Filed under: Comedy, Celebrities and Controversy

I'm very sad to say that it's not looking good for Nailed. ... again ...

After a slew of shutdowns and a whole heap of monetary problems, it looked like David O. Russell's strange comedy was on the up and up. Earlier this month, the production struck a deal with Comerica Bank, and things seemed to be back on track, at least, until filming shot and post-production began.

Still, just two days shy of wrapping principal photography, Variety reports that the production has once again been halted. Some "below-the-line" crews refused to work on Friday when they weren't paid and IATSE told them not to show up. I guess Comerica didn't fork over enough cash. However, a Variety source says that the hope is to finish up the last two days this week, which includes "a key restaurant scene." I'm not sure where they're getting the cash for the final two days, but I hope they find it.

So, should things go smoothly this week, we can expect the filming to be wrapped, and then we can look forward to a long line of post-production money troubles. I just hope we get to see it in the end.

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S**t. P**s. F**k. C**t. M*********r. C********r. T**s.

That pretty much sums up my feelings (such as the Globe will allow me to, ironically) on the matter of the great Carlin's passing. The stand-up comedian who made good on Lenny Bruce's promise -- you can make people question everything if you can swear creatively enough -- managed to make the transition from squeaky-clean 60s one-liners (see below) to brilliant hippie arias of scatalogical filth in the 1970s (see above) to an unexpected late-inning career as our generation's Wise Old Crank (follow this YouTube link, please).

Because I was 15 when his seminal album "AM/FM" came out and scorched the ears off my adolescent head, I have entire Carlin monologues encoded in my DNA. Better, I and millions of others have that nasal, singing voice forever sowing doubt about the dominant culture and its all-encompassing blandness. At his worst, Carlin promoted cynicism, but at his best he made you truly, thoughtfully angry, and between his razor-sharp wit and his genuine love of language, he always made you laugh.

Oh, and points for taking on the Supreme Court and, in the long run, winning.

The people have spoken: Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart beats Mike Myers as Guru Pitka. Not that it wasn't much of a contest. Reviews for "Get Smart" (including my own) were mixed to pretty good, whereas the fumes of overripe cheese gone fungoid emanating from the trailer for "The Love Guru" extended to the critics and audiences. "Get Smart" pulled in a very tidy $39 million at nearly 4,000 theaters (for a healthy $10,000 per-theater-average). Compare that with "Guru," which came in fourth -- behind "Kung Fu Panda" and "The Incredible Hulk" in their third and second weekends respectively -- with $14 million at 3,000 theaters (for a paltry $4,600 PTA -- not much "want to see" there).

Message: Give the people what they want (a serviceable bit of retooled nostalgia), not what Mike Myers wants (a chance to work his way back into our good graces with copulating elephants).

In other B.O. news, "The Happening" no longer is happening: Down two-thirds from its opening weekend. Why? This may be best illustrated by the following word-of-mouth anecdote. Scene: The men's room of the AMC Boston Common. Time: Last Thursday night. The personnel: Guys doing their business, irate moviegoer. Irate Moviegoer:"Everybody, I just saw 'The Happening,' and I've taken it as my personal mission to warn you. Do. Not. See. This. Movie."

Way down the box office charts there was a limited five-theater release of "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl," the Abigail Breslin period movie that means nothing to you if you don't have daughters who've read all the "American Girl" books and collected the absurdly expensive dolls and accessories (I have some experience here). The total take was just over $200,000, but the real story is in the per-theater-average: a whopping $44,600 that bodes well for the film's wide release next Friday. As with "Sex in the City," another hint of the underserved female audience, no matter what age we're talking about. Also, along with good returns for the expanded "Mongol" ($8,000 PTA at 94 theaters), "Kit Kittredge" is a sign that releasing company Picturehouse maybe shouldn't get absorbed by parent company Warner Bros.

More number twiddling at Box Office Mojo and Movie City News.