To celebrate the DVD release of "Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II" on DVD, series co-creators/executive producers Seth Green and Matt Senreich have embarked on a cross-country, nine-city roller-skating tour, traveling by bus to rinks and meeting and greeting with fans. They've even brought Gym Class Heroes along for the ride to perform, as well as several surprise celebrity guests in some cities.

We caught up with Green and Senreich in between tour stops, and they filled us in on all of the bruising, how the Dark Side fares on wheels, and even their all-time favorite "Robot Chicken" moments.


Seth Green


MAXIM: Before embarking on this tour, when was the last time you guys had laced up? Did you feel the need to practice?

GREEN: It had been a while, but we were all game to risk life and limb for our fans.

SENREICH: I haven't been on rollerskates since I was 13. But I'm an active rollerblader and have resigned myself to cheating at these events now that I realized that I can't use those "quad" skates. The roller-derby girls kept showing me up, so I put on my blades.

Since this event was planned in conjunction with the release of the new "Star Wars Episode II" DVD, have you seen any fans dressed as Star Wars characters on skates?
GREEN: We’ve got the support of the 501st and Rebel Legion across the country- it’s kind of amazing.

SENREICH: There was an amazing moment where Boba Fett was cruising on skates. And then in Denver, we had a Stormtrooper dancing to "Thriller" on skates. Surreal moments.

 

What city has had the craziest fans so far?
GREEN: Each city has been crazier than the next as this thing builds up momentum. The line in Denver was just insanely long. But the craziest thing was a 15-person wipeout that I witnessed in Denver, for sure!
SENREICH: Yeah, so far Denver has been the outright craziest. Not the biggest crowd even, just a good rowdy crowd that came to party. Awesome.

 

What new moves have you guys picked up that we can expect to see on the rink at the last party in NYC?
GREEN: I learned the art of the fall. If I fall, I know how to do it gracefully now.
SENREICH: I think NYC is going to be just straight up out of control. We’ve been building momentum as the parties happen in each city and people post pictures and videos of their experiences with us- the folks in the cities we’ve yet to hit are getting excited, wanting to be the best yet. I trust NYC to bring A-game.

Since it’s the last stop, do you have anything wild and crazy planned?
GREEN: If we told you, it'd be cheating.
SENREICH: Nothing crazy, but we’ve been having cool surprise guests popping in - with more to come...


Matt Senreich

 

Are you guys fed up with each other after two weeks on a bus?  We can still expect you to work together on another season of the show, right?

GREEN: We all like playing with each other- that’s how the show came about in the first place, that’s why these parties are fun, that’s how we roll (laughs)

SENREICH: We live in an office together that is smaller than a bus. So we'll still love each other when it's done. Cherish.

 

New episodes of the fourth season of "Robot Chicken" are currently airing on Sunday nights on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim; what are some of your favorite moments from the show's history, behind the scenes and all?

SENREICH: That's a tall order, but here we go:

1) Seeing the very first episode come together. When we saw the crane shot from our "Kill Bunny" sketch, I knew that our show was very real and it hit me that we were making a TV show.
2) Doing tequila shots with Burt Reynolds and then watching him and Dom Delouise tell stories of "Cannonball Run" while we tried to parody it. Oh, and seeing that Burt actually still slapped Dom when he would screw up a line. They were amazing.
3) Pat Morita driving us to the airport after recording him in Las Vegas.
4) Making our assistant Matt Beans talk for two full days in a "Goofy"-sounding voice for everything he did.
5) Winning an Annie Award for "Best Animated Show" was surreal, but it was being backstage and having John Lasseter tell us how much he loved our show that only enhanced the feeling like we were doing something right.
6) "World's Most One-Sided Fist Fights Caught on Tape." This is the moment that I realized that violence with toys was funny.
7) Recording Sir Mix-a-Lot via phone for "Table Be Round" made me realize my love for the song "Baby Got Back."

 

The tour wraps this week with stops in Richmond, Va. (tonight, Monday Aug. 10, at Roller Dome Skating), Philadelphia (Wednesday the 12th at Jamz Roller Skating) and finally in New York City (Thursday the 13th at Riverbank Skate Park). And don't forget to check out the main site here.