Variety reports that Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, are moving up the technological food chain from paper cutouts to wooden actors for their next project, Team America, a parody of 'the super important huge action movies that Jerry Bruckheimer makes.'  Another key influence on the new project was Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds, which is currently being made into a live action movie (see 'Thunderbirds Headed To The Big Screen'), much to the chagrin of Stone and Parker.  'Trey and I loved that Thunderbirds series because of the artistry of the marionettes.  It's amazing that a studio would make a movie out of it and take out the only thing that was good about the series.'

 

Stone and Parker will start shooting the $20 million Team America during their next hiatus from South Park.  Fans can expect plenty of explosions and splintered actors as the boys work out their puppet-peopled send-up of bloated, self-important blockbusters like Armageddon and Independence Day.