LAS VEGAS — Simply on the basis of Aldous Snow's ludicrous, let's-all-get-along music video in last year's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," the lascivious British pop singer deserved his own movie: He pops off satirical lyrics like "If I was in government, then I'd government things much more differentlier," while making out with disarmed police officers and humping nuns.
The folks behind "Sarah Marshall" agreed and now Russell Brand, the man who so gleefully portrayed the recovering addict and helpless womanizer Snow, has begun shooting the spin-off "Get Him to the Greek," in which Snow must travel from London to Los Angeles to perform a concert. The only problem is that he's fallen off the wagon, so his record label ends up sending a recent college grad (Jonah Hill) to escort the drug-addled Snow to the concert.
"I play the part of him!" Brand exclaimed to MTV News on the Las Vegas set of "Greek." "I'll be back on drugs. Not the character — me, Russell Brand, the actor. When I'm on drugs, oh, I can come up with some good acting! No, not really, drugs are bad — won't be on drugs! But Aldous Snow will be on drugs, making him erratic and amusing!"
As in "Sarah Marshall," much of that amusement will stem from Snow's ridiculously feel-good songs. Brand will actually be recording an entire album's worth of material, including a song called "African Child." "A haunting ballad of the troubles of that continent," he explained.
Joining Brand and Hill in "Greek" will be Sean "Diddy" Combs in his first comedic role since 2001's "Made." "Hopefully I will be a surprise within the recipe," Combs said.
He plays the eccentric owner of the label to which Snow is signed. To capture the nuances of the character, Combs said he pulled from record execs like Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Jimmy Iovine, L.A. Reid and David Geffen.
On the day MTV visited the set, Combs, Hill and Brand were busy shooting a scene in a Las Vegas nightclub, during which the cast was surrounded by a bevy of attractive young women. And Brand wasn't very happy about it.
"I don't really like it," he confessed. "Imagine being told you're not allowed to eat and then being forced to walk around a supermarket and then filmed while you're in that supermarket — silly and unnecessary to do that. I like to look at pretty women, but I'd like that to be the beginning of a romance rather than the beginning of 10 hours of looking at them."
Will the vampires grab more trophies than the slumdog? What was the year's ultimate onscreen WTF moment? It's up to you to decide the winners of the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. Vote now, and tune in on May 31 at 9 p.m. ET, when the big show airs live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.
Check out everything we've got on "Get Him to the Greek."
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