The Onion Movie

The Onion Movie
DVD cover
Directed by	Tom Kuntz Mike Maguire
Produced by	David Zucker
Written by	Todd Hanson Robert D. Siegel
Starring	Len Cariou Steven Seagal Ken Takemoto Daniel Chacón Don McManus Kate Fuglei Abigail Mavity Ahmed Ahmed
Music by	Asche & Spencer
Cinematography	Maryse Alberti Neil Shapiro
Editing by	Frederick Wardell
Studio	Regency Enterprises New Regency 3 Arts Entertainment
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release date(s)	June 3, 2008 (2008-06-03)
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

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.

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 multinational, 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 Onions 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.

Production

In 2003, New Regency Productions and Fox Searchlight Pictures 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".^[1] Within two weeks, the listing for The Untitled Onion Movie had disappeared.^{[citation needed]} Additionally, Onion, Inc. President at the time, Sean Mills, indicated The Onion was no longer associated with the film project.^{[2][3][dead link]} In August 2007, the IMDb listing was restored.

In November 2007, then-President Sean Mills told Wikinews that the movie was a dead project.^[4] 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.^[5] The trailer also appeared on the Hitman, Charlie Bartlett and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem DVDs.^[6]

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released The Onion Movie DVD on June 3, 2008.^{[7][dead link]}

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^[8], while Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 33%.^[9]

References

1. ^ "The Fun Bunch: Do you believe in inevitabilities!?: 2007 That Other Paper Article". http://thatotherpaper.com/austin/the_fun_bunch_do_you_believe_in_inevitabilities. 
2. ^ Learmonth, Michael (March 26, 2007). "Onion launching video newscast: March 26, 2007 Variety Article". http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117961820.html?categoryid=14&cs=1. 
3. ^ "20 Movies Not Coming Soon to a Theater Near You". http://www.premiere.com/features/3861/20-movies-not-coming-soon-to-a-theater-near-you-page13.html. 
4. ^ The Onion: An interview with 'America's Finest News Source'
5. ^ An interview with The Onion, David Shankbone, Wikinews, November 24, 2007.
6. ^ The Onion Movie - Debuting At A DVD Player Near You - Silicon Alley Insider
7. ^ [1] Onion Movie, The UNRATED DVD: Steven Seagal (Marked for Death), Len Cariou (1408), Daniel Dae Kim (TV s Lost)]
8. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0392878/
9. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/onion_movie/

External links

• The Onion Movie at the Internet Movie Database