Guess they're not Beliebers? The Lonely Island open up about parody concert film that pokes fun at Justin Bieber's two movies
In upcoming comedy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping he stars as a character clearly inspired by Justin Bieber.
And in an interview with Billboard Magazine, Andy Samberg - as well as fellow The Lonely Island members Jorma Taccone, 39, and Akiva Schaffer, 38 - discussed inspirations behind their parody.
'I’ve always looked up to Amy Poehler, and obviously people like Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Mel Brooks and the Monty Python guys,' Andy, 37, said of the project, also listing Weird Al.
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Is it too late now to say Sorry? Billboard's cover story on The Lonely Island delves into Andy Samberg's upcoming role as a 'Bieber-busting Popstar'
The movie - produced by Judd Apatow - is broadly based on behind-the-scenes/concert films such as Justin's 2011 film Never Say Never and the 2013 follow-up Believe.
The poster for the picture even features Andy in a white tank top, jeans, and jacket, which resemble a look Justin wore during his 2013 Believe Tour.
In the movie, Andy stars as Conner4Real, a cheerfully clueless pop megastar who finds himself at a career crossroads when his new, surprise-released album fails to connect with audiences.
Over the top: The Saturday Night Live alum stars as Conner4Real, a cheerfully clueless pop megastar who finds himself at a crossroads when his new, surprise-released album fails to connect with audiences (pictured with fellow group members Jorma Taccone, L, and Akiva Schaffer, center)
Andy's The Lonely Island group members Jorma and Akiva - who co-directed the movie - play his character's former bandmates in a legendary hip-hop crew called the Style Boyz, who were a key influence on everyone from Nas to Questlove, the movie reveals from a series of cameos.
The trio also discussed the success of some of their SNL classics, such as I Just Had Sex (featuring Akon), which reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and The Lego Movie's Everything Is Awesome (co-written with Tegan and Sara), which made it to the Top 10 of the Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
'When one of our songs is a hit, it actually makes it a little funnier,' Jorma said, adding: 'I'm On A Boat is two-times platinum - that's hilarious.'
Déjà vu: The poster for Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping even looks to be poking fun at one of the costumes from Justin's 2013 Believe Tour (pictured in Stockholm, Sweden, R)
However, senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Jeff Bock says despite their success in the charts, a music biopic spoof could prove difficult for The Lonely Island.
The genre doesn't have a great track record, with films such as Walk Hard, Rock Star, and Tenacious D coming up as box office failures.
'That's not to say that this one won't break through,' Jeff explained. 'But the deck is stacked against it.'
Having a laugh: Jorma (R) joked about finding it funny when one of their comical songs becomes a hit, sharing: 'I'm On A Boat is two-times platinum - that's hilarious'
There's also the tricky task of connecting with a movie audience, which fellow SNL Jimmy Fallon - the unquestionably popular host of The Tonight Show - even had trouble accomplishing.
And Andy's comedic ventures Hot Rod - 2007, directed by Akiva - was a flop, as was 2010's MacGruber, directed by Jorma.
The stars did point out, however, that the film had a relatively small budget, coming in at around $20 million, with Andy sharing: 'It's a pretty small movie - we didn't break the bank.'
And while the film heavily parodies Justin, the stars couldn't help but also mention Kanye West as they discussed the upcoming film.
'We didn't break the bank' Though a music biopic spoof is risky, Andy shared that some of the anxiety has been alleviated as it was a 'pretty small movie,' costing around $20 million to make
They spoke of his highly publicized release of album The Life of Pablo, which, officially, is still not complete, and took place at Madison Square Garden, along with the launch of his new fashion line and with an audience consisting of the entire Kardashian-Jenner family.
The group - who noted that they are all huge fans of Kanye's - commented that the real-life grandeur and wildness of his work seemed to leave little room for creativity in their parody.
'We were chasing Kanye and the truth of what was happening in his world the whole time we were writing,' Andy shared. 'Because nothing we could think of is as interesting as his truth.'
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping hits theaters June 3.
Stranger than fiction: The group commented on Kanye West's presentation of his The Life of Pablo album and Yeezy Season 3 (pictured), with Andy noting that 'nothing we could think of [for the movie] is as interesting as his truth'
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