Casey Bloys was about four years into his tenure as a programming executive at HBO when he was driven to champion a project that was disliked by others at the network.
At first blush, the brilliantly raunchy Danny McBride comedy “Eastbound & Down” might have seemed out of place among the erudite offerings on HBO. When the series premiered in February 2009, HBO was still known for its New York-centric (“Sex and the City”) and Hollywood-set (“Entourage”) comedies. “Eastbound” revolved around Kenny Powers, a washed-up, foulmouthed, amoral former professional baseball player who heads home to North Carolina.
HBO brass weren’t sure “Eastbound” fit their high-end brand. But Bloys, then the network’s young head of comedy, knew McBride had something with the show. “I truly thought and continue to think the show is funny,” Bloys says. “And it was at a point in my career where I was learning how...
At first blush, the brilliantly raunchy Danny McBride comedy “Eastbound & Down” might have seemed out of place among the erudite offerings on HBO. When the series premiered in February 2009, HBO was still known for its New York-centric (“Sex and the City”) and Hollywood-set (“Entourage”) comedies. “Eastbound” revolved around Kenny Powers, a washed-up, foulmouthed, amoral former professional baseball player who heads home to North Carolina.
HBO brass weren’t sure “Eastbound” fit their high-end brand. But Bloys, then the network’s young head of comedy, knew McBride had something with the show. “I truly thought and continue to think the show is funny,” Bloys says. “And it was at a point in my career where I was learning how...
- 2/22/2023
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Ben Best, an actor and writer who penned and co-starred alongside Danny McBride the cult indie pic The Foot Fist Way and later co-created, wrote and appeared with McBride in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down, died Sunday. He was 46.
His death was announced by Rough House Pictures, the Eastbound & Down production company run by his frequent collaborators McBride, David Gordon Green and Jody Hill. Best met McBride and Hill in North Carolina at the Unc School of the Arts.
“It’s with heavy hearts we say goodbye to our good buddy Ben Best,” the company posted on its Instagram page today. “We lost him the day before he would have turned 47. A hell of a friend and a creative force. He inspired us and made us laugh. Charming and hilarious. Gone way too soon. We love and miss you.”
In MTV Films’ 2006 comedy The Foot Fist Way,...
His death was announced by Rough House Pictures, the Eastbound & Down production company run by his frequent collaborators McBride, David Gordon Green and Jody Hill. Best met McBride and Hill in North Carolina at the Unc School of the Arts.
“It’s with heavy hearts we say goodbye to our good buddy Ben Best,” the company posted on its Instagram page today. “We lost him the day before he would have turned 47. A hell of a friend and a creative force. He inspired us and made us laugh. Charming and hilarious. Gone way too soon. We love and miss you.”
In MTV Films’ 2006 comedy The Foot Fist Way,...
- 9/13/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Ben Best, the co-creator of HBO’s “Eastbound & Down” who also played Clegg in the series, has died. He was 46.
Rough House Pictures, which produced “Eastbound & Down,” confirmed the news of Best’s death on Instagram with the caption, “It’s with heavy hearts we say goodbye to our good buddy Ben Best. We lost him the day before he would have turned 47. A hell of a friend and a creative force. He inspired us and made us laugh. Charming and hilarious. Gone way too soon. We love and miss you.”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Rough House Pictures (@roughhousepictures)
Best co-created “Eastbound & Down” with long time writing partners Jody Hill and Danny McBride, who starred as Kenny Powers, a washed up former professional baseball pitcher who returns to his hometown middle school to teach physical education.
He also appeared in eight episodes as Clegg,...
Rough House Pictures, which produced “Eastbound & Down,” confirmed the news of Best’s death on Instagram with the caption, “It’s with heavy hearts we say goodbye to our good buddy Ben Best. We lost him the day before he would have turned 47. A hell of a friend and a creative force. He inspired us and made us laugh. Charming and hilarious. Gone way too soon. We love and miss you.”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Rough House Pictures (@roughhousepictures)
Best co-created “Eastbound & Down” with long time writing partners Jody Hill and Danny McBride, who starred as Kenny Powers, a washed up former professional baseball pitcher who returns to his hometown middle school to teach physical education.
He also appeared in eight episodes as Clegg,...
- 9/13/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Presented as part of Series Mania’s Coming Next from France showcase, the youth-skewing series “Derby Girl” offers a fast-paced, darkly comic portrait of a disgraced former-figure skater named Lola Bouvier (Chloé Jouannet), who is offered a shot at redemption when she joins a local roller derby league, the Cannibal Unicorns.
Sharing tonal and thematic similarities with films like “I, Tonya” and “Mean Girls,” the stylish online original will air on France Television’s streaming platform Slash later this year, with France TV Distribution handling international sales.
“It offers a new proposal when you compare it to all the standard police and crime series that you see a lot on linear channels,” says France TV Distribution’s Julia Schulte. “We were really interested in proposing something completely different, and with a younger target group as well.”
“As we’ve seen with ‘Sex Education’ or ‘13 Reasons Why,’ youth-focused series attract a wide-appeal,...
Sharing tonal and thematic similarities with films like “I, Tonya” and “Mean Girls,” the stylish online original will air on France Television’s streaming platform Slash later this year, with France TV Distribution handling international sales.
“It offers a new proposal when you compare it to all the standard police and crime series that you see a lot on linear channels,” says France TV Distribution’s Julia Schulte. “We were really interested in proposing something completely different, and with a younger target group as well.”
“As we’ve seen with ‘Sex Education’ or ‘13 Reasons Why,’ youth-focused series attract a wide-appeal,...
- 4/1/2020
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Actor, writer, and producer Danny McBride is an interesting cat. While he's often seen as merely the schlubby douchebag from films like Pineapple Express or the over-the-top Kenny Powers from Eastbound and Down, the guy is honestly so much more than that. He's dabbled in science fiction (Alien: Covenant) and horror with last years's successful reboot of Halloween. Well you can now…...
- 11/1/2019
- by Corrye Van Caeseele-Cook
- JoBlo.com
The new HBO comedy from Danny McBride feels at once like an extension of the creator's other work for the network and a massive step up.
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This Righteous Gemstones review contains spoilers.
The Righteous Gemstones Episode 1
Danny McBride has carved out quite the space on HBO for his comedic brand of toxic male entitlement run amok, and that partnership continues with The Righteous Gemstones. Created by McBride but featuring contributions from frequent co-conspirators Jody Hill and David Gordon Green, Gemstones follows Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals in exploring loathsome antiheroes that peacock what little power they actually hold to hide personal frustrations and insecurities. In those past series, the bloviating existential anger came from not living up to lofty expectations, but in the pilot “The Righteous Gemstones,” this familial band of malcontents, led by patriarch Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) and rounded out by adult children Jesse...
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This Righteous Gemstones review contains spoilers.
The Righteous Gemstones Episode 1
Danny McBride has carved out quite the space on HBO for his comedic brand of toxic male entitlement run amok, and that partnership continues with The Righteous Gemstones. Created by McBride but featuring contributions from frequent co-conspirators Jody Hill and David Gordon Green, Gemstones follows Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals in exploring loathsome antiheroes that peacock what little power they actually hold to hide personal frustrations and insecurities. In those past series, the bloviating existential anger came from not living up to lofty expectations, but in the pilot “The Righteous Gemstones,” this familial band of malcontents, led by patriarch Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) and rounded out by adult children Jesse...
- 8/15/2019
- Den of Geek
Nick Harley Alec Bojalad Aug 15, 2019
Two of the stars of HBO's new evangelical comedy The Righteous Gemstones dish on their co-stars and their excitement about the series' tone.
HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, centered on a family of wealthy evangelicals, may have series creator Danny McBride and the legendary John Goodman as a part of its familial ranks, but the rest of the clan are no lightweights either. Rounding out the Gemstone family is Workaholics-alum Adam Devine and Edi Patterson, the breakout star of McBride’s last HBO series, Vice Principals.
Both actors have nothing but esteem for their on-screen family members. Patterson’s stellar work on Vice Principals made it an easy choice for McBride to ask Patterson to play his sister on the series, and deciding to come on board the project was even easier for Patterson. “The second he asked me, I was into it,...
Two of the stars of HBO's new evangelical comedy The Righteous Gemstones dish on their co-stars and their excitement about the series' tone.
HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, centered on a family of wealthy evangelicals, may have series creator Danny McBride and the legendary John Goodman as a part of its familial ranks, but the rest of the clan are no lightweights either. Rounding out the Gemstone family is Workaholics-alum Adam Devine and Edi Patterson, the breakout star of McBride’s last HBO series, Vice Principals.
Both actors have nothing but esteem for their on-screen family members. Patterson’s stellar work on Vice Principals made it an easy choice for McBride to ask Patterson to play his sister on the series, and deciding to come on board the project was even easier for Patterson. “The second he asked me, I was into it,...
- 8/14/2019
- Den of Geek
Alec Bojalad Nick Harley Aug 16, 2019
The filmmakers and frequent Danny McBride collaborators spill the beans about their new series, megachurches, and 10 years on HBO.
Danny McBride may have a sole creator credit on his new HBO series The Righteous Gemstones, but his old film school buddies and frequently collaborators Jody Hill and David Gordon Green of course weren’t too far away.
Hill has been working with McBride since their breakout feature debut The Foot Fist Way and both have played substantial, even co-creator roles, in his past HBO series Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals. On Gemstones, Hill and Gordon Green serve as executive producers, with Hill directing and both men heavily involved in the creative process. For anyone that dreams of making movies or TV shows with their friends, McBride, Hill, and Gordon Green’s journeys in Hollywood are aspirational and inspiring.
We sat down with both Hill...
The filmmakers and frequent Danny McBride collaborators spill the beans about their new series, megachurches, and 10 years on HBO.
Danny McBride may have a sole creator credit on his new HBO series The Righteous Gemstones, but his old film school buddies and frequently collaborators Jody Hill and David Gordon Green of course weren’t too far away.
Hill has been working with McBride since their breakout feature debut The Foot Fist Way and both have played substantial, even co-creator roles, in his past HBO series Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals. On Gemstones, Hill and Gordon Green serve as executive producers, with Hill directing and both men heavily involved in the creative process. For anyone that dreams of making movies or TV shows with their friends, McBride, Hill, and Gordon Green’s journeys in Hollywood are aspirational and inspiring.
We sat down with both Hill...
- 8/14/2019
- Den of Geek
‘The Righteous Gemstones’: Holy Roller Comedy Not A ‘Takedown Of Religion’, Danny McBride Says – TCA
Danny McBride, who co-created HBO series Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals, said he focused on protagonists “who believed they were owed something in life.” But his new show The Righteous Gemstones, which follows an opulent megachurch family, is about those “who get everything they want” and the damage that can be done.
“The goal isn’t to be a takedown of anything,” said McBride at TCA today. “When Hollywood takes on religion, they make the mistake of lampooning one’s beliefs.
“For us,” he continued, “it’s about lampooning hypocrites — people who present themselves in one way, an act differently in another. I don’t think that’s something that’s relevant [only] to the world of religion and televangelism but the world we live in: People who present themselves one way on social media and present themselves in another way.”
His hope is that Gemstones will go longer than...
“The goal isn’t to be a takedown of anything,” said McBride at TCA today. “When Hollywood takes on religion, they make the mistake of lampooning one’s beliefs.
“For us,” he continued, “it’s about lampooning hypocrites — people who present themselves in one way, an act differently in another. I don’t think that’s something that’s relevant [only] to the world of religion and televangelism but the world we live in: People who present themselves one way on social media and present themselves in another way.”
His hope is that Gemstones will go longer than...
- 7/24/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Proving that no feature film is immune to the Honest Trailers treatment, the good folks over at Screen Junkies have turned their attention to Halloween, the 2018 sequel from Blumhouse and director David Gordon Green.
By and large, Michael Myers’ long-anticipated return was a resounding success, given Halloween earned rave reviews and a healthy $253 million at the global box office. It’s not enough to set the world on fire, but for an R-rated trip down memory lane, Green’s sequel ticked all the right boxes – that is, until Screen Junkies claimed their next victim as part of the ongoing (and frankly hilarious) Honest Trailers video series.
Here’s a snippet:
After nine sequels and reboots that ranged from ‘meh’ to ‘please kill meh’, only one creative team can restore the Halloween franchise to its former glory: Kenny Powers and the director of Your Highness.
There are one or two hilarious...
By and large, Michael Myers’ long-anticipated return was a resounding success, given Halloween earned rave reviews and a healthy $253 million at the global box office. It’s not enough to set the world on fire, but for an R-rated trip down memory lane, Green’s sequel ticked all the right boxes – that is, until Screen Junkies claimed their next victim as part of the ongoing (and frankly hilarious) Honest Trailers video series.
Here’s a snippet:
After nine sequels and reboots that ranged from ‘meh’ to ‘please kill meh’, only one creative team can restore the Halloween franchise to its former glory: Kenny Powers and the director of Your Highness.
There are one or two hilarious...
- 1/21/2019
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
As everyone knows full and well by this point, Blumhouse has an all-new (direct) sequel to John Carpenter’s classic Halloween coming our way this Halloween. We all know this. And we all also know that the film is co-written by Mr. Kenny Powers himself, Danny McBride. But who is David Gordon Green? For starters, David […]
The post Blumhouse’s Halloween: Who Is David Gordon Green? appeared first on Dread Central.
The post Blumhouse’s Halloween: Who Is David Gordon Green? appeared first on Dread Central.
- 10/13/2018
- by Mike Sprague
- DreadCentral.com
“Arizona” is a pitch-black comedy that is the perfect antidote to late-summer box office slog: an unpredictable and nasty slice of life set in a nearly desolate Harding, Arizona, it concerns desperate people on the verge of losing their homes thanks to the housing bubble collapse of 2009. What starts as a quirky caper about Sonny (Danny McBride) trying to cover up an accidental murder soon descends into a bloody mess. Sonny quickly gets in too deep as he kidnaps Cassie (Rosemarie DeWitt), who witnesses the death, and tangles with host of other oddballs, played by comedy ringers such as Luke Wilson, David Alan Grier, and Kaitlin Olson. Despite a rising body count thanks to an unhinged Sonny, McBride was inspired to take on a challenging role, and achieved the perfect tone thanks to the help of some trusted collaborators.
Finding the humanity in a character like Sonny was a priority,...
Finding the humanity in a character like Sonny was a priority,...
- 8/24/2018
- by William Earl
- Indiewire
Danny McBride has enjoyed plenty of success at HBO as the rough around the edges baseball player Kenny Powers in Eastbound and Down and the bitter, aggressive high school administrator Neal Gamby in Vice Principals. Now the cable network is taking the comedy star into the world of televangelism. HBO has ordered a pilot for […]
The post ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Makes Danny McBride and John Goodman Televangelists at HBO appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ Makes Danny McBride and John Goodman Televangelists at HBO appeared first on /Film.
- 6/29/2018
- by Ethan Anderton
- Slash Film
Alec Bojalad Joseph Baxter Jul 3, 2019
Danny McBride's new HBO comedy, The Righteous Gemstones, will depict a family of televangelists.
The Righteous Gemstones should be right up the alley of fans of Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals, since it hails from the same collaborative team of Danny McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. Once again charted for HBO the gang have put together some real star power this time around.
The series will arrive as a half-hour comedy about the Gemstone family, a clan of world-famous televangelists, who have a long history of what you would expect from a world-famous televangelist family: bombastic salvation techniques to go along with a heaping portion of greed.
The Righteous Gemstones Trailer
Check out the latest trailer for The Righteous Gemstones, rife with familial drama, outrageous fortune and accidental wave pool baptisms raves.
Video of The Righteous Gemstones: Season 1 Promo | HBO
Here's the original teaser,...
Danny McBride's new HBO comedy, The Righteous Gemstones, will depict a family of televangelists.
The Righteous Gemstones should be right up the alley of fans of Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals, since it hails from the same collaborative team of Danny McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. Once again charted for HBO the gang have put together some real star power this time around.
The series will arrive as a half-hour comedy about the Gemstone family, a clan of world-famous televangelists, who have a long history of what you would expect from a world-famous televangelist family: bombastic salvation techniques to go along with a heaping portion of greed.
The Righteous Gemstones Trailer
Check out the latest trailer for The Righteous Gemstones, rife with familial drama, outrageous fortune and accidental wave pool baptisms raves.
Video of The Righteous Gemstones: Season 1 Promo | HBO
Here's the original teaser,...
- 6/29/2018
- Den of Geek
Alec Bojalad Joseph Baxter Oct 2, 2018
Danny McBride's new HBO comedy, The Righteous Gemstones, will depict a family of televangelists.
The Righteous Gemstones should be right up the alley of fans of Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals, since it hails from the same collaborative team of Danny McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. Once again charted for HBO the gang have put together some real star power this time around.
The series will arrive as a half-hour comedy about the Gemstone family, a clan of world-famous televangelists, who have a long history of what you would expect from a world-famous televangelist family: bombastic salvation techniques to go along with a heaping portion of greed.
The Righteous Gemstones News
HBO has officially given The Righteous Gemstones the ultimate appraisal in the form of a series pickup!
With that news comes the first official image (seen below) from the now-confirmed series.
Danny McBride's new HBO comedy, The Righteous Gemstones, will depict a family of televangelists.
The Righteous Gemstones should be right up the alley of fans of Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals, since it hails from the same collaborative team of Danny McBride, Jody Hill and David Gordon Green. Once again charted for HBO the gang have put together some real star power this time around.
The series will arrive as a half-hour comedy about the Gemstone family, a clan of world-famous televangelists, who have a long history of what you would expect from a world-famous televangelist family: bombastic salvation techniques to go along with a heaping portion of greed.
The Righteous Gemstones News
HBO has officially given The Righteous Gemstones the ultimate appraisal in the form of a series pickup!
With that news comes the first official image (seen below) from the now-confirmed series.
- 6/29/2018
- Den of Geek
I’m not sure if you guys have heard or not but there is a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s Halloween coming our way this Halloween from Blumhouse, David Gordon Green and Danny McBride. Oh, you have heard of it? Sweet. Well, since we’re on the subject, today we have word from co-writer Kenny Powers (aka Danny McBride) […]...
- 3/15/2018
- by Mike Sprague
- DreadCentral.com
Danny McBride has always been a great screen presence, whether in indies such as David Gordon Green‘s “All the Real Girls,” right through to comedies such as “Pineapple Express” and “This is the End.” He’s always elevated whatever he’s been in with his unique style of slacker comedy. McBride’s greater impact, h0wever, might have been on television where he built the legend of failed professional baseball pitcher Kenny Powers in four successful seasons on HBO‘s “Eastbound and Down.”
In “Arizona,” directed by Jonathan Watson, McBride is given an all-too-rare leading role as Sonny.
Continue reading Danny McBride & Rosemarie DeWitt Shine In Overcooked ‘Arizona’ [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.
In “Arizona,” directed by Jonathan Watson, McBride is given an all-too-rare leading role as Sonny.
Continue reading Danny McBride & Rosemarie DeWitt Shine In Overcooked ‘Arizona’ [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.
- 1/30/2018
- by Jordan Ruimy
- The Playlist
Sam Jones/Trunk
On a warm, overcast December afternoon, Danny McBride rides up to a quiet, unassuming beach bar outside Charleston, South Carolina, on a small motorbike. He parks, greets the staff warmly; a waitress offers a friendly hug and invites him to the bar's Christmas party the following Monday. "It's all free, 6 to 9," she tells him. McBride, unshaven, in a gray T-shirt and jeans, smiles and settles into a booth. "I'll be here," he promises, and orders a beer.
In July, McBride packed up his family and moved from Los Angeles to South Carolina.
On a warm, overcast December afternoon, Danny McBride rides up to a quiet, unassuming beach bar outside Charleston, South Carolina, on a small motorbike. He parks, greets the staff warmly; a waitress offers a friendly hug and invites him to the bar's Christmas party the following Monday. "It's all free, 6 to 9," she tells him. McBride, unshaven, in a gray T-shirt and jeans, smiles and settles into a booth. "I'll be here," he promises, and orders a beer.
In July, McBride packed up his family and moved from Los Angeles to South Carolina.
- 1/17/2018
- Rollingstone.com
The Shield ‘Pilot’ (aired 3/12/2002)
“Good cop and bad cop left for the day. I’m a different kind of cop.” – Vic Mackey
The Shield‘s first episode is essentially an hour-long mislead, setting up a character (Terry) and a story that appeared to be the main arc of the first season. It spends an hour setting up Terry as the new guy who’s going to be a snitch for the government, persuaded by David Aceveda to find evidence on Vic Mackey and the controversial Strike Team, in part to further his political career. But that all comes crashing down in the final scene, when Vic puts a bullet in Terry’s face, and the episode closes as we see the last thing Terry sees in his life – Vic looking down at him, shaking his head.
In an era full of shows looking to be the next The Sopranos, The...
“Good cop and bad cop left for the day. I’m a different kind of cop.” – Vic Mackey
The Shield‘s first episode is essentially an hour-long mislead, setting up a character (Terry) and a story that appeared to be the main arc of the first season. It spends an hour setting up Terry as the new guy who’s going to be a snitch for the government, persuaded by David Aceveda to find evidence on Vic Mackey and the controversial Strike Team, in part to further his political career. But that all comes crashing down in the final scene, when Vic puts a bullet in Terry’s face, and the episode closes as we see the last thing Terry sees in his life – Vic looking down at him, shaking his head.
In an era full of shows looking to be the next The Sopranos, The...
- 3/26/2013
- by Randy
- SoundOnSight
Katy Mixon, John Hawkes and Andrew Daly have been tapped to co-star opposite co-creator Danny McBride in HBO's comedy pilot East Bound and Down.
The project, from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez Prods., centers on Kenny Powers (McBride), a burned-out former professional baseball pitcher who returns to his small Southern hometown, where the only job he can find is as a substitute gym teacher.
Mixon (Blind Dating) will play Kenny's high school girlfriend, now a teacher at the school and engaged to the principal (Daly). Hawkes (HBO's Deadwood) will play Kenny's brother.
East Bound was written by Jody Hill, Ben Best and McBride.
Hill will direct the pilot, which Ferrell, McKay and Chris Henchy are executive producing.
Mixon is repped by Endeavor and manager Larry Taube of Principal Entertainment.
The project, from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez Prods., centers on Kenny Powers (McBride), a burned-out former professional baseball pitcher who returns to his small Southern hometown, where the only job he can find is as a substitute gym teacher.
Mixon (Blind Dating) will play Kenny's high school girlfriend, now a teacher at the school and engaged to the principal (Daly). Hawkes (HBO's Deadwood) will play Kenny's brother.
East Bound was written by Jody Hill, Ben Best and McBride.
Hill will direct the pilot, which Ferrell, McKay and Chris Henchy are executive producing.
Mixon is repped by Endeavor and manager Larry Taube of Principal Entertainment.
- 5/30/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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