What Do The Critics Say?

"Brand's performance in this film is bold and brilliant, and it is supremely complemented by Hill's very funny physical humor and nuanced acting. I found "Get Him to the Greek" to be highly entertaining, with knockout performances from Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. The chemistry between this unlikely pairing is undeniable." David Kaplan KAPLAN VS KAPLAN "One of the most surprisingly enjoyable and consistent comedies of the year." Brian Tallerico HOLLYWOOD CHICAGO "Part of me is ashamed to admit that I really enjoyed this film. What really sets this film apart is Brand. He is remarkable: sexy, salacious and silly; yet able to show a serious side. His character is totally narcissistic and yet we can't help but fall in love with him." Jeanne Kaplan KAPLAN VS KAPLAN "Brand and Hill have an outrageous and hilarious blast that rocks and rolls with constant comedy." Pete Hammond BACKSTAGE "Boasting the improvisational flair for which producer Judd Apatow (Superbad, Knocked Up) has become famous, Get Him To The Greek is an enjoyably wild ride. Russell Brand brilliantly manages to make Aldous sympathetic despite his hideous trespasses, while Jonah Hill never allows his buttoned-down character to become a doormat. Boldly enlivened by its risque, full-force approach to drugs and sex, Get Him To The Greek is comedy gold." Erin Free FILMINK

"First and foremost, it's funny. If you enjoyed prior adult outings such as "The Hangover," you'll like this one too. You'll also get a kick out of the 'Spinal-Tap"-esque' tunes and performances. Raunchy, wild and offbeat: not unlike Russell Brand himself; 'Get Him to the Greek' is a grownups-only comedy romp." Linda Cook QUAD CITY TIMES "Get Him to the Greek is filled with consistent laughs and classic comedic moments." Kevin McCarthy BDK MOVIE REVIEWS "I laughed quite frequently and recommend the picture on that count, but Greek's insights into the "sex, drugs, rock and roll" mindset are what really turn it into something special." Mike McGranaghan AISLE SEAT "Looking for a buddy comedy with wit, heart and scatological charm to spare? Get thee to this Greek. " Bruce Demara TORONTO STAR "Brand steals the film, although it should be said that you need to be a fan, or he will drive you nuts. Hill is a great counter puncher as the hapless gofer Aaron Green and Elisabeth Moss is terrific as his sleep-deprived medical intern Daphne, who rolls with the punches. Sean Combs delivers too as Sergio ('help me help you'), the capitalist record mogul whose end-game technique is hilarious." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

The Inside Story When Nicholas Stoller approached Jonah Hill and Russell Brand about partnering for another project, he found both men very receptive to the idea. Stoller ("Fun with Dick and Jane") recalls: "After Sarah Marshall, I had a meeting with Russell and pitched him this idea. Then I pitched Jonah the idea, and they both thought it’d be fun to work on a movie together." Hill remembers the request: "I was dying to work with Russell again, and I would have done anything Nick asked me to do." When he read the screenplay, the actor knew he was ready to play the music-obsessed executive. "Aaron Green is driven and ambitious and has a serious relationship," Hill explained. "He’s probably the most normal guy I’ve ever played. The interesting part is that we get to explore what’s extreme and weird about Aldous’ life. It’s not as fun for Aaron as he thought it was going to be: just weirder." For the filmmaker, Hill’s character proved to be more of a challenge to write than his comedy sidekick. Stoller explained: "Jonah’s part in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" was very much a broad character, so broad it would have been hard to sustain a whole movie. It wouldn’t have made sense to have him play the same character." Stoller decided to craft Aaron as a young record company executive who had three days to wrangle a rock icon from London to Los Angeles. Aaron idolizes this legend, but his hero worship is undermined by what he experiences on the road with him. The story starts off simply enough. "We wanted to get across that when you imagine hanging out with a rock star, it seems exciting and thrilling," Stoller stated. "You get to stay up all night and party. We wanted to capture the idea that it just never ends. And god Aldous Snow, were introduced to moviegoers in Nicholas Stoller’s directorial debut, the hit romantic disaster comedy "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". Audiences responded to the enthusiastic groupie who tried to pass the rocker new songs and the sex-obsessed former drug addict who was involved with the self-obsessed Sarah Marshall. Aldous's ability to get under the skin of Sarah’s ex, musician Peter Bretter, was matched only by his annoyance at Matthew’s unrelenting attention toward him. While one might initially wonder, "Get Him to the Greek" is not a sequel to that breakout comedy. Music executive Aaron Green was nowhere to be seen in the story that told of Peter’s journey to recover from a gut-wrenching break-up. Although Jonah Hill did star in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (as Matthew the Waiter), Aaron is decidedly not the same guy who stalked Aldous across Oahu. When fleshing out the story for "Get Him to the Greek", Stoller initially wrote a new protagonist (not Aldous Snow), with Brand in mind to play him. The filmmaker soon realized, however, this major character in his script simply had to be a rock star with the attitude and swagger of Aldous. He thought what better way to extend one of his favorite roles from his directorial debut than to write a spin-off. "In the intervening years since we saw Aldous in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", he has fallen off the wagon and is a drunk disaster," Stoller offered. "And to everyone who has an issue with that, I would say that "Star Trek" reinvented its entire universe in the last film. They have fifty years of people memorizing every detail of the "Star Trek" universe. So, I don’t feel too bad about it." Stoller also knew there was no one else but Brand who could fit the part as the comic counterpart for Aaron. "Russell is an incredibly funny, remarkable, charming man, and we wanted to present him as he is as much as possible," producer Judd Apatow said. "Aldous is actually a toned-down version of Russell." Co-producer Segel (who played Peter Bretter in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall") remembers the day he met his Aldous. "Russell was the find of the century. When he came in for the audition, oozing with undeniable sexual energy and rock star good looks, he said to me 'You’ll have to forgive me, I have only had the chance to take a cursory glance at your script. Perhaps you should tell me what you require?' And all I kept thinking was 'that takes balls, man!' and I realized he was the dude. We did a complete rewrite for him." Brand was quite open to the idea of revisiting one of his favorite characters. "It’s very flattering that Aldous Snow's been given life beyond the initial joy of playing him in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". I think the reasons that character resonated, at least with Nick and Judd, is that in this celebrity-obsessed age, Aldous was an unusual take on celebrity. He’s not just a straightforward obnoxious twerp; although he is an obnoxious twerp, there is sort of a sweetness and vulnerability to his self-destruction and self-entitlement." With Aaron and Aldous wrapped, it was time to fill out the rest of the players. Three time Grammy Award winner Sean Combs was cast as the head of Pinnacle Records, Sergio Roma. When casting director Jeanne McCarthy ("Be Kind Rewind") advised the filmmakers that Combs was willing to fly himself out to audition for the part, they knew he was serious about the job. It was a most unusual move for such a well known performer, but Combs had a plan. "When I first found out there was a chance to be in a movie with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand that was directed by Nick Stoller and produced by Judd Apatow, I would’ve given one of my arms to get the role. I prepared all of the dialogue, worked with my acting coach, walked into the audition." All that hard work went out the door, when the filmakers told him: "You're not going to need the script. We’re just going to improv." Combs says his first thought was: "If I really want the role; I just have to go for it." In the end, it was Combs’ performance as an actor, not his music experience, that benefited the film the most. "Sean brings this whole crazy energy to it," Stoller ("Yes Man") says. "The comedy styles in the movie are very disparate. You have the Sean style meeting the Russell style meeting the Jonah style. It all combines into a delicious frappé." Stoller was pleased when two time Screen Actors Guild Award winning actress Elisabeth Moss (2009 & '10) agreed to read the part of Aaron’s pragmatic medical resident girlfriend, Daphne Binks. Since 2007, the director had been captivated by Moss's portrayal of Peggy Olson on AMC’s award-winning "Mad Men". For Moss, tackling Greek was a welcome challenge. "Most of the work I do is set in the 1960s, and it is very scripted and serious. This was something that was modern, and I was able to play a regular girl: somebody who wasn’t always in an intense situation." Moss also liked the comedic complications that Stoller’s script offered Daphne and Aaron. Providing additional humor is Aldous's tumultuous relationship with his rock 'n' roll queen, model turned singer Jackie Q, played by Australian actress and 2000 Volpi Cup winner Rose Byrne ("The Goddess of 1967"). "We had to find someone who could not only match Russell; but who could actually beat Russell," Stoller said. "Rose plays the girl that has him tied up in knots perfectly." The role was so empowering, as Brand remembers. "Rose actually hit me during a scene that wasn’t scripted. This typifies that manner of destructive, yet alluring woman: a siren luring you onto the rocks to destroy you." "Jackie’s very mercurial," Byrne (2007 AFI winner for "Damages") explained. To make their depiction of the industry authentic, the filmmakers made a decision to populate the movie with actual musicians. "We’ve tried to give a very three-dimensional view of a rock star and an addictive person: what the underbelly of rock ’n’ roll is, while still making it funny," producer Rodney Rothman ("Year One") notes. "The rock world is obviously a very rich world. I feel like I’ve been researching this movie for the last thirty five years. It gives you a reason to invite people who you worship to come hang out." This is not to say that the production was undisciplined or unfocused. "We always shoot the script," Stoller explained. "But we then do improv off of that. Rodney and I write lines and throw the actors lines and suggestions." With Hill and Brand as part of the mix, fears about the use of improv were soon assuaged among the other cast members. "When you are working with people like Russell and Jonah and Sean, you need to be able to adjust it on your feet because they never stop thinking either," Apatow ("Superbad" & "Step Brothers") notes. For Combs, improvisation took some getting used to during the production. The actor has been in his share of dramas, and comedy ("Made" & "Monster's Ball") was a relatively new experience for him. Hill commends his on-screen boss: "He’s shockingly funny in the movie. His is probably the most surprising performance because you see someone who’s known for being so serious just being hilarious." Stoller sums up Combs’ contribution to the comedy by referencing Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s breakout performance in Hill’s blockbuster Superbad. "We started calling him the McLovin’ of the movie. He’s just so funny." The entire production company would orchestrate five nights in summer 2009 playing at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre. There, Russell Brand became both the Aldous Snow of current day and of ten years prior in front of an audience of fifteen hundred extras and a few hundred crew; including a professional concert lighting company. By the time the team arrived, toward the end of the Los Angeles portion of the shoot, it had already blocked, planned and choreographed every song, move and camera angle necessary for the events. Songs had been written, music arranged and Brand had laid down tracks. To pull off the nights events, they had to put on real rock shows. The team hired the talent who create special effects for rock concerts and had them design a light show. They created a previsual model of what was going to occur; all agreed that the results were stunning. For the cast and crew, the five days were magical. "The Greek is my favorite venue in Los Angeles, where I grew up and live," Hill revealed. "So to actually go there and shoot a movie was awesome: to show up and see all the trucks and extras. I went out on stage and talked to the crowd for a second, and it felt totally unreal." 2006 British Comedy Award winner Brand, embodying a true rock star, went full-out for each performance. "It was brilliant fun. I really enjoyed the performances enormously. It’s lovely living out your childhood fantasies to be a rock star. All the times I pretended to be a rock star, with a hairbrush and tennis racket. I got to live out those fantasies in front of thousands of people." "The songs we have are exciting. Some of them are funny, but they’re not parody songs," Stoller says. "They’re really rock songs. We tried to create a real rock album." Ninteen songs were recorded. Five featured in the two live Greek performances and one was performed at the Today show. Byrne also did her own singing for the film. "But it didn’t faze her at all," says music editor Jonathan Karp ("Punch-Drunk Love" & "Funny People"). What's It All About?

Ambitious Aaron Green has been given a career-making assignment. His mission: Fly to London and escort a rock god to the world famous Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for a huge comeback concert. His record mogul boss, Sergio Roma gives him one warning: "The artist is the worst person on Earth. Turn your back on him at your own peril." British rocker Aldous Snow is a brilliant musician and certifiable rock 'n' roll legend, but due to a bad break-up and nose-diving career, has fallen off the wagon and is now a walking disaster. Weary of yes men and scared he’s entered the 'greatest hits' twilight of his career, Snow’s in the midst of a nihilistic downward spiral. When he learns his true love, model/pop star Jackie Q, is in Los Angeles, Aldous makes it his quest to win her back: right before kick-starting his return to world domination. Aaron may get inebriated, titillated, violated, humiliated, incapacitated, irritated, evacuated, medicated and rejuvenated along the way: but will it stop him getting Aldous to the Greek.

The Verdict "Have to admit I haven't been a big fan of Brit, Russell Brand: up until now that is. His bad boy image fits well with his role as legendary singer Aldous Snow and I for one, have no doubts, "Get Him To The Greek" will endear him to a plethora of new fans. On the other side of the ledger, I have been a big fan of both Jonah Hill and the highly talented, often under-rated, Rose Byrne. Hill, whose long list of credits includes "Knocked Up", "Superbad", "The Invention Of Lying" and "Funny People", continues to go from strength to strength and deservedly so. Thirty year old Byrne, whose career began at age of twelve when she was cast as Rastus Sommers in the 1994 comedy "Dallas Doll", is at her finest here. Playing Snow's ex, Jackie Q, Byrne is, to say the least, superb. There are a couple of revelations in the cast, despite the fact that both have enjoyed solid careers in the entertainment industry. One is the performance of Sean Combs (Puff Diddy) as Pinnacle Records tough boss, Sergio Roma. Solid throughout, Combs had the audience in stitches when 'Jeffrey' arrives on the scene. The other is Elizabeth Moss, who has appeared in films such as: Ron Howard's "The Missing"; James Mangold's "Girl Interrupted" (for which Angelina Jolie received the Best Supporting Actress Oscar) and most recently, alogside Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker in "Did You Hear About the Morgans?". Moss, whose career has covered: screen, stage and TV; has, in recent years, gained a huge reputation for her role as Peggy Olson in, "Mad Men" (SBS TV). "Get Him To The Greek" is an outstanding mix of comedy, romance, drama, mayhem, first class songs (OST CD released on the Universal Music label) and surprisingly good performances. 4 STARS." The Production Team

Director Writer Characters Producers Original Music Cinematography Film Editor Casting Production Design Art Direction Set Decoration Costume Design

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Nicholas Stoller Nicholas Stoller Jason Segel Judd Apatow/David L Bushell/Rodney Rothman Timothy Andrew Edwards & Lyle Workman Robert D Yeoman William Kerr & Michael L Sale Jeanne McCarthy Jan Roelfs Erik Polczwartek Leslie A Pope Leesa Evans

Who Is Playing Who?

Jonah Hill Russell Brand Rose Byrne Sean Combs Elisabeth Moss Colm Meaney Lino Facioli Lenny Widegren Roger Manning Jr Sean Hurley Victor Indrizzo Kristen Bell Carla Gallo Brian Duprey Kyle Diamond Thomas R Wallek Drew Carrano Zoe Salmon Lars Ulrich Mario López Pink Billy Bush Kurt F Loder Christina Aguilera Rick Schroder

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Aaron Green Aldous Snow Jackie Q Sergio Roma Daphne Binks Jonathan Snow Naples Infant Sorrow Guitarist Infant Sorrow Keyboardist/Guitarist Infant Sorrow Bassist Infant Sorrow Drummer Sarah Marshall Destiny Frank Look-Alike Sammy Look-Alike Joey Look-Alike Dean Look-Alike Herself Himself Himself Herself Himself Himself Herself Himself

Run Time 109 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2010 - Universal - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 The Movie Pages & impact Internet Services. All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian and International Copyright. Trademark Laws and Intellectual Property Rights apply.