I dont know if it will make people leave the theaters scared as i think it may be a straight to DVD movie. I wish NB all the luck though, maybe it will get him some recognition.

Gunn 2 N's | February 08, 01:35 CET

It's not that spoilery so I've removed the tag. Very nice to see Nick working again.

Simon | February 08, 01:38 CET

There are many tv talents who have had to do far worse films to break into the big screen. Nicholas Brendon should be thankful he's not Matthew Perry. Whoo. Boy, Matt should fire his agent. Actually Matthew Perry and Courtney Cox-Arquette-Whatever should get the rights to do an American version of Fawlty Towers realized for today, using their characters from the Friends tv series. Anyway, I digress.

I wish Nicholas Brendon the best and hope this is a step towards even bigger and better things. Even Alan Alda had to do several lackluster films after MASH and look at the guy now. Up for an academy award.

ZachsMind | February 08, 02:00 CET

Well i dont feel bad for Matthew Perry. He did land Friends eventually, so with that 1 million plus a year he probably more quadtrupled NB salary.

I was always a big NB fan, his jokes, timley humor and he was the only one to stand up to Buffy is the reason I loved the show. So i hope he doesnt end up on one of those bad reality shows, but for some strange reason i see him doing one.
God i hope i'm wrong

Gunn 2 N's | February 08, 02:27 CET

Yes, more pictures of Nick! Please!

lycoming | February 08, 02:33 CET

Actually, the cast of friends, as of 2000, were each paid $750,000 per episode. If memory serves correctly, it eventually reached a million, or very close to it - making approximately 20M each, per season. The ability of the cast to negotiate as a block, rather than each on an individual basis, was the predominant reason their collective salaries went as high as they did.

So, overall, not feeling loads of pity for MP, who was likely making far more than quadruple NB's salary. While I did watch the entire Friends run (throw things - go ahead), NB at least had the honor of being part of a show that was in a league all it's own.

I'm glad he's working. I'll happily check this out. Every single actor cringes at those "crap movies" they made when they started out. I will be interested to see Nick acting in a different role, as I somehow missed Psycho Beach Party and must say I'm not really interested in hunting it down.

Angela | February 08, 02:45 CET

Whedonesque virgin here, yippee...I'm on! ANYHING NB does is worth watching. His comical timing is one of the best things about Buffy. I might go so far as to say that one of the reasons Buffy survived for 7 seasons is because of NB.

Harmalicious | February 08, 03:28 CET

Plus, sometimes things in concept look completely different as a finished product. I mean, most of us probably got hooked in by a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'd think if nothing else, we've all learned not to judge a book by its cover. :)

I'm just thrilled to see the guy working, and looking so darned good.

Jet Wolf | February 08, 04:27 CET

Yeah, I'll be buying one of these, even if it suddenly turns into the sequel to Pinata: Survival Island.

Ocular | February 08, 05:05 CET

Psycho Beach Party is a wonderful movie. Truly cheezy in the best possible way.

ReeQueen | February 08, 09:04 CET

Splutter. The words "American version of Fawlty Towers" just made me choke on my tea. I imagine that would be almost as promising as say, a stateside Cracker or Coupling. Oops. In fact, didn't such a thing emerge briefly from the shadows, cower in the light, and then scurry back into its pit some years ago? ("Payne," starring John Larroquette and with a character of ill-defined ethnicity named "Mo" as the Manuel stand-in . . .).

And Angela, I think you're eligible for some sort of award for watching Friends in its entirety . . . ;)

Count me in as one who is willing to watch Nick in pretty much anything. Lovely chap all round. And comical too.

SoddingNancyTribe | February 08, 09:40 CET

You think? They douse people in green goo on the Nickelodeon Awards. It'd probably be something like that. Oh well.

Angela | February 08, 09:45 CET

Add me to the list of people thrilled to see Nick working, err, thrilled to see Nick period.

This is definitely one of those movies I will go see regardless of the reviews, just because of the quality of the cast.

Mal'sGal | February 08, 10:26 CET

Splutter. The words "American version of Fawlty Towers" just made me choke on my tea.

That was exactly my reaction upon stumbling upon "Payne". I was round at a friends house and we were channel hopping when we made the horrifying discovery. Took us a while to believe that it could possibly be a remake so we looked it up on imdb and lo and behold it was! Why the hell they felt the need to broadcast it in the UK is beyond me - let's be honest, why the hell they made it at all is a question best left unasked.

Paul_Rocks | February 08, 16:04 CET

"American version of Fawlty Towers" just made me choke on my tea."

Oh for Pete's sake. I didn't want to go into detail about this because it's going way off topic. This is what I get for attempting brevity.

My intent was not to insinuate America would make a literal remake of Fawlty Towers. I imagine a Friends spinoff utilizing the characters of Monica and Chandler. They would become a bitter couple in a new england bed & breakfast. The end result would be an American version of Fawlty Towers, with Chandler growing increasingly passive agressive towards Monica's more bossy behavior. However, Perry wouldn't be portraying Basil and Arquette wouldn't be Sybil. They'd play a couple who had tried and failed at having children, threw themselves into their work as owners of a small company, and grow to loathe one another while still loving one another. The end result would be similar in many ways to Fawlty Towers, but it wouldn't be a direct remake by any stretch of the imagination.

I meant to use "Fawlty Towers" in a descriptive, comparative way, not in a manner that would incite an international incident. My apologies to our friends on the other side of the pond. I'd like to use as an example of my intent, the last Bill Cosby tv series which was very loosely based off the BBC tv series "One Foot In The Grave." Despite the vague similarities, the british version is very different because Cosby took the idea and gave it a unique American perspective. Granted, it got lukewarm critical praise and died in the ratings, but personally I think it's some of his best work.

By the way, the American failure at remaking Coupling was due to poor judgment on the part of the (American) producers, terrible casting, and a complete misunderstanding of what makes Coupling so great in the first place. It was like taking the Vertigo comic book series Hellblazer, and turning the Brit John Constantine into a California surfer. What the hell is Keanu Reeves thinking???

[ edited by ZachsMind on 2005-02-08 15:09 ]

ZachsMind | February 08, 17:04 CET

Oh ZM, no need to invoke Pete. I wasn't really commenting on your comment, so much as using it as an excuse to throw out a few, rather obvious, barbs of my own . . . Brevity remains a welcome attribute; and threads have a wacky tendency to assume a life and direction of their own.

SoddingNancyTribe | February 08, 20:42 CET

Pete thanks you for your American humbleness. Good to hear you wouldn’t attempt any remakes. Literal or otherwise.

I mean, otherwise we might be staring in wondered puzzlement across the pond at, oh say The Ladykillers, Alfie, The Italian Job, The Office… :)

miranda | February 08, 20:56 CET

Don't even joke about that miranda, it's too painful to contemplate.......

What's that you say? Too late?

Paul_Rocks | February 08, 21:03 CET

Actually, there's been three American versions of Fawlty Towers. Not only was there Payne, but Snavely and Amanda's as well.

I really do have too much time on my hands.

Simon | February 08, 22:01 CET