Broken Lizard
Encyclopedia
Broken Lizard is an American
comedy
troupe, consisting of five friends, best known for its film
s, including Super Troopers
and Beerfest
. Its five members are Jay Chandrasekhar
, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme
, Paul Soter
, and Erik Stolhanske
. They collaborate on the screen-writing, acting and productions of their films, with Chandrasekhar and Heffernan being the primary directors. Broken Lizard does not have a single executive producer
who serves as team captain and chooses its material.
in 1990 when Jay Chandrasekhar
was asked by a student theater director to put together a comedy show. Chandrasekhar agreed and assembled a sketch comedy troupe which included Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme
, Paul Soter
and Erik Stolhanske
, all members of the Beta Theta Pi
Fraternity. The team performed a combination of live stage sketches and short videos under the name Charred Goosebeak. Charred Goosebeak continues to exist at Colgate to this day.
As they graduated, the members reunited in New York City
, and spent the next few years performing at various clubs, mostly Greenwich Village mainstay The Duplex
, under a new name: Broken Lizard. (The group offered varied explanations of the origin of this moniker over the years, ranging from describing it as a euphemism for the loss of virility to a tribute to Chandrasekhar's pet allergies. Most recently, the members admitted that after a marathon idea session that resulted in agreeing on the name Chocolate Speedo, Chandrasekhar simply made up Broken Lizard "off the top of his head" when he had their first flyer printed.)
Broken Lizard spent the next few years performing at clubs and college campuses, as its membership dwindled to the five current performers. By the mid 90's, the group's interests shifted away from live material as they became more interested in filmed content. They wrote and acted in Dante's Levels of Hell, a series of interstitial
shorts for Comedy Central
's "Is This On?" feature.
At this time, the Broken Lizard members also made their first foray into long-form film, shooting the 30-minute 16 mm project, The Tinfoil Monkey Agenda, an absurdist media spoof that earned them a trip to the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival, and cemented in the group's minds that they should be creating full-length feature films.
In 1995, the group went back to the campus of Colgate University to shoot Puddle Cruiser
, their first 35 mm full length feature, using a tiny budget cobbled together from family loans and maxed-out credit cards. (Chandrasekhar claims his Indian surname caused credit card companies to believe he was a doctor, and therefore offer him generous cash advances.)
The movie, a compilation of characters and story lines from their own college experiences, was quickly accepted to the Hamptons International Film Festival
, where it won the top jury award, The Golden Starfish. It was also accepted to the Sundance Film Festival
, and it eventually aired on the Sundance Channel and IFC
.
While adapting the film into an NBC comedy pilot, the group put together the script for their next feature, and first wide-release movie Super Troopers
. The film, which portrays rural highway patrolmen as regular guys desperate to make their jobs entertaining, was shot in 2000, and was also invited to Sundance, where raucous screenings earned the film a distribution deal from Fox Searchlight Pictures, a unit of 20th Century Fox
. The movie was released in February 2002 and only enjoyed moderate theatrical success, but it eventually caught on as a cult phenomenon DVD.
Fox Searchlight sponsored and distributed the group's next feature, 2004's Club Dread
, a parody of slasher movies
that takes place at an idyllic tropical resort.
After Chandrasekhar directed The Dukes of Hazzard
for Warner Bros.
, Broken Lizard was offered a deal with the studio. This relationship resulted in Broken Lizard's fourth feature, 2006's Beerfest
, which revolved around two brothers who discover an underground Oktoberfest
beer-drinking Olympics, and assemble a team to compete.
As of late May 2010, Broken Lizard had completed their fifth feature, The Slammin' Salmon
, which followed a group of waiters as they were terrorized over the course of a busy night by their unstable boss, played by Michael Clarke Duncan
. Heffernan directed The Slammin' Salmon.
Broken Lizard is now in the post production phase with their latest film Freeloaders.
. He directed episodes of the Fox
television shows Undeclared
, Andy Richter Controls the Universe
, Arrested Development, Oliver Beene
, and Cracking Up
. In addition, he directed three episodes of Psych
, including the episode "Bollywood Homicide," in which he also guest starred. Chandrasekhar directed the 2005 film The Dukes of Hazzard
, in which each of the members of Broken Lizard also appeared. He likewise appeared in Jackass 2 as the taxi driver in the last main sketch of the movie, performing a "prank on a prank."
Heffernan co-wrote the screenplay to the 2005 film On the One and also acted in the films Sky High
and Strange Wilderness
.
Lemme was a co-producer of the movies The Decade and Boxes, and he appeared in Open Water and Big Helium Dog
.
Soter wrote and directed the film noir
comedy film Watching the Detectives
, which starred Cillian Murphy
and Lucy Liu
. Soter, Lemme, and Stolhanske also appeared in the film.
Stolhanske acted in a number of television shows and films, including Curb Your Enthusiasm
, Six Feet Under, Undeclared
, and The Onion Movie
.
Stolhanske was also in the Plyometrics DVD that was part of the P90X program that fitness expert Tony Horton created.
NOTE: Ambulance Chasers was the only film from this section that Broken Lizard's members had confirmed, on the troupe's official website, that they were working on as of late May 2010. The other projects were no more than ideas at the time, and no official word had been released by then on making any of them.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
troupe, consisting of five friends, best known for its film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, including Super Troopers
Super Troopers
Super Troopers is a 2001 crime-comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy group . Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen and Brian Cox co-star while Lynda Carter has a cameo appearance...
and Beerfest
Beerfest
Beerfest is a 2006 beer-themed comedy film by the comedy group Broken Lizard. Along with the regular members of Broken Lizard, other actors who appear in the movie include Will Forte, M. C. Gainey, Cloris Leachman, Kendra C...
. Its five members are Jay Chandrasekhar
Jay Chandrasekhar
Jayanth Jambulingam "Jay" Chandrasekhar is a Tamil American actor, comedian, writer, and film director with the comedy team Broken Lizard.-Life and career:...
, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme
Steve Lemme
Steven "Steve" Lemme is an American actor, writer, and producer, and one of the members of the Broken Lizard comedy group. He attended The Dalton School, a high school in New York, but after one year transferred to Fountain Valley School in Colorado, graduating in 1987. He attended Colgate...
, Paul Soter
Paul Soter
Paul Soter is an American actor, writer, and director, and one of the members of the Broken Lizard comedy group. As a child, he lived in Sacramento, Anchorage, Phoenix, and Denver. He graduated from Colgate University and was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity...
, and Erik Stolhanske
Erik Stolhanske
Erik Stolhanske is an American actor, writer, and producer, and one of the members of the Broken Lizard comedy group. He graduated from Breck School, then Colgate University. At Colgate he was part of the troupe Charred Goosebeak, which included the others of Broken Lizard.He is a member of Beta...
. They collaborate on the screen-writing, acting and productions of their films, with Chandrasekhar and Heffernan being the primary directors. Broken Lizard does not have a single executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
who serves as team captain and chooses its material.
History
The group formed at Colgate UniversityColgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
in 1990 when Jay Chandrasekhar
Jay Chandrasekhar
Jayanth Jambulingam "Jay" Chandrasekhar is a Tamil American actor, comedian, writer, and film director with the comedy team Broken Lizard.-Life and career:...
was asked by a student theater director to put together a comedy show. Chandrasekhar agreed and assembled a sketch comedy troupe which included Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme
Steve Lemme
Steven "Steve" Lemme is an American actor, writer, and producer, and one of the members of the Broken Lizard comedy group. He attended The Dalton School, a high school in New York, but after one year transferred to Fountain Valley School in Colorado, graduating in 1987. He attended Colgate...
, Paul Soter
Paul Soter
Paul Soter is an American actor, writer, and director, and one of the members of the Broken Lizard comedy group. As a child, he lived in Sacramento, Anchorage, Phoenix, and Denver. He graduated from Colgate University and was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity...
and Erik Stolhanske
Erik Stolhanske
Erik Stolhanske is an American actor, writer, and producer, and one of the members of the Broken Lizard comedy group. He graduated from Breck School, then Colgate University. At Colgate he was part of the troupe Charred Goosebeak, which included the others of Broken Lizard.He is a member of Beta...
, all members of the Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...
Fraternity. The team performed a combination of live stage sketches and short videos under the name Charred Goosebeak. Charred Goosebeak continues to exist at Colgate to this day.
As they graduated, the members reunited in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and spent the next few years performing at various clubs, mostly Greenwich Village mainstay The Duplex
The Duplex
The Duplex is a comic strip by Glenn McCoy, published by Universal Press from 1993. The Duplex has been published in numerous newspapers as daily comic strips and on the Internet. A collection of strips is also available in the form of a comic album...
, under a new name: Broken Lizard. (The group offered varied explanations of the origin of this moniker over the years, ranging from describing it as a euphemism for the loss of virility to a tribute to Chandrasekhar's pet allergies. Most recently, the members admitted that after a marathon idea session that resulted in agreeing on the name Chocolate Speedo, Chandrasekhar simply made up Broken Lizard "off the top of his head" when he had their first flyer printed.)
Broken Lizard spent the next few years performing at clubs and college campuses, as its membership dwindled to the five current performers. By the mid 90's, the group's interests shifted away from live material as they became more interested in filmed content. They wrote and acted in Dante's Levels of Hell, a series of interstitial
Interstitial program
In television programming, an interstitial program refers to a short program which is often shown between movies or other events, e.g. a cast interview after movies on premium channels...
shorts for Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's "Is This On?" feature.
At this time, the Broken Lizard members also made their first foray into long-form film, shooting the 30-minute 16 mm project, The Tinfoil Monkey Agenda, an absurdist media spoof that earned them a trip to the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival, and cemented in the group's minds that they should be creating full-length feature films.
In 1995, the group went back to the campus of Colgate University to shoot Puddle Cruiser
Puddle Cruiser
Puddle Cruiser is a 1996 comedy film, the first full-length film created by the Broken Lizard comedy group. It was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie was filmed entirely on the campus of Colgate University...
, their first 35 mm full length feature, using a tiny budget cobbled together from family loans and maxed-out credit cards. (Chandrasekhar claims his Indian surname caused credit card companies to believe he was a doctor, and therefore offer him generous cash advances.)
The movie, a compilation of characters and story lines from their own college experiences, was quickly accepted to the Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...
, where it won the top jury award, The Golden Starfish. It was also accepted to the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, and it eventually aired on the Sundance Channel and IFC
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
.
While adapting the film into an NBC comedy pilot, the group put together the script for their next feature, and first wide-release movie Super Troopers
Super Troopers
Super Troopers is a 2001 crime-comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy group . Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen and Brian Cox co-star while Lynda Carter has a cameo appearance...
. The film, which portrays rural highway patrolmen as regular guys desperate to make their jobs entertaining, was shot in 2000, and was also invited to Sundance, where raucous screenings earned the film a distribution deal from Fox Searchlight Pictures, a unit of 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. The movie was released in February 2002 and only enjoyed moderate theatrical success, but it eventually caught on as a cult phenomenon DVD.
Fox Searchlight sponsored and distributed the group's next feature, 2004's Club Dread
Club Dread
Club Dread is a 2004 comedy horror film written by the comedy group Broken Lizard, who also created Super Troopers...
, a parody of slasher movies
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
that takes place at an idyllic tropical resort.
After Chandrasekhar directed The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard (film)
The Dukes of Hazzard is a 2005 comedy film based on the American television series of the same name. The film was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and released on August 5, 2005 by Warner Bros. Pictures...
for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, Broken Lizard was offered a deal with the studio. This relationship resulted in Broken Lizard's fourth feature, 2006's Beerfest
Beerfest
Beerfest is a 2006 beer-themed comedy film by the comedy group Broken Lizard. Along with the regular members of Broken Lizard, other actors who appear in the movie include Will Forte, M. C. Gainey, Cloris Leachman, Kendra C...
, which revolved around two brothers who discover an underground Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest, or Wiesn, is a 16–18 day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The...
beer-drinking Olympics, and assemble a team to compete.
As of late May 2010, Broken Lizard had completed their fifth feature, The Slammin' Salmon
The Slammin' Salmon
The Slammin' Salmon is a 2009 film by Broken Lizard. The film is about the owner of a restaurant initiating a contest to see which of his waiters can earn the most money in a single night, with a prize of $10,000. The loser receives a "beat down" by the owner, Cleon Salmon, a former heavyweight boxer...
, which followed a group of waiters as they were terrorized over the course of a busy night by their unstable boss, played by Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :...
. Heffernan directed The Slammin' Salmon.
Broken Lizard is now in the post production phase with their latest film Freeloaders.
Other projects
Receiving financial support from 20th Century Fox enabled Chandrasekhar to establish a career as a television directorTelevision director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
. He directed episodes of the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
television shows Undeclared
Undeclared
Undeclared is an American sitcom that aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season.- Premise :The half-hour comedy was Judd Apatow's follow-up to his earlier television series Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season...
, Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe
Andy Richter Controls the Universe is a sitcom which aired from 2002–2003 on the Fox network. The series was Andy Richter's first starring role after leaving Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2000....
, Arrested Development, Oliver Beene
Oliver Beene
Oliver Beene is an American sitcom that premiered on Fox on March 9, 2003. The show was created by Howard Gewirtz. Set in 1962 and 1963, the show chronicled the trials and tribulations of the 11-to-12-year-old Oliver Beene , in first person perspective...
, and Cracking Up
Cracking Up
For the movie, see Cracking Up .Cracking Up is an American television sitcom created by School of Rock writer Mike White, who also served as the series' head writer. It aired on the Fox Network on Monday nights from March to May 2004. The title of the program and the name of the psychiatrist, Dr...
. In addition, he directed three episodes of Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
, including the episode "Bollywood Homicide," in which he also guest starred. Chandrasekhar directed the 2005 film The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard (film)
The Dukes of Hazzard is a 2005 comedy film based on the American television series of the same name. The film was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and released on August 5, 2005 by Warner Bros. Pictures...
, in which each of the members of Broken Lizard also appeared. He likewise appeared in Jackass 2 as the taxi driver in the last main sketch of the movie, performing a "prank on a prank."
Heffernan co-wrote the screenplay to the 2005 film On the One and also acted in the films Sky High
Sky High (2005 film)
Sky High is a 2005 American comedic superhero family film about an airborne school for teenage superheroes. It was directed by Mike Mitchell and written by Paul Hernandez, Robert Schooley, and Mark McCorkle...
and Strange Wilderness
Strange Wilderness
Strange Wilderness is a 2008 comedy-adventure film produced by Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison Productions for Paramount Pictures, and starring Steve Zahn, Allen Covert, Justin Long, Kevin Heffernan, and Jonah Hill.-Cast:...
.
Lemme was a co-producer of the movies The Decade and Boxes, and he appeared in Open Water and Big Helium Dog
Big Helium Dog
Big Helium Dog is a 1999 comedy film. It is produced by Kevin Smith's View Askew production company and also features the Broken Lizard comedy troupe in starring and supporting roles....
.
Soter wrote and directed the film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
comedy film Watching the Detectives
Watching the Detectives
Watching the Detectives is a 2007 romantic comedy film written and directed by Paul Soter. The film stars Cillian Murphy as the film geek owner of an independent video rental store whose life is turned upside down when femme fatale Lucy Liu comes into his life.The film, which played film festivals...
, which starred Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes and general sex appeal....
and Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...
. Soter, Lemme, and Stolhanske also appeared in the film.
Stolhanske acted in a number of television shows and films, including Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
, Six Feet Under, Undeclared
Undeclared
Undeclared is an American sitcom that aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season.- Premise :The half-hour comedy was Judd Apatow's follow-up to his earlier television series Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season...
, and The Onion Movie
The Onion Movie
The Onion Movie is a comedy film written by The Onion writers Robert D. Siegel and Todd Hanson along with the Chicago-based writing staff of the paper...
.
Stolhanske was also in the Plyometrics DVD that was part of the P90X program that fitness expert Tony Horton created.
Planned films as of 2010
- Freeloaders was a planned junction of forces with Counting CrowsCounting CrowsCounting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...
lead singer Adam DuritzAdam DuritzAdam Fredric Duritz is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. He is best known for his role as frontman and vocalist for the rock band Counting Crows, in which he is a founding member and principal composer of their catalogue of songs.Duritz has recorded solo...
. The film would revolve around five guys and a girl who lived in the lap of luxury in a rock star's mansion. But when the rock star decided to sell the home, threatening their sweet situation, the friends became determined to do whatever it took to maintain their rock and roll lifestyle, as hilarity and shenanigans ensued. Dave FoleyDave FoleyDavid Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
, Jane SeymourJane Seymour (actress)Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
, Olivia MunnOlivia MunnLisa Olivia Munn is an American comedic actress, model, television personality and author. She began her career being credited as Lisa Munn. Since 2006, she has been using the name Olivia Munn personally and professionally....
, Nat FaxonNat Faxon-Life and career:Faxon is a graduate of Holderness School and Hamilton College, he is best known for his appearances in comedic films such as Orange County , Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story , and several Broken Lizard films including Beerfest...
and Clifton Collins, Jr.Clifton Collins, Jr.Clifton Craig Collins, Jr. is an American actor.-Life and career:Clifton Craig Collins, Jr. was born in Los Angeles, of half Mexican descent and the grandson of actor Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez. He has sometimes been credited as Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez to honor his grandfather...
all signed on to the cast. Shooting began in February 2009, and as of May 2010, it was reportedly in postproduction. - The Babymaker was intended to involve a married man, Kevin, who, after his wife wants a baby, learned that he had become sterile. He had been a sperm donor some time ago, however, and gathered his friends to break into a fertility clinic and steal his old sperm back.
- Jay ChandrasekharJay ChandrasekharJayanth Jambulingam "Jay" Chandrasekhar is a Tamil American actor, comedian, writer, and film director with the comedy team Broken Lizard.-Life and career:...
and Julia Dray also planned to develop a comedy called Taildraggers, which had been written by Will Gluck. The film was intended to be about five twenty-something pilots who worked for a rinky-dink airline in AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. The plot kicked into gear when the guys found out a rival airline was siphoning oil from a nature preserve. This was planned to be the first broad comedy produced by Participant ProductionsParticipant ProductionsParticipant Media is an American film and television production company which finances and produces socially relevant films and documentaries. The company is described as being politically active: its films are typically based on current events and topical subjects and presented in such a way to...
, a company better known for making socially and ecologically conscious films, such as An Inconvenient TruthAn Inconvenient TruthAn Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
, SyrianaSyrianaSyriana is a 2005 geopolitical thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, and executive produced by George Clooney, who also stars in the film with an ensemble cast. Gaghan's screenplay is loosely adapted from Robert Baer's memoir See No Evil...
, Fast Food NationFast Food NationFast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is a book by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser that examines the local and global influence of the United States fast food industry....
, and North CountryNorth Country (film)North Country is a 2005 American drama film directed by Niki Caro. The screenplay by Michael Seitzman was inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, which chronicled the case of...
. - Marcus RaboyMarcus RaboyMarcus Raboy is an American film and music video director.Since the early 1990s, Raboy has amassed a large number music video credits directing music videos for Mary J...
, best known for having directed Friday After NextFriday After NextFriday After Next is a 2002 comedy film directed by Marcus Raboy, starring Ice Cube and Mike Epps. It is the third installment in the Friday series, and the sequel to the 2000 film Next Friday.-Plot:...
, had signed on to direct the comedy Tow Truck, a joint venture between Broken Lizard and Our Stories FilmsOur Stories FilmsOur Stories Films is an American film studio founded in 2006 by Robert L. Johnson producing "comedic, family-friendly feature films for African American and urban audiences." On August 31, 2006, it was announced that Tracey Edmonds was named president and chief operating officer of Our Stories...
. The film was planned to be about two brothers who resurrected a moribund tow-truck business to earn enough money to save their neighborhood from commercial development. The movie began filming in late spring 2008. - Moustache Riders, a western spoof co-starring Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
and Johnny KnoxvilleJohnny KnoxvillePhilip John Clapp , better known by his stage name Johnny Knoxville, is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, stunt performer, best known for being the co-creator and principal star of the MTV reality series Jackass, with the catchphrase "I'm Johnny Knoxville, and welcome to Jackass."-Early...
.
Other projects
Over the past few years, the members of Broken Lizard had expressed the intent to work on several projects:- Super Troopers 2. A sequel to the 2001 film Super Troopers has been talked about since the original became a cult classicCult ClassicCult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
. As of January 2008, Broken Lizard had a general outline and had begun negotiations with Fox. Although rumored at one point to be a prequel set in the 1970s and following the fathers of the main characters in the original film, Heffernan had stated that the film would be "pure sequel." The group had already jointly written several drafts of a screenplay. - Ambulance Chasers, a comedy intended to tell the story of a couple of ferociously aggressive personal-injury lawyers fighting over a new client.
- Take My Wife, a comedy directed by Chandrasekhar, was meant to revolve around an average guy who jokingly swapped wives with a Hollywood superstar.
- Greek Road/Rogue Scholars was to be an R-rated comedy set in Ancient GreeceAncient GreeceAncient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
. The movie would follow Heffernan as a young PlatoPlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
who was a freshman wrestling student at Athens University. Plato was planning to wrestle for the university in the Olympics, but he was failing his Basic Thought class; so the university hired SocratesSocratesSocrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
, a senior played by Lemme, to tutor Plato. Plato ended up cheating and passing the class, and the two traveled to Mt. Olympus together. On the road, ZeusZeusIn the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
, PoseidonPoseidonPoseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
, and HadesHadesHades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
(played by the other three members) made bets on whether or not Plato and Socrates would make it and began getting in their way. - Nutcracker was to center on the nastiest and dirtiest linebacker in the NFL who, when he started to lose his skills, reluctantly turned to ballet to get his game back.
- Pot Fest. This movie was mentioned as a sequel at the end of Beerfest. As guests on The Bob and Tom Show in September 2009, Broken Lizard's members mentioned that they were in the process of writing a film, Pot Quest, for Universal.
NOTE: Ambulance Chasers was the only film from this section that Broken Lizard's members had confirmed, on the troupe's official website, that they were working on as of late May 2010. The other projects were no more than ideas at the time, and no official word had been released by then on making any of them.
Filmography
- Puddle CruiserPuddle CruiserPuddle Cruiser is a 1996 comedy film, the first full-length film created by the Broken Lizard comedy group. It was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie was filmed entirely on the campus of Colgate University...
(1996) - Super TroopersSuper TroopersSuper Troopers is a 2001 crime-comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, written by and starring the Broken Lizard comedy group . Marisa Coughlan, Daniel von Bargen and Brian Cox co-star while Lynda Carter has a cameo appearance...
(2001) - Club DreadClub DreadClub Dread is a 2004 comedy horror film written by the comedy group Broken Lizard, who also created Super Troopers...
(2004) - BeerfestBeerfestBeerfest is a 2006 beer-themed comedy film by the comedy group Broken Lizard. Along with the regular members of Broken Lizard, other actors who appear in the movie include Will Forte, M. C. Gainey, Cloris Leachman, Kendra C...
(2006) - The Slammin' SalmonThe Slammin' SalmonThe Slammin' Salmon is a 2009 film by Broken Lizard. The film is about the owner of a restaurant initiating a contest to see which of his waiters can earn the most money in a single night, with a prize of $10,000. The loser receives a "beat down" by the owner, Cleon Salmon, a former heavyweight boxer...
(2009) - Freeloaders (2011)