You're no doubt familiar with the cinematic archetype of the dogged narcotics cop utterly determined to bring down a drug operation, usually run by a merciless  villain.  If you're unfamiliar, you can brush up on a few right here.  The first clip from this summer's comedy-drama Our Idiot Brother introduces a beat cop who does not quite fit in the same mold as Popeye Doyle or the bad boys of Bad Boys, but he does play on the naive stupidity of organic produce-purveyor Ned, played by Paul Rudd.

The clip covers the film's inciting incident, which lands Ned in jail and eventually, on probation.  Ned seems to be an effective comedic lead not simply because he's a bit of an moron, but because he's so well meaning and trusting.  These qualities are very much on display in the Our Idiot Brother trailer, as well.

Remember when Harvey Weinstein was going to re-cut or in some other way alter R-rated The King's Speech to gain a more family friendly rating?  One of the major obstacles to this was the MPAA rule dictating that any film in-release must be withdrawn for 90 days before it can be re-released with a new rating. Today, the Motion Picture Association of America made a bold move in its decades-long quest to prove itself as an incompetent bureaucracy by granting Weinstein a waiver on the 90 day rule, meaning that we'll soon have a new version of The King's Speech, one without all those awful, awful F-bombs.

Jut last week we brought you the news that Sam Rockwell had come aboard Cogan’s Trade, which is set to star Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Javier Bardem, and Mark Ruffalo, and this week, Deadline is reporting that The Weinstein Company has acquired distribution rights for the film.

It’s official!

The MPAA’s ratings appeals board has overturned the NC-17 rating for Blue Valentine.

While there are no comments yet available, it is safe to say that those involved are extremely thrilled!

The Weinstein Co. has received an NC-17 rating for their upcoming feature Blue Valentine, and an R rating for The King’s Speech. Both film’s ratings have raised many critical eyebrows, as neither rating seems appropriate.

The Weinstein Company apparently feels the same way, as they’ve now issued an official statement, declaring their choice to challenge the Motion Picture Association of America’s decision.

Check out the full statement below the jump.

The Weinstein Company has picked up the Toronto Film Festival hit Dirty Girl.  iamROGUE.com was told there is a guaranteed theatrical release, and that the deal is north of $3 million. The coming-of-age flick, said to be a throwback to the John Hughes movies of the 80s, stars Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam and Tim McGraw and was directed by Abe Sylvia.

It’s bad news for The Tillman Story, it seems.

We reported earlier today that the Weinstein’s were trying to appeal the R-rating given for “excessive language”. Both the film’s director Amir Bar-Lev and producer John Battsek appealed to the ratings board, in hopes to get a PG-13.

The critically acclaimed documentary The Tillman Story is facing a new kind of fight.

Amir Bar-Lev’s story about a family looking for the truth regarding their son’s death due to friendly fire in Afghanistan is arriving at theatres on August 20. With just one week before release, Harvey Weinstein (whose Weinstein Co. is distributing the film) is planning to battle the current R-rating given to the film for “excessive language”.

It's no secret that the Weinstein Company has had a tough go of it since its creation. The Weinstein boys - Harvey and Bob - have been fighting rumors of having no money for the last couple of years, while seeing many of the releases underperform at the box office and with critics (Nine, The Reader, The Brothers Bloom, etc.). One aspect of their operation that is somewhat dependable is Dimension Films, their genre arm, which they brought with them when they exited Miramax. Overseen by Bob, the distributor makes and sells modestly budgeted sci-fi/horror films and stays in business with filmmakers like Wes Craven, Robert Rodriguez and Rob Zombie.

I'm honestly not sure if a FRAGGLE ROCK movie would work, but I suppose it's worth a try. Hell, I was a fan of the amiable fun-loving Canadian muppets as much as any other lucky youngster with illegal HBO in my house, and while I can't claim to have seen a single scene from the show in the past 20 years or so, it's one of those nostalgic entertainments that I wouldn't mind seeing an update of.

But it's been a tough road getting Red Fraggle and friends to the big screen. Things began moving forward in 2006 when Ahmet Zappa, of all people, was brought on to direct; progress stalled some for a time, but then picked up again in 2008, when the Weinstein Company came on to finance the flick, bringing along  HOODWINKED! director Cory Edwards to helm the feature. (HOODWINKED! was a minor success for the Weinstein boys in 2005.)