Seth Rogen’s raunchy animated comedy to get R rating

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg will make a raunchy animated comedy for Megan Ellison and Sony, the studio announced on Tuesday. Rogen, Goldberg, Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir have written the screenplay for the movie, titled “Sausage Party,” based on a story by Goldberg, Rogen and Jonah Hill.

Rogen and Goldberg, who made their directorial debut with this summer’s “This is the End,” will also produce the movie alongside Conrad Vernon and Megan Ellison. Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, which has produced and financed movies such as “The Master” and “True Grit,” will co-finance the movie with Sony.

Vernon and Greg Tiernan will direct the movie, described by Sony as being about a sausage’s journey through a supermarket preceding a 4th of July sale.

“We’re thrilled to be back in business with Seth and Evan. This project has all the irreverent, insightful and risqué R-rated humor we have come to expect from them,” Hannah Minghella, president of production at Columbia Pictures, said in a statement. “Matching their unique comic sensibility with an animated film is a fun and inspired idea. We are confident Seth, Evan, Conrad and Greg will deliver one of the most memorable animated movies of all time.”

Rogen and Goldberg’s Point Grey packaged the movie with Annapurna and then presented it to the studio, which released “This is the End.” Canada’s Nitrogen Studio will handle the CG animation, design, production and post-production.

David Distenfeld will oversee the project for Annapurna while Minghella and Andrea Giannetti will oversee it for Sony. Sony will release the movie worldwide and hopes to have it ready by 2015.

No voice casting was announced.