Richard Ayoade stars in THE WATCH

Fast-rising British comedy talent Richard Ayoade joins Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill in the neighborhood comedy “The Watch” directed by award-winning writer and musician Akiva Schaffer (“Saturday Night Live”).

“The Watch” follows four suburban men who formed a group to guard their neighborhood after a series of unexplained fatalities start to toll in their town. Headed by the civic-minded Evan (Stiller), along with Bob (Vaughn), Franklin (Hill) and Jamarcus (Ayoade), the group initially follows some dubious teens who stay way past their bedtime, thinking they might find the culprit in their midst. It wasn’t long before they realize that they’re fighting forces greater than they have imagined. The four eventually comes to terms to settle their differences when the aliens start rummaging and rampaging through their watch in an attempt to take full control of earth.

To play the four members of “The Watch,” Levy and director Akiva Schaffer (a creative force on several famed “Saturday Night Live” short films) tapped three comedy icons and a new talent. “We wanted the best,” says Levy,” and so we went out and got the best – three titans …together in the same movie! And then we threw in the ‘grenade’ of ‘what the hell are you going to get with Richard Ayoade?’”

Ayoade is a British comedian, writer and director best known for his iconic portrayal of Maurice Moss, the beloved über-geek in the award-winning British sitcom, “The IT Crowd.” Ayoade’s innovative twist on the high-tech misfit has garnered him nationwide acclaim and honors including the Monte-Carlo Television Festival’s award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Comedy Series.

Equally masterful behind the camera, Ayoade’s foray into directing began with helming music videos for English indie rock bands such as the Arctic Monkeys and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In 2010, he made his directorial feature debut with the coming-of-age adaptation, “Submarine,” which he also wrote that received rave reviews and garnered Ayoade a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut.

Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn in THE WATCH

Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn reunite in “The Watch” along with Jonah Hill and British comedian Richard Ayoade who band together in the film to uncover the mysterious events happening in their neighborhood.

Ben Stiller’s Evan is a senior manager at the superstore Costco, having made a not-so-lightning-fast ascent to that position from assistant manager. Evan is a dedicated employee, but his heart is with the Glenview Neighborhood Watch, of which he is the founder and CEO. “Evan is very community-oriented,” says Stiller, “because he has so few friends, and these clubs give him the opportunity to meet new people.”

Jonah Hill in THE WATCH

After debuting in the comedy “I Heart Huckabees,” Jonah Hill has steadily posited himself as a solid hilarious support in the string of his movies that followed. Appearing afterwards in acclaimed hits like “The 40-Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” “Superbad,” “Forgettting Sarah Marshall,” “Get Him to the Greek,” “Moneyball” and the most recent “21 Jump Street” with Channing Tatum which is Hill’s highest grossing film after “Superbad.”

His latest movie “The Watch” which is about to open in cinemas this September 5 (in Phils. cinemas) allowed him to work with Ben Stiller, one of moviedom’s great comic talents. In “The Watch,” four suburban guys formed a patrol which they tagged as ‘Neighborhood Watch’ after a mysterious incident left a security guard lifeless in the town’s superstore Costco. Headed by the civic minded Evan (Ben Stiller), he recruits fun-loving family guy Bob (Vince Vaughn), tough-talking ‘wild card’ Franklin (Jonah Hill) and the recent divorcé Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade).

Even with – or maybe because of – their spiffy new “Watch” jackets, which are emblazoned with fiery wings and a tiger head, the not-so-fearsome foursome initially gets no respect from the residents they’re supposedly looking out for. A group of kids plaster them with eggs, and the local cops think they’re a joke: the Hardy Boys…only far less savvy.