Movies

Director Mike Judge Is Considering An 'Idiocracy' Anniversary Tour

idiocracy
By Jack Giroux/

In 2006, Fox dumped Mike Judge's Idiocracy into theaters. The film sat on the shelf for over a year, dealt with poor test screening scores, and, worst of all, with little promotion, it barely got a theatrical release. Over the years, though, Idiocracy has gained a passionate cult following.

With the comedy's 10th anniversary coming up, actress Maya Rudolph says Mike Judge is considering going on tour for the film, conducting screenings and Q&As. Learn more about the potential event below.

In Idiocracy, Rudolph played Rita, the prostitute forced into a suspended animation experiment by her pimp, "Upgrayedd." Hundreds of years later, after waking up from hibernation, Rita and, another guinea pig in the government experiment, Joe (Luke Wilson), greet a horrific future. Society got dumber and dumber as Rita and Joe slept soundly, and now, Joe, an average thinker, is the smartest man on the planet. Some believe the comedy has become more timely since 2006, including screenwriter Etan Coen.

Unfortunately, not many of Mike Judge's fans experienced the comedy in a theater. Fortunately, according to Rudolph, some of those fans that missed out might finally get the chance to see Idiocracy on the big screen later this year.

Speaking with Collider, the former SNL star says an Idiocracy anniversary tour has been discussed:

How often do you get asked about Idiocracy these days?

MAYA RUDOLPH: Every time Donald Drumpf opens his mouth, pretty much. I saw Mike Judge recently, who I hadn't seen in many, many years, and I said to him, "I can't believe..." Because the movie was never properly released, it became a kind of cult favorite and over the years I noticed people must have seen it because people would approach me and say, "Oh my god, Idiocracy! That's so great!" It was so many years later. But recently, it's been nonstop. And it's so crazy. I said, "We should do a road trip or something and then show the movie and talk about it on the anniversary of it." When we were making the movie, it was so well-written and so sharp and so funny, but it felt like it was so far away. And...

It's not so much.

RUDOLPH: It's terrifying. I thought I would be an old granny.

I'd love to watch a road show though.

RUDOLPH: We're working it out, we're figuring it out. We'd better hurry up on it, though.

Idiocracy anniversary screenings and Q&Ass does sound almost too good to be true. It's hard to imagine Fox investing any money into a potential tour, but then again, this is Mike Judge we're talking about, creator of King of the Hill and Beavis and Butthead. If he wanted to make this tour happen, he probably could, and let's hope he does, because who wouldn't want to see Judge and all involved reflect on Idiocracy?

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