The celebration of success is one of the largest driving forces in modern society, as many people are increasingly thriving on the exhilaration of being praised for their achievements by their friends, family and even the world on the internet. Since people are often trying to promote a particular aspect of their lives through social media, it takes a courageous person to willingly showcase their personal and professional lives falling apart, and the difficult obstacles they must overcome in order to rebuild their friendships and careers. That’s certainly the case in the new musical comedy, ‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping,’ which Universal Pictures is set to release in theaters nationwide this Friday, June 3.
The mockumentary was co-written and produced by lead actors Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, and also directed by the latter two performers and filmmakers. The trio intriguingly relied on their life-long friendships and professional collaborations to infuse powerful emotions and gripping humor into a story about the importance of figuring out, and embracing, your true personality.
‘Popstar’ follows musicians and life-long friends, Conner (Samberg), Owen (Taccone) and Lawrence (Schaffer), who have supported each other since they were kids. Their close-knit bond leads them to form the world-renowned hip-hop boy band, the Style Boyz, who have become known for their unorthodox musical talents. However, the group members hits a roadblock in their careers and friendships when Lawrence begins to feel that Conner is taking all of the credit for the beloved band’s success. Lawrence, who serves as the band’s lyricist and is known by the public as Kid Brain, decides to leave the acclaimed group and isolate himself from society.
So the Style Boyz’s leader, who goes by the stage name Conner4Real, decides to musically venture out on his own. The rapper is aided by Owen, who’s referenced to as Kid Contact, as he decides to try to hold onto his music career and friendship with Conner by serving as his DJ. However, Owen starts to secretly form the same reservations about Conner that Lawrence has publicly expressed, but he initially isn’t as brave as his former bandmate in expressing his concerns.
But Conner doesn’t immediately take his former bandmates’ concerns seriously, as he’s celebrated by not only his fans and critics, but also his publicist, Paula (Sarah Silverman), and his manager, Harry (Tim Meadows). The rapper’s first solo album, ‘Thriller, Also,’ and its accompanying tour were massive successes, which makes his follow-up record, ‘CONNquest,’ the most anticipated record of the decade. He also has his documentary in production to showcase how successful he has become. But when his professional and personal lives begin spiraling out of control, due to his increasingly massive ego, Conner has to figure out how to make things right with his fans and former friends and bandmates.
Samberg, Taccone and Schaffer generously took the time recently to talk about co-writing, directing, producing and starring in ‘Popstar’ during a press conference at New York City’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Among other things, the performers and filmmakers discussed how they were interested in chronicling the characters’ struggles as musicians and friends in the mockumentary, as social media has changed the way fans can interact with celebrities, which that affects their relationships in their real lives. The trio also described how they crafted the songs and jokes that are featured in the film, and their surprise at how audiences have responded to their music and comedy.
“What we thought was fun to play around with at the forefront was how much social media” has changed the way fans view, and can now interact with, their favorite celebrities, Samberg noted when he began discussing why the trio initially planned on making a satirical comedic film on the music business. “The number of outlets that exist nowadays has changed that landscape.” That’s particularly true when it comes to “what’s expected of an artist, and what they share about their personal life. It has changed the relationship that pop stars now have with their fans, and how genuine that is, particularly for the sake of their careers. It also affects their actual friendships and relationships in their lives.”
When then asked what type of music from the early 1990s they prefer to listen to, especially since that era inspired the songs released by The Style Boyz, Schaffer divulged that dance and Reggae songs heavily influence him and his co-writers. Samberg then quickly jumped in, saying “Nothing against NKOTB (New Kids on the Block)-Joey McIntyre has the voice of an angel! But we were influenced by such bands as the Beastie Boys, Run–D.M.C. and New Edition.”
Schaffer also commented on some of his favorite music, particularly which songs in ‘Popstar’ that he enjoys. “I like ‘I’m So Humble,’ which starts the movie. I also like one that some people may not end up hearing when they see the film-it’s the last song that plays, at the end of the end credits. It’s called ‘Legalize It,’ and it’s a Reggae song. It’s not a straight cover of the Peter Tosh song, as it’s more of a spin and new take on the classic.”
Samberg then explained the process of how he, Taccone and Schaffer crafted the tracks that were featured in the movie. “We were like real rappers, even though we’re fake rappers. We would get a ton of really awesome beats from different producers. We would then lock ourselves in the studio and listen to a ton of beats. Often times, the beat itself would spark an idea, and we would start writing to it,” Samberg revealed.
“Other times, we would have an idea for a song, and then search for a beat that matched it,” Samberg also divulged. “Or we would have lyrics that we knew needed a certain beat. So we would straight up ask a producer to create a beat for us from scratch to match our idea.”
The co-stars also discussed the funniest moments that occurred while they were on the set of the mockumentary comedy. “There were a couple of times where everyone got the giggles,” Samberg revealed. “That happened during the scene in which Tim Meadows’ character is telling Conner that they think he needs an opening act. We tried it a bunch of different ways, and at the end of the scene, Harry tells Conner, ‘I have one idea, but you are going to like it!’ Conner asks, ‘Are or aren’t?,’ and Harry says, ‘Are.'” Taccone then chimed in, adding that while they were shooting that scene, “everyone was spiraling out of control.”
Samberg then also revealed that “Tim makes everyone giggle; he’s just a funny, sweet man. When we were shooting the scene where we were all standing on the side of the stage as we were watching Hunter the Hungry for the first time, I’d go, ‘What do you think, Harry? I don’t know about this guy.’ But Tim just kept saying, ‘The kids love him! I think it’s a good call-the kids love him!’ For some reason, him saying ‘The kids love him!’ for the fifteenth time was funny.”
The rest of the actors in the scene then began improvising new lines as it began unfolding, Schaffer also explained. “But every time we went around the circle and got back to Tim, he’d say the same line,” just with a different tone. “He never thought of a new line. He just said ‘The kids love him!’ every time, and for some reason, that always got everybody.”
The actors then began discussing how the more serious nature of how Conner’s professional and personal struggles throughout ‘Popstar’ often emulate the experiences that Justin Bieber has encountered in recent years, and how the movie’s lead protagonist makes the real-life singer seem more empathetic. “We hope that if he sees the film, he’ll feel that way about it,” Samberg revealed. “We feel the same way. We definitely empathize with Justin, and are friendly with him. We have worked with him a few times, and think he’s a good guy. We respect his music a lot, actually.”
The Emmy Award-winning actor added that “There are a few direct references to his documentary (‘Justin Bieber: Never Say Never’), because we felt like they were funny jumping off points for a crazier joke. The title of our movie is also similiar to the title of his documentary,” which Samberberg noted sounds more intended than it actual was. “But we hope that he likes it. We feel like Conner is a reference of everything that’s going on in the world of pop and rap music today.”
The co-stars, producers and writers then began discussing the process of editing the final cut of ‘Popstar,’ and how they determined the best way to balance the comedy and dramatic elements of their characters’ personal and professional struggles. “It was very challenging,” Taccone revealed. “We have an hour-and-a-half of deleted and alternate scenes for the movie. So there was a ton of stuff that we loved, but had to leave on the cutting room floor. Those scenes, for whatever reason, didn’t feel as those they further developed the story.” Samberg added that the deleted scenes, including musical performances, will be included on the comedy’s Blu-ray and DVD releases.
Also speaking of the film’s deleted scenes, Schaffer noted that “Like with any comedy you play for an audience, you’ll sometimes be surprised at what they laugh at. We would include jokes in our material, and think they would just play for us. They’re the jokes that we think are funny amongst ourselves, and then are surprised when the audience also laughs. Then there are other jokes that we think the audience is going to go crazy for, and then sometimes they wouldn’t laugh,” the co-director admitted. “But I don’t think that’s unique to this project; that’s true of any comedy. You only have your guess of what everyone’s going to like.”
Samberg also commented on his comedic process with his co-stars and -writers, noting that “It’s definitely fun and fascinating for us to go through that process. You can put out a joke, and it will bomb. We’ll then turn to each other and go, ‘I guess not!’ Or there will be a joke that will feel like a throwaway while we’re saying it, and then the whole audience will fail out of their seats, laughing. We’ll say, ‘Nice! That one was way better than we thought!'” The Golden Globe-winning performer added that the trio “felt like we got the movie down to a length and a flow that felt right to us.”
In addition to casting comedians in ‘Popstar,’ the filmmakers also explained that they found all of the musicians who made cameos as themselves, including Adam Levine, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Carrie Underwood, Usher and Seal, “through a whole variety of ways.” Samberg detailed that they “called or emailed some of them. We also booked some of them through their reps.” The actor then generated laughs when he divulged that “Some people, like Ringo Starr and Judd Apatow, called us-we don’t have Ringo on speed dial! But we cast a really wide net, and had a huge list of people who we would have loved to have been a part of the film. We were really fortunate that a lot of them said yes.”
The trio ended the interview by discussing how in addition to featuring the notable musicians in the comedy, they also cast Redd in his first film role as Hunter the Hungry in the mockumentary. Schaffer revealed that “We didn’t know Chris until he was brought to our attention by our casing director, Allison Jones,” who has also helped cast Samberg’s Golden Globe Award-winning police sitcom, ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine.’ “She’s an mythic casting director, and seems to find every new person in comedy.”
Samberg added that Redd “won the part through his audition. He did a bunch of different scenes in his audition, but the one that really blew us away was the one in the film in which he says, ‘I didn’t do it…Or did I?’ We were really captivated by his performance, and were really happy to get him.”
Written by: Karen Benardello