Original Cast Members Returning for ‘American Pie 4′

We had the chance to chat with Craig Perry, the producer behind the American Pie and Final Destination franchises, and get the scoop on what may be happening next for Stifler, “Band Camp,” Levenstein, and the rest of the American Pie gang.

Most notably, the return of several key characters for American Pie 4.

The producer had not originally intended for American Pie to become the lasting franchise that it is:

“When we were making American Pie, we would watch the dailies and say ‘ohh, it might make 30 million!’ You never really know. You just sort of know when things are working, and are grateful that they are working. It is hard to make any movie really, more to make one that actually works.”

American Pie went on to gross $235 million in worldwide theatrical sales – and inspire two traditional sequels American Pie 2 and American Wedding as well as a (more recent) series of strait to DVD releases. Audiences may now see a return to the original storyline and characters, and another theatrical release for the franchise, with American Pie 4.

Harold And Kumar writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg are penning the script and are also slated to direct the film - which would bring the original cast back together.

Perry is hoping to have a script to look at as soon as the new year. Technically the “new year” could mean any time in 2011 but the film is already (tentatively) scheduled for a 2012 release:

“If we get a script that everyone is exited about, then it is going to be all about the schedule.”

The producer knows that it will require some maneuvering to get all of the original cast members in the same place at the same time:

“Alyson (Hannigan) has got the show (How I Met Your Mother), and the baby. So there are a lot of people with a lot of things to do.”

Despite the challenges, Perry is determined to see a return of the original cast for the next film in the series:

“If you start whittling it down, then it is no longer what it is meant to me. Those characters have become part of the cultural lexicon, and I think there’s an interest in seeing where they are, because they haven’t been on screen in seven years. I think that’s a very effective way of backing into this is having people wonder ‘what did happen to those guys, what did happen to those girls?’”

It looks like, given the right script, audiences will have an answer to that question when American Pie 4 hits theaters in 2012.

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Fox Shakes Up TV Schedule With ‘American Idol’ Move

It looks like the judges’ panel isn’t the only dramatic change in store for American Idol, which makes its midseason debut in January.

In a scheduling move nobody saw coming, Fox is shifting American Idol to Wednesdays and Thursdays. “Here’s a chance for us to own Thursday nights,” said Mike Darnell, Fox’s president of alternative. “You have to do a big move to take on Thursdays and this is a big move.”

How will the move affect the network’s slate of shows, not to mention the offerings of rival networks? Here’s our breakdown:

Tuesday: Without ‘Idol’ on Tuesday, Glee will provide a strong lead-in to Fox’s latest reality experiment Million Dollar Money Drop, and will make way for comedies Raising Hope and Mixed Signals in February.

Wednesday: Reaping the most benefits from Fox’s midseason schedule is Human Target. Also taking advantage of an Idol lead-in will be Christian Slater’s midseason comedy Breaking In, which won’t premiere until April. Idol’s move will incite several interesting ratings matchups. The Wednesday night time slot puts it in direct competition with Paula Abdul’s Live to Dance, as well as CBS’ ratings mainstay, Survivor. While Survivor appears to be immune to rival programming, Paula’s dance competition will likely suffer from this ratings rivalry.

Thursday: It will be exciting to see how CBS’ comedy pairing of Big Bang Theory and Bleep My Dad Says perform against TV’s highest-rated show. It’s expected that Big Bang shouldn’t be affected all too much, but the William Shatner comedy is sure to take a (fatal?) beating.

Friday: While the move should prove beneficial to several of the network’s shows, it may not be the case for the ratings-challenged Fringe. Fox will be pushing the struggling J.J. Abrams drama to Fridays – never a good sign. Despite promises to the contrary by network entertainment president Kevin Reilly, Friday night Sci-fi programs and Fox have never made for a successful arrangement. Time will tell, but it doesn’t look good given that Fringe has been unable to break the 5 million-mark in Thursday night viewership during November.

You’ll be able to catch American Idol on Wednesdays and Thursdays, starting this January, on Fox.

Source: THR

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