Forgetting Sarah Marshall WonderCon Preview

Saturday, March 15, 2008
By Kevin Crossman

Panel Discussion and Extended Trailer

fsm-logoMost of the principals from Forgetting Sarah Marshall appeared at WonderCon 2008 to preview an extended version of the trailer and participate in a panel discussion. Present were:

  • Jason Segel - writer and star
  • Kristen Bell - star
  • Russell Brand - costar
  • Mila Kunis - costar
  • Jack McBrayer - costar
  • Nicholas Stoller - director
  • Shauna Robertson - producer

Extended Trailer

The footage shown to a packed WonderCon crowd followed the red-brand trailer closely, with some extended scenes and additional footage.

  • More with Jack Brayer’s timid newlywed. Russell Brand’s character teaches him about sex.
  • A scene with Jason Segel and Bill Hader as Peter wants to delete photos of Sarah from his computer
  • Extended surfing scene with Paul Rudd. Rudd has a nice line about marijuana, too.
  • Peter lies in the bed, and a hotel worker asks if those are “sad tissues or happy tissues.”
  • Peter tries to kiss Rachael before she jumps off the cliff into the water. Peter thinks he killed her.
  • The poster design shown on the right is not the final one-sheet that will be distributed to theatres. Expect the final version to feature a broken heart theme.

Panel Discussion

There was a big focus on Jason Segel’s nude scenes. Asked how he prepares for a nude scene, Segel said “whisky… and a warm room.” Costar Mila Kunis said “his penis was great” at which point Segel said he would use that line on tshirts. Segel said he was nude for hours and that there’s a fine line doing nude scenes because you want to make a good appearance but not “too much.” Director Nicholas Stoller indicated with his hand that there are “R-rated” penis (pointing downward) and “NC-17 penises” (pointing upward). Jack McBrayer talked about his sex scenes. He had to wear a sock that made him look like a Ken doll.

There was also focus on Segel’s nipples. Everyone said that Shauna Robertson was bothered by his nipples, so much that Segel was constantly shot with sheets above his nipples (like a woman in bed on a television show). They also spent $6500 on nipple removal (not a joke, according to Robertson).

Judd Apatow’s name was mentioned frequently. Robertson said that Apatow had planned to attend but had a fever and had to stay back in Los Angeles. Segel called Apatow the greatest mentor anyone could hope for, and encouraged him to write as well as act. Russell Brand mentioned that all of them were Apatow’s “underlies, his sperm, his ejaculation.”

One audience member became a geek hero when he asked to take a photo with Mila Kunis. He was quickly whisked to the stage for a hug, then pulled out his camera. Shauna Robertson took the photo, but the young man was coherent enough to make sure the photo turned out well before jumping down to great applause.

An audience member asked Jack McBrayer if anyone mentions that he looks like Tom Cruise. McBrayer responded swiftly, “Tom Cruise has filed a restraining order against me… but Katie’s already pregnant again, y’all!”

Jason Segel talked about his struggles writing the film but that it turned out really great. He then said “self-aggrandizement is the new self-gratification.” He also mentioned that doing the musical scenes in the hotel bar were the biggest challenge on the movie.

Talent Interviews

by Kevin Crossman, Senior Editor

Listen to all of the interviews in one segment, along with a discussion of the marketing of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and more. (download mp3)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall Preview

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 12:47 am and is filed under Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Interviews, Jason Segel, Judd Apatow, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Nicholas Stoller, Russell Brand. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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