The team behind the recent Hulu feature Pizza Movie doesn’t appear to be too worried that a meme could be putting the film in a box.
Directors Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, known for their work as the YouTube comedy duo BriTANicK, helmed the movie that stars Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone and Lulu Wilson. During a recent Reddit AMA, the directors addressed a meme that shows two stills from the project, including one of Matarazzo screaming, and includes the seemingly dismissive caption, “I’m good bro,” in addition to laughing and head-smack emojis.
“Um…. We’re still trying to fully comprehend it,” McElhaney said when a Reddit user asked if the meme has helped or hurt the film’s release. According to McElhaney, versions of the meme have since popped up that put a more positive spin on the movie: “Once it started turning to ‘It’s good bro!’ we felt much better. We honestly think it might have helped build more awareness than anything, so we’ll see, I guess… Ask us again in a month.”
Added Kocher, “Any press is good press? We hope?”
When a different user asked a similar question about whether the “I’m good bro” post has been a blessing or hindrance for marketing, Kocher replied, “Remains to be seen! I think it’s trending toward a HUGE blessing though. I’ve seen EVERY meme, and I’ve found a lot to be really funny. The one about me committing seppuku because ‘I wish to crumble beneath the glowing legacy Pizza Movie will leave behind’ legitimately made me laugh.”
The filmmaking duo, who also wrote the script for the action-comedy feature Over Your Dead Body that hits theaters this month, told The Hollywood Reporter during a recent interview that Matarazzo auditioned for Pizza Movie and was excited to work on it as he looked toward his post-Stranger Things career.
“We didn’t want to have to convince anyone or sell anyone to do it,” Kocher said. “He was enthusiastic the whole time. I’m so glad he did this movie. As a fan of his, this is the type of thing I wanted to see him do.”
