'Our Idiot Brother' Premiere

Last night I attended the premiere for "Our Idiot Brother," starring every actor I adore and worship. No joke, the cast is made up of: Paul Rudd, Zooey Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks, Kathryn Hahn, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, Emily Mortimer, and Steve Coogan. These are all my favorite people and I've interviewed every single one at some point. This was my second time seeing the film, though it now has a new ending, and once again, I loved Rudd's performance as a slacker hippie who inadvertently messes up the lives of his three sisters (Mortimer, Banks, and Deschanel). There are very few actors who can radiate goodness without seeming phony or being boring, and Rudd is definitely one of them. (Ginnifer Goodwin and Naomi Watts are two others who come to mind.) His stoner Ned is a nice guy who believes the best about people and takes nothing personally. Even when a girl rejects his advances, he just gives a nice shrug like, "No worries."

Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Company acquired the film at Sundance and is distributing the flick, introduced the movie by referencing the "Funny or Die" video he and Rudd shot recently. "He threw my Oscar for 'The King's Speech' in the garbage just to get a reaction out of me!" Weinstein revealed. This video, by the way, led to my favorite moment of the night: when I went to introduce my (non-industry) friend Angela to Weinstein, she said: "You look familiar. Are you an actor?" I explained Weinstein was a producer, and Angela said: "Oh, I know! He's the guy from the Paul Rudd 'Funny or Die' video!"

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