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Here are the best parts of the interview (full here : http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/ ... ark&st=cse)
Q.
Have you figured out yet what you’re doing for the 200th episode?
A.
PARKER: It’s pretty funny because the only show we have figured out is the 200th, actually. We were looking at what a lot of other shows do when they have a 100th or 200th episode, and we were like, Oh, they do flashback episodes.
STONE: Clip shows.
PARKER: And we’re like, well, we’re not going to be that lazy. We’re not going to do that. But what if we bring back the biggest moments and revisit them – basically, we bring back everyone who’s [ticked off] at us. All the people that are [ticked off] at South Park the town are going to file a class-action lawsuit against the town. So basically it’s going to be an all-star, who’s who. Tom Cruise and everyone’s going to be back.
STONE: It’s everyone on “South Park” who doesn’t want to be on “South Park.”
PARKER: Hey, guess what? You’re back on!
STONE: Really, to fit everyone it would need to be about eight hours. But we’re just going to do standard length and pack it in.Q.
Have you seen “Avatar” since you did your “Dances With Smurfs” episode, and what did you think of it?
A.
STONE: I thought “Dances With Smurfs” was better, actually. Obviously, we hadn’t seen it when we did that. We just had to guess what the movie was about, based on the trailer. But I am surprised how close we got, actually. I thought the movie was going to be a better version of itself.
PARKER: We’re like, “We know that they’re trying to get something off this planet, some resource. We should find out what they call it.” And then someone said, “Oh, they call it Unobtanium.” And we were just like, “Yeah, whatever, shut up. O.K., let’s find out what it’s really called.” We were like, “No way. No. It can’t be that dumb.”
STONE: But it was that dumb.
PARKER: I actually took forever to go see it, but I finally went and saw it like a month ago. After an hour, I was like, I am so done with this movie. Because I know exactly what’s going to happen.
STONE: I have to admit, I had a fun time watching it. But I can’t defend a single thing in it.Q.
Even in a general sense, you don’t feel that your show and “Family Guy” are playing for the same team?
A.
PARKER: That’s the frustration where that show came from. We kept running into people that are just like, “Oh, you guys do ‘South Park’ – I love that show, and ‘Family Guy.’ That’s the best. You must love ‘Family Guy.’ ” And we were like, “No, we [really] hate ‘Family Guy.’ ”
STONE: It’s a frustration I’m sure they probably have, too. You get lumped together with shows because you’re animated. There’s just not a lot of similarity, we don’t think, between the two shows. By the way, there’s not much similarity between “South Park” and “Beavis and Butt-head.” Except for being animated, they’re very different shows.Q.
Do you regret that that episode led to your falling out with Isaac Hayes, a member of your voice cast, right before he died?
A.
STONE: Yeah, because we always had a really good relationship with Isaac. He was a really sweet guy. We were sitting there one day, trying to figure out what to do, and what another episode could be. “We should do a show on Scientology.” “Well, maybe we shouldn’t because of Isaac.” And it was like, you know what, [forget] that, we’ve done everything else. My mom is Jewish, we’ve certainly done our share of making fun of Jews. It just didn’t feel totally honest not to do it because of that.
We thought Isaac would understand or be like, “Oh, I didn’t like that one, but whatever, that’s your prerogative.” And we’ll never know, but it seemed like he was getting pressure from other people around him. The little bit that we knew Isaac, he was a really mellow, cool guy. I don’t think he really cared that much. I don’t think he wanted to be in the middle of it.Q.
You’re now about two years into the operation of your South Park Studios Web site, where just about all the content is available for free. Does the gamble seem to be paying off?
A.
PARKER: To be honest, we don’t care about the money. We both have all the money we need. It’s really just about the survival of the show. First hearing about, O.K., we’re going to be putting everything on the Internet for free, I was like, Really? Wow, O.K. [laughs] That’s the world we live in. I’m actually surprised at how smooth the transition is going.
STONE: If we had years and years to discuss it, and we had determined what the right course of action was – but we don’t have years and years. We’re doing the show right now in 2010, and the reality is, we have to have our show on the Internet. Would the network like it if everyone who watched it for free on the Internet actually had to pay? Yes. But it always ends up helping us when people can see the show.Q.
What can you tell us about the musical you’re working on with the “Avenue Q” co-creator Robert Lopez?
A.
PARKER: It’s about Mormons. When we met up with Bobby, we were like, “What else do you think you want to do?” And he said, “I’ve always wanted to do a musical about Joseph Smith.” Matt and I have always talked about doing something with Joseph Smith. And so we’re like, “That’s it.” Then we said, “Maybe it’s not the best to do a musical just about him and people that lived 150 years ago. Maybe we get it a little more mainstream.” After working on it four or five years, it became a lot more, and bigger than that.[/b]
SOUTH PARK 200TH EPISODE IN 4 WEEKS AND SOUNDS CRAZZZZZYYYY
Q.
Have you figured out yet what you’re doing for the 200th episode?
A.
PARKER: It’s pretty funny because the only show we have figured out is the 200th, actually. We were looking at what a lot of other shows do when they have a 100th or 200th episode, and we were like, Oh, they do flashback episodes.
STONE: Clip shows.
PARKER: And we’re like, well, we’re not going to be that lazy. We’re not going to do that. But what if we bring back the biggest moments and revisit them – basically, we bring back everyone who’s [ticked off] at us. All the people that are [ticked off] at South Park the town are going to file a class-action lawsuit against the town. So basically it’s going to be an all-star, who’s who. Tom Cruise and everyone’s going to be back.
STONE: It’s everyone on “South Park” who doesn’t want to be on “South Park.”
PARKER: Hey, guess what? You’re back on!
STONE: Really, to fit everyone it would need to be about eight hours. But we’re just going to do standard length and pack it in.Q.
Have you seen “Avatar” since you did your “Dances With Smurfs” episode, and what did you think of it?
A.
STONE: I thought “Dances With Smurfs” was better, actually. Obviously, we hadn’t seen it when we did that. We just had to guess what the movie was about, based on the trailer. But I am surprised how close we got, actually. I thought the movie was going to be a better version of itself.
PARKER: We’re like, “We know that they’re trying to get something off this planet, some resource. We should find out what they call it.” And then someone said, “Oh, they call it Unobtanium.” And we were just like, “Yeah, whatever, shut up. O.K., let’s find out what it’s really called.” We were like, “No way. No. It can’t be that dumb.”
STONE: But it was that dumb.
PARKER: I actually took forever to go see it, but I finally went and saw it like a month ago. After an hour, I was like, I am so done with this movie. Because I know exactly what’s going to happen.
STONE: I have to admit, I had a fun time watching it. But I can’t defend a single thing in it.Q.
Even in a general sense, you don’t feel that your show and “Family Guy” are playing for the same team?
A.
PARKER: That’s the frustration where that show came from. We kept running into people that are just like, “Oh, you guys do ‘South Park’ – I love that show, and ‘Family Guy.’ That’s the best. You must love ‘Family Guy.’ ” And we were like, “No, we [really] hate ‘Family Guy.’ ”
STONE: It’s a frustration I’m sure they probably have, too. You get lumped together with shows because you’re animated. There’s just not a lot of similarity, we don’t think, between the two shows. By the way, there’s not much similarity between “South Park” and “Beavis and Butt-head.” Except for being animated, they’re very different shows.Q.
Do you regret that that episode led to your falling out with Isaac Hayes, a member of your voice cast, right before he died?
A.
STONE: Yeah, because we always had a really good relationship with Isaac. He was a really sweet guy. We were sitting there one day, trying to figure out what to do, and what another episode could be. “We should do a show on Scientology.” “Well, maybe we shouldn’t because of Isaac.” And it was like, you know what, [forget] that, we’ve done everything else. My mom is Jewish, we’ve certainly done our share of making fun of Jews. It just didn’t feel totally honest not to do it because of that.
We thought Isaac would understand or be like, “Oh, I didn’t like that one, but whatever, that’s your prerogative.” And we’ll never know, but it seemed like he was getting pressure from other people around him. The little bit that we knew Isaac, he was a really mellow, cool guy. I don’t think he really cared that much. I don’t think he wanted to be in the middle of it.Q.
You’re now about two years into the operation of your South Park Studios Web site, where just about all the content is available for free. Does the gamble seem to be paying off?
A.
PARKER: To be honest, we don’t care about the money. We both have all the money we need. It’s really just about the survival of the show. First hearing about, O.K., we’re going to be putting everything on the Internet for free, I was like, Really? Wow, O.K. [laughs] That’s the world we live in. I’m actually surprised at how smooth the transition is going.
STONE: If we had years and years to discuss it, and we had determined what the right course of action was – but we don’t have years and years. We’re doing the show right now in 2010, and the reality is, we have to have our show on the Internet. Would the network like it if everyone who watched it for free on the Internet actually had to pay? Yes. But it always ends up helping us when people can see the show.Q.
What can you tell us about the musical you’re working on with the “Avenue Q” co-creator Robert Lopez?
A.
PARKER: It’s about Mormons. When we met up with Bobby, we were like, “What else do you think you want to do?” And he said, “I’ve always wanted to do a musical about Joseph Smith.” Matt and I have always talked about doing something with Joseph Smith. And so we’re like, “That’s it.” Then we said, “Maybe it’s not the best to do a musical just about him and people that lived 150 years ago. Maybe we get it a little more mainstream.” After working on it four or five years, it became a lot more, and bigger than that.[/b]
SOUTH PARK 200TH EPISODE IN 4 WEEKS AND SOUNDS CRAZZZZZYYYY
