According to The Hollywood Reporter, tricky rights issues are to blame. Back in 2001, rights holder Lontano Investments granted Mola Entertainment the exclusive rights to the comedy franchise with one major caveat: Make a Porky's film within X amount of years or no deal. So Mola threw $1 million at Trenchard-Smith to make a contract-fulfilling feature film in two weeks, with no locked script or sets on hand.
"The idea was make it for under five hundred thousand dollars in fifteen days," Trenchard-Smith told Killer Film last year. "We were on location in Canyon Country and the rest at a studio in Simi Valley. We recycled sets from other movies that were still standing and that was an intelligent use of resources. It seemed there was a great hurry to make this film. It had to be shot before Christmas and we began at the end of October."
Trenchard-Smith went on to describe his penis-heavy comedy ("We have a character who is well hung, shall we say, in the Thomas Jane sense. It's a shlongasaurus. You do actually see it."), adding that he shot extra coverage of television-safe alternate shots for the eventual cable TV edit. Of course, that was all before he realized that his Porky's -- which was eventually retitled to Pimpin' Pee Wee -- was never meant to see actual release.
"My understanding retroactively, not my understanding when I took on the assignment, was that this type of film was to be made in a hurry on the lowest possible budget in order to fulfill a contractual requirement where a Porky's film be made, and in some way released. In order for that company to continue to retain the rights to the Porky's franchise a film had to be made. Having made the film they changed the title to Pimpin' Pee Wee and briefly put it on VOD where it can no longer be found. They had to meet the contractual obligation and that was to make a Porky's film and release it before the deadline. They didn't want the Porky's franchise to be soiled by a cheap sequel given the company wanted to make a ten million dollar Porky's reboot and for whatever reason they have not been able to do so or have not found a deal or offers that was acceptable to them. As time was running out they thought let's whip up this cheap one and bury it. If they make another Porky's with a substantial budget then Pimpin' Pee Wee can be the direct-to-video sequel that could follow the theatrical reboot of Porky's. I think that was the business strategy behind the whole thing. I thought I was making a direct-to-video sequel to Porky's."
THR reports that since Trenchard-Smith's Porky's/Pimpin' Pee Wee was made for under $10 million, Mola's license on the rights may be void, clearing the way for Stern's long-awaited franchise reboot. And once that happens, the folks behind Pimpin' Pee Wee can officially release it as a sort of prequel/alternate universe Porky's tale, thank goodness. After all, don't we live in a world where Pimpin' Pee Wee and Howard Stern's Porky's can peacefully co-exist?
ยท Will a Legal Fight Ensnare Howard Stern's Planned 'Porky's' Remake? [THR]