Remember Hot Rod? Maybe you do, more likely you don’t. Sadly, the film — directed, produced by and starring members of the Lonely Island — was ahead of its time in 2007, a couple of years before America got hip to the viral absurdity of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. The box-office receipts were dismal and notices lukewarm, so the film faded into obscurity and has been building a cult following ever since. I count myself among the Hot Rod faithful and recommend it to anyone who will listen, though it’s not all that difficult to see what might have turned some people off. Basically, if you’re not on board with this, it’s probably not going to be for you.
But with another feature-film project coming up, the Lonely Island boys are hoping that they won’t have to wait a few years for culture to catch up with them. Andy Samberg went on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night to promote the project, newly titled Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and reveal the official poster, which we’ve embedded below. The mockumentary spoofs such pop-star concert docs as Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Katy Perry: Part Of Me, focusing on Samberg as a washed-up teen idol named Conner 4Real as he engineers his comeback to stardom. The film, set for a release June 3, marks a big move for The Lonely Island. In the clip above, Samberg mentions that this is a real live bona fide movie, with Apatow as a producer and a wide release in the works. Hot Rod shot on a budget of $25 million, but deliberately looked like it was made for 10 bucks. Awash in gold, mesh tank top hugging his torso, Bieber coiffure perfectly in place, the gilded poster for Popstar heralds a major re-arrival.
