National Lampoon (AMEX:NLN), the most widely recognized brand in comedy, today announced that Kevin Dillon (Entourage) will star in the lead role of its third original production "National Lampoon's 301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus Wallace Leonidas".
"301" spoofs sword and sandal epics such as 300, Troy, Gladiator, and Braveheart. The storyline is centered on Dillon's character "Awesomest", the bumbling general of Sparta who has spent his life failing forward, but is destined for greatness.
Currently starring in the hit HBO series Entourage, Kevin was recently nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as "Johnny Drama".
"Kevin is perfect for this role," stated Justin Kanew, who is overseeing the project for National Lampoon. “He is a great fit for National Lampoon and just the guy our audience will connect with.”
Producer Dan Farah added, "Kevin is the only actor we wanted and we couldn’t be happier that he agreed to come on board."
National Lampoon is financing the film and producing with Dan Farah through his Farah Films banner. Project was penned by Jason Burinescu, who is also serving as a producer through his Vision Entertainment. Dale Rosenbloom will executive produce. They are currently meeting with directors to shoot by the end of the year.
Dillon is represented by ICM, and Tiffany Kuzon at Evolution.
"301" follows "National Lampoon's Bagboy" and "National Lampoon's Ratko", the first two features produced and financed in-house by National Lampoon in the company's 35 plus year history. All three films will be released theatrically through National Lampoon Releasing, while the company is open to broader distribution partnerships with major studios. National Lampoon recently announced a seven figure deal with Comedy Central for the first broadcast window rights for these three movies.
National Lampoon will release up to twelve titles per year comprised of four original movies and up to eight acquisitions. Distribution will be handled independently by National Lampoon, with some titles having broader distribution in partnership with major studios. Upcoming theatrical releases from National Lampoon include “National Lampoon presents The Beach Party At The Threshold Of Hell” coming October 19, 2007, Les Claypool’s directorial debut “National Lampoon Presents Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo” to be released November 9, 2007 and “National Lampoon’s Bagboy” slated for release early January.
About National Lampoon
National Lampoon, Inc. (AMEX:NLN) has been a dominant force in the US comedy world for almost 40 years, and is currently active in a broad array of media and entertainment segments. These include feature films, television programming, online and interactive entertainment, home video, audio, and book publishing. The Company also owns interests in all major National Lampoon properties, including National Lampoon's Animal House, the National Lampoon Vacation series and National Lampoon's Van Wilder. National Lampoon reaches nearly one in four of all 18 to 24 year old college students in America today. The Company has three core operating divisions: National Lampoon Films, which includes production along with theatrical and video distribution of feature films; College Marketing Division; and National Lampoon Networks, providing humor content through a number of platforms. These include its National Lampoon College TV network, the National Lampoon Humor Network - the most trafficked humor sites on the web, Toga TV.com - the company's broadband channel, and the new National Lampoon Video Network, which includes channels on YouTube, AOL, Yahoo, Joost, and a number of digital video platforms across the Internet. These are all anchored by the award winning comedy website www.nationallampoon.com.