Potfest movie

December 8, 2006 - A couple of months ago, IGN spoke with the Broken Lizard guys about their next movie The Greek Road. It was just after the release of Beerfest, and Steve Lemme noted, "If we're going to make The Greek Road, we're going to have to prove to Warner Bros. that we can make a movie that performs. If we can get Beerfest to make some money, then we can make Greek Road."

"It takes a certain amount of tenaciousness," Erik Stolhanske aded, "especially in this business. So we don't take anything for granted. We make a movie as best we can and we're grateful to be able to do the next one. We're grateful as anyone to be able to continue to do the kind of work we do, and make the R-rated comedies we want to make."

Warner Bros. and Broken Lizard's goal for Beerfest was a $20-million dollar box office return. And the news is: Beerfest turned a profit with a $19.2-million dollar take. So where does this leave The Greek Road?



"It looks like it's going to happen," says Jay Chandrasekhar, who would of course direct the movie. "We're optimistic about it. They like our ideas and where we want to go with it. We had a few special effects and big sets in Beerfest, but not as much as would be in The Greek Road. We have to figure out how to put this in the right time frame, in addition to the right amount of money. But it looks like it can happen."

Set in ancient Greece, The Greek Road follows Plato (Kevin Heffernan), a wrestler at Athens University who dreams of making the Olympic Team. Unfortunately, he's having trouble with his philosophy class, Basic Thought 101. Plato thus enlists the assistance of Socrates (Steve Lemme) as his tutor, but that doesn't stop him from cheating. Out of desperation, Socrates takes Plato on the Greek Road to Mt. Olympus, where Zeus, Poseidon and Hades will whip him into shape.

Newsflash: The Greek Road isn't the only movie on the minds of the Broken Lizard team. There has, of course, been talk of a sequel to their 2001 hit Super Troopers. But fan reaction to a joke in the end credits of Beerfest has inspired the guys to consider making a sequel: Potfest.

"There's one reaction to Beerfest we're surprised about," says Kevin Heffernan. "We're always asked, 'Are your going to make Potfest? It was just a joke. We really weren't serious about it until everyone said they loved the idea so much. A lot of people are really interested in whether or not we're going to make it, so we've been considering the potential for this. We're talking about doing something, but it's just talk right now."

And one of the things they're talking about is making Potfest an animated movie.

Heffernan explains, "It will, of course, be a sequel to Beerfest. But we're thinking maybe we might make this one animated. An R-rated, animated comedy. You don't see many of those."