Just when you were about to sing “Bye, bye, Miss American Pie” one more time, Universal Pictures is prepared to reheat the pie and politely give you some more. And since this is a multimillion-dollar film series, you had better like it because it would be too expensive to slap you in the face with it. A new “American Pie” film, based on an original proposal that is believed to give a “fresh perspective” on the 23-year-old sex comedy film series, is reportedly in production, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The upcoming director behind this new “American Pie” concept is Sujata Day, who is best known for her performances in Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore’s HBO comedy “Insecure” and Rae’s online series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.” The pitch’s premise or viewpoint is not yet known in depth, but Day is well renowned for her work both in front of and behind the camera. In 2020, she made her feature-length directorial debut with the dramedy “Definition Please.” Before being taken up by Ava DuVernay’s independent distribution company, ARRAY (African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement), the movie screened at festivals. Netflix is presently streaming it.
Day has further experience in front of the camera as the director of the Levar Burton-narrated YouTube series “This Is My Story,” and according to THR, she also holds the illustrious title of Sundance Lab fellow.
American Pie concepts’ levee: not dry
It’s just a wild guess, but given Day’s qualifications, it’s conceivable that she would want to add a bit more diversity to the “American Pie” franchise than we’ve previously seen.
If you go back and review the posters for the first four “American Pie” films, almost all of the characters are white. It seems odd that a film series with “American” in the title could just portray one vision of what America looks like, not that there’s anything wrong with having a few Stiflers (that came out incorrectly). There have been five “American Pie Presents” direct-to-video movies in addition to “American Pie,” “American Pie 2,” “American Wedding,” and “American Reunion”: “Band Camp,” “The Naked Mile,” “Beta House,” “The Book of Love,” and “Girls’ Rules,” the latter of which was released in 2020.
Many casual “American Pie” viewers who are reading this may not even be aware that the show is still airing in the 2020s. Day’s interpretation of “American Pie” might be able to bring it back into the present. One thing is certain: the “American Pie” ideas levee may not be as dry as we thought it was for both Chevy drivers and moviegoers.