• October 25, 2004
• Vol. 63
• No. 17

Puppet Masters

By Jason Lynch

No Celebrity Is Safe with South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone Pulling the Strings in Team America: World Police

Trey Parker and Matt Stone had the world on a string, but they weren't sitting on a rainbow. Working around the clock to finish their all-marionette political satire Team America: World Police "was the worst six months of my life, by far," says Stone. "This movie has ruined all our relationships with our family, friends and girlfriends." It may not do much for their relations in Hollywood either. Their movie mercilessly skewers —sometimes literally—the most politically outspoken stars, none of whom cooperated with the filmmakers. The story? Duped by North Korean dictator Kim Jong II, the celebs wage a misguided battle with Team America, a heroic international police force. "They pick up their guns and try to kill Team America," says Parker. "At that point, game on, we can blow them up or set them on fire or whatever."

South Park creators Parker, 35, and Stone, 33, were inspired to write America by Thunderbirds, the 1960s British sci-fi series starring marionettes. They set out to parody action films like Armageddon and Pearl Harbor, but writing the script as the war in Iraq escalated, "there was this two-month period when you would turn on the TV and every day there was a new celebrity talking about the war," says Parker. Adds Stone: "The self-delusion of these actors seemed so ripe for comedy." Other than Sean Penn (see box), the actors have remained mum about their inclusion in the film. Still, they can rest easy. Parker and Stone promise their puppet days are through. "A sequel? Not in a million years," says Parker. "I will not put myself through that again."

Jason Lynch. Oliver Jones in Los Angeles

• Contributors:
• Oliver Jones.