Cinematical

Though it's unclear how long ago talks about Hot Rod began, it can't be a coincidence that all the appropriate papers were signed very shortly after its key players made the world go crazy over a little ditty known as Lazy Sunday. The film was written by Pam Brady, who had nothing whatsoever to do with the Chronic of Narnia, but it stars Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone and will mark the directorial debut of Akiva Schaffer, a trio that, when not working on SNL, make up a comedy team known as The Lonely Island. (Just to review, in case you haven't thought about Mr Pibb and Redvines in a while, Samberg was in the Lazy Sunday sketch, Schaffer directed it, and Toccone served as musical director.)

Disappointingly, there will be no rapping and, probably, no Narnia mentions in Hot Rod, which is a comedy (a "rowdy" one, no less -- does that mean people-getting-hit-in-the-crotch jokes?) about a not-so-talented stuntman (that's Samberg) who decides the only way he can earn the respect of his hardass step-father is to "jump the Snake River on a moped," ala Evel Knievel. Production is slated to get underway in July, presumably because the SNL season has to be wrapped up before any significant work on the film can begin.