Broken Lizard

Last updated
Broken Lizard
BrokenLizardStandsUp.jpg
Medium Film and Television
NationalityAmerican
Years active1996–present
Genres Physical comedy, Gross-out humor
Notable works and roles Puddle Cruiser (1996)
Super Troopers (2001)
Club Dread (2004)
Beerfest (2006)
The Slammin' Salmon (2009)
Super Troopers 2 (2018)
Tacoma FD (2019–2023)
Quasi (2023)
Members Jay Chandrasekhar
Kevin Heffernan
Steve Lemme
Paul Soter
Erik Stolhanske
Website www.brokenlizard.com

Broken Lizard is an American comedy troupe that comprises Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. They collaborate on the screen-writing, acting and productions of their films, with Chandrasekhar and Heffernan being the primary directors; the team however does not have any single leader and they work collaboratively when choosing material and writing projects.

Contents

History

The group formed at Colgate University in 1989 when Jay Chandrasekhar was asked by a friend and fellow student, Ira Liss, to put together a comedy show. [1] Chandrasekhar agreed and assembled a sketch comedy troupe which included Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske, all members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. The team performed a combination of live stage sketches and short videos under the name "Charred Goosebeak". Charred Goosebeak continues to exist at Colgate to this day.

After graduation, the members reunited in New York City and spent the next few years performing at various clubs, mostly Greenwich Village mainstay The Duplex, under the name "Broken Lizard". The group offered various explanations of the origin of this moniker over the years, ranging from a euphemism for loss of virility to a tribute to Chandrasekhar's pet allergies. Most recently, the members admitted that Chandrasekhar simply made up the name "off the top of his head" when he had their first flyer printed. Another possible name that was discarded was "Chocolate Speedo".

Broken Lizard spent the next few years performing at clubs and college campuses. Its membership dwindled to the five current performers. By the mid-1990s, the group's interests shifted away from live material as they became more interested in filmed content. They wrote and acted in Dante's Levels of Hell, a series of interstitial shorts for Comedy Central's "Is This On?" feature.

At this time, the Broken Lizard members also made their first foray into long-form film, shooting the 30-minute 16 mm project, The Tinfoil Monkey Agenda , an absurdist media spoof that earned them a trip to the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival, and cemented in the group's minds that they should be creating full-length feature films.

The group put together the script for their next feature, and first wide-release movie Super Troopers . The film, which portrays rural highway patrolmen as regular guys desperate to make their jobs entertaining, was shot in 2000, and was also invited to Sundance, where raucous screenings earned the film a distribution deal from Fox Searchlight Pictures, a unit of 20th Century Fox. The movie was released in February 2002 and only enjoyed moderate theatrical success, but it eventually developed a cult following.

Fox Searchlight sponsored and distributed the group's next feature, 2004's Club Dread , a parody of slasher films that takes place at an idyllic tropical resort.

After Chandrasekhar directed The Dukes of Hazzard for Warner Bros., Broken Lizard was offered a deal with the studio. This relationship resulted in Broken Lizard's third feature, 2006's Beerfest , about two brothers who discover an underground Oktoberfest beer-drinking Olympics and assemble a team to compete.

In late May 2010, Broken Lizard had completed their fourth feature, The Slammin' Salmon , about a group of waiters who are terrorized over the course of a busy night by their unstable boss (Michael Clarke Duncan). Heffernan directed The Slammin' Salmon. [2]

In 2012, both Chandrasekhar and Heffernan confirmed that a sequel to Super Troopers was in the works. They have also confirmed that the script is finished. All they are waiting for is the studio to okay everything. [3] In 2015, Broken Lizard had launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund filming of Super Troopers 2 . [4] On a Funemployment Radio episode May 26, 2016, Jay Chandrasekhar confirmed that a small test segment of the film has been shot and full production will start in August 2016. [5] [6] On August 2, 2017, Broken Lizard announced, via their website, that they had finished post-production on the movie. Super Troopers 2 was released on April 20, 2018. [7]

In 2023, Broken Lizard released Quasi and announced that Super Troopers 3 would be next.

Other projects

Receiving financial support from 20th Century Fox enabled Chandrasekhar to establish a career as a television director. He directed episodes of the Fox television shows Undeclared, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Arrested Development, Oliver Beene, and Cracking Up. In addition, he directed three episodes of Psych, including the episode "Bollywood Homicide," in which he also guest starred. Chandrasekhar directed the 2005 film The Dukes of Hazzard, in which each of the members of Broken Lizard also appeared. He likewise appeared in Jackass 2 as the taxi driver in the last main sketch of the movie, performing a "prank on a prank."

Heffernan co-wrote the screenplay to the 2005 film On the One and also acted in the films Sky High and Strange Wilderness.

Lemme was a co-producer of the movies The Decade and Boxes, and also appeared in Open Water and Big Helium Dog.

Soter wrote and directed the film noir comedy film Watching the Detectives, which starred Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu. Soter, Lemme, and Stolhanske also appeared in the film. He also directed the horror film Dark Circles .

Stolhanske acted in a number of television shows and films, including Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, Undeclared, and The Onion Movie. Stolhanske was also in the Plyometrics DVD that was part of the P90X program that fitness expert Tony Horton created.

Heffernan and Lemme co-created Tacoma FD for TruTV, which ran from 2019 to 2023.

Filmography

Related Research Articles

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<i>Super Troopers</i> 2001 film by Jay Chandrasekhar

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Heffernan (actor)</span> American actor and comedian

Kevin Heffernan is an American actor, writer, producer, and director, and member of the Broken Lizard comedy group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Lemme</span> American actor, writer, and producer

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Paul Soter is an American actor, writer, and director, and one of the members of the Broken Lizard comedy group. As a child, he lived in Sacramento, Anchorage, Phoenix, and Denver. He graduated from Colgate University and was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. During his time there, he was a member of the Charred Goosebeak troupe along with the members of Broken Lizard.

<i>Puddle Cruiser</i> 1996 American film

Puddle Cruiser is a 1996 American comedy film, the first full-length film created by the Broken Lizard comedy group. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie was filmed entirely on the campus of Colgate University, the alma mater of all five members of the comedy quintet. It was released on DVD in December 2005; the disc also features a 17-minute documentary called Rodeo Clowns on the marketing of Puddle Cruiser and Super Troopers with free previews on college campuses and using specially-painted tour buses. The extras and actors are almost entirely friends, family and other alumni, due to the very tight budget of the film. The film is repeatedly shown on Comedy Central.

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<i>Club Dread</i> 2004 film by Jay Chandrasekhar

Club Dread is a 2004 comedy slasher film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and written by and starring the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Brittany Daniel, and Bill Paxton. The film follows a group of staff members on a tropical island resort, where an unknown killer begins a murder spree.

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Beerfest is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and starring the comedy troupe Broken Lizard, which comprises Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. The film co-stars Nat Faxon, Will Forte, Ralf Möller, Mo'Nique, Eric Christian Olsen, Jürgen Prochnow, and Cloris Leachman. It was theatrically released on August 25, 2006.

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<i>The Slammin Salmon</i> 2009 American film

The Slammin' Salmon is a 2009 American comedy film by the comedy troupe Broken Lizard. It is about the owner of a restaurant who holds a contest to see which one of his waiters can earn the most money in a single night. The winner receives $10,000, and the loser receives a "beat down" by the owner, Cleon Salmon, a former heavyweight boxer. Kevin Heffernan directed the film, his first time for a Broken Lizard film.

<i>Freeloaders</i> (film) 2012 American film

Freeloaders is a 2012 American ensemble comedy film directed by Dan Rosen, and written by Rosen and singer Dave Gibbs. The film is produced by the Broken Lizard comedy troupe and is independently financed. Freeloaders stars Clifton Collins Jr., Josh Lawson, Kevin Sussman, Zoe Boyle, Nat Faxon, Warren Hutcherson, Jane Seymour, Olivia Munn, Dave Foley, and Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz. It follows a group of friends who find their luxurious lifestyle threatened when the rock star they freeload off decides to sell his home.

<i>The Babymakers</i> 2012 American film

The Babymakers is a 2012 American comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, and starring Paul Schneider, Olivia Munn and Kevin Heffernan. Chandrasekhar and Heffernan are both members of Broken Lizard. The film received a limited release on August 3, 2012 in theaters and on video on demand services. It received a DVD and Blu-ray release September 18, 2012.

<i>Super Troopers 2</i> 2018 American film

Super Troopers 2 is a 2018 American comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar. A sequel to the 2001 film Super Troopers, the film was written by and stars the Broken Lizard comedy team, made up of Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske. The plot follows the Super Troopers being called upon to set up a new Highway Patrol station when an international border dispute arises between the United States and Canada.

<i>Quasi</i> (film) 2023 film by Kevin Heffernan

Quasi is a 2023 American satirical comedy film directed by Kevin Heffernan and written by Heffernan and Broken Lizard members Steve Lemme, Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. The film takes a satirical take on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

References

  1. ↑ "The Lizards". Broken Lizard.
  2. ↑ "Broken Lizard" . Retrieved 2011-09-13– via My Space.
  3. ↑ Rich Drees (2009-12-10). "Broken Lizard Film Update". FilmBuffOnline. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  4. ↑ "Super Troopers 2". Indiegogo. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  5. ↑ "903". funemploymentradio.com.
  6. ↑ "1585: JAY CHANDRASEKHAR". funemploymentradio.com.
  7. ↑ "Super Troopers 2" – via IMDb.[ unreliable source? ]
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