he bakery is open - again. American Pie returns now that the gang has completed two semesters at college. Jim, played again by Jason Biggs, is going to get together with Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth). It's a 'getting ready' movie, in the same way the original American Pie was a 'we're so-ready' movie.

  The crew is comprised of Biggs, Seann William Scott (Stifler), Thomas Ian Nicholas (Kevin), Chris Klein (Oz), and Eddie Kaye Thomas (Finch), plus the unforgettable Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid (Vicky), Mena Suvari (Heather), Natasha Lyonne (Jessica), and the poster girl from band camp, Alyson Hannigan (Michelle). Eugene Levy returns as the sage father and Jennifer Coolidge as Stifler's mom.

  They are all older and theoretically wiser now, having graduated from high school and matured to the point where they want to leave their mark on someone of the opposite sex. There's something about growing up that makes people just wanna accomplish something. "I remember that summer I graduated from eighth grade," says Thomas, aka Finch, who went on to appear in Freddy Got Fingered with Tom Green. "I thought, high school, man, let's do something really stupid!"

  The fact that Scott is back in the cast of this sequel means his father recovered from his first set visit. "I'm from Minnesota and my dad, who had no concept of filmmaking, had never been to LA at that point. So he came to the set to visit me. When he asked what we were shooting that day, I had no choice but to tell him we were shooting the scene with my mom having sex on the pool table with my arch-enemy."
actors
Jason Biggs
Jennifer Coolidge
Shannon Elizabeth
Alyson Hannigan
Chris Klein
Tara Reid
Eugene Levy
Natasha Lyonne
Mena Suvari
Eddie Kaye Thomas
Chris Owen
Thomas Ian Nicholas

director
James B. Rogers

locations
Los Angeles, CA South Pasadena, CA 
Grand Haven, MI

outtake
Jason Biggs says the movie "will include an unfortunate
incident with Krazy glue, plus two male stars kissing to impress women they mistake for lesbians."


  Reid, who followed the first American Pie with a principal role in Robert Altman's Dr. T and the Women, got to live out her rock star dream when she learned to play the drums for her lead in Josie and the Pussycats. She's also acquired the notable status as one of the women who annoys Howard Stern the most - possibly because she won't come onto his show.

  Hannigan found that one crucial scene she had in the original Pie has been the source of some strange encounters with the public. "I was in the Virgin megastore and this boy came up to me. He had to have been 12 years old, and he asked me about what else I learned in band camp. When I asked how he managed to be able to see that movie, given his age, he just said he had his ways."

  Possibly the most famous American Pie member has been Suvari, who made a rose petal-covered appearance opposite Kevin Spacey in American Beauty. Suvari has lead a very public romantic life since the first Pie, breaking up with boyfriend, DJ Thomas Michael, and then eloping with German cinematographer, Robert Brinkman, 17 years her senior. As far as her acting career goes, she will soon be seen in the period romp, The Musketeer, and Spun with John Leguizamo (Moulin Rouge) and Brittany Murphy.

  Yes, it's time to serve up another slice of the pie and another helping of adventures to follow.

- Cynthia Amsden