National Lampoon Documentary on Its Way
United Press International
Jun 11, 2010
U.S. production company 4th Row Films says it has optioned the exclusive rights to the story and archive of the National Lampoon comedy factory.
Producers Douglas Tirola and Susan Bedusa of 4th Row Films said they plan to make a documentary feature about National Lampoon, which Tirola will direct and will feature rare and never-seen-before Lampoon footage.
The movie is expected to tell the complete story of National Lampoon from its beginnings as the Harvard Lampoon through its days as a publishing sensation and Hollywood heavyweight to its eventual downfall and into its upcoming rebirth, the producers said in a news release Tuesday.
"'Saturday Night Live,' 'Bevis & Butthead,' The Onion, 'South Park,' and the national use of irony as lingua franca -- 40 years of American humor has been shaped by the 1970s National Lampoon," National Lampoon former editor and writer P.J. O'Rourke said in a statement. "At times, I suspect that we surviving veterans of National Lampoon should be chased through the streets by howling mobs bent on vengeance. But, even if that doesn't happen, this will be a damn interesting documentary."
"As a kid, I loved all things National Lampoon, and as I have come to understand all of the talented and influential people that have worked with the Lampoon, I realized on some level, I have never actually stopped reading, listening or watching the National Lampoon. It is still alive in what we watch every day," Tirola added. "Our goal is to tell the story of National Lampoon in a way that takes audiences back to an era with all of the laughs and tragedies that came along with it."
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