Screenrant has an interview with Evan Goldberg, the less visible half of the Goldberg-Rogen writing duo, responsible for the upcoming Green Hornet, among other things. The interview is basically a tease of numerous projects that Goldberg is involved with. Goldberg reveals that he and Rogen are getting some studio pressure to write a Pineapple Express 2, but that they aren’t very excited about the idea (in fact, Goldberg has a very anti-sequel attitude – somewhat formed by his love of the Coen Bros). He also teases a project that he co-wrote with Jay Baruchel called The Goon, which “tells the story of a bouncer, played by Seann William Scott, who has been “touched by the fist of God,” and joins a down-an-out Hockey team in order to lead them to divinely ordained victory.” The Goon just wrapped shooting.
Most interesting is the tease he drops for an animated film called Sausage Party:
“Sausage Party is an idea that me, Seth and Jonah Hill came up with, and we’re all going to make it, Seth and Jonah are going to be the stars and Conrad Vernon – who directed Shrek 2 and Monsters Vs. Aliens – is producing it with me and Seth. It’s a Rated-R, super dirty, mockery of a Pixar movie about sausages in a supermarket that need to get back to their aisle before the fourth of July.” The Pixar angle is clearly the idea that the sausages want to be eaten, fulfilling their destiny as food.
I’m curious what kind of budget they can cull together for an R-rated animated film. Given the sheer cost and man-hours involved with animation, I can’t imagine any sane person would throw too much $ at them. I’ve also heard a lot of reports that Goldberg-Rogen’s scripts are generally pretty weak and become improved through rampant on-set improvisation. This of course won’t fly as easily for an animated feature (if it is true). Nonetheless, if they can pull the film off, its novelty alone guarantees I’ll check it out. I think the world will be a better place if an R-rated animated film can be a hit… and be good.