14 December 2014
Newsdesk
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller spent their time at university drawing cartoons in their underpants.
The duo directed some of the biggest hits of this year, including The Lego Movie, which they also wrote. They met while studying at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and bonded because they weren't like any of their classmates.
"We were in our underwear drawing cartoons. And our friends would stop by and say: ‘I just had this intense interview with Morgan Stanley…'" Phil explained to British newspaper The Guardian.
“… in suits with a briefcase and the Wall Street Journal. We were being silly while other people were preparing to ruin the economy," Chris laughed.
The pair met in an unconventional way - Chris accidentally set Phil's girlfriend's hair on fire. He was drunk at the time, but still cringes at the memory.
"She was playing Tetris and I was drunk playing a game called Let’s See How Close I Can Get This Lighter to Heather’s Hair Without Her Noticing. I won. And felt terrible about it," he explained.
Phil marvelled: "I just went up: PHWOOM! She didn’t seem to notice.”
The director duo are fiercely proud of their movies, not least because they don't follow the Hollywood ideal. 22 Jump Street was a sequel to 2012 movie 21 Jump Street, and continually joked about how lame many follow-ups are.
Phil and Chris like to push the boundaries with their flicks and are happy to discuss the things they think are wrong with the moviemaking business. A bone of contention is the small amount of women in key roles in Hollywood.
"Yes! I love that it has reminded Hollywood that female protagonists exist. And the fact that boys went to see that movie!” Chris enthused about Disney smash-hit Frozen.
"When we started out making cartoons they’d say to us, ‘Girls watch shows about boys, but boys won’t watch shows about girls. So make it about a boy.'"
Phil explained: "We immediately pitched a show about a girl."
"And they did not buy it," Chris laughed.