean at 08/17/07 4:17 PM | Reply
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proof that life gets better every day.

Posted by: christian at 08/17/07 4:46 PM | Reply
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that was actually the first trailer they showed before "superbad" (which i just got home from seeing and cannot recommend highly enough, basically if you've ever been in high school you'll laugh a lot). looks promising. and i'm glad i'm apparently not the only one who thinks all musician biopics are exactly the same.

Posted by: Liam at 08/17/07 5:01 PM | Reply
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Matt Besser. Go go gadget Upright Citizen's Brigade.

Posted by: Jesse at 08/17/07 6:24 PM | Reply
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Damn, two guys beat me to Matt Besser. But c'mon, Tim Meadows? Where's the love?

I'm a huge fan of Apatow's movies, but I've never liked the trailers. This is the first one I've ever laughed at, and that should be some indication of awesomeness. Also, John C. Reilly kicks ass no matter what.

Seeing Superbad tomorrow. Really excited.

Posted by: fido at 08/17/07 8:07 PM | Reply
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Wow, Michael Scott. I read through that paragraph at least twice, looking for Jenna Fischer's name. I must be blind.

Posted by: The Other Matthew at 08/17/07 9:21 PM | Reply
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Judd Apatow must indeed have a good publicist since he manages to get all the credit for this movie. He didn't direct it. Just co-wrote and co-produced. But somehow it becomes "Judd Apatow's Walk Hard"

Posted by: fgondolli at 08/18/07 1:49 AM | Reply
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wow i didn't think i was going to like this. but the first part of the trailer was pretty funny. i should mention that i also loved walk the line. btw, is that really jenna fischer singing?

Posted by: ave at 08/18/07 8:22 AM | Reply
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Is Matt Besser supposed to be playing somebody famous or just some guy he swaps girls with? I couldn't make out what name he calls him

Posted by: barry at 08/18/07 8:43 AM | Reply
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Plus I think that's Justin Long (the guy they're grooming to be Vince Vaughn Jr.) as George Harrison

Posted by: barry at 08/18/07 8:49 AM | Reply
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I'll see it entirely because of jack White and Jenna Fischer. Everything else is just gravy.

Posted by: daveisok at 08/18/07 12:44 PM | Reply
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"Walk On" is a Johnny Cash song, and a pretty fine one at that. I'd say the title song here is something of a parody of it, although the movie itself clearly satirizes the film Walk the Line.

Posted by: Johnnyboy at 08/18/07 1:33 PM | Reply
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Rudd's Lennon, Black's McCartney, Long's Harrison, and Schwartzman's Ringo.

But really this doesn't look all that good. I'm kind of over Apatow already. The guy's spawning an entourage like a rapper. It's diluting whatever funny he had.

Posted by: herma at 08/18/07 3:41 PM | Reply
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Uggh. This movie is going to completely suck because Apatow is too pussy to do some real satire on American rock n' roll.

Also Jack White is so fucking annoying.

Just my two pence.

Posted by: bennyblanco at 08/18/07 9:54 PM | Reply
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Why does every Judd Apatow-certified flick come across as LEAVE IT TO BEAVER with dick jokes?

Totally predictable storylines, and no diversity in casting.

(apparently Apatow thinks being "jewish" means you're not white)

Totally lame hollywood shite.

Posted by: Sebastian Kalifornia at 08/19/07 11:33 PM | Reply
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Frankie Munez as Buddy Holly

Posted by: dannygutters at 08/20/07 11:10 AM | Reply
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This looks really really stupid. Apatow has been involved in so many insultingly dumb and unfunny movies that I think Feaks and Geeks was either a fluke or the result of personalities other than him. Let me guess...Will Ferrell has a cameo as Steve Perry? I think Seth Rogen as Mama Cass would be a better fit.

Posted by: jabuhrer at 08/29/07 12:38 PM | Reply
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someone asked if it was really Jenna singing. Nope- the voice of Jenna Fischer singing in the movie is actually a Los Angeles based musician named Angela Correa who has a band called CORREATOWN. John C. Reilly sang all his own stuff.

Posted by: saddielane at 08/31/07 3:49 AM | Reply
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The Latest trailer for Walk Hard - with swearing etc better than the rest
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mv9PMbpkZw

Posted by: JJ at 11/20/07 8:00 AM | Reply
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