CHATSWORTH, Calif. — At long last, the world is going to get its chance to see exactly what made Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli such a stud ... and no, there won't be any jumping of sharks involved.
Director Axel Braun held auditions late last week for his very first porn parody, Very Happy Days, to be released by Hustler Video next March. And while the part of The Fonz, sadly, will not be revived by originator Henry Winkler (since his career is going far too well for him to get anywhere near porn and all), it will be filled by about the next best thing: Tommy "No More Goatee" Gunn.
"Forget every other parody you've ever seen," Braun told AVN. "I'm treating this like a mainstream production. If you take out the sex scenes, it really does feel like an episode of the show."
A fan of "Happy Days" since his childhood, Braun aims with this parody, which he scripted as well, to recreate the original with a level of faithfulness right down to shooting the dialogue before a studio audience.
"I already have 32 people who have given their availability," he said. "Trust me — a lot of people want to see if Joanie really loved Chachi!"
Speaking of Joanie and Chachi, those roles were nabbed, respectively, by Penny Flame and Mikey Butders. Jack Lawrence was cast as Ralph Malph, and James Bartholet landed the part of Howard "Mr. C" Cunningham, one Braun said Bartholet "was simply born to play." Richie, Potsie and Mrs. C have yet to be finalized.
Asked what he thought was driving the current boom in porn parodies, Braun commented, "Who wants to shoot a high-budget porn movie with a plot that will generate a reasonable return? A TV parody is an easy sell, it appeals to a broader audience: there's the couple who grew up watching the show, the college kids who buy it for fun, the guy who gives it as a gift ... and somehow there's less sense of guilt in it. You can bring home the 'Happy Days' porn parody to your wife, even if you have never bought a porn in you life, and say 'Honey, look at this, ain't it unbelievable?'"
To which she ideally will reply, if she's any kind of good woman: "Ayyyy!"
Pictured l. to r.: Axel Braun, Penny Flame, Tommy Gunn
