‘SAUSAGE PARTY’ CREATORS HOPE IT’S A WIENER
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg put some spicy mustard into movie
Nothing comes between these men and their hot dogs.
It’s a sunny August afternoon and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg — producers and writers of
Sausage Party — are cheerfully chowing through dogs on buns and scavenging for more during a grillside lawn interview.
That would be unthinkable double-murder in the anthropomorphic food world Rogen and Goldberg have created.
But Rogen predicts that not only will the audience laugh along at the dire food existence depicted when Sausage Party opens Friday, they may even have a hot dog afterward.
“There’s one thing we’ll never get in the way of: that’s America’s love of food,” says Rogen, punctuating the point with a final bite.
They sure try. In Sausage Party, hot dog Frank (voiced by Rogen) and his bun girlfriend Brenda (Kristen Wiig) believe, like all food, that godlike humans will whisk them to the glorious “Great Beyond” outside the supermarket doors — only to discover these humans painfully devour all, even live baby carrots.
Rogen insists the concept was not inspired by “the fact that we have done mushrooms a lot of times.” Instead it came from watching beloved Pixar films that show secret worlds humans don’t observe, like those of toys or cars. They sought to create the first R-rated fully computer-generated animated film.
Unlike Pixar, this world features gruesome food death and even a massive food sex scene.
“It would be great if I said we wrote this while high at grocery stores. We certainly got high and went there,” says Rogen, falling into his trademark guffaw. “But it was like: ‘This is not helpful. Should we just buy some groceries now?’ ”
Actors enthusiastically jumped on board, even if pitching the concept was sometimes awkward. Edward Norton obsessed over playing a Woody Allen-esque bagel Sammy, persuading thengirlfriend Salma Hayek to discuss a voice part. “So humiliating,” Goldberg says. “We’re in a Mex
ican restau- rant, eating tacos, and it was like, ‘Could you be a lesbian taco?’ ”
Hayek joined, along with directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon. Pitching the studios for funding and distribution was more difficult. Execs laughed heartily, but the rejection on the far-out, R-rated concept would sometimes come before they left the parking lot. Goldberg was just happy his plan to present in costume was overruled.
“The only thing worse than getting rejected would be getting rejected in a sausage outfit,” Goldberg says.
The team carried on and polished the project until 2013, when Annapurna Pictures’ Megan Ellison and Sony Studios stepped in to aid the $19 million production. Fast-forward to Hayek in a recording studio voicing her taco Teresa in that sex scene. “She’s still shocked she did it,” Goldberg says.
They proudly claim animation history with their R-rated, ultimately hot-dog-heroic film, which is plumping up to be a box office contender with stellar reviews (86% positive critical ratings on RottenTomatoes.com). Rogen stays philosophical about success. “It’s not about being a wiener at the box office at the end of the day,” he says. “What I hope most is Sausage Party is a wiener among fans.”
“It would be great if I said we wrote this while high at grocery stores,” says Seth Rogen, with partner Evan Goldberg. Scary stuff awaits outside the supermarket for the hotdog crew and the rest of the grocery gang in Sausage Party.