If you live anywhere outside of the United States it is likely that you will not have heard of
Kenan Thompson. The reason for this is that his renown comes almost exclusively from his long-time employment in unaccountably popular US entertainment and sketch show Saturday Night Live. A programme which is renowned for- with a few notable exceptions, particularly Waynes World- turning out a long list of terrible spin-off movies and comedy vehicles for its cast members, a recent and typical example of which is MacGruber. Several of the series former stars have gone on to fame and fortune, others to obscurity and one, in the case of Adrienne Johnson, has gone on to become a barely employable ranting reactionary bigot. The next step for these people, therefore, is often fraught with danger, and Thompsons big screen project sounds similarly precarious.
Deadline say Thompson will star in Parmamount Pictures high concept comedy
Party Starters which has been written by one of the SNL team (
Bryan Tucker) as a man hired to encourage people to dance at weddings and other parties and family functions. The concept- high or otherwise- appears to be a fairly feeble one, a somewhat less interesting The Wedding Singer. It is possible, given the limited international regard for SNL, which the film may not see a theatrical release in Europe, but SNL producers Lorne Michaels- who pitched the project to Paramount- will surely have enough brand recognition in his domestic market to do some worthwhile business.