National Lampoon is taking its brand of comedy and aiming it right at the sword-and-sandal genre with its next in-house production "National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus."
The film is a comedy spin on films such as "Gladiator," "300" and "Troy." It will feature "Mad TV's" Will Sasso in the lead with Kristanna Loken ("Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"), Ian Ziering ("Beverly Hills, 90210"), Sophie Monk ("Date Movie"), Tony Cox ("Bad Santa") and Rip Torn ("Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story"), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The spoof was written by Jason Burinescu, and will be directed by Jeff Kanew ("Revenge of the Nerds"). It is being produced by Dan Farah and Burinescu with Sasso and Dale Rosenbloom executive producing. National Lampoon executive Justin Kanew is overseeing the film’s production.
In The Hollywood Reporter, National Lampoon Chief Executive Officer Daniel Laikin stated: "We're excited to embark on another National Lampoon original production, especially with a cast of this caliber. National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus' is a hilarious spoof of some of the classic films of our generation, and is sure to please National Lampoon fans worldwide."
National Lampoon has launched its own in-house films with a goal of four a year. It has released "National Lampoon's Bagboy" and "National Lampoon's Homo Erectus," and is in post-production on "National Lampoon's Ratko: The Dictator's Son."
National Lampoon will handle worldwide distribution "Maximus" with the broadcast rights already sold to Comedy Central.
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