Neighbors is a new comedy film about a young married couple, played by Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, who are suffering from arrested development and who are forced to live next to a fraternity house after the birth of their newborn daughter. Seth Rogen gets fed up with the fraternity, whose leader is played by Zac Efron. After attempts to ask their neighbors to “keep it down,” the couple soon finds themselves at war with the fraternity.
Neighbors is written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien and is directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek). In addition to Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Rose Byrne, the film co-stars Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Dave Franco, Ike Barinholtz and Lisa Kudrow.
While Neighbors was being filmed in L.A, Heavy.com had the opportunity to have a chat with stars Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and screenwriters Andrew J.Cohen and Brendan O’Brien about the new comedy. Neighbors is set for a release date of May 9, 2014.
Here are 10 facts you need to know about Neighbors.
1. Brendan O’ Brien & Andrew J. Cohen Always Wanted to Do a Movie About Townies in a College Town
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In an interview with Heavy.com, Brendan O’ Brien, screenwriter of Neighbors, mentioned, “We always wanted to do a movie about townies. We had this idea about people that live in a college town who don’t go to the school, but do go to the parties. That was the original idea was and we were like, ‘That’s not quite a movie!’”
Influenced by a town surrounding Penn State where the residents hated the college kids, screenwriters Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien wanted to do a movie about college kids and their neighbors at odds with each other. Cohen explains, “…they pee in their flower beds, cut down stop signs, and cause traffic accidents…The idea of 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds being in a generational fight is ridiculous and so true.”
2. The Original Version of Neighbors Was Like a Crappy Old School
The original idea of Neighbors was about Seth Rogen and his buddies fighting against a fraternity, which made director Nicholas Stoller think of Neighbors as crappy Old School. Stoller wanted to figure out a way for the movie to make more sense and become much bigger.
Stoller explained when they finally figured out the right formula for the plot. “Let’s make it about Seth and his wife kind of taking on the fraternity. It was a much bigger idea and makes a lot more sense.”
3. Neighbors Is the First Movie Where Zac Efron & Seth Rogen Share the Screen
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Zac Efron, best known for his lead role in Disney’s High School Musical, will be starring in his first comedy movie, Neighbors, with Seth Rogen. This will be the first time that Zac Efron and Seth Rogen will be sharing the big screen together. Director Nicholas Stoller thinks it’s really funny seeing Zac Efron and Seth Rogen together. “The movie is just going to work. It’s really funny seeing them share the screen. They don’t make sense on screen together and I think that’s the best kind of battle movies. It’s been great working with Zac, he’s awesome. He’s quite dreamy. Sometimes it’s hard to give him notes because I zone out in the middle of it and just stare at him.”
4. Neighbors Was Filmed in L.A. Because Nick Stoller’s Wife Was Super-Pregnant at the Time
Seth Rogen had to figure out a way to shoot Neighbors in L.A., because he found out Nick Stoller’s wife was pregnant. In an interview with Heavy.com, Seth Rogen said, “Nick’s wife is incredibly pregnant, and there was a moment where you have to shoot in L.A., or you have to replace Nick. And this moment was pretty close to the time we were supposed to make the movie, and so we said, ‘We’ll figure out a way to shoot in L.A.’ And so we had to eat the cost essentially. We had to absorb the cost of the rebate that we would have been getting from New Orleans, and find a way to cut three weeks out of our schedule. We found a way to make it work.”
5. Christopher Mintz-Plasse Wasn’t Originally in the Script, But Was Picked Because of the Size of His Penis
Screenwriter Brendan O’ Brien wrote about a funny character with an enormous penis and thought who would be the best fit for that role, and the first person that came to mind was Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka McLovin). “We wrote a character with an enormous penis and we thought, ‘Who is the funniest person to play that guy?’” O’Brien said. “We were originally thinking somebody big and goofy looking, but it would be better with a small guy…especially Chris, because he has so much confidence anyway, but like now he’s got a reason for it. Like I said, he’s packing heat!”
6. Christopher Mintz-Plasse Almost Ditched the Movie to Make an Album
Christopher Mintz-Plasse was on the fence about joining the cast of Neighbors when he got the call from Evan Goldberg. At the time, he thought he was going to record an album with his band called the Young Rapscallions.
In an interview with Heavy.com, Mintz-Plasse said, “Evan hit me up to do it, and then I was on the fence, because I was going to maybe record an album with my band.” He found out Dave Franco was going to be in the movie and was his response was, “Nooooooo! I’m recording my album. F*ck you!” Mintz-Plasse said, “Dave Franco was really the defining factor.”
7. Seth Rogen Said Rose Byrne Made the Perfect Mate
In an interview with Heavy.com, Seth Rogen mentioned that he couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else, as Rose Byrne is funny and made it seem like she really liked him.
“She’s the best. I honestly couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else. She’s so funny, and so game, and so good. Perhaps her greatest acting ability is that she makes it seem like she really likes me. We seem like a real married couple. Even when I watch it, I’m like, ‘We look like a real married couple!’ It’s crazy.”
8. Seth Rogen Thinks ‘Neighbors’ is Both Mature and Immature
Seth Rogen is happy about Neighbors being “adult,” while still being just as immature as his other movies. When asked how he thinks his fans will react to Neighbors, Rogen told Heavy.com, “I think they will really like it. It’s super funny. One of the things I’m very happy about with is that it’s about something adult while it’s the same type of movie we’ve been making. It’s just as immature as all our other movies, even though it’s about something that’s a little bit more mature. The stuff we’ve been doing is crazy and outrageous, and just as funny to me as anything I’ve ever participated with on a movie. And again, what makes it even funnier is that there is a baby around, and it’s about people our age. It just seems like it’s so offset by the frat as it’s a big part of the movie.”
9. Zac Efron Always Wanted to Be in an R-Rated Comedy
Zac Efron joked around, saying he only signed on to do Neighbors because he knew he would get to “touch Seth Rogen’s bare chest.” But in all seriousness, Zac was looking for the right opportunity to be a part of an R comedy. It was just a matter of finding the right one.
As Zac described in an interview with Heavy.com, “I knew I’d get to touch Seth’s bare chest. I was always excited about the prospect of being in a R comedy and potentially finding the right one, but it just never came. I didn’t want to [act in a comedy with] with anyone but Seth, you know? In a perfect world I thought I would be able to work with him. He’s always been in comedies that I really relate to and agree with, and it makes sense to me.”
10. Neighbors is a ‘Hard’ R-Movie
In an interview with Heavy.com, Dave Franco, who also stars in Neighbors, seemed to be pretty happy about being able to have the freedom to say whatever he wants since Neighbors is rated R. Dave Franco explained, “It felt great to have the freedom and say whatever we want, literally. At the same time, after we finish a scene, I look back and asked, ‘Did I say f*ck too many times?’ You can get really weird and dark with it. This movie is ‘hard’ R.”
Christopher Mintz-Plasse agreed saying, “There are so many drugs in this movie. There is a boner rig you wear… [looking at Dave]. Every day it just gets crazier and crazier, because it’s an R movie you’re allowed to do that kind of stuff.”
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