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"Use more marshmallows!" Lionsgate has unveiled a new trailer for a mockumentary comedy titled Cook Off!, making fun of cooking competitions. This was actually filmed over a decade ago, and it first premiered at the Us Comedy Arts Festival Aspen back in 2007. Somehow it has been sitting on a shelf all these years, and yet is just now getting an official release thanks to Lionsgate. The huge ensemble cast includes Melissa McCarthy, Wendy McLendon-Covey, Ben Falcone, Niecy Nash, Jennifer Cox, Stephen Root, Diedrich Bader, Louie Anderson, Gary Anthony Williams, Jennifer Elise Cox, Cathryn Michon, Markie Post, and Sam Pancake. This definitely does have a Christopher Guest-esque vibe, with a cast of eccentric goofballs all makin' food under one roof. I'm just curious as to why it took so long to get a release. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Cathryn Michon & Guy Shalem's Cook Off!, direct from YouTube:...

Melissa McCarthy bumbles through a cooking competition in the wild new trailer for the long-gestating mockumentary, Cook Off! The film premiered at the Comedy Arts Festival in 2007 – long before McCarthy's breakout turn in Bridesmaids – and will finally receive an on-demand and limited theatrical release November 17th.

Cathryn Michon and Guy Shalem co-directed Cook Off!, which centers around the Van Rookle Farms Cooking Contest, a reality competition with celebrity judges, a $1 million prize and a giant muffin mascot. Along with McCarthy, the film's cast boasts an array of seasoned improvisors including Michon,...

Are you ready for a half-baked comedy with extra cheese? That's what they're selling in Lionsgate's new holiday offering Cook Off!. It appears to be a mockumentary sold in the comedic stylings of Christopher Guest. And while it's aping movies like Spinal Tap and Best in Show, it could be mistaken for the real thing.

Helping make this look like an authentic Christopher Guest movie is the fact that the trailer actually has some laughs in it. They're hard to find, but they're there. And Guest mainstay Wendi McLendon-Covey is on hand as well. We have the first trailer and the poster for this comedy, which seemingly came out of nowhere, and must have been made in-between takes on the Ghostbusters set. From the look of the footage, even though Melissa McCarthy is being touted as the star, we might be seeing all of her footage in this two minute spot.

Steve Jobs

Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" biopic starring Michael Fassbender will close the 59th BFI London Film Festival on October 18th. Boyle, Fassbender and Kate Winslet will attend the closing night gala screening, which marks the film's European premiere.

Spanning a period of 14 years between 1984 and 1998, the story is built around three seminal product launches of the Macintosh in 1984, the NeXT 'Cube' in 1988 and the iMac in 1998. [Source: Variety]

In the Middle of the Middle East

Bryan Singer and Guy Shalem are developing a documentary exploring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the vantage point of a dynamic Arab-Israeli activist. Singer could possibly direct the film and make his documentary directorial debut.

The story follows a young man as he navigates personal and political minefields, determined to advance a workable solution for coexistence in the Middle East, while searching for true peace within himself. [Source: Variety]

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Bryan Singer has signed on to produce a documentary about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is currently going by the working title “In the Middle of the Middle East,” an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap. Singer will produce the film with Guy Shalem in collaboration with Same Name Productions, while Yariv Horowitz will co-produce. The documentary will follow a young Arab-Israeli activist as he navigates personal and political minefields and works to find a solution for coexistence in the Middle East. Also Read: 'X-Men: Apocalypse' Director Bryan Singer's World War III Drama in the Works...

Guy Shalem's ("Lovespring," "Off Their Rockers") upcoming short film "Ronny & i," is having just about as good of a run up to release as it could have hoped for, with director Bryan Singer and Jane Lynch signed on as executive producers, a spot at the Court Metrage (Shorts Corner) at Cannes, and a successful Indiegogo campaign to send the film's star to France to promote the short. We have the exclusive trailer for the film as it gears up for its Cannes appearance and a full festival summer schedule. Shot entirely on a smart phone over a period of less than 24 hours, "Ronny & i" follows two childhood friends who go on a weekend getaway after one of them is dumped by his girlfriend. "I have followed Guy's work for many years and this short film captures an incredibly intimate feeling that is difficult to describe. I hope it gets the attention it deserves,...

For this episode of Driven to Distraction, Dennis Hensley is at West Hollywood's O-Bar for a special screening of the pilot for Rex.

We've written briefly about this faux reality show, which follows the absurd career travails of actor Simon Rex, but I hadn't noticed that out gay writer/director Guy Shalem was involved. Shalem also created possibly my favorite TV show ever: Lovespring International!

Dennis gets a chance to talk with both Shalem and actor Geoffrey Arend about their work on Rex. Check out the interview (and the full Rex pilot if you haven't seen it) after the break!

Note: If you haven't seen it already, check out the Rex pilot here!

Somehow most of the web missed this 23-minute click-worthy gem called Rex which quietly was posted online recently. Think Paris Hilton, Jamie Pressly, Lance Bass and former MTV VJ Simon Rex, who was later revealed to be an adult film star, in a comedy about drumming up tabloid scandal. Who better than this lot? Created by TV development vet Guy Shalem, the team behind the half-hour indie pilot has been running a campaign on Facebook to build up its fan base while pitching it to networks. I talked to Shalem, who said he was frustrated after selling pilots to ABC and NBC that never saw the light of day. Shalem, who wrote the series along with Rob Kolson, casted a host of headline drawing names like Hilton, Rex Brian Huskey and Alias star Victor Garber. Shooting on spec, the mid-five-figure budget covered costs for locations, food and below the line crew.

NEW YORK -- The U.S. Comedy Arts Festival's Film Program will showcase 30 features and 20 shorts in Aspen this year, organizers said Tuesday.

Sponsored by HBO Films, the festival's movie lineup will get launched with opening night film Waitress, directed by the late Adrienne Shelly. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Fox Searchlight.

World premieres featured at USCAF include Guy Shalem's Cook Off!, Armen Kaprelian's Closing Escrow, Frank Oz's Death at a Funeral, Jim Pasternak's Certifiably Jonathan and Gary Toll's Judy Toll: The Funniest Woman You've Never Heard Of.

The festival's Fireside Chat Series will return this year with Fox Atomic's Debbie Liebling, Netflix's Ted Sarandos, JibJab's Gregg Spiridellis and others. Also back by popular demand is the Mile High Club, which brings together industry executives and filmmakers in 12-minute "speed dating"-type meetings.

Among other film highlights are special screenings of three works in progress. One is John Landis' The Rickles Project, a documentary about legendary comedian Don Rickles. Current footage from The Comebacks, directed by Tom Brady, will also be shown, with Jamie Kennedy's Heckler rounding out the still-in-the-works offers.