‘¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!’ Director Says Matt Stone Is the Person Trey Parker Most Wants to Make Laugh
After 30 years of partnership, the two South Park creators’ #1 goal is still to crack each other up — I guess they’re good buddies, guy.
When multiple genius artists have been in a state of constant collaboration for even a fraction of the time that Trey Parker and Matt Stone have spent making their beloved TV shows, movies, Broadway musicals, video games and Denver-area dinner entertainment experiences, the usual expectation is that the weight of massive success, wealth and expectations will drive the partners to despise each other, à la The Beatles, Monty Python or Siskel and Ebert. Thankfully, the duo that got paired up for a partner project while they were both enrolled in a film course at the University of Colorado Boulder has shown no sign of the internal strife that’s broken up so many incredible artistic collaborations through the years, and, if blowing $40 million to fix up Casa Bonita hasn’t ended Parker and Stone’s friendship, nothing could.
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Last month, South Park fans got their second inside look into the machinations of Parker and Stone’s partnership with ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!, thanks to the work of filmmaker Arthur Bradford, who previously directed the South Park making-of documentary 6 Days to Air for Comedy Central. During a Reddit AMA yesterday, Bradford spoke about his long relationship with the South Park creators as well as their relationship with each other, noting, “It’s really sweet and beautiful how much of a fan Matt is of Trey. And Trey will often say that Matt is the person he most wants to make laugh.”
As for how Bradford joined the most powerful bromance in comedy, the origins of his connection to Parker and Stone are equally sweet. “I first met Matt and Trey in the mid-‘90s when we had all just finished college,” Bradford explained. “I was working at a summer camp for people with disabilities and taught a video class there. We made these funny news programs at the camp and one of the VHS tapes got passed on to Matt and Trey by a friend of mine who knew them. We became friends, mailing VHS tapes back and forth. This was pre-internet.”
“Eventually I met them in person and they had just made their first deal with Comedy Central and they offered to fund a documentary I’d make with the people from that summer camp. That movie was How’s Your News?, and we’ve worked together on things ever since,” Bradford wrote, referencing the project that turned into a short-lived MTV comedy/infotainment series in 2009 that he made with Parker and Stone. “I think they are very inspiring people. They make mistakes and laugh at themselves, and they also go big on things. They aren’t afraid of risk, and that makes their projects exciting to document.”
Parker and Stone’s unique relationship carries ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor! through all the hardships and unexpected stressors the two experienced while undergoing the most outrageous, unprofitable and ultimately inspiring restaurant renovation project in the history of Lakewood, Colorado. “I’m pretty sure they don’t expect to ever make all of their money back,” Bradford added of Casa Bonita’s financial situation, “It’s that attitude which makes me love working with Matt and Trey. They want something to be awesome first and foremost. They don’t mind making money, but first it has to be great. So yes I do think it was worth it, for them.”
In other words, the real profits will always be the friends they made along the way.
