James Franco, Jonah Hill invited to Seth Rogen’s ‘Sausage Party’
“Sausage Party,” the upcoming raunchy animated comedy from writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, now has a guest list.
The voice cast for the film will reunite “This Is the End” stars James Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz and Rogen himself, as well as add Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton and Nick Kroll to the mix, the Wrap reports.
Two veterans of the animation world, Conrad Vernon (“Madagascar 3,” “Monsters vs. Aliens”) and Greg Tiernan (the “Thomas the Tank Engine” series), will direct the film for Sony Pictures and Annapurna Pictures. Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir co-wrote the script with Rogen and Goldberg.
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“Sausage Party” tells the story of a heroic tube of meat who falls out of a shopping cart and teams up with some new friends on a journey of discovery as a Fourth of July holiday sale approaches.
As (intentionally) ridiculous as the premise sounds, the film’s core group has a track record of successful comedic collaborations. The aforementioned “This Is the End,” which Rogen and Goldberg wrote, grossed more than $100 million and garnered surprisingly good reviews.
Rogen and Goldberg also wrote the breakout hit “Superbad,” starring Cera and Hill, and “Pineapple Express,” starring Franco and Rogen. Wiig and Kroll have comedy bona fides too: the former with “Saturday Night Live” and “Bridesmaids,” the latter with “Kroll Show.”
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“Sausage Party” does mark a departure for Annapurna producer Megan Ellison, who tends to specialize in prestigious pictures such as “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Her” and “American Hustle.”
As a rare R-rated animated comedy, “Sausage Party” could also prove an interesting case study of whether the style of adult-oriented humor more common on TV — on Adult Swim and “Archer,” for example — can translate to the big screen.
“Sausage Party” is set for release in 2015.
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