He has become one of the most sought after actors in the business.  After garnering major critical acclaim for his portrayal of George-Michael Bluth in the Emmy Award® winning Fox series “Arrested Development,” Michael Cera quickly found himself amongst the young comedy elite when Judd Apatow cast him as the lead in the hit film, “Superbad.”  Now, Cera stars opposite Jack Black in Columbia Pictures’ new comedy “Year One” from director Harold Ramis (“Ghostbusters”) and producer Judd Apatow (“The 40-Year Old Virgin”).

In the film, a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers, Zed (Black) and Oh (Cera), are banished from their primitive village. Destined for greatness, they set off on an epic road trip through the ancient world…to change the course of history.  And evolve into heroes!

“Oh is taken along on the journey by Zed,” notes Cera.  “He definitely doesn’t believe everything that Zed says and is forced to put up with Zed’s theories about life.  All of which leads to a lot of trouble for Oh.”

Together, Zed and Oh, exiled from their village, begin their excellent adventure.  In their own way, Oh and Zed travel through history and meet some of the ancient world’s most famous residents: Cain and Abel, Abraham and Isaac, and the denizens of the city of Sodom.

“I’d seen Michael on `Arrested Development’ playing a lovable innocent,” says Ramis.  “Then I saw `Superbad’ and he was still sweet and innocent, but in the most profane setting you can imagine.  He combines a lovely intelligence with an amazing delicacy.  I love what he brings to this character.”

For his part, Cera wouldn’t imagine passing on the opportunity to work with Ramis.  “I love Harold’s work,” Cera relates.  “The thought of working with him was really exciting.  He’s been a big influence on my life.”

“One of the great pleasures of working on this film was watching Jack Black and Michael Cera work,” says Apatow.  “Individually they are two of my all time favorite comic actors, but observing them as they developed this amazing chemistry was something very special.”

When it came to hair and make-up for “Year One,” no actor had it tougher than Cera.  For starters, his close-cropped cut is covered with a long, shaggy wig.  “I’m definitely not used to having long hair,” he says.  “It was in my face and got in my mouth all the time.  And if I had a bagel with cream cheese, the hair would just stick there… it was disgusting.”

But the hair was the least of Cera’s troubles.  “It was tough to get the wig glued on every day, but getting painted gold was much, much worse.  Getting painted gold was the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever done for a job,” Cera says.  “It was awful.  And it took forever to get it off – I’d take several showers and then still see gold on my ankles.  I couldn’t lift my arms above my shoulders or it would feel like I was ripping my skin off at the armpits.  It was excruciating.  There’s another point in the movie where I’m hanging upside down; I thought that was bad, but I’d do that in a heartbeat over getting painted gold again.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Year One” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

When a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers are banished from their primitive village, they set off on an epic road trip through the ancient world in Columbia Pictures’ new comedy “Year One.”

Taking that trek is none other than Jack Black who plays Zed in the film.  “Zed is living a very tribal lifestyle in his primitive village with hunters and gatherers,” he says, “but he’s wondering if there’s more to life than just hunting, gathering, and sleeping.”

As the characters fleshed out on the page, director Harold Ramis has always seen Jack as his hero, Zed.  “The whole time, I was thinking, ‘Wow, this could be great for Jack Black,” the director reminisces.  “Jack really knows how to be silly and take big chances with comedy.  He’s incredibly sharp; there’s a really great articulation to what he does.”

Returning the compliment, Black says, “Harold loves actors – he encourages us to do our thing, he wants us to play.”  Black goes on to say that it’s the approach that Ramis feels is right for the film, but also what Ramis himself seems to enjoy.  “I could always hear him laughing from video village.  Whenever I heard ‘snortle chortle,’ it warmed me.  But I’d also be thinking, ‘Keep it down and don’t ruin the take!’”

Black was attracted to the project by the screenplay, which has a tone he admired.  “I liked the script’s attitude – nothing is sacred.  It doesn’t take anything seriously,” says Black.

“Zed is very quick to assume that he’s been chosen by the gods for some great mission,” Black continues.  “He thinks that will give him meaning in his life.  He’s a searcher.  He wants to figure out what the hell is going on in this strange world.”

Black most recently starred opposite Ben Stiller and Robert Downey, Jr. in “Tropic Thunder.”  He also voiced the title character in the animated hit “Kung Fu Panda,” which took in over $215 million in the U.S. and was nominated for the Oscar® for Best Animated feature.  He is currently in London filming “Gulliver’s Travels”, set for release June 2010.

In September 2003, Black proved his box-office draw with a #1 opening for “The School of Rock” from director Richard Linklater and writer Mike White. Black received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

In December 2005, Black was seen in Peter Jackson’s cinematic blockbuster “King Kong,” joining a cast that included Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis and Colin Hanks.

2006 saw Black starring in the box-office smash “Nacho Libre,” directed by Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”), and in the ensemble comedy “The Holiday,” directed by Nancy Meyers and also starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jude Law.

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Year One” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

Get ready to go back, way back…to the Year One.

Columbia Pictures presents Jack Black (“Kung Fu Panda”) and Michael Cera (“Superbad,” “Juno”) in the new comedy “Year One” from director Harold Ramis (“Ghostbusters”) and producer Judd Apatow (“The 40-Year Old Virgin”).

In the film, a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers (Black and Cera) are banished from their primitive village. Destined for greatness, they set off on an epic road trip through the ancient world…to change the course of history.  And evolve into heroes!

“For this movie, I thought it would be really interesting to put someone with a contemporary consciousness in an ancient setting,” says veteran comedy writer-director Harold Ramis.

That’s when he hit upon the idea for “Year One.”  In his words: “Two innocent, know-nothing Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, Zed and Oh, get kicked out of their Garden of Eden paradise and begin a search for what life is all about.”

Shepherding the project is producer Judd Apatow who teams with Ramis for the first time.  “It was a dream come true to get to work with Harold Ramis.  Some of the highlights of my childhood were the days when I went with my friends to see `Stripes,’ `Ghostbusters,’ `Caddyshack’ and `Animal House.’  He is obviously one of my main inspirations.  It has been a real honor to get to see him work up close.  Sometimes I would be watching Harold work and think to myself, ‘Oh, this is where we got all these funny comedy team relationships from.’  His work is hardwired into our brains.”

Opening soon across the Philippines , “Year One” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.