Way back when in 2010, we revealed that Seth Rogen was planning a flick called “Sausage Party,” (then called “Sausage Fest“) and while that sounds like the kind of thing Seth Rogen just says, it has become clear that “Sausage Party” was more than an idle fancy over the past couple of years. It has a concept—it’s an R-rated animated movie about a talking sausage who, with his other supermarket produce buddies, has to get back onto the shelves before Independence Day’s BBQs hit—and it has actors—the voices of Rogen, frequent collaborator Jonah Hill and long-time voice actor Conrad Vernon. What it didn’t have was the funding to give it the go-ahead…
… until now. Variety is reporting that Rogen has linked up with Sony and Annapurna Pictures to get this sausage party on the grill, under the direction of Vernon and one Greg Tiernan. There is a Greg Tiernan on IMDb who is the director of numerous “Thomas The Tank Engine” animated movies, and if this is the man who is making an adult comedy with Seth Rogen about processed meat tubes, then we can all die happy. But even if it isn’t, this sounds like a fun project, even if adult-oriented animation is notoriously difficult to pull off. No word yet on whether “Sausage Party” is going to cast any women…
In other food comedy news, Deadline reports that Jason Segel has signed on to a comedy (“with dramatic overtones”) about Canadian maple syrup thieves, based on the real story reported last year that made headlines around the world. Seth Gordon, of “Horrible Bosses” and “Identity Thief,” will direct, but reader, I cannot tell a lie: when I first read the Deadline headline I thought it was about Jason Statham, not Segel, and ever since I realized my mistake I haven’t been quite so excited about the concept. But there it is. Do sausages and maple syrup go together? I have no idea, I’m a vegetarian, and thus losing an opportunity for a potentially great final quip. Ah well.