For Fans Of 'Super Troopers,' Meow They're Getting A Sequel
Vermont's fictional and utterly zany state troopers are headed to Canada in Super Troopers 2, the planned sequel to the 2001 cult comedy film.
At least, that's what the film's director and co-star Jay Chandrasekhar seemed to unintentionally reveal in an interview with NPR's Tamara Keith on Weekend Edition.
Chandrasekhar says he and the rest of the Broken Lizard comedy team have already written 16 drafts of the script for the sequel to their modern cult classic and there are plans for live bears and a rocket launcher. He says it took 21 drafts to get the original Super Troopers just right.
"We write every single bit out and make sure that when we show up on set, we are 100 percent sure it is going to be funny," says Chandrasekhar. "We don't leave anything to chance."
And there's a lot of pressure to get it right, because fans are rabid about the first one, which featured a lot of gags, a little male frontal nudity and a plot about a drug-smuggling ring along the Vermont-Canada border.
"We just want to make sure that this movie is somewhere close to as good as the first," Chandrasekhar says. "That's our hope."
The stoner comedy premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, and its signature moment where a trooper keeps sneaking the word "meow" into the conversation during a traffic stop, has permeated the culture.
Professional baseball player Gio Gonzalez just last month got in on the joke during an interview with the MLB network.
Famous fans or not, getting Super Troopers 2 filmed wasn't a sure thing. Fox Searchlight Pictures agreed to distribute the film in the U.S. and Canada, but only if the Broken Lizard team could come up with the funds to film it.
They turned to crowdfunding site Indiegogo and managed to raise more than $2 million in just 24 hours. The campaign is meow up to more than $3.5 million.
"This campaign is as much about perception and demonstration of the fan base as anything," Chandrasekhar says. "The more money we make, the bigger the film can be; the bigger the cameo stars can be."
But keeping the fans happy was also a big consideration as they decided to go the crowdfunding route. Past crowdfunded films have generated controversy with fans funding movies, but then having to go out to buy a ticket to see it.
"We're trying to make people who actually donate feel like they weren't taken advantage of," he says.
So tickets to the film are among the "pledge premiums" offered for those who donate to the cause of Super Troopers 2. There are some other shall we say, more creative, offerings — like being the godfather to the children of $100,000 donors and an "indecent proposal" for $25 million.
9(MDE1MTIxMDg0MDE0MDQ3NTY3MzkzMzY1NA001))
Transcript
TAMARA KEITH, HOST:
There are plenty of gloriously silly movies in the pantheon of cult comedy hits, and "Super Troopers" is one of the silliest.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SUPER TROOPERS")
PAUL SOTER: (As Foster) All right, meow, where were we?
JIM GAFFIGAN: (As Larry Johnson) I'm sorry, are you saying meow?
SOTER: (As Foster) Am I saying meow?
GAFFIGAN: (As Larry Johnson) I - I thought...
SOTER: (As Foster) Don't think, boy. Meow, do you know how fast you were going?
KEITH: The stoner comedy "Super Troopers" premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. It's the work of the comedy team Broken Lizard. The film followed five Vermont state troopers along the Canadian-Vermont border. And its signature moment has permeated the culture to the point that even professional baseball player Gio Gonzalez got in on the joke during an interview last month with the MLB network.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GIO GONZALEZ: Right meow we have Max, you know, who's been great...
Meow I feel great and I think it's going to get better and better...
Right meow we've been getting it right and doing it, you know, just having fun. And 2015 looks great right meow.
KEITH: Now there's a major effort to get "Super Troopers 2" to a theater near you. The film managed to raise more than $2 million on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo in just 24 hours and is now up to more than $3.5 million. Jay Chandrasekhar is one-fifth of Broken Lizard. He joins us from our studios at NPR West. Welcome.
JAY CHANDRASEKHAR: Hello, how are you?
KEITH: I'm good. So what do you think of this Gio Gonzalez clip, and what did you think when you saw it?
CHANDRASEKHAR: You know, I love it. It's just - you know, we made this movie, the original "Super Troopers," for about a million bucks. And we were - you know, we were a comedy group in New York City, and we just thought, oh, you know, we'll never get into Sundance. Independent film is so - so edgy and dark and about heroine and, you know, confused sexuality. And we thought, oh, no one's ever going to let our movie in, and we - you know, we got in. We sold it, and this little movie we made, it has really just gotten so far out there.
KEITH: Now, you're doing this Indiegogo campaign. How did that begin? I understand that the studio said that they would distribute it if you came up with the cash to shoot it.
CHANDRASEKHAR: At the moment in Hollywood, everybody is putting all their money into superheroes, right? I mean, they're buying very expensive tights and capes, apparently, because they're not investing in these smaller movies for the most part. You know, we watched what happened with "Veronica Mars." And we thought, you know, we have a similarly rabid fan base that, you know, if they really want to see it, let's not only raise some money to do it, but let's show the studio and Hollywood that people actually still want to see movies where there are not - no superheroes in them.
KEITH: As you said, crowdfunding of movies has really taken off. There was the "Veronica Mars" movie. Also Zach Braff and Spike Lee have turned to these sites to raise money, but sometimes it has been controversial. They get distribution deals and then the fans are like, but wait - I thought we were making this movie. Were you guys concerned about that? Did you think through that?
CHANDRASEKHAR: Well, yeah. My big problem with the past crowdfunding campaigns has been that people have funded movies, and then when the movie came out, they had to go buy another ticket. It was like they had to pay for it twice. And so we came up with this idea to partner with the Fandango, which is, like, the online ticketing service. So you can - there's a thing called the Fandango Bango package, right? And you buy that. It's, like, 35 bucks. You can get a ticket to the movie, and I think, like, an annotated script with a bunch of jokes. We're trying to make people who actually donate feel like they weren't taken advantage of.
KEITH: What was the process like of coming up with the pledge premiums to use the public radio phrase?
CHANDRASEKHAR: We know we have a lot of sports fans in our thing, and we're friends with a lot of these baseball players now, so some of them were able to get us these boxes at their games. And then we came up with some crazier ones, like for $100,000 we will be the godfathers to your child.
KEITH: And, like, do it in a good way.
CHANDRASEKHAR: Yeah, we'll send a gift on their birthday every year until they're 21. Now, what we're really going to do is get 21 gifts and send it once. But there's even on there, which my wife is not thrilled about, but for $25 million we'll donate sperm.
KEITH: Oh, my God.
CHANDRASEKHAR: Yes, I mean, no one's going to put that out. We realize, but...
KEITH: You could make one hell of a film if they do, though.
CHANDRASEKHAR: I know, my God. I'm hoping somebody doesn't (laughter).
KEITH: I would like to give you a chance now to break some news. So if you'd like to give us any clues about what's in the plot, we'll take it.
CHANDRASEKHAR: We're trying to preserve as many of the surprises as we can, and so I'm not telling you a thing.
KEITH: Not a thing - all right, well, let's go for a lightning round - yes or no questions. Will you guys stay in the state of Vermont?
CHANDRASEKHAR: Yes and no.
KEITH: Will they have mustaches?
CHANDRASEKHAR: Bigger and furrier.
KEITH: Will Farva be cool?
CHANDRASEKHAR: I think that's impossible.
KEITH: Will there be female cops joining the force?
CHANDRASEKHAR: At this moment, no. But it's entirely possible that there will be some female cops on the other side, and I've already said too much.
KEITH: You're going to Canada, aren't you?
CHANDRASEKHAR: (Laughter) Well, how'd you know that?
KEITH: 'Cause you gave away too much.
CHANDRASEKHAR: I did, didn't I?
KEITH: (Laughter) When can we expect to see "Super Troopers 2"?
CHANDRASEKHAR: If everything goes well, either spring or summer next year.
KEITH: Jay Chandrasekhar is part of the Broken Lizard comedy team, and he will be directing "Super Troopers 2." Thank you so much for being with us.
CHANDRASEKHAR: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad