Well, this is awkward. The Onion, the satirical newspaper-turned-multimedia brand that also includes The A.V. Club, has struck a three-movie development deal with media company Lionsgate, putting us in the uncomfortable position of having to share a communal kitchen space with the same people whose movies we review. (Just kidding. That would be a conflict of interest, and our happy hours are weird enough as is.) No details of any potential projects have been released as of yet—not even to us—but our own Onion Studios is partnering with production company Serious Business, which also produces Comedy Central’s @Midnight, to develop the films, which could be distributed either digitally or theatrically.
Onion Studios VP Kyle Ryan, whose desk we can see from where we are sitting, says in a statement The Hollywood Reporter describes as “wry”: “We’ve plotted our takeover of the film industry for some time. With the help of Serious Business and Lionsgate, we’ll make room on our award shelf for some Oscars. To the basement you go, Pulitzers.” The Hollywood Reporter also notes, as we should here, that The Onion and The A.V. Club are both owned by Univision Communications.