Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is the ultimate satire about the hardships of being a boyband member turned solo artist. Written by and starring the members of real-life comedy band the Lonely Island, the film follows Conner4Real (Andy Samberg) as he tries to salvage his failing solo career. Desperate to hold on to any shred of celebrity status he has left, Conner attempts to put his massive ego aside to reunite his original bandmates, Owen Bouchard (Jorma Taccone) and Lawrence Dunn (Akiva Schaffer). The future of Conner's fame and fortune rides on the Style Boyz getting back together.
A large part of creating the illusion that the Style Boyz were a worldwide phenomenon involved putting together footage of huge crowds of screaming fans. Many of the shots featured in the film were actually taken from One Direction concerts, who were massively popular at the time.
There are several cameos sprinkled throughout the mockumentary from big name artists who have previously collaborated with the Lonely Island, including Akon, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg and Adam Levine. There are also appearances from some fellow Saturday Night Live alumni, like Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader and Sarah Silverman.
It's also widely believed that Conner is based off of real-life pop star Justin Bieber, though Samberg denied this when he appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers. The fact that both Conner4Real and Bieber had exotic pets, home videos of them drumming at a young age and are both covered in tattoos are among the many reasons people draw similarities between the two.
In fact, there are quite a few moments in the film that seem to be inspired by real-life people and events. Fans believe that Hunter the Hungry is loosely based off of Tyler, the Creator. Conner's track "Equal Rights" is also reminiscent of the Macklemore song "Same Love."
Now, Popstar is hitting Canadian big screens like never before. Don your best Conner4Real outfit and get ready to do the Donkey Roll, because the movie's quote-along version is coming to the Cineplex theatre near you for the first time ever. You can jam out to all of your favourite tracks from the movie, including "I'm So Humble," "Things in My Jeep" and "Incredible Thoughts."
Gear up for Conner4Real and the Style Boyz' big comeback with Exclaim!'s Screenjams series: a celebration of music movies at Cineplex theatres. Head to a Cineplex theatre near you to catch Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping on February 28. Find full details here.