If, in the middle of a weekend that hosted both the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and Sam Bee’s “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” you were too busy laughing at the trainwreck that was Fyre Festival, good news: Seth Rogen and The Lonely Island boys have been working on a script with a very similar story, about a poorly planned music fest gone horribly wrong.
If you haven’t heard, here’s what went down. Late last week, planeloads of kids with huge Instagram followings and zero experience living in the real world began showing up on the Bahamian island of Exumas; the kids, who’d paid up to $12k for their all-inclusive weekend packages, were there to see Blink 182, Migos, Lil Yachty and other of-the-moment musicians perform at a very exclusive, very expensive outdoor fest. Fyre, which was partially underwritten by Ja Rule and thus labeled “Ja Rule’s festival” in the ongoing media blitz, was sold as the world’s first, and ultimate, luxury festival experience, with well-appointed lodging, chef-prepared meals, and concierge experiences unlike those found at more mainstream events like Coachella and Bonnaroo. Thanks to several hundred Instagram models (who received comped tickets in exchange for their promotion), including Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid, thousands of kids saw Fyre Fest’s vague but brilliant marketing and bought passes, sight unseen (literally – there were only artist’s renderings selling the event, with no photos of the grounds or lodging at all).
Sounds fine, if a little gross, so far, right? Well, the organizers obviously thought so, because they basically stopped planning the fest once the tickets were sold. We now know, thanks to a behind-the-scenes expose from former fest staffer (and former SNL talent associate) Chloe Gordon that, as soon as six weeks before the actual event, there was almost no infrastructure in place whatsoever – no solid plans to build the grounds, set up lodging, order food and drinks, or even pay the performers.
So last week, when everyone showed up? Total chaos, with nowhere for thousands to sleep or eat, no flights home, and nobody telling them what was going on. Admittedly, it was pretty sweet to see a gathering of the country’s most entitled young snowflakes – the kind who, even though they aren’t old enough to drink, think nothing of dropping $10k on a quick trip to the Bahamas – have a real rough time instead.
And perhaps one of the more exciting things to come from the embers of Fyre Festival is the revelation that comedy kings Seth Rogen and the Lonely Island boys (Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaeffer) have been working on a script with very similar plot.
As news of Fyre’s failure was breaking, Rogen Tweeted:
While there’s no more info on the film yet, it sounds like it’s already in progress — so, not inspired by the past week’s events. It’s pretty to imagine one or both of the Franco bros playing Insta-famous kids who fleece their followers, so this seems like a pretty natural fit for Rogen and the Lonely Island team, who tend to stick with the same general group of actors from project to project. Bill Hader as a vibe-y EDM producer? Danny McBridge as a shady immigration cop who sneaks kids off the island, maybe? We can’t wait to see how it turns out.This seems like a good time to mention the movie we are making with @thelonelyisland about a music festival that goes HORRIBLY WRONG.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) April 28, 2017
