In Illumination’s latest film, Sing, Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) is holding a singing competition in his dying theater in a last ditch effort to scrounge up the money needed before the bank can repossess his beloved property. The optimistic koala settles on five contestants: a mouse (Seth MacFarlane), a timid elephant (Tori Kelly), a pig (Reese Witherspoon), a gorilla (Taron Egerton), and a punk-rock porcupine (Scarlett Johansson), in hopes that they can generate the funds necessary to keep the theater afloat but also bring back interest in genuine talent. Little does he know that the road to success isn’t easy, but with a little hard work and some faith, it can be done.

We had a phone interview with the film’s director Garth Jennings (A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Son of Rambow) to talk about what it was like to get clearance for the songs, working on his first animated film, his reaction to all the positive buzz, and much more. Check it out below.

Universal has released the final trailer for Illumination Entertainment’s Sing.

From the writer/director Garth Jennings (Son of Rambow, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, the film is the sixth animation feature from the studio and features the voice talents of Academy Award winners Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, alongside Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, and Grammy Award-nominated Tori Kelly. Check out the new trailer below.

The Comic Strip Presents
The Complete Collection
DVD | Region 2 DVD
Directed by Peter Richardson, Robbie Coltrane, Keith Allen, and Adrian Edmondson
Starring Dawn French, Robbie Coltrane, Rik Mayall, Jennifer Saunders, and Alexei Sayle
Entertainment One
Release Date: January 31, 2012

The Comic Strip is a British comedy troupe that started out in the early 1980s and gained stature after starring in a short concert film released in 1981 and directed by Julien Temple (The Great Rock and Roll Swindle starring the Sex Pistols, Earth Girls Are Easy). The following year newborn television network Channel 4 signed them for a new series of comedic short films. Premiering on the same night Channel 4 debuted – November 2, 1982 – The Comic Strip Presents brought edgy, alternative, and often controversial humor to living rooms, dorm rooms, and bustling pubs all throughout the U.K. The show has disappeared and reappeared constantly on several different channels in the three decades since its debut but it continues to airs to this day. The Comic Strip also made two feature films, The Supergrass and Eat the Rich, that saw theatrical releases both in the U.K. and the U.S. (sort of).

In 2005 a complete collection of the episodes aired between 1982 and 2000 – with certain exceptions – were released on a nine-disc Region 2 DVD box set with a bonus disc reserved for bonus features. Eat the Rich was not included in the set due to rights issues, and the version of The Supergrass made available was the theatrical cut and not the original cut with eight additional minutes of footage. That set has finally made its way to our shores. Without further adieu I present to you The Comic Strip Presents: The Complete Collection.

It’s New Year Day, are you nursing that hangover by watching BBC America’s Absolutely Fabulous marathon?

Well, you should be, because it’s all leading up to all-new Absolutely Fabulous 20th Anniversary episodes, the first of which will air next Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 10pm.

The Gold Box deal of the day over at Amazon today is the Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything DVD set for only $51.99 (that’s 60% off the list price of $129.98).

Note, this sale is only for today, Thursday November 18, until midnight PST while supplies last.

This limited edition 9-disc DVD set includes all five seasons of the hit British comedy, Absolutely Fabulous, which starred Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, along with over four hours of bonus features.