Posted on 03/16/2005 10:11:04 AM PST by raccoonradio
Would you put your stock in National Lampoon?
No, really. What if it said please?
The Los Angeles-based funny factory needs some serious financial assistance. It's hoping to sell $8 million worth of stock to repay loans and help National Lampoon Inc. stave off additional losses.
National Lampoon shares a name with its collegiate predecessor but little else. Still, Harvard Lampoon President Simon Rich wasn't buying it.
``It's probably a prank,'' Rich said yesterday. ``It's the kind of thing they would do.''
Only this is no joke.
National Lampoon filed paperwork last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission and applied for listings on the American and Pacific stock exchanges. The SEC filing indicated about $2.75 million from the planned stock sale would repay a January loan National Lampoon used to buy out the contract of former chairman and CEO James Jimirro. This stock sale also might offset ongoing financial losses - National Lampoon reported $5.1 million in losses during the past fiscal year.
The Lampoon brand goes back centuries, at least at Harvard. The oldest college humor magazine dates back to 1876 and has an illustrious alumni list that includes Conan O'Brien, George Plimpton and John Updike.
A national offshoot began in 1969.
Current coeds know of ``The Onion'' and ``The Daily Show.'' College students in the 1970s and '80s read ``National Lampoon'' and watched the Lampoon movies - which made a star out of John Belushi in ``Animal House'' and kept Chevy Chase funny through three ``Vacation'' movies.
But for every ``Van Wilder,'' National Lampoon also produced a ``Senior Trip'' and ``Last Resort.''
National Lampoon stopped publishing its magazine in the late 1990s but continues to publish new content online every Thursday at nationallampoon.com. The company's library of films and books brings in some revenue.
While it waits for financial aid, National Lampoon's executives search for new revenue streams. Launched or in the works:
The National Lampoon Network, available to a potential audience of 4.8 million college students at more than 600 campuses;
Official National Lampoon Tour packaged vacations to Las Vegas and Cabo San Lucas;
An Olympic parody called ``National Lampoon's Greek Games,'' filming this week at South Padre Island, Texas;
A branded wireless content service;
And a new joint venture called National Lampoon Clubhouse dedicated to producing family-friendly films with PG or PG-13 ratings.
"Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" "The Germans?" "Forget it. He's rolling." "...it ain't over now!"
The folks who brought you the VW ad spoof: If Ted Kennedy owned a Volkswagen, he'd be President today. They do a moveon spoof site called http://www.moveonplease.org
Considering they really haven't made a decent movie since the first Vacation one, I'm surprised they're still in business.
The magazine is certainly dead (despite the various offshoots). There's a "national lampoon networks" (sic) TV show on some stations on weekends...they featured a saucy dwarf named Bridget the Midget.
It's soon to be dead, Jim.......
I actually found all four "Vacation" movies to be funny. It doesn't get any better than "Christmas Vacation"!!! "Vegas" and the original were both very good. And, "European" was at least better than average.
Chevy Chase to his family as they're stuck in a "roundabout": "Look kids! Big Ben! Parliament!" (...over and over...)
Ironic that you would say that. I remember thinking it was funny, but NEVER appreciated the humor in until I was driving in Massachusetts and got caught in a similar situation. Damn roundabouts. Build squares like everyone else! LOL
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