Get ready San Diego, Kristen Wiig is heading your way. Although it hasn’t been formally announced yet, the comic actress has signed on to appear in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

Back in December we knew that she was in consideration for a role in the film, and now it looks definite that she will be playing the wife of weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell).

We still have anywhere between a few weeks and a few months before filming starts so I expect we’ll see many more announcements like this as the time draws nearer. Remember that director Adam McKay has vowed to make the film “a murderer’s row of the best day players ever … every single one-line or three-line role [will] just be someone we just love.”

Anchorman 2 is due in theaters December 20th.

Via Deadline.

When Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 News Team return, they may be joined by Kristen Wiig.

The Wrap is reporting that the former SNL cast member is being considered for a role in the upcoming Will Farrell sequel where she would play the love interest of Steve Carrell’s weatherman Brick Tamland. Of course, this isn’t any kind of an official casting announcement as the film is still being written, although with an announced October 2013 release date, things should be shifting into high gear soon.

In addition to Farrell and Carell, the rest of the original Anchorman cast will be returning for Anchorman: The Legend Continues including Christina Applegate, David Koechner and Paul Rudd.

The 2012 Oscars were a vast improvement over the 2011 Oscars for one reason. No, not because there were more surprises–they were just as predictable. Not because of star power either–the stars were out both years. The reason why this year’s Oscar telecast was the best it’s been in years–Billy Crystal.

Crystal might not be the Oscar host the Academy wants, but he is the host they need. You might think him to be too “old school” or too “borscht belt” but you need a Master of Ceremonies that has experience running an event with this much glitz and glamour. You need someone at ease in his role and not afraid to seem foolish. You need someone who rolls with the punches a live show throws at them, joking all the way. And you need someone who can make a three and a half hour show fly by in such a way that the audience says “They’re at Best Picture already?” instead of “When are they ever going to get to Best Picture”. You need someone who can make the ceremony fun and exciting, not seem like the Bataan Death March of awards shows.

You get all this and more with Crystal. Granted, his night wasn’t perfect (His “you’re in his eye sight” line when Christian Bale came out would have been funnier if his Terminator: Salvation set dust-up wasn’t four years and five movies ago) and he relied on old gags like “What are the celebrities thinking.” (because, well, they worked), but for the first time in years you had the sense that the Oscar host actually wanted to be there and was having fun while on stage. And this sense of joy translated to the presenters and winners as well.

There weren’t many surprises this year. Meryl Streep might have seemed like one, but her Oscar win was not unforseen. Woody Allen winning Best Original Screenplay came close to being a true upset, but even still it was widely acclaimed as Allen’s best work in years and not a complete surprise.

Now what stands out in my memory as the Best and Worst moments from last night’s telecast:

The Best:

• The acceptance speeches from the acting winners: All showed genuine emotion and seemed natural and heartfelt. Touching.
• Christopher Guest & Company mocking the focus group: A little bit of insider editorial comment on the value of test screenings and a reminder why these people’s movies even at their worst are entertaining.
•  The way Zack Galifianakis introduced himself: As someone with a long, hard to pronounce last name, I could truly appreciate this bit, even if no one else could.
• Jim Rash’s instantaneous mocking of Angelina Jolie: If you’re going to pose awkwardly to show off your gams to the world, leave it to the Community cast member and ex-Groundling to call you on it.

The Worst:

• Cutting off Octavia Spencer’s speech: Spencer’s speech was heartfelt and emotional. I was captivated and rapt. It was a great Oscar moment. And they rush her off the stage. The powers-that-be should know that while they do need to keep the proceedings moving, they should allow great moments like this one to just happen.
• “Hugo!” “No, Hugo!”: Why don’t you both go so we can get to the next award. Academy? This is the one you should have cut off.
• Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph’s introduction to Best Live Action Short: I hope this doesn’t sound prudish or misogynistic, and my anti-Kristen Wiig bias might be showing, but a penis joke? Really? Stay classy ladies.

With over $288 million in  the till, Universal got a nice return on its $32 million investment in the budget of the comedy Bridesmaids. And it stands to reason that they would want to try that again with a sequel. Some of the film’s stars have been speculating in the press on the possibility of a follow-up, but now Bridesmaids‘ star and co-writer Kristen Wiig has confirmed that she is not interested in doing a sequel.

Catching up with the actress at the Golden Globe awards this weekend, E! asked the SNL cast member about the possibility of a follow up.

We’re not planning on doing one. We had a special time making the first one, but we’re really excited to try something else.

It should be noted that Wiig isn’t referring to herself in the royal “we” here, but rather to both herself and writing partner Annie Mumolo and the currently unnamed project that they are working on.

Wiig has plenty of films in the pipeline at the moment with Friends With Kids, Imogene, and Revenge for Jolly! all scheduled for release in 2012 and The Comedian and Freezing People Is Easy in line for 2013.

And while Universal could certainly go forward with a sequel without Wiig’s involvement, I can’t say I blame her for wanting to continue forward with something new rather than just retreading her recent success. When released, Bridesmaids drew parallels (fairly or unfairly) with The Hangover. And while The Hangover‘s sequel did good box office, it was not as well received by audiences and critics. If Wiig is looking to avoid a similar fate, than more power to her.

1. Bridesmaids (Universal, 2,917 Theaters, 125 Minutes, Rated R): Would it be overly simplistic to call this the female version of The Hangover?

Granted, there are some major differences that go beyond the sex of the protagonists, like this takes place before and during the bachelorette party and the other deals with the aftermath of the bachelor party.

But both feature a group of people who really don’t know each other coming together and celebrating a wedding of a friend and bond through the wacky experiences.

Another big difference is the fact that this more Kristen Wiig’s character’s story than an ensemble as it deals with her living above her means. I am the only person on the face of the Earth who does not think that Wiig is a comic genius. To me, she was a modern day Melanie Hutsell (who, coincidentally, is also in the film), a woman with about two facial expressions and a couple funny voices in lieu of creating good characters.

2. Priest (Sony/Screen Gems, 2,864 Theaters, 87 Minutes, Rated PG-13): One day, perhaps sooner than you think, summer will be one comic book movie released each and every week. We’re pretty close this year, is this film marks three comic based films, following so close after last week’s Thor and the week before’s Dylan Dog.

This one is a break from the Korean comics that inspired it, as it removes many of the layers of the original’s plot to focus on a vampire-hunting priest in a post-apocalyptic future.

Paul Bettany plays the priest in question, who must defy his church to go and rescue his niece from the vampires.

Let’s face it, you could count the number of times that a character from the long-running sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live has been successfully translated to the big screen on one hand. As opposed to the number of times that the translation has failed, for which which you would need a couple of more hands for counting. Since different writers have been involved with almost every attempt, it may be that there is something inherently insurmountable with taking a comedy concept that can sustain a three to five minute sketch and asking it to hold up a feature-length film.

Will Forte is the next to step up to the plate, bringing his spoof of the 80s action series MacGuyver, MacGruber, to the big screen. In the past couple of days, two trailers for the film have been released – one green band and a racier red band – and honestly, they’re not exciting much. Joining Forte in the movie are SNL castmates Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph while show writers John Solomon and Jorma Taccone are collaborating on the script with Forte. That’s some good, solid talent, so let’s hope that this is just a case of some badly assembled trailers. We’ll find out when the film hits theaters on April 23, 2010.