Whether you're new to the Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated Andy Samberg or you're looking for the latest Andy news, images, and videos, come here to find out about the king of The Lonely Island, Saturday Night Live, Lazy Sunday, Laser Cats, Junk in a Box, Dear Sister, Hot Rod, J**z in My Pants, I'm on a Boat, Mother Lover, On the Ground, and Shy Ronnie. Next movies: What's Your Number, and Friends with Benefits.
Akiva Schaffer (born December 1, 1977) is an American writer for Saturday Night Live, a film director, songwriter, and a member of The Lonely Island, a sketch-comedy troupe that first found success on the Internet, which includes SNL cast member Andy Samberg and SNL writer Jorma Taccone. He majored in film at University of California, Santa Cruz.
Akiva is 34 today!
Here's Akiva with his wife, Liz Cackowski (they have one child):
Akiva has won one Emmy (in 2007 for Junk in a Box), he's received 10 total Emmy nominations (4 for writing on SNL, and was nominated for writing Junk in a Box, Motherlover, Shy Ronnie, I Just Had Sex, The Golden Rule, and Jack Sparrow. Akiva was nominated (with TLI) for a Grammy in 2009 for "I'm on a Boat". He has also won three Writers Guild awards and a Peabody award for writing on SNL. 1 Emmy, 10 Emmy noms, and a Grammy nom... not bad, Akiva & TLI!
Akiva looking suave with SNL head writer Seth Meyers at the launch party for Lucid Absinthe at The Back Room in NYC on October 3, 2007:
Bill Hader said, "Then there is a movie, Henchman, that Akiva Schaffer and I are working on at 21 Laps. They came to us with it. That would be me and someone else – we don’t know who – basically playing two guys who realize that they are working for the villain in like a Jason Bourne movie."
Hader talked about HENCHMEN, a movie originally written by Russell Sharman, Owen Egerton, and Chris Mass. Hader is currently working with The Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer to re-write the script with plans to make it for Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps Productions. Schaffer would direct and Hader would star.
Hader said, ”[21 Laps] came to us with this script that Akiva and I are now reworking… The film is about two guys who don’t realize it, but they’re two henchman for like the badguy in a ‘Bourne’ movie and then they slowly figure who that they’re working for the wrong guys”
Hader is also working on a biopic film for Ben Stiller about Vaughn Meader. Meader made it big in the 60′s parodying President Kennedy and then saw his career dissipate after JFK’s assination.
Akiva Schaffer previouly directed Hot Rod and was an Executive Producer on MacGruber. He is also directing Neighborhood Watch (Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, and Vince Vaughn) and The Adventurer's Handbook (Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, and Jason Schwartzman).
It sounds like Ben Stiller has connected with the current SNL stars (he recently hosted and costarred with Andy Samberg in an SNL Digital Short about v-necks) and is using that to line up some great films. That will keep his career active!
CBS Films and Universal Studios have sent over a high resolution version of the new MacGruber movie poster. MacGruber stars Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Powers Boothe, Maya Rudolph and Val Kilmer and it’s the feature film version of the Saturday Night Live skit. MacGruber screened at SXSW and I’ve heard from friends it’s very stupid but extremely funny. Sounds like my kind of movie.
MACGRUBER Synopsis and Info:
Only one American hero has earned the rank of Green Beret, Navy SEAL and Army Ranger. Just one operative has been awarded 16 purple hearts, 3 Congressional Medals of Honor and 7 presidential medals of bravery. And only one guy is man enough to still sport a mullet. In 2010, Will Forte brings Saturday Night Live’s clueless soldier of fortune to the big screen in the action comedy MacGruber.
In the 10 years since his fiancée was killed, special op MacGruber has sworn off a life of fighting crime with his bare hands. But when he learns that his country needs him to find a nuclear warhead that’s been stolen by his sworn enemy, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), MacGruber figures he’s the only one tough enough for the job.
Assembling an elite team of experts-Lt. Dixon Piper (Ryan Phillippe) and Vicki St. Elmo (Kristen Wiig)-MacGruber will navigate an army of assassins to hunt down Cunth and bring him to justice. His methods may be unorthodox. His crime scenes may get messy. But if you want the world saved right, you call in MacGruber.
Release date: May 21, 2010
Rating: R
Genre: Action comedy
Cast: Will Forte, Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Powers Boothe, Maya Rudolph and Val Kilmer
Written by: Will Forte & John Solomon & Jorma Taccone
Directed by: Jorma Taccone
Produced by: Lorne Michaels, John Goldwyn
Executive Producers: Ryan Kavanaugh, Tucker Tooley, Akiva Schaffer, Seth Meyers, Erin David
Akiva Schaffer, 31, writer-director for Saturday Night Live and member of The Lonely Island, a comedy troupe, and Liz Cackowski, 31, writer for NBC’s Community and cowriter and star of The Jeannie Tate Show; dating four years
LC: We met in Los Angeles working for the MTV Movie Awards. I had a huge crush. I practiced saying his name: A-KEE-va. One night I straight-out told him, “I like you.”
AS: I was flattered and a little terrified. We dated casually long-distance for a year. Then I got a job in New York, where she lived—at SNL, where she worked. It was time to have The Conversation: Were we 100 percent together, or zero? It was all very logical, like, “Well, we can always break up!”
LC: That was our master plan. But it’s worked out!
Update: Added another video of Andy and TLI. In this one Andy gives his favorite curse word and reveals that he thinks Lost should be remade into a new show. And we added the link to a new Justin Timberlake interview where he mentions he'd do another SNL digital short. Originally posted 9/20/09. ============
Justin mentions doing another short with Andy (thanks Anony):
Talk about no surprise here. Frequent Jonah Hill collaborator Jason Segel has joined the cast of his upcoming film, The Adventurer’s Handbook. According to EW, Segel’s set to join Hill and Jason Schwartzman in the Akiva Schaffer directed comedy. The Adventurer’s Handbook stems from a screenplay that Hill and writing partner Max Winkler wrote and sold to Universal.
The story was inspired by the non-fiction book written by Mick Conefrey. The film is a comedy in which a quartet of pals go on a global adventure, inspired by the hardcore stories of explorers whose tales are chronicled in Conefrey’s book. Character descriptions haven’t been released, so we don’t know who will be playing who. But I think it’s safe to say the three main actors will probably be a part of the exploring quartet.
I love Jason Segel! Jonah Hill can have moments of annoyance, but Jason’s always good to watch. I’m sure whatever role he has he’ll deliver the goods. The Adventurer’s Handbook is still in the development stages, and we’re told that it hasn’t been greenlit as of yet. Hopefully production will start soon, because I’m really looking forward to this!
So we still don't know if Jorma or Andy will appear in this film. Basically, Akiva showed Jonah Hiill his mad skills when they filmed Andy's Dad, and Jonah is putting this flick together.
I hope they find a place for Andy in this film and Jorma's MacGruber film!
