Now filming in Los Angeles, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie has secured U.S. distribution through Magnolia Pictures.
A quasi-spinoff of their popular television series “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!”, the film’s plot finds the pair given a billion dollars to create their own film with complications rapidly ensuing.
The official press release jokes about the film’s record-setting budget:
The billion dollar price tag is far and away the most money paid for any film, more than three times the reported budget of Avatar. With 2929 Productions, Gary Sanchez Productions (run by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy) is producing through its Funny or Die Films adjunct banner. GSP has produced such films as The Goods, The Foot Fist Way and the Will Ferrell-Mark Wahlberg cop comedy The Other Guys.
Under their Abso Lutely Productions banner, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim have produced five seasons of their popular experimental comedy show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! for Cartoon Networks Adult Swim. In addition to TEASGJ, they have created the television show Tom Goes to the Mayor for Adult Swim, as well as the online comedy titles Tim and Eric Nite Live and Stephen and Steven for Superdeluxe and Comedy Central. Dave Kneebone and Jon Mugar will be producing for Abso Lutely Productions.
We were initially apprehensive of the unprecedented price tag of the film,” Wagner jokes of the “billion dollar” budget involved, “but apparently we agreed to it after having a drink with Tim and Eric. Actually, its all a little bit fuzzy. Regardless, we now realize that it would be foolhardy not to participate in what is sure to be the grandest entertainment ever presented to mankind.
You cant put a price on creative excellence and we didnt maybe we should have, but we didnt, says Ferrell.
There are six billion people in the world,” adds McKay, “so if we can get every sixth person to see this movie, we break even. If they tell a friend, well do well, quite well.
William Atherton, Will Ferrell, Will Forte, Zach Galifianakis, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Loggia and John C. Reilly are all confirmed for at least cameo appearances, but many more surprise performances are still expected.
