New Project At Disney!

We're working on a big, female driven feature comedy with our good friend, "Superstar!" Molly Shannon!

DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD - EXCLUSIVE: Molly Shannon teamed with veteran scribes Rob Muir and Bob Hilgenberg to sell an untitled comedy feature pitch to Disney. They will write the script together for a film that could be a star vehicle for Shannon. It’s based on their own experiences as parents, and the comedy focuses on the social world of motherhood. The film will be produced by Andrew Panay (Wedding Crashers), and Shannon will be exec producer. Hilgenberg & Muir are currently scripting a live-action version of The Family Circus for Fox and Walden Media. Shannon’s repped by Gersh and Framework Entertainment, the scribes are repped by Summit Talent & Literary.

It's a far cry from the days when we were knockin' around comedy clubs in LA with Molly. The Rob & Molly Show was a showcase that led directly to getting Molly on SNL! After that, Rob was stuck with Bob.

Below, Molly tells the kind of stories that led to the three of us coming up with the idea for this project.

Glee's Jane Lynch and ABC's Man Up! Christopher Moynihan in "Scribes"

You'll see in this "sizzle reel" that actress Jane Lynch ('The 40 Year Old Virgin', 'Glee') plays the part of a studio head that we actually pitched and sold a film to. Everyone has their guesses as to who the character is based on...(in the real meeting, Diane Keaton was in the pitch with us, as she was attached as actress and producer). The dialog in the short film "Hiding In Walls", which "Scribes" is based on, was almost verbatim!

When we sold the pitch, we were baffled by what the studio head had liked, as he/she hadn't really understood the story we were telling AND had odd interpretations about the whole idea. As we stood outside in the parking lot, Diane lamented, "I don't know what they just bought...I'm just glad I don't have to write it!" As it turned out nobody did and the project crashed and burned just about the time the studio chief was fired. Look for our buddy Machete star DANNY TREJO turning in a comedy cameo, as well! You can watch the entire short film "Hiding In Walls", here http//www.outofpocketfilms.com/home.html

Grown-Ups (PART 1)

This is a pilot we created and wrote for Columbia/Tristar Television, a number of years ago. In a perfect world it would currently be running in syndication after a seven year network run! But, this was the year Reality TV took center stage...woo hoo! At any rate, we had a great cast and a great time producing this little four-camera-comedy. Enjoy Grown-Ups, the Bob & Rob version. (click-through to watch on Youtube, there are four parts).

Toy Story 3 -a little more.

Some people have asked about the ending of our TS3 script. That's a pretty complicated question if you haven't been able to read the entire script. BUT, here's a quick thumbnail version of what we did and how the toys fared in our version.

After escaping the nightmarish Daycare center, Woody and gang find and help save Buzz at the factory. But, ultimately get trapped by some evil NEW toys who see them as a threat. In a HUGE climactic set-piece, Buzz, Woody and gang, along with all of the other recalled and defective toys, are being sent down a conveyor belt to be destroyed by a HUGE crushing machine.

In a heroic move, they risk their lives to save other toys who are ready to be crushed. Seconds before our gang slides down the conveyor to their death, Woody rips off his old "broken" arm and flings it at the crusher and successfully shorts-out the machine!

They escape, (along with a couple of toys who were trapped in an experimental prison in the factory) and bring them back with them to the states and Andy's room! Just in time, of course:) There's also a cool scene where Rex must perform an Operation Game in a REAL operation on Buzz to reinstall his chip. Rex-"I'm good at the game, but this is too much pressure!!!" BTW-Buzz does speak Spanish, (and some other languages in our version). Fun and funny.

In fact, earlier, Buzz is reunited with his toy designer/creator who has been pushed aside by the suits, and is now just a figure head at the Toy Factory. He's an old American-Asian man, a cross between Jerry Garcia and Gepetto!) Really cool reunion.

Hope this in interesting!

Monsters Inc. 2 "Lost In Scaradise"

We just came across some of the artwork that was put together based on our Monsters Inc. 2 script. This was back at Circle 7 Studios and was the original project we worked on until we started on Toy Story 3. We have absolutely no idea what Pixar is doing with their version of MI2 (due out in 2012), but we thought it might be cool to show a little of what we were doing back then. The MI2 characters were really a lot of fun to work with...a writers dream, frankly. Keep in mind our story was taking place years after the original and we aged Boo up accordingly. Enjoy! Also, here's a link to a Jim Hill article on the project. http://tinyurl.com/7ml8xgm

The Family Circus - Casting in our heads.

When we write screenplays we like to have some of the characters already "cast' in our minds...it helps us keep the voices consistent. On this project we have what we consider a "dream cast" as a starting point! Kevin James as Bill, (Dad) and Tina Fey as Thelma, (Mom). Having just completed the first draft, we want to thank Kevin and Tina for their help!

More 'Toy Story 3', Circle 7 Version

We always thought this was a great image of Woody and Bullseye! Again, Ric Sluiter working his magic.

Thanks for all the great comments and questions. We love going back in time and recalling all of the great times we had at Circle 7! Fun Fact - The producer on our TS3 was none other than Tangled producer Roy Conli! We have always said, the almost two hundred employees at C7 were basically an all star team of the animation business. The "cheapquels" and Pix-arent" labels really could not have been further from the truth. Funny how the production of sequels have become such an accepted and integral part of ALL the major animation studios. Who would've ever thought that we'd be seeing Pixar working on their third, (Cars 2) and fourth (Monsters Inc. 2) sequels. Our belief is when you create such amazing characters and worlds for them to play in, it's almost impossible not to want to let them play in that animated sandbox, again.