I am Paul Soter, from Broken Lizard. Here to answer your questions about Super Troopers 2, Potfest, and my new horror film, Dark Circles.

I don't have a question but I wanted to just show some love to you and the boys at BL. You guys are fucking hilarious and I'm stoked for what you guys have in store for the future. Take care!

How did a non-question get upvoted to the top? YOU PEOPLE ARE BREAKING THE RULES!!

You people....are breaking the rules?

YOU PEOPLE ARE HATERS AND SINNERS AND DON'T YOU DARE CRITICIZE MY FROZEN RAVIOLI!! SOMEDAY I WILL HAVE A HUMAN BABY AND WE WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH!!! anyone? anyone?

careful....I hear she monitors and has friends high up that can control "the reddits"

I thought I might be in Phoenix last week, and I was honestly super-psyched to go to Amy's Bakery Cafe. Isn't it amazing that all that crazy has made people flock to their restaurant. Sometimes I think that's BL's problem. We're not psycho enough.

Paul, I've got this box of condoms that have been sitting in the back seat of my car for a few weeks now, and it's getting pretty hot out in Jersey. You think those rubbers are still good, or guaranteed to break and put me out another $50 for Plan-B?

A warm rubber doesn't concern me. (I should put that on a bumper sticker.) I would be more worried about a condom that had been sitting in the back of your car for a few weeks in Moosejaw, Canada in the dead of winter. I can see that thing shattering into a thousand lambskin splinters right when you penetrate your German Shepherd's anus.

Hey Paul, has this ever happened to you?

http://qkme.me/3ujhu7?id=232696591

Yes. With my wife.

Can you believe Geoffrey Arend (the Shnozzberry Guy) is married to Christina Hendricks!

That's why women are awesome. They get turned on by things like charm and sense of humor. Not like us dirt-dicks.

TIL that Geoffrey Arend (the Shnozzberry Guy) has an enormous dick

TIL that Geoffret Arend (the Shnozzberry Guy) has an enormous dick

I find this to be a very interesting concept. Please tell me more.

What is TIL?

Today I Learned

Holy shit. TIL TIL! My mind is bending even as it is expanding!

Is Potfest going to happen?!?!?!?!

There's an ongoing philosophical argument inside the group about how to approach Potfest. There are those who think that we should try to find a way to get Warner Bros to allow us to use the same characters from Beerfest. (they basically own those characters and we couldn't do that kind of sequel without their permission.) But when you do that, you're at the mercy of the studio, which can cause long delays and a huge amount of butthurt. So, there are those who think we should just concoct a whole different story/characters/world for Potfest. (the downside there is that it wouldn't be a true sequel and might our audience be disappointed that they don't get to see Fink, Jan, Todd, Barry, and Landfill 2, ripping bongs with Snoop Dogg/Lion and stuff like that. What do you people think?

Part of me loves the idea of a sequel, but I also think these are special times we live in (with states relaxing prohibition)...it seems like a possible separate story arc.

Shit, I think it would be funny to develop a new story, and if Warner brothers released the characters have them go head to head in the grand finale....so you'd be competing against yourselves...

Ooh. That's meta. I like that. It'd be like my favorite issues of JLA as a kid, when they'd get together with (and sometimes fight) their JSA counterparts.

haha, you would suck them in to root for the protagonist of the new film....and boom, old favorite characters come into the fold...

Who do I root for!

Then Machete Phil would come in and slaughter the old characters. Modern cinema as psychological mindfuck. I love it.

You guys are brilliant! That said, what's a zj and how can I convince my girlfriend to give me one?

At my age, honestly the only advice I can give you about girls is that you have to wipe their bottoms away from the vagin so you don't accidentally get poo-poo in their vagin.

I can't stop saying CANDY BARS at inappropriate intervals and it's all your fault.

The thought of a ST2 makes me sweaty and moist. Have you ever watched IN CHINA THEY EAT DOGS?

When we were developing ST at Miramax, "Candy Bars" was the line they wouldn't stop hammering us to cut. They kept saying "It makes no sense!" And to tip my hat to Jay he really fought for that. It made them understand, I think, how important non sequitur is to us.

Paul, is there something wrong with me in that I've never seen Supertroopers despite EVERYONE I KNOW telling me to?

Moonburner, I totally get where you're coming from. I still haven't seen TOP GUN because I got so sick of everyone telling me how great it was. It has become an irrational obsession, not seeing TOP GUN.
However, for many years, I didn't see GREASE for the same reason. Then Steve Lemme dragged me to a revival screening, and I thought it was a blast. In other words, get off your fucking high-horse, hit the bong, and watch it.

I've heard contradicting plot lines for Super Troopers 2. One mentioned a prequel set in the 70s where you all star as your fathers from ST1. And another said that was scratched and the film would now pick up directly after the end of ST1. Any way you could clear up at least the setting of ST2? And maybe even some of the plot line?

Love Broken Lizard movies! My fraternity brothers and I have watched all of your guys movies multiple times. We felt it was appropriate since you guys were in the same fraternity in college.

Originally, we liked the idea of playing our own dads. It seemed like an original way to do a sequel. But then as years passed and we met so many people who really loved the characters and the setting, and really wanted a sequel for the sake of just having this world continue on for another 90 minutes, we decided to go the more conventional route. And that's how we approached writing the script. I don't want to give anything away, plot-wise, but it definitely picks up with the same guys at some indefinite point down the road a few years later.

Upvote for spelling definitely correctly.

I get freaky about spelling, grammar and syntax. My favorite joke from MST3K is when Mike busts an actress for saying "But by then it is too late!" Mike says: "Ah the pluperfect conditional subjunctive!" That's what a fucking dork I am.

Then why arent you using the OXFORD COMMA?!?!

Holy shit. I totally thought I used the oxford comma in my first response. Shame on me.

What is your favorite MST3K dubover?

Dubover? Is that like dub step? I'm so fucking old. Are you asking what my favorite episode is, you young whippersnapper? THE FINAL SACRIFICE. That's the one with Rowsdower, right?

How did you take the news of Daniel von Bargen's incident and are you still in contact with him and/or any other co-stars?

We all called each other immediately. None of us had been in touch with him since shortly after filming. And that was so long ago. Obviously we were stunned and bummed out, because that's such a horrible thing to happen to anybody. But it was a little weird, just in that none of the 5 of us spent too much time with him when he was shooting. (this is a cool story though, bear with me.) When we all arrived upstate to shoot, Von Bargen took it upon himself to pull the dudes who played the local cops together and kinda isolate them from us. They often went drinking separately. This was a brilliant move, in terms of establishing us vs. them. In fact, I believe I heard this about the making of ANIMAL HOUSE, that the Deltas and Omegas were totally segregated to foster a spirit of animosity.

You say you are on the cusp of being allowed to raise the money for ST2, and I was just curious as how you would go about raising that money.

I don't know. Sit in a subway station with an open guitar case, probably. We've talked about Kickstarter, but I don't know if that's gonna generate a backlash from people who think we are all millionaires who sit around in our piano-shaped pools all day pouring Cristal on our junk.

I think we all agree, do a Kickstarter. It will not only give you full control of the movie, but it will get the fans to be part of its creation.

What should we offer people who invest? Foot massage? I bet some of you have some pretty gnarly feet.

What's your favorite movie?

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, or BREAKING AWAY, or A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, or SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. (seriously. take acid and watch SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. It'll make your eyeballs have an orgasm and you'll laugh your ass off.)

I now have plans for tommorow night!

Does anyone take acid anymore?

Hey Paul, I hear you're a huge Denver Broncos fan. What do you think the Broncos are gonna do this season? Is a Super Bowl in our future? If so, what will you do to celebrate?

PS - please nut slap Derek for me, that fool owes me money

Derek is a fool, no question. I put the Broncos at 11-5 this season. Win the AFC West. But still don't make it to the Superbowl because Manning will have to win in a cold-weather outdoor game, which is when he always turns back into a pumpkin.

My friend and I have been writing a comedy series the past few years, sometimes we have trouble getting motivation to actually film and complete a project. How do you guys keep motivated and keep the ideas coming?

You should take a deliberate break from "writing" and just devote a big chunk of time to hanging out, drinking, smoking, watching movies, going on road trips. And hopefully you guys will just start saying funny things to each other. Write them down.

Thanks for doing an AMA. I'm personally a huge fan of Club Dread. Which was your favorite movie to work on (or which did you have the most fun on)?

Nothing will ever touch the fun of making Club Dread. Imagine living at a beautiful Mexican resort for 2 months. Shooting comedy and horror, then enjoying fruity drinks and Nerf football in the surf when the day is done.

I will imagine. And I will drown in a pool of my own jealousy. And then cry myself to sleep.

I will be watching through the window you as you sleep, your bitter tears drying on your pillow. My moaning as I rub one out will stir you briefly out of your slumber. But then you will shrug and roll over, never realizing that I am in the throes of creepy, voyeuristic passion mere feet away from your bed.

Are there any plans to take live shows overseas? I'd love to catch some Broken Lizard stand-up in Australia!

5-man live shows get trickier every year. We almost all have kids now, and it gets harder for us to convince our wives that we are attending a screenwriting symposium in Travers City, Michigan, when we are in fact doing midnight shows in Bangkok and sampling the local 15 year old lady-boys.

When filming for Beerfest, did you guys actually compete to see who the best/fastest beer drinker was? Also, were you guys good at any of those games?

Can't believe Potfest might actually happen!! =D

Well, the 10 years leading up to making BEERFEST was really one long competition to see which of us is the fastest/best drinker. And if you've seen any BL live shows, we tend to provide a demonstration. I have to admit that Heffernan is the fastest chugger. Gotta be something about his fatness. (any scientists help me out?)

Jay really is good at pong. Lemme is good at doing buttchugs off Stolhanske's asscrack. (score! and those fuckers aren't around to contradict me! I love this AMA!!!)

Did you ride along with any state troopers to prepare for your role in "Super Trooper"?

At that time, we had no reputation to warrant being offered ridealongs with cops. (maybe there were some PUDDLE CRUISER fans among the P.D. but I never met one.) But nowadays we often get offered to get in cars with cops. But my wife won't let me. (pussywhipped, yep)

2 part question, 1. how much maple syrup do you drink on a day-to-day basis and 2. does your car get very good gas mileage?

I got a Chevy Volt last year. And I'm not shitting you, I put 30 bucks of gas in this thing once every other month. I fucking love this car! I used to spend almost 300 bucks a month on gas. Now my lease is not much more than 300 a month. God what a fucking corporate shill I sound like.

Hey my friend, you know we're all pumped for ST2. Can you give us any little story tidbits at all? Please?

Also, I shot my best friend in the leg with a pellet gun when we were kids. When people ask him about the scar, he says "That little guy? I wouldn't worry about that little guy." Just wanted to say thank you guys for that.

Being shot with a pellet gun left him with a scar? What a puss.

What's the screensaver on your phone right now?

My son taking BP with the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium.

Who was your favorite character to play in a Broken Lizard film?

What was my name in CLUB DREAD? That guy. It was fun to play someone douchey and on drugs.

So back in High School, a bunch of my friends and I decided to go to the movies. 6 of my dumb-dumb friends chose John Q., while my friend Sam and I chose Super Troopers.

That was the best decision of my life, I think.

Also, my Uncle helped finance Slammin' Salmon to some degree and has a Producer credit somewhere (maybe?). My cousins and I were quoting it to him at our family reunion and he had no idea what the fuck we were going on about, so thank you for the material used to harass my uncle/your producer.

I hope he didn't go broke betting on this horse.

Super Troopers.. great documentary or greatest documentary

I love docs. I just saw ROOM 237 and a wonderfully fucked up film called MARWENCOL.

What was it like to be a CBS Page and did you meet any real cool guys?

Only a former CBS Page would ask this. Who is this, Larry Leathers?

Ha! It's one of the 2 pussies that missed your show at the Nokia Theater in NYC. It's Will. I'm really enjoying your chat and I promise I will buy Dark Circles and not download it illegally. By the way, my favorite movie of yours is Beer Fest.

Will!!!!!

How did Broken Lizard form?

Jay put together a sketch comedy group at Colgate University, and the 5 of us were the only ones who didn't give up.

Hi Paul! Ketchup or Catsup?

General Tso's sauce and Frank's Red Hot wing sauce.

You were asking what's my masturbation lubricant of choice, right?

What would you say your favorite horror movie is?

Also, can we be best friends? I mean, we're already Facebook friends..

I love THE DESCENT, THE STRANGERS, L'INTERIEUR, LAKE MUNGO, DEVIL'S BACKBONE....

What do the snozberries really taste like?

Monosodium Glutamate. (sp?)

Is there any news on that zombie film you were going to do with Johnny Knoxville I read about a few years ago? From the premise, it sounds like it would be a pretty awesome movie.

I don't know how that got written up. Internet is weird. I wrote a movie about dogs being turned into zombies. PJ read it. And then suddenly it was reported we were doing this movie together.

You guys are hilarious. My question for you is, how did you like working with an big name actor (Michael Clark Duncan) in the Slammin Salmon (and I suppose Brian Cox in Super Troopers), and are you considering looking for someone like that for Super Troopers 2?

We have an awesome superstar who has expressed interest in playing a big role in ST2. Obviously I can say no more. (okay, fuck it. It's the corpse of John Wayne.)

What's your favorite line from ST?

"Smother me in gravy you big, dirty man!" I think that's how it goes.

What big name or small time stoner comedians or performers have you considered for Potfest? (doug Benson, Snoop Dog, evil Zach Galifinakis) Potfest would be great even without Willy Nelson.

I've heard that Harrison Ford is a huge burner. I'd love to do a movie with him.

What cameos/big name actors would you like to bring in for Super Troopers 2? (Other than yourselves of course :D)

Another internal philosophical argument. We've met a fair amount of celebs who are fans of ST1 and would possibly do a bit in ST2. I'm just concerned that it starts to look dopey with a bunch of stunt casting and ends up seeming like a CANNONBALL RUN movie.

As long as the meat and potatoes is there (the core 5), you really wouldnt need to have any big namers in there to be honest. Sequel's to cult classics are hard to follow up, but I have faith. Keep up the good work, and thanks for the AMA.

What about O'Hagan? You saying you wouldn't miss Coxy as The Chief?

Seeing him as the police chief would be a nice reprisal. He tends to play the bad guy in movies, so the change of character is nice. Would you bring back Marisa Coughlan as well so that Foster and Ursula can continue their love affair?

I'm done being love affair guy. I'll stick with being goofy.

Hi Paul, Does spelling count on Final Jeopardy?

If the question is I AM THE PRODUCER OF SUCH SCHLOCK AS FALCON CREST AND BEVERLY HILLS 90210.

Hi!!!!!! Who is your favorite comedian and why?

Ps. You and the guys are hilarious!

I've been really getting into Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon since I watched THE TRIP. I think they're hilarious.

Anything serious I want to ask I'm sure you've answered multiple times before. So how's this?

• Who is your favorite James Bond?
• What is your favorite breakfast cereal?
• What is your favorite animal that you'd see in a zoo? (or just your favorite animal in general)
• Star Wars or Star Trek?
• What is your favorite TV show/movie in which you do not act?

Thank you, and I hope you have a great rest of the day!

George Lazenby. Lucky Charms. Prairie Dog. Event Horizon.

How did Colgate and Upstate New York influence BL as a group? When did you guys officially move to Hollywood?

Colgate inspired us, I suppose in that, by being stuck in a remote, freezing location, we really had to spend a lot of time trying to entertain each other.

what was it like working with Bill Paxton. I get the sense that he acts a bit like coconut pete when he is just being himself.

I think Paxton would easily trade it all in to live Coconut Pete's life.

Hey Paul,

what do you think sets your new horror movie apart from other haunted house movies?

Thanks for making all the awesome flicks!

I think because it's about a plausible reason that people would stay in a house where there seems to be fucked up things going on.

Why haven't you or erik stolhanske been on a episode of chewing it yet?

Will it happen soon?

Have you guys thought about having a Broken Lizard podcast?

How can I get on autographed ST DVD?

Answer me please right meow.

THANKS

I haven't been asked to Chew It. I don't know why. I like to Chew It as much as the next guy. There must be a Chew It Comment Board where you can make a stink about it. (or I could call them and ask.)

Thank you fine sir for doing this AMA...What's your thoughts on straight to netflix/video releases rather than the distribution limbo hell that many great independent artist get stuck in. Do you think Broken Lizard or yourself would be more apt to go this route in order to bring more material to your loving fans at a quicker pace? Or is there too much of a stigma in Hollywood to be a theater released production.

The landscape of movie releasing is such a depressing, barren, post-apocalyptic environment now that an independent artist has to be grateful for whatever distribution he/she can get. I think each of us has become comfortable with that method for our own personal projects. I think for BL stuff, it still has a stigma that we're struggling with.

Do you guys have any scripts that you thought would get greenlit but didn't? If so, why not?

We've had more scripts not greenlit than greenlit. We had one set up at Universal where we were hard-partying college professors that I thought had a good chance. But right around the time we finished the script was also the time that the studios decided they didn't want to make any movies that they thought wouldn't gross $200million domestically.

How was working with Michael Clarke Duncan in Slammin' Salmon? Was he as scary in real life as depicted in the film?

Edit: Fun fact, I named my first car RamRod.

He was a pussycat. Still can't believe he's gone.

How glorious are Jordan Ladds boobs in person?

Shorter than I imagined.

I just finished downloading. I promise to watch potfest in theaters thrice to make up for it!

Getting more eyeballs on your work as we speak

But it's not about the money. It's about the fact that when you download, there's no traceable record that the movie was watched. It's why it's been such an uphill battle getting ST2 made, because so many people watched it via some kind of digital sharing. There's no way to quantify those viewings, and therefore the people who make decisions about greenlighting projects have no true way to judge its popularity.

Like with DARK CIRCLES, I don't stand much chance of ever making money off it, and that's fine. But I've got two other indie horror scripts I'm shopping, and to have some kind of yardstick to show producers that I know what I'm doing, would be very helpful. If I can say "Hey, DARK CIRCLES is in the top 20 rentals on iTunes" then I stand a better chance of making more horror movies.

Make lunch boxes and see how many people buy them!!

If I made lunchboxes, then people would buy pirated Chinese knockoff lunchboxes. I can't win. I'm like that cartoon character, Ziggy.

You can NOT fake a good Thermos.

You should write for advertising. That's a fantastic tag line for Thermos brand Thermoses. (Thermi?)

If you had a chance to work with a group you hand picked other than your BL group, who would you choose? Why?

I would work with UNICEF. They do so many good things and are hilarious, don't you think?

what the hell were you thinking with "Freeloaders"

This was the first time we were asked to attach our names to a script where we didn't have creative control. Unfortunately, the project went in a direction that we weren't thrilled with, and we weren't in a position to influence the final outcome the way we would've liked. Unfortunately, this happens.

so what made you want to do horror? and anyway we can help super troopers 2

I was always a horror nerd. And also the brutal butt-fucking that we've been subjected to over the last 20 years in the film industry made me want to do something that would enable me to exorcise all the anger and blackness in my heart.

Hey Paul, I came over from Facebook awesome to see you doing an AMA!

What is your favorite scene/memory from Super Troopers & Beerfest, and do you think you'll have any recurring jokes in the sequels?

This was a big thing for "The Hangover II" which ended up with a lot of criticism for being a good initial comedy with part 1 and then just running it into the ground with the "same idea, different location" plot in 2.

ST2 will be a very different plot. But similar enough to have the same kinds of comedy bits from the first. I feel like that's what people want.

Have you guys ever thought about doing a TV series?

We developed a bunch of tv shows that never went.