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For nine seasons, Craig Robinson played Darryl Philbin in The Office, but he could’ve actually played a different character in an alternative version of the show. Darryl’s character changed from being a bully to a nice guy, and while he started as a Dunder Mifflin warehouse assistant, he moved all the way up to being an Assistant Regional Manager. In the end, he is the Athleap V.P. of Athlete Relations and has reconciled with his ex-wife Justine – a story opening that some thought would be perfect for a Darryl-centered spinoff for The Office.

However, if the series developers had gone with an early draft of the show, Robinson would have been written off The Office, let alone have speculations for a spinoff. Greg Daniels, who adapted the original British show for the U.S., revealed that Robinson was initially considered for Roy Anderson, Pam Beesly’s ex-fiance...

We’ve featured Roy T. Anderson’s work on this blog on the past – notably his self-financed feature film debut “Akwantu: the Journey,” on the history of the Jamaican Maroons. He continues along that path in his new film, “Queen… Continue Reading →...

In an alternate dimension with no Pam, Jim Halpert and Roy Anderson have grown epic beards and decided that nobody should mess with them. (Actually, there are a lot of beards in here. How many can you count?) That's kind of how this trailer goes — plus some cryptic teasers ("When everything went wrong, six men had the courage to do what was right"), and the wonderfully explosive montages of Michael Bay doing his thing sans robots. The film, based on Mitchell Zuckoff's Thirteen Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi, is already generating politically charged articles, as well as comparisons to American Sniper (wow, that was fast!). Timing-wise, it makes sense: The film is slated for the same release window as Sniper, and it'll come as a Benghazi reminder right as the 2016 election kicks into gear. As with the book, Bay's 13 Hours will retell the true story...

David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn, Andrew Niccol’s Good Kill and Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence among competition titles.Scroll down for full lists

The line-up for the 71st Venice Film Festival (Aug 27-Sept 6) has been revealed this morning by Biennale president Paolo Baratta and film festival director Alberto Barbera at Rome’s St. Regis Grand Hotel.

Early standouts include Abel Ferrara’s Pasolini, which centres on the final days of the Italian filmmaker and his death in 1975; David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn, starring Al Pacino as a locksmith in a small town who never got over the love of his life; and The Look Of Silence, Joshua Oppenheimer’s highly anticipated follow-up to his award-winning documentary, The Act of Killing.

As previously announced, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, starring Michael Keaton, will open the festival on August 27 and is among the 20-strong competition titles, of which all...

Fundraising efforts for a new project that I think is worth your while, from a filmmaker (Roy T. Anderson) whose work we've previously highlighted on this blog (his self-financed feature film debut Akwantu: the Journey, on the history of the Jamaican Maroons). Read all the details below, courtesy of the release he sent:Following in the footsteps of acclaimed filmmakers like Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese, movie stuntman turned director Roy T. Anderson has decided to go the crowdfunding route to help finance his latest project; a 1-hr documentary film on Queen Nanny, the indomitable leader of the Jamaican Maroons, and Jamaica's only female National Hero. Anderson’s...

A film we've been following the progress of for over a year now, since our initial September 2011 post, will be making its Stateside commercial debut at the 2013 Pan African Film Festival in La, which takes place next month. Titled Akwantu: the Journey, the feature doc is directed by Roy T. Anderson, award-winning Hollywood stuntman to the stars (like Will Smith, Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx). Recapping what the film, which centers on the history of the Maroons Of Jamaica, is about: They were considered the “Spartacus” of their time; except these enslaved Africans were victorious in their fight for freedom. This fact is not lost on...

A film we've been following the progress of for about a year now, since our initial September 2011 post, will be the opening day film at the Jamaica 50th Film Showcase at Tiff Bell Lightbox, on Sunday, October 7, 2012. Titled Akwantu: the Journey, the feature doc is directed by Roy T. Anderson, award-winning Hollywood stuntman to the stars (like Will Smith, Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx). Recapping what the film, which centers on the history of the Maroons Of Jamaica... They were considered the “Spartacus” of their time; except these enslaved Africans were victorious in their fight for freedom. This fact is not lost on Jamaican-born New...

The Office Season 9 will feature two new faces - Jake Lacy and Clark Duke have signed on a series regulars - and one old face. For one episode at least.

TV Line confirms that David Denman will reprise his role as Roy Anderson - Pam's ex-fiance who worked at the warehouse, once tried to punch out Jim, eventually got fired and was last seen on Season 5 - on the September 27 installment of this NBC sitcom.

What is the basis for Roy's return? We'll need to tune in and find out.

But, assuming he stops by the office, Roy will walk in to a very different Dundler Mifflin than the one he left.

Steve Carrel departed prior to Season 8, of course, while B.J. Novak will be seen far less next year and Mindy Kaling will only stop by for one or two episodes. Paul Lieberstein is also out as showrunner.

Titled Akwantu: the Journey, the feature doc is directed by Roy T. Anderson, award-winning Hollywood stuntman to the stars (like Will Smith, Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx). Details from the press release: They were considered the “Spartacus” of their time; except these enslaved Africans were victorious in their fight for freedom. This fact is not lost on Jamaican-born New Jersey-based filmmaker and stuntman Roy T. Anderson. After years of research and dozens of interviews that took him from remote regions of Jamaica’s Blue Mountains to the coastal environs of Ghana and its interior, then finally to the mysterious and isolated community of Accompong, St....

The Other Guys on DVD and Blu-ray December 14thAdam McKay's new comedy The Other Guys will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 14. The two DVD versions, the theatrical cut and unrated cut, will both be priced at $28.96 Srp with the single-disc Blu-ray priced at $34.95 Srp and the two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack going for $38.96 Srp. We don't have any cover art images right now, but we'll be sure to update this story as soon as we have the images. In the meantime, take a look at the special features below.

Misfit NYPD detectives Gamble and Hoitz (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) are sentenced to life behind the desk. They hate each other and the monotony of their meaningless jobs, as they're forced to live in the shadow of the two biggest and most badass cops on the force (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson). But when those guys go down for the count,...

Weekend Box Office

1The Expendables$35 million2Eat, Pray, Love$23.7 million3The Other Guys$18 million4Inception$11.3 million5Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World$10.5 million6Despicable Me$6.7 million7Step Up 3D$6.6 million8Salt$6.35 million9Dinner for Schmucks$6.31 million10Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore$4.07 million#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10

As predicted last week, director Christopher Nolan's Inception was finally knocked out of the top spot after almost a month by newcomers The Other Guys. But with three highly anticipated new movies entering the box office this weekend including the testosterone-filled action movie The Expendables, the comic book based rock-opera Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and the Julia Roberts-vehicle Eat, Pray, Love, which is based on the popular book, it was inevitable that the buddy-cop comedy would fall after only a week on top of the charts.

Debuting at number one this week is the new action film The Expendables from writer/director and star Sylvester Stallone.

Weekend Box Office

1The Other Guys$35.6 million2Inception$18.6 million3Step Up 3D$15.5 million4Salt$11.1 million5Dinner for Schmucks$10.5 million6Despicable Me$9.4 million7Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore$6.9 million8Charlie St. Cloud$4.7 million9Toy Story 3$3.0 million10The Kids Are All Right$2.6 million#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10

As predicted, director Christopher Nolan's Inception defeated the new Steve Carell comedy Dinner for Schmucks and the family film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore last weekend to take the number one spot at the box office for a third week in a row. But this weekend Nolan's Oscar-caliber movie was no match for the much-talked-about new buddy-cop comedy The Other Guys, which knocked the buzz-worthy film out of the top spot for the first time in almost a month.

Debuting at number one this week is the buddy-cop action/comedy film The Other Guys starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson,...

Predicted Weekend Box Office

1The Other Guys$30.5 million2Inception$19.1 million3Step Up 3D$16.3 million4Dinner for Schmucks$14.1 million5Salt$10.1 million6Despicable Me$8.9 million7Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore$5.7 million8Charlie St. Cloud$5.6 million9Toy Story 3$3.1 million10Grown Ups$2.2 million#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10

As predicted last week, the new Steve Carell comedy Dinner for Schmucks and the family film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore were no match for director Christopher Nolan's Inception, which took the top spot at the box office for a third week in a row. But can the buzz-worthy film, which is already garnering Oscar consideration, be able to defend its crown once again this week against newcomers like the buddy-cop comedy The Other Guys or the dance film Step Up 3D?

Early predictions indicate that we will have a new box office champ this weekend, as the buddy-cop action/comedy film The Other Guys should...

The buddy-cop comedy has been around since the early '80s when Eddie Murphy first burst on to the scene with Nick Nolte in 48 Hours. It was perfected throughout that decade with films like Lethal Weapon and Midnight Run but the genre began to loose steam in the '90s with cheap copycats like Loose Cannons (Dan Aykroyd and Gene Hackman) and Flashback (Dennis Hopper and Kiefer Sutherland). It had a bit of a renaissance period in the late '90s and early '2000s with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker's Rush Hour series but that too eventually ran its course. Earlier this year director Kevin Smith tried to resurrect the genre in vein with Cop Out starring the team of Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan but luckily that did not kill the genre completely. Now a new film is about to be released that is reminiscent of the...

DVD Playhouse—February 2010

By

Allen Gardner

Hunger (Criterion) Harrowing true story of imprisoned Ira member Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) and his 1981 hunger strike protesting the British government’s refusal to recognize him, and other Ira members as political prisoners. Director Steve McQueen delivers the story with true filmmaking panache, mixing startling imagery that blends both stunning beauty and stomach-churning horror. Fassbender is absolutely brilliant in the lead. Not for the faint-of-heart, but not to be missed or, particularly, ignored. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with McQueen and Fassbender; Short documentary; 1981 episode of BBC series “Panorama” that covers the Ira hunger strike; Trailer. Widescreen. DTS-hd audio on Blu-ray.

Adam (20th Century Fox) Quirky romantic comedy about an eccentric, borderline Asperger’s Syndrome, astronomy buff (Hugh Dancy) who is drawn out of his self-imposed shell by a beautiful and sympathetic neighbor (Rose Byrne). Charming film with engaging performances by the two leads,...