Once Upon A Time National Lampoon was like a badge of quality for a movie, but over the years it’s currency has been seriously devalued, largely due to the fact it was prepared to sell the name to any movie, no matter how dreadful.
Now it looks like the website Funny Or Die, which was launched by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, and Chris Henchy, is hoping to become the new National Lampoon by pushing further into producing movies.
They had a test run last year with Tim and Erics Billion Dollar Movie, although that didn’t specifically add the Funny Or Die name to the title, and they’ve also come up with the TV series Funny Or Die Presents. Now THR reports that the comedy website has teamed with producer Scott Steindorff and his Scott Pictures, with the aim of producing two or three movies per year.
Steindorff himself makes the National Lampoon comparison, saying “The hope is that in one of the two or three movies, we find the next Animal House or breakaway comedy. Lampoon started out as a satirical magazine before it went into films.
The hope is to get two movies into production this summer, and then continue that model for several years. Budgets will vary from micro-budget pictures to $25 million-plus projects. As yet no specific movies have been announced.