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Baking Up Another "Pie" 
Jun 27, 2000 http://www.eonline.com

Well, now it's official: Universal's got another one in the oven. 

After the first taste of American Pie scored big at the box office--and changed the way Americans look at baked goods--the studio is now baking up a sequel to the wildly popular teen-sex romp. 

And it looks like they'll get most of the same ingredients: Original Pie scribe Adam Herz has signed a reported seven-figure deal to take over the follow-up, while filmmakers Chris and Paul Weitz and producers Warren Zide, Craig Perry and Chris Moore are all expected to return. 

It's also likely the film's virginally challenged high school characters will return, too. Most of the young stars are under contract with Universal to star in the sequel, including pie-boy himself Jason Biggs, foreign-exchange student Shannon Elizabeth, lacrosse player-turned-choirboy Chris Klein, party-happy goofball Seann William Scott and innocent choirgirl Mena Suvari. 

"We haven't started negotiating with them, but it was in the first film's contract that we have that option," says Universal spokesman Jeff Sakson. 

The original Pie was released in July of last year, and besides making stars out of Biggs, Klein and the rest, the film scored big with audiences for its mix of raunchy gags and sentimental moments. Pie went on to top the $100 million mark at the box office. 

As for the sequel's plot, ideas are still being tossed around, but early possibilities have included checking in with the guys and girls after they return from their first year of college, or having them take a group trip to Europe (We can only guess: Jason Biggs experiencing crepes or crème brûlée? How about an impromptu trip to see Nadia?). 

Herz and directors Chris and Paul Weitz originally hired David H. Steinberg (Slackers) to write the script. But sources say Steinberg's script wasn't quite up to snuff and, once Herz became available, the studio asked him to take over and expand on his own story. 

In a recent interview, Steinberg acknowledged that it was a challenge living up to the original. 

"It's a very tough job because you have to live up to this movie that is really beloved by a lot of people," he said in an interview with the film site, Done Deal. "But it's also a very collaborative environment where people are throwing out ideas left and right. The script is already turning out hilarious, but we are also trying to maintain the emotional realism of the original." 

And besides, how can you top sex with an apple pie?