Don’t know how many of you are Lonely Island fans, but the rapper/comedian trio of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone are prepping their first feature since HOT ROD (which they all starred in under Schaffer’s direction). The flick, CONNER4REAL, has Samberg as a Justin Bieber/Justin Timberlake type who used to be part of a cornball boy band, but has broken out as a rapper in his own right. When his career dovetails, he has to go back to the well and reunite the now-disbanded group that made him famous.
HOT ROD had a ton of talent in the supporting roles (Ian McShane, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Sissy Spacek, Isla Fisher, and more), and the Island guys have a couple of pros, one older, one younger, joining their latest.
Tim Meadows and Imogen Poots will be co-starring opposite Samberg’s lead. Meadows will be playing Conner’s beleagured manager, while Poots is in talks to play his love interest. They join Sarah Silverman, already cast as Conner’s publicist.
Poots doesn’t have quite the reputation for comedy of post-WEDDING CRASHERS Isla Fisher, but she’s a natural presence, and did feature in the Zac Efron vehicle THAT AWKWARD MOMENT. I just hope she has at least as much to do as Rose Byrne did in NEIGHBORS last year.
As for Meadows, I’m just happy to see him in anything. Despite being in massive movies like MEAN GIRLS and the GROWN-UPS movies (not to mention one of the most famous casts in SNL history), he rarely gets a chance to shine in a major role (with THE LADIES MAN movie being an obvious exception). I can only assume that Samberg & Co. have enough respect for their fellow SNL alum to give him a showcase for his understated and underrated brand of humor.
They’re getting talented people onboard, and the premise could be biting if they actually play it as a straight, reverent music doc like Bieber’s NEVER SAY NEVER. They’re still known for their singles and music videos, so this will be the test of whether their style will translate to a long-form feature (HOT ROD sorta didn’t count, as they didn’t officially write it themselves).
Who else is actually really stoked that Tim Meadows is onboard, and hopes that he gets more than a couple of lines??
