Andy Samberg Goes Full Bieber in ‘Popstar’ Red-Band Trailer
After a solid decade of spoofing pop stars and industry excess on Saturday Night Live and seeing their videos explode on YouTube, The Lonely Island is taking their satire game to the big screen.
The trio—Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer—today shared the first red-band trailer for their new film, Popstar (watch it above; mildly NSFW), offering up a pitch-perfect parody of the modern music scene. In the movie, co-directed by Taccone and Schaffer, Samberg plays Conner, a boy band alum who’s gone solo, Justin Timberlake-style, and is living out the dreams of every American Idol wannabe. The movie’s announced plot suggests there’s going to be a significant fall from grace, but this first look is a highlight reel of Hollywood indulgence on absurdist steroids.
Related: Lonely Island Begins Production on Music Comedy
Conner’s got 32 people on his personal payroll, and sure, some are reasonable: There’s the personal DJ (Taccone), lyricist (Schaffer), cardiac-adventurous roadie (Bill Hader), and publicist (Sarah Silverman).
But the staff is also bloated with insane hires, including a bagpiper (Will Forte), personal paparazzo (Will Arnett, channeling TMZ’s Harvey Levin), wolf trainer (Seal!), unicorn handler (Pink), and even a violent nemesis (Martin Sheen). Oh, and he’s also got a mom (Molly Shannon) and girlfriend (Imogen Poots), though it’s unclear whether he pays them for their services (officially, anyway).
It looks more like a fun spoof more than searing satire — when Adam Levine has agreed to appear as himself in hologram form, it’s unlikely that the script is too harsh. Hollywood loves to poke light fun at itself now that celebrities are required to “connect” with their fans, and come June 3, you may just be convinced to join the ranks of the Connfidants.
