If you've never heard of "Cliff Beasts," don't worry.
The blockbuster series is actually a bit of metafiction in "The Bubble."
Directed by Judd Apatow from a script co-written by himself and Emmy-winning "South Park" writer/producer
Pam Brady, "The Bubble" features some of the biggest stars in Tinseltown playing, well,
a group of movie stars trying to make the next installment of their major film franchise.
Before this hilarious new pic arrives on April 1, here's a look at everything you need to
know about "The Bubble."
The faux film franchise "Cliff Beasts" is about a group of heroes who dare to fight
back against a species of dinosaur-like monsters that like to feast on human flesh and tend
to lurk near -- you guessed it -- cliffs.
In the world of "The Bubble," this series has been dominating the box office for more
than a decade, and its leading stars have been dutifully returning to their roles again
and again as the movies take them cliff beast-hunting across the globe.
Of course, after years of working together, the actors have developed some unique relationships
between themselves, for better or worse.
Mostly for worse.
"What we're doing is edgy.
It's real."
"Kristal just did a fucking TikTok with a dinosaur."
So when all of these already-wild personalities are reunited to try and pull off one of the
very few studio films still in production amid a global crisis and give their long-lived
series a properly cinematic sendoff, things become hysterically disastrous.
"Hey guys, I don't feel so good."
"Some of you tested positive for influenza."
"Lauren.
I think something's up with Lauren."
"Which is the good virus."
Leading cast member David Duchovny described the film's concept in an interview with Forbes,
saying, "We're trying to make a big action franchise
film, like we're number six in the franchise, and we're all different levels of happy to
be coming back for the sixth time.
And it's really just charting the protocols you have to do to make a movie and then [...] the
kind of petty hatreds and petty competition and just the boredom and the freak outs that
would happen in such a pressure cooker of quarantining."
"It's like my movie posters have come to life."
"You will soon learn to hate these people."
Many of the stars of "The Bubble" get to pull double duty portraying both actors and their
"Cliff Beasts 6" characters.
At the center of the action, you have Karen Gillan starring as Carol Cobb.
Gillan is probably most well known for her work in the MCU as the unconquerable Nebula,
or from her role in the "Jumanji" film series.
"The Bubble" also stars David Duchovny as Dustin Mulray.
Duchovny of course became a household name with his Emmy-nominated role as Fox Mulder
in "The X-Files."
He's also had some experience lifting the veil on the entertainment industry in another
tongue-in-cheek film.
The 2006 dramedy "The TV Set" features the actor as a screenwriter who experiences the
highs and lows of bringing a network television pilot to life.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the film was executive produced by Judd Apatow himself.
Duchovny is joined by Leslie Mann as Lauren van Chance, the on-again, off-again love interest
of Dustin.
In addition to Mann being Apatow's real-life spouse, she's a hilarious, talented actress
who's starred in a number of his films, including "Knocked Up," "Funny People," and "This is
40," just to name a few.
Keegan-Michael Key stars as Sean Knox, an extremely enthusiastic actor who loves to
do his own stunts in the "Cliff Beasts" movies.
Key previously starred in the Apatow-produced comedy "Wanderlust," and he's well-known for
his hilarious TV work in shows like "Key and Peele" and "Friends from College."
"Your soul belongs to me now."
"Nope, nope, nope.
Gotta go."
Key is also a dynamic silver-screen presence who's starred in genre films ranging from
sci-fi thrillers like "The Predator" to the family musical "Jingle Jangle: A Christmas
Story."
Also appearing as one of the five central "Cliff Beasts" stars is Guz Khan, who portrays
Howie Frangopolous.
Khan is known for his work in small screen series such as "Turn Up Charlie" and the recent
heist film "Army of Thieves."
The five regular stars of the film-within-a-film are joined by a couple of interesting newcomers
to the franchise.
For example, there's Pedro Pascal's self-confident character Dieter Bravo.
Pascal is, of course, a household name thanks to his roles in hit series like "Game of Thrones,"
"Narcos," and "The Mandalorian," and he's also recently starred in films like "Triple
Frontier" and "We Can Be Heroes."
Another addition to the "Cliff Beasts" franchise is Iris Apatow's character, Kristal, a TikTok
star who shakes things up on the set.
Iris Apatow is the daughter of Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, and she's also appeared in
several of their film collaborations, along with starring in the romantic drama series
"Love."
And that's not all of the A-listers audiences can expect to see in "The Bubble."
The film also features "Saturday Night Live" all-timers Fred Armisen and Kate McKinnon,
"Borat 2" sensation Maria Bakalova, Peter Serafinowicz, and more.
So prepare for a wild ride when "The Bubble" arrives on Netflix on Friday, April 1.
Thanks for watching.
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