"Wet Hot American Summer" was hardly well received at the box office or by critics when it was first released 14 years ago. But that didn't stop the cast of the now cult-classic film from reuniting for an eight-episode prequel series on Netflix.
TODAY's Willie Geist sat down with some of the "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" cast members, including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Michael Ian Black, as well as the movie's writers and producers, David Wain and Michael Showalter, who spilled the secrets about why everyone was on board for the sequel.
"We had all been talking about it in different ways over the last 15 years," Wain said. "And so when Michael and I finally got serious about wanting to do it, we called them all up and said, 'Hey, we're really gonna do this. And we wanna do it as a Netflix show. Are you in?' And every single one said sure."
Part of the reason they were on board had to do with how much fun they had on set.
"I don't really remember acting or learning my lines or doing any of the scenes," Poehler said. "I do remember... in between, there was a lot of hanging around because Michael and David were the only ones that were working hard."
Fans of the original movie likely remember a very intimate scene in a sports equipment shed between Michael Ian Black and Bradley Cooper. Black told TODAY that while filming the scene, despite their apprehensions, they decided to go for it.
"It was both of our first movies," Black said. "And we had a conversation. We were like, 'We're either gonna go for this or we're not.' And we were like, 'We're absolutely gonna go for it."
As for how it worked out for their careers, Black said it's been a "rocket ride."
"What people forget about me and Bradley is we've actually won the same number of Oscars," Black said, jokingly.
And now, despite 14 years going by, the prequel takes place two months before the original movie, with absolutely no reference to the time difference.
"I think for some of the cast, it was difficult," Black said. "I'm lucky that I, I take a lot of HGH. So I've been very fortunate that I haven't aged."