Director Phillips Talks “Hangover” Sequel, DVD Release

Don’t look for a return to Vegas in “The Hangover 2.” 

It’s been a good year for Todd Phillips. His comedy “The Hangover” was a huge hit with audiences and well-liked by critics also (well, in comparison to how most bachelor-party-gone-bad movies are reviewed). With the DVD being released tomorrow, Phillips is at the scene of the crime, Las Vegas, discussing what you can expect from the various packages (Single DVD, Blu Ray, Deluxe whatever, you know how it is).

Phillips talked to ComingSoon about some of the extras you’ll find. He explains his favorite special feature, “The Madness of Ken Jeong”:

“Ken is just the craziest guy on the planet,” Phillips says. “We let Ken do a ‘free one’ I call it. Let him just go off. ‘The Madness of Ken Jeong’ is sort of an uncut take of him just trying stuff. I think they cut some things out for legal reasons so if you see an edit don’t worry it was purely legal because he said things you can’t say. Other than that it was pretty much free form Ken Jeong stream of consciousness which is some of the weirdest stuff.” 

Well, um, that sounds worth the rental alone.

Phillips is currently editing “Due Date,” with Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, and also working on the script for “The Hangover 2.” One thing he can tell you about it is that it won’t be set in Vegas…but the studio won’t allow him to say where it’s set. Phillips doesn’t think that’s a big concern:

 ”I don’t think it’s necessarily going to tie as closely to this evening as maybe some people want or think,” Phillips explains. “I think when you have created four really fun characters that have really good chemistry, you can take those guys and put them somewhere else and go through a new set of situations and circumstances and hopefully it’s just as interesting. What’s really ultimately appealing about ‘The Hangover’ is these four guys and their interaction. It’s not even Vegas. It’s not so much the device as it is the characters.”

True. That said, my money is on Rio. “The Hangover 2″ is scheduled to be released on Memorial Day weekend, 2011.