Matt Stone

Matt Stone
Stone at The Amazing Meeting in 2007
Born	Matthew Richard Stone May 26, 1971 (1971-05-26) (age 39) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, Writer, Television director, Television producer

Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker.

Stone started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short titled Jesus vs. Frosty. His first success came from Cannibal! The Musical. From there he made another short title Jesus vs. Santa, leading him and his college friend Trey Parker to create the animated television series South Park, which has been on television for over a decade. He has four Emmy Awards for his role in South Park, winning for both "Outstanding Programming More Than One Hour" and "Outstanding Programming Less Than One Hour".

Early life

Stone was born in Houston, Texas to Gerald Whitney Stone, an economics professor, and Sheila Lois Belasco (who share the first names of the South Park character Kyle's parents). Stone's mother is Jewish and his father is of Irish descent; Stone "grew up agnostic" and considers himself "ethnically Jewish, but that's about all."^[1] He has a younger sister, Rachel. Stone was raised in the Denver, Colorado area, before moving to Littleton, Colorado. He attended Heritage High School in Littleton. He holds a degree in mathematics and film from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and was their first student to hold a double major in film and mathematics.^[2]

Career

Stone (right) with Trey Parker, January 20, 2007

In 1992, Stone and Parker created Jesus vs. Frosty.^[3] It included four boys, two resembling Stan and Kyle, one called Kenny who looked like Cartman, and a fourth unnamed boy who looked like Kenny McCormick. Both Jesus and Cannibal! The Musical were made while they were students at the University of Colorado film school, studying under both Stan Brakhage and Jerry Aronson. After the duo released Cannibal! The Musical, they were asked to make another animated short.^[4][5] They came down to two ideas: one a sequel to Jesus vs. Frosty, and one about a character that would later be recurring in South Park, Mr. Hankey.^[6] They chose to write about the four boys, and their decision ultimately opened the door for them to present a show (South Park) to Comedy Central.^[7] Stone and Parker produced 13 episodes for season 1.^[8] In 1997, they also released Orgazmo, a movie rated NC-17. In 1998, they made BASEketball, another feature film, while being renewed for a second season of South Park. In 1999, Stone and Parker made South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, which gave the series prominence.^[9] The film's music was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost.^[10] In 2001, the duo announced they would do 39 shorts between the lengths of 2 and 5 minutes.^[11] Although originally thought to be South Park-related, they decided they would do something different. The result was the shorts 'Princess'.^[12] The content was so extreme that it was cancelled after two shows aired.^[13] In 2001, they also created That's My Bush!, another television series. Despite great reviews, the show was cancelled after one season for its cost, reportedly $700,000 per episode^[14]. In 2004, they made a film titled Team America: World Police ^[15][16] which many critics reviewed positively.^[17] In August 2007, South Park was renewed for three more seasons, 13, 14 and 15, each of them containing 14 episodes.^[18]

Stone is also a member of the band DVDA with Parker, for which he plays bass and drums. DVDA's songs have appeared in many of the duo's productions, including Orgazmo, BASEketball, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and Team America: World Police.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Stone claimed to have been on acid with Trey Parker at the time of the 2000 Academy Awards, where they wore dresses popularized by Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow at previous awards shows.^[23]

On September 28, 2007, Parker and Stone acquired the US rights to the Canadian-made Kenny vs. Spenny, which premiered November 14, 2007 on Comedy Central with ten old and new episodes.^[24]

Stone and Parker are collaborating with Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez on a musical about Mormons, it is titled Book of Mormon, and will star Cheyenne Jackson. It is set to open on Broadway in 2011 and is being produced by Scott Rudin and Anne Garefino.^[25]

In 2005 Stone said "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals."^[26]

In April 2010, Trey Parker and Matt Stone received a "warning" for allegedly representing the Prophet Muhammad in a bear costume: "We have to warn Matt and Trey [South Park creators] that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Dutch director Theo van Gogh for airing this show." ".^[27] It was revealed in the next episode that the person in the bear costume was really Santa Claus and not the Prophet Muhammad; the "real" Muhammad was supposed to appear as well, but Comedy Central had him censored out against Stone and Parker's wishes.

Filmography

Voices on South Park

Matt Stone voices Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick and Leopold "Butters" Stotch, three of the main characters on the show, as well as Kyle's father Gerald and Kenny's father Stuart. He also voices recurring characters Jimbo Kern, Jesus, Saddam Hussein, Big Gay Al, Pip, Terrance, Tweek, Craig Tucker, Father Maxi, Skeeter and Mr. Adler.

References

External links

• Matt Stone and Trey Parker at the Official South Park Website
• Matt Stone at the Internet Movie Database
• Fresh Air Interview [1]

Trey Parker and Matt Stone Films Cannibal! The Musical · Orgazmo · BASEketball · South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut · Team America: World Police Television Time Warped · South Park · That's My Bush! · How's Your News? Shorts The Spirit of Christmas · Your Studio and You · Princess Music DVDA · Chef Aid: The South Park Album · South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut soundtrack · Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics Theater The Book of Mormon