American Pie actor Shannon Elizabeth, who played Nadia, explains why she told her friends that the 1999 comedy movie would be terrible. Directed and co-produced by Paul Weitz, American Pie follows four high school boys, played by Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kay Thomas, who enter into an agreement to all lose their virginity before their graduation. The movie went on to earn over $235 million at the box office, kickstarting a franchise that now features 9 movies in total, including various spinoffs.
In a recent interview on Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum, Elizabeth reveals that she initially thought American Pie would be awful because of changes in post-production she was forced to make regarding her accent.
Elizabeth was asked to change her accent numerous times during the ADR (automated dialogue replacement) stage of post-production, causing her to lose faith in the film and her role. Check out Elizabeth's full comment below:
“When I did American Pie, they called me in to do ADR. They were like, ‘We’re gonna play with the accent.’ So I’d say something and then they’d go, ‘Ok, do less of an accent.’ I was like, ‘Why are they messing with this accent so much? I had worked really hard with a dialect coach on this.
“I told all my friends, ‘This movie’s gonna suck’ ‘cause they messed with my accent so much! I was like, ‘No, they’re ruining it, don’t watch it.’ I was devastated after ADR. A lot of people did say my accent was terrible and I’m like, ‘Yeah, ‘cause they messed with it – they didn’t let me do what I wanted to do.’”
Will The American Pie Franchise Return?
The first American Pie may not have been a huge hit with critics, but it's box office performance meant that a sequel quickly got the green light, with most of the original cast (including Elizabeth as Nadia) returning. The 2001 sequel still holds the franchise record in terms of box office at $286 million, with each subsequent installment failing to reach that same level. American Reunion, the last theatrically-released entry in the franchise in 2012, disappointed in its opening weekend and ultimately didn't quite reach Universal Pictures' expectations.
American Reunion came at a time when comedy movies more generally were struggling at the box office and the entire genre has since found a new home on streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, and HBO Max. Not long after the release of the last installment in 2012 it was reported that an additional sequel was in development, but there had been very little movement on the project in the following years. Last fall, however, The Hollywood Reporter reported that a new American Pie movie is in development, but that it would be a fresh take on the franchise.
If another sequel does actually move forward, it's hard to believe that, in the current entertainment landscape, the movie would be a theatrical release. Regardless of what form another American Pie sequel takes, the movie will seemingly not feature any of the original cast members, which may come as a disappointment to those hoping to see a return from the core cast of characters. For now, it's looking like those hoping for more American Pie movies will have to just wait and see.