The Onion Movie
Encyclopedia
The Onion Movie is a comedy film
written by The Onion
writers Robert D. Siegel
and Todd Hanson along with the Chicago-based writing staff of the paper. It was filmed in 2003 and released on June 3, 2008 direct-to-video
.
, Global Tetrahedron. Onion news is described as "fair and balanced" in the context of the film. The plot serves as a springboard for various comedy sketches
featuring The Onion
s satirical humor. Vignettes include parodies of music videos reminiscent of Britney Spears
' work, and Steven Seagal
appearing as a parody of the type of action hero he normally portrays. The film is interrupted
(fictitiously) by film reviewers and commentators weighing in on the progress of the film, with one commentator preparing to stage an immediate walkout of all African American audience members unless a positive portrayal of an African American is inserted into the film.
were on board to produce and release a movie written by The Onion staff. Tentatively titled The Untitled Onion Movie, it was to be directed by music video director Tom Kuntz and Mike Maguire and written by then Onion editor Robert Siegel and writer Todd Hanson with the rest of the Onion staff. After delays and previews to test audiences, the film was shelved and eventually dropped by Fox. New Regency Productions
continued on with project.
In a March 15, 2007 interview, Scott Aukerman
said that the Onion movie was at a "dead standstill". Within two weeks, the listing for The Untitled Onion Movie had disappeared. Additionally, Onion, Inc. President at the time, Sean Mills, indicated The Onion was no longer associated with the film project. In August 2007, the IMDb listing was restored.
In November 2007, then-President Sean Mills told Wikinews
that the movie was a dead project. Although Fox Searchlight had an option to release it on DVD, there was no immediate announcement of plans to do so. Eventually, the trailer appeared on the DVD for The Darjeeling Limited
. The trailer also appeared on the Hitman, Charlie Bartlett
and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem DVDs.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
released The Onion Movie DVD on June 3, 2008.
The UK release's packaging styles the film News Movie, aka The Onion Movie.
gives the film a rating of 33%.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written by The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
writers Robert D. Siegel
Robert D. Siegel
Robert D. Siegel is an American screenwriter for The Onion Movie and The Wrestler, as well as the writer and director of Big Fan.The Wrestler won the Golden Lion at the 2008 Venice Film Festival and has earned several Best Picture nominations....
and Todd Hanson along with the Chicago-based writing staff of the paper. It was filmed in 2003 and released on June 3, 2008 direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
.
Plot
The plot revolves around a fictitious Onion television news anchorman, Norm Archer, who is forced to face the inevitability of a corporate takeover by the Onions perennial fictitious multinationalMultinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
, Global Tetrahedron. Onion news is described as "fair and balanced" in the context of the film. The plot serves as a springboard for various comedy sketches
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
featuring The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
s satirical humor. Vignettes include parodies of music videos reminiscent of Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
' work, and Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...
appearing as a parody of the type of action hero he normally portrays. The film is interrupted
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
(fictitiously) by film reviewers and commentators weighing in on the progress of the film, with one commentator preparing to stage an immediate walkout of all African American audience members unless a positive portrayal of an African American is inserted into the film.
Production
In 2003, New Regency Productions and Fox Searchlight PicturesFox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures, established in 1998, is a film division of Fox Filmed Entertainment alongside the larger Fox studio 20th Century Fox...
were on board to produce and release a movie written by The Onion staff. Tentatively titled The Untitled Onion Movie, it was to be directed by music video director Tom Kuntz and Mike Maguire and written by then Onion editor Robert Siegel and writer Todd Hanson with the rest of the Onion staff. After delays and previews to test audiences, the film was shelved and eventually dropped by Fox. New Regency Productions
New Regency Productions
New Regency Productions is a production company founded in 1991 by Arnon Milchan and a subsidiary of Regency Enterprises.It is located on the 20th Century Fox lot, and Fox is the current distributor of Regency releases since 1998, but is a wholly independent company. Warner Bros. Pictures was the...
continued on with project.
In a March 15, 2007 interview, Scott Aukerman
Scott Aukerman
Scottrick "Scott" Aukerman is an American writer, actor, comedian, television personality, director, producer, and podcast host. In the mid-1990s, Aukerman was a writer and performer on Mr. Show with Bob and David. He currently hosts the weekly comedy podcast Comedy Bang Bang...
said that the Onion movie was at a "dead standstill". Within two weeks, the listing for The Untitled Onion Movie had disappeared. Additionally, Onion, Inc. President at the time, Sean Mills, indicated The Onion was no longer associated with the film project. In August 2007, the IMDb listing was restored.
In November 2007, then-President Sean Mills told Wikinews
Wikinews
Wikinews is a free-content news source wiki and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. The site works through collaborative journalism. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has distinguished Wikinews from Wikipedia by saying "on Wikinews, each story is to be written as a news story as opposed to an...
that the movie was a dead project. Although Fox Searchlight had an option to release it on DVD, there was no immediate announcement of plans to do so. Eventually, the trailer appeared on the DVD for The Darjeeling Limited
The Darjeeling Limited
The Darjeeling Limited is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, and starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman. It was written by Anderson, Schwartzman, and Roman Coppola...
. The trailer also appeared on the Hitman, Charlie Bartlett
Charlie Bartlett
Charlie Bartlett is a 2008 comedy-drama film directed by Jon Poll. The screenplay by Gustin Nash focuses on a teenager who begins to dispense therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to the student body at his new high school in order to become popular....
and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem DVDs.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
released The Onion Movie DVD on June 3, 2008.
The UK release's packaging styles the film News Movie, aka The Onion Movie.
Critical reception
The film has received mixed reviews from critics. IMDb currently gives the film a rating of 6.2/10, while Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gives the film a rating of 33%.