After 15 seasons of their hit show South Park, a movie adaptation (that’s arguably one of the best movie musicals of all time) and the song-filled Team America: World Police, there was no doubt that Trey Parker and Matt Stone could pull off writing a big-scale stage musical.
The question was: could it fly on Broadway?
Blunt, South Park-style answer: [BLEEP] yes.
The Book of Mormon exploded on to New York’s Great White Way in March of this year, garnering rave reviews and raking in crazy money. The success was solid proof that Parker and Stone’s comedy magic had no limitations. Following up the on the show’s universal praise, the creative duo spilled the beans on the future of the show to Entertainment Weekly, which includes a national tour next summer and, eventually, a big screen adaptation.
Makes perfect sense. The producer behind Book of Mormon is Oscar-winner Scott Rudin, the Hollywood powerhouse behind There Will Be Blood, The Social Network, True Grit and Moneyball. Turning off-beat material into cinematic hits is in the man’s blood. Now that Mormon is a hit, a movie follow-up is a sure thing.
Commenting on the potential movie, Stone told EW, “The great thing is, a lot of Broadway teams would have to go team up with a Hollywood producer and bring on a Hollywood director, but Trey’s a director and Scott’s a great producer. We’ve all made movies. So it’s kind of cool, it can stay in the same family.”
While we’re still years away from seeing the Mormon missionary coming-of-age on the big screen, it’s exciting to hear that there’s no sign of Parker and Stone slowing down. With most movie musicals opting for either kiddie animated or stuffy Oscar-bait style, the idea of a Book of Mormon film is exactly what the genre needs.
A good kick in the [BLEEP].
Here’s a taste of the musical for those who have yet to be converted:
Source: EW
