the state

Another State member makes good. Like Michael Ian Black, David Wain, Thomas Lennon and Michael Showalter before him, former sketch comedy troupe member Ken Marino has signed a pilot deal with Comedy Central.

Marino, who has been guesting on Reno 911 and Veronica Mars as of late, has signed to create Out of Bounds, a behind-the-scenes workplace comedy. The setting - a Long Island sports radio show. Marino will portray one of the hosts of "Ball Talk" - a small market show with big time aspirations. The funny comes from the hosts' extreme publicity stunts and interviews between an in-character Marino and the not-in-character star athlete guests.

Those of you who saw Borat last weekend probably also saw the incredibly hilarious trailer for the Reno 911! movie, called Reno 911: Miami. In the film, the team goes to Miami for a law enforcement convention and then ends up taking over for the Miami PD. From Dangle's short shorts to Wiegel's trash-talking on the beach... you're gonna love it. Plus, the whole cast of MTV's The State makes an appearance. The trailer is now up exclusively on Australian Yahoo! and it plays kinda crappy on a Mac (where's the love, y'all?).

I'm getting conflicting reports about when it will be released: Wikipedia says it's February 23rd, but Whitney at USA Today says it's not until May 10. Unfortunately, the Reno 911! fan site hasn't been updated in a year so it was no help. If you know a release date, put it in the comments!

*Update: Thanks, Whitney! The movie comes out in the states on February 23rd.

I have never bought a television show from iTunes... until now. MTV's sketch comedy show The State is now for sale only on iTunes (it's not even on DVD). The State aired on MTV from 1993-1995. It was both weird and hilarious. The network essentially gave a bunch of college graduates free reign over their own show. It gave some of my favorite comedy actors their start, including Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, David Wain, Kerri Kenney and Thomas Lennon.

Season one is currently for sale, and it includes characters Doug, Louie, Barry & Levon... and $240 worth of pudding. According to The State website, run by David Wain, MTV will release subsequent seasons if downloads are popular and the network may even decide to put the damn show on DVD already.

[Via Pop Candy]

Sorry, I know Comic-Con has come and gone and we've all gone back to our boring, mundane lives, but I just found this great clip featuring Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon of Reno 911! and The State talking about their upcoming ping-pong movie, Balls of Fury. In the midst of a Q and A, a man approaches the mic and begins to chastise the two actors for daring to mock the game of ping-pong. I'm not positive, because it's difficult to get a clear look at the man's face, but I believe it's comedian Chris Tallman, perhaps most recognizable as the host of Comedy Central's short-lived series Crossballs. But then, I could be wrong. Anyway, check out the video and see how real men handle hecklers:

The former Ed and Stella star is an editor-at-large at the new relaunced Cracked mag, which is going for the hearts and minds of twentysomething guys and not the kids. Mediabistro talked to Black about Stella, how he got the Cracked gig, and what the status is on a State movie (hint: it has something to do with iTunes).

They don't ask him about his appearances on Celebrity Poker Showdown though, which is too bad, since he's been one of the better players on the show. But I guess there's really not much you can ask about that. "So, you're a good poker player, eh?" or "Boy, such-and-such is really a moron, aren't they?"