Another "Saturday Night Live" alum has jumped on the digital media bandwagon. David Spade will reprise his "Joe Dirt" role in a digital sequel on Crackle.
Spade and Happy Madison Productions will make "Joe Dirt 2" the first digital sequel to a major studio film, according to Deadline. Columbia Pictures released the first "Joe Dirt" feature in 2001, and the sequel will premiere on Crackle, a Sony digital platform.
"I'm beyond stoked that 'Joe Dirt' will finally hit the screens again on Crackle," Spade told Deadline. "I've been sleeping in this wig for years and it will be nice to wear it in the daytime again."
Spade played the mullet-styling, rock-loving idiot in the movie about Joe Dirt's search for his parents who abandoned him as kid at the Grand Canyon. He will team up again with former "SNL" writer Fred Wolf to co-write and executive produce the sequel. Wolf will also direct the movie.
"David Spade had a fresh and unique vision for 'Joe Dirt 2' that he could have brought anywhere and we couldn't be happier that he brought it to Crackle for a first-of-its-kind, worldwide release," Eric Berger, Crackle GM and Sony EVP Digital Networks, told Deadline. "The original film has been a longtime viewer favorite, ranking among the most viewed in our library, and we decided to produce and distribute the sequel as a feature for fans everywhere."
"Joe Dirt 2" will start filming next month on location in Louisiana, where the first movie was set. The original movie cost $18 million and grossed $28 million. Crackle will release the movie next year on all the Crackle platforms.
The Crackle deal comes after Spade's "Grown Ups" co-star Adam Sandler inked a four-picture deal with Netflix on Oct. 1. The comedian will make four feature films for the video-streaming behemoth where Sandler's past films frequently rank as the most viewed.
"When these fine people came to me with an offer to make four movies for them, I immediately said yes for one reason and one reason only... Netflix rhymes with Wet Chicks," Sandler said in a statement. "Let the streaming begin!!!!"
Crackle streams movies and TV shows. It's most popular original series is Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee."
