“American Pie” sensation Seann William Scott, appears opposite Bruce Willis in Warner Bros.’ new buddy comedy “Cop Out.”

Directed by Kevin Smith (“Zack and Miri Make a Porno”), “Cop Out” features two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card who find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster.  Jimmy (Willis) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, and Paul (Tracy Morgan) is his “partner-against-crime” whose preoccupation with his wife’s alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.

Scott plays Dave, the accidental third stooge in the Jimmy-Paul partnership and a thief who employs the physical discipline of Parkour as one of the tools of his trade…and who makes off with Jimmy’s precious baseball card.

“We started with a great script, and had brilliant ad-libbers in the cast.  We always knew there’d be the scripted take, and then the takes where we would deviate and see where it went,” says Smith.  “Some of the coolest stuff in the movie is the flights of fancy that happened on set.”

Turning out to be one of best ad-libbers was Scott. “Seann had the role of Dave,” says Smith.  “It’s just a great, enjoyable part and I think Seann made it a pitch-perfect, 21st-century version of a kind of Bugs Bunny: he’s both charming and an instigator.  Of course, Seann is the first to say that he’s not a comedian, he’s just cast in comedic parts.  But I’ve seen Seann’s movies and his performance in this flick, and if he’s not a comedian I don’t know who is.  Like Bugs, he’s effortlessly charming.”

“Dave’s just a really fun, really weird guy,” says Scott.  “It’s a character I love because he’s different from other characters I’ve played.  He’s not this jock jerk frat boy, but he’s still inappropriate, and just as nuts.”

“In a way, Dave is to Paul what Paul is to Jimmy, so Jimmy kind of loves Dave, because he frustrates Paul so much,” Smith grins.

Seann William Scott recently starred opposite Paul Rudd in the hit comedy “Role Models,” and lent his voice to the animated feature “Planet 51,” along with Dwayne Johnson and Jessica Biel.  “Cop Out” marks Scotts’ second outing with director Kevin Smith, having made a cameo in Smith’s comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”

Scott’s first appearance in a feature film was in the blockbuster comedy “American Pie,” in which he created the memorable Steve Stifler, a character he would revisit in two hit sequels, “American Pie 2” and “American Wedding.”  Scott also starred in the feature film version of the popular ’80s television series “The Dukes of Hazzard”; “Road Trip,” with Breckin Meyer and Amy Smart; and the hit comedy “Dude, Where’s My Car?” opposite Ashton Kutcher.

Opening across the Philippines on March 3, “Cop Out,” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.  The film’s gala premiere was recently held at The Podium.

Bruce Willis is one of few actors who create memorable performances in practically any genre – whether drama (Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction”), thriller (M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense”) or action (the blockbuster “Die Hard” film franchise).  Now, he returns to the genre that started it all for him – comedy (“The Blind Date”) — in Warner Bros.’ “Cop Out” from director Kevin Smith.

“Cop Out” features two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card who find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster.  Jimmy (Willis) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, and Paul (Tracy Morgan) is his “partner-against-crime” whose preoccupation with his wife’s alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.

“Jimmy is a cranky, irritable cop with a wisecracking sense of humor,” offers Willis.  “He shoots first, asks questions later, and cracks jokes whenever he can.”

Says Smith, “During production, I sat around set all day and watched the movie in a little monitor, as directors do, seeing what the camera sees.  So in reality, I sat there all day watching a Bruce Willis movie, which is what I do at home anyway for free.”

Screenwriters Robb Cullen & Mark Cullen describe Willis’ character, Jimmy, as someone who’s been a detective for over 20 years, is divorced and somewhat lonely.  “He hasn’t gotten the breaks to move ahead in the department.  He’s more like the gunslinger of the old West, who has his own code of conduct,” says Mark.

Robb adds, “Jimmy’s very conflicted because his ex-wife has married up and is doing very well, his daughter now is participating in that wealthy lifestyle, and he’s still living in an apartment by himself.  And, on top of that, his daughter’s insufferable stepfather is practically shaming Jimmy into letting him pay for his daughter’s wedding.  I think all of that is adding up to making him feel less of a man at times.”

Not about to be upstaged at his own daughter’s wedding, Jimmy has made the decision to cash in his priceless ’52 Pafko baseball card to pay for something even more priceless—his daughter’s happiness.  However, mid-sale, the Pafko becomes the “victim” of a robbery, right under the not-so-watchful eye of Jimmy’s partner, Paul.  Paul is in the midst of his own family drama…even if it is of his own making.  In addition to trying to catch criminals, he is also trying to catch his wife in the act with another man

Michael Tadross, who produced two of the “Die Hard” movies, asserts, “I jumped at the chance to work with Bruce again.  The man is brilliant, he knows what he wants and he’s a friend, so it’s always a pleasure to be around someone like that.  Put Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan and Kevin Smith in the same room?  I couldn’t wait to see what would come out of that.  Those three guys are at the top of their game.”

Tadross was not the only one who’d worked with Willis on a “Die Hard” film.  Offers Smith, “I’d worked with Bruce as an actor on ‘Live Free or Die Hard,’ and he called me at one point and said, ‘I’m an actor, you’re a director, we’re both from Jersey …we should do something together some day.’  So when Marc Platt said to me, ‘Hey, there’s a chance we can get Bruce Willis,’ I thought that would be amazing.”

Opening across the Philippines on March 3, “Cop Out,” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Warner Bros.’ new crime comedy “Cop Out” stars action favorite Bruce Willis and comedy king Tracy Morgan as Brooklyn-based NYPD detectives Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges. They’re partners on the trail of a stolen piece of valuable memorabilia…and this time, it’s personal: the collectible, a rare baseball card, belongs to Jimmy, and is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding.  Along the way, however, the duo stumbles into the path of a seriously dangerous neighborhood gang leader looking to expand his trade.

From director Kevin Smith, “Cop Out” is in many ways a throwback to the classic buddy cop movie—one of cinema’s most popular film genres—with Smith’s own slightly skewed view. Directing for the first time from someone else’s script, Smith’s initial reaction to the screenplay was that it was “steeped in movie cop heritage.  When I read it, I thought, ‘Wow, if I’d ever written a buddy cop movie, it would be like this.’”

States producer Marc Platt, “One of the things Kevin does so well in his films is the relationships, particularly between the guys.  There’s an honesty to it, a relatability to it, they feel like guys that we all know.”

Producer Michael Tadross agrees.  “Bruce, as Jimmy, is the straight man and Tracy , as Paul, is this crazy guy, and it just works.”

“The script just made me laugh out loud when I read it,” says Willis.  “It was really funny…the kind of film you tell your friends to go see.”

Having previously worked with Smith nearly a decade ago, Morgan says of the director, “He knows it, he gets it.  He’s a comedian’s comedian.  He directs in a way where you think you know the scene, but he’ll say, ‘Yo, do this or do that, say this or say that,’ and it gives it a whole different spin.  I love the way he directs.”

“Kevin has a rapport with his audience that is magic,” states producer Polly Johnsen.  “His films allow viewers to relate to the characters as the funnier versions of themselves, and take them along for the ride.  It’s an awesome entertainment experience.  I want to come back in my next life as Kevin Smith.”

Teaming Willis and Morgan, Smith notes, “My forte is really two dudes talking to each other,” says Smith.  “This film has that, plus more action than anything I’ve done before.  Though there are no action figures for this one…yet.  I’ll find a way,” quips the director, who is also famous for being a collector.

Smith concludes, “For me, the biggest influence I drew from in making ‘Cop Out’ was Abbott and Costello.  This is very much like an Abbott and Costello movie…with guns.  If I made this movie, and my father was still alive and saw it, he’d say, ‘You do make movies!  I just thought it was you and your friends running around with a camera talking about not being able to get laid, but this has a plot, there are guns…Bruce Willis is in it!’  He would’ve been so proud.”

Opening soon across the Philippines , “Cop Out,” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Warner Bros. casts Bruce Willis (“Surrogates”), Seann William Scott (“The Rundown”) and Tracy Morgan (TV’s “30 Rock”) in the new buddy comedy “Cop Out.”

Directed by Kevin Smith (“Zack and Miri Make a Porno”), “Cop Out” features two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card who find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster.  Jimmy (Willis) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, and Paul (Morgan) is his “partner-against-crime” whose preoccupation with his wife’s alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.

Kevin Smith directs “Cop Out” from a screenplay by Robb Cullen & Mark Cullen (TV’s “ Las Vegas ”).  The film also stars Adam Brody (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith”), Kevin Pollak (“Tropic Thunder”) and Guillermo Diaz (TV’s “Weeds”).

The film is produced by Marc Platt (“Rachel Getting Married”), Polly Johnsen (upcoming “Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore”) and Michael Tadross (“I Am Legend,” “Hitch”).  Adam Siegel (“Wanted”), Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen serve as executive producers.

The behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography David A. Klein (“Chasing Amy”); production designer Michael Shaw (“August Rush,” “Boys Don’t Cry”); costume designer Juliet Polcsa (TV’s “The Sopranos,” “Jersey Girl”); and Academy Award®-nominated composer Harold Faltermeyer (the “Beverly Hills Cop” movies).  As he frequently does, Smith serves as his own editor on the film.

Opening soon across the Philippines , “Cop Out,” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.