In one of the least surprising news bites to slip out of the internet in weeks, it appears that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s new Broadway musical The Book Of Mormon will likely be getting a big screen adaptation. The play opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre back on March 24 to rave reviews and perpetually sold out houses. The pair teamed up with Avenue Qcreator Robert Lopez for the musical and as you’d predict it’s a filthy, irreverent, and hilarious look at the wild and wacky world of Mormonism.
No official deal is in place for the movie adaptation yet, but Deadline reports that Parker, Stone and producer Scott Rudin have discussed the possibility. With money coming in from the Broadway show in comically large burlap sacks delivered by the Monopoly Man, it’s only a matter of time before Hollywood lets Trey and Matt spend a bunch of money on another silly, smart, and offensive comedy for the masses. Hit the jump for more sweet, sweet details.
Between cranking out seasons of South Park Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been working on the script for The Book Of Mormon for 7 years. The project started after the pair giggled like schoolgirls through the gleefully twistedAvenue Q and befriended the show’s creator Robert Lopez. They asked Lopez what he had in mind for a follow up project and he mentioned an interest in writing a musical about Mormons. Since Parker and Stone already enjoyed farting all over the religion in both South Park andOrgazmo, they quickly decided to join in. The result is a musical the pokes fun at the religion, but not the followers. Songs like “Fuck You, God” and “Tomorrow Is A Latter Day” ensure that the show is just offensive enough to please their fans, without inciting riots from any sweetly insane lads from Utah.
Parker, Stone, and their longtime super producer partner Scott Rudin have discussed the idea of turning play into a movie and it’s pretty clear that they are at least interested. When asked if he thought there would be much resistance from the studios to producing a dark musical featuring a song about the importance of stifling gay urges, Parker replied, “We’ve learned in our careers that as long as something is successful, they will give you money for it. They just want to make money in Hollywood, they don’t really care. As long as the musical continues to do well, I don’t think it’s going to be hard at all.”
That’s damn exciting news for South Park fans unable to make the pilgrimage (oh religious humor) to New York for the Broadway show. Lord knows the duo were able to sneak their skewed sensibility through the studio system withSouth Park: Bigger, Longer, And Uncut and Team America, so it’s hard to imagine that they wouldn’t be able to do it again with The Book Of Mormon. If you want to see this bad boy make it to the big screen, book a flight to New York and buy as many tickets as you can. The more money it makes, the more likely it is we’ll see a movie version.
