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popentertainment-interviews · 5 months

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Phil Traill, Kevin Kopelow & Heath Seifert

Serve Up 90s Nostalgia With Good Burger 2

By Kayla Marra

The 90s were a time of iconic fashion trends, formative moments in pop culture history, unforgettable music, and timeless sitcoms. One of the most memorable films to stem from this era is Good Burger – starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell. Though the movie was released nearly 27 years ago, it is still a cultural phenomenon.

Director Phil Traill, alongside writers Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert, joined forces again in 2023 to bring back everyone’s favorite fast-food coworkers in an all-new feature film: Good Burger 2. The sequel includes an incredible cast, comprised of Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Lil Rel Howery, Jillian Bell, Kamaia Fairburn, Alex R. Hibbert, Fabrizio Guido, Elizabeth Hinkler, Emily Hinkler, Anabel Graetz, Josh Server, Lori Beth Denberg, and Carmen Electra.

We were lucky enough to chat with Phil Traill, Kevin Kopelow, Heath Seifert in a virtual press conference about the newly released sequel.

On the inspiration behind reviving the iconic 90s story as a sequel 26 years later:

Heath Seifert: Good Burger is a project that is near and dear to our hearts. We did the original 27 years ago, and we worked with Kenan and Kel starting All That 30 years ago. That’s when we did the first sketches. We’ve always been thinking Good Burger. It’s always at the front of our brains. When the time was right, we had a story that felt really relevant to tell now about technology and evil corporations trying to exploit workers. It felt like the right time to tell that tale, and everybody involved with the original film looks back on it fondly and wanting to do it again and wanting to do it right. So, it was really just a matter of getting everybody’s schedules to line up.

Phil Traill: (laughs)I just wanted some money!

Heath Seifert: Other people did it for the money. It’s a paycheck.

On handling the continuity and coherence of a film’s narrative years after its initial release:

Kevin Kopelow: We had written a lot of “Good Burger” sketches on All That, so we always had this voice down. Then we rebooted it, did the sketches again and it was just natural. It’s always in our heads, we’re always thinking Good Burger bits and, “Oh, you know what would be funny in Good Burger?” and we got to do it! It wasn’t too difficult to get back into it.

On if Good Burger 2 is a continuation of Good Burger or the sequel was created from a different angle:

Heath Seifert: I think we looked at the first film as a template of what we enjoyed and what worked. I love what Phil likes to say, “Then we emulate and elevate.” We kind of took that blueprint and tried to build a bigger burger, so to speak.

On if there was a moment on set that encapsulated the experience of making the film:

Phil Traill: When Kenan and Kel got into the burger mobile for the first time and drove out onto the real street, and people just stopped, screaming. It was slightly annoying because we were trying to film! Everyone just seemed so happy to be there – from Kenan and Kel in the burger mobile, in their outfits, and then us filming it, and then all the people lining the streets. It was just people smiling.

Kevin Kopelow: The people that knew who they were, were so excited and the people that didn’t we’re going, “Woah, who are these two guys riding around in a burger?!” That’s the movie in a nutshell.

Phil Traill: I heard lots of dads telling their kids, “You’ve never seen it! We have to go home and watch it straight away!” They were explaining the world of it so quickly if the kids hadn’t seen it before. They’re going to be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade driving the burger mobile – Kenan and Kel!

Kevin Kopelow: No one knows they’re doing it; they’re just driving. (laughs)

On what it was like seeing the film in its entirety after putting years of work into it:

Phil Traill: I’ve seen it a lot. Each time’s a joy. We actually have our premier tonight. I’m really happy and satisfied because when we set it up to make a film, you don’t completely know what you’ll end up with. The target is quite small to hit for nostalgic fans, new fans, young people, old people. It’s quite a small target. It seems to hit that, so I’m really pleased that it seems to be hitting that target. I’m really happy each time we show it to people.

Heath Seifert: Phil did an amazing job. It’s really fun to watch it. It’s really exciting to see it. I think people are going to be really happy.