Editing Matt Stone (section)

===Career beginnings===
====''Cannibal! The Musical'' (1992–1994)====
In 1992, Stone, Parker and Ian Hardin founded a production company named the Avenging Conscience. The company was named after the [[D. W. Griffith]] [[The Avenging Conscience|film by the same title]] (which was actively disliked by the group).<ref name=WW>{{cite magazine|last=Roberts|first=Michael|title=The South Park Anniversary: The First Trey Parker–Matt Stone Interview|url=http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2007/08/the_south_park_anniversary_the.php|magazine=Westword|access-date=March 25, 2014|archive-date=August 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825232858/http://www.westword.com/news/the-south-park-anniversary-the-first-trey-parker-matt-stone-interview-5858114|url-status=dead}}</ref> Parker employed the cutout paper technique on Avenging Conscience's first production, ''Jesus vs. Frosty'' (1992), an animated short pitting the religious figure against [[Frosty the Snowman]].

The quartet created a three-minute [[Trailer (film)|trailer]] for a fictional film titled ''Alferd Packer: The Musical''. The idea was based on an obsession Parker had with [[Alferd Packer]], a real nineteenth-century [[prospecting|prospector]] accused of [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]].<ref name=ny/> During this time, Parker had become engaged to long-time girlfriend Liane Adamo, but their relationship fell apart shortly before production on the trailer began.<ref name=ny/> "Horribly [[Major depressive disorder|depressed]]", Parker funneled his frustrations with her into the project, naming Packer's "beloved but disloyal" horse after her.<ref name=ny/><ref name="cannibalSS">{{cite news|url=http://splitsider.com/2011/03/cannibal-matt-stone-and-trey-parkers-original-twisted-musical/|title=''Cannibal!'': Matt Stone and Trey Parker's Original Twisted Musical|author=Joshua Kurp|date=March 29, 2011|work=Splitsider|publisher=[[The Awl]]|access-date=July 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119040500/http://splitsider.com/2011/03/cannibal-matt-stone-and-trey-parkers-original-twisted-musical/|archive-date=January 19, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The trailer became something of a sensation among students at the school, leading Virgil Grillo, the chairman and founder of the university's film department, to convince the quartet to expand it to a feature-length film.<ref name=cannibalSS/> Parker wrote the film's script, creating an ''[[Oklahoma!]]''-style musical featuring ten original [[show tune]]s.<ref name="nonesuch"/> The group raised $125,000 from family and friends and began shooting the film. The movie was shot on [[Loveland Pass]] as winter was ending, and the crew endured the freezing weather.<ref name=WW/><ref name="nonesuch">{{cite book|last=Phillips|first=Glasgow|title=The Royal Nonesuch: Or, What Will I Do When I Grow Up?|year=2007|publisher=Grove Press|isbn=9781555847203|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gtY_7UdCLQ0C&q=%22Avenging+Conscience%22+Parker+Stone&pg=PA14|page=14|access-date=October 19, 2020|archive-date=February 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210085518/https://books.google.com/books?id=gtY_7UdCLQ0C&q=%22Avenging+Conscience%22+Parker+Stone&pg=PA14|url-status=live}}</ref> Parker, under the pseudonym Juan Schwartz, was the film's star, director and co-producer.<ref name=cannibalSS/>

''Alferd Packer: The Musical'' premiered in [[Boulder, Colorado|Boulder]] in October 1993; "they rented a limousine that circled to ferry every member of the cast and crew from the back side of the block to the red carpet at the theater's entrance."<ref name=nonesuch/> The group submitted the movie to the [[Sundance Film Festival]], who did not respond. Parker said he had a "vision" they needed to be at the festival, which resulted in the group renting out a conference room in a nearby hotel and putting on their own screenings.<ref name=ny/> [[MTV]] did a short news segment on ''The Big Picture'' regarding the film,<ref name=WW/> and they made industry connections through the festival.<ref name="ny">{{cite news|url=http://nymag.com/arts/theater/features/south-park-2011-3/|title=Latter-Day Saints|author=Carl Swanson|date=March 7, 2011|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|publisher=New York Media, LLC|access-date=July 1, 2014|archive-date=July 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718193204/http://nymag.com/arts/theater/features/south-park-2011-3/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Playboy>{{Cite journal |first=Steve |last=Pond |date=June 2000 |title=Interview: Trey Parker and Matt Stone |journal=[[Playboy]] |volume=47 |issue=6 |pages=65–80}} {{cite web|url=http://treyparker.info/archives_playboy_00jun00.htm |title=&#91; shpadoinkle &#93; Trey Parker |access-date=June 15, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727232806/http://treyparker.info/archives_playboy_00jun00.htm |archive-date=July 27, 2011 }}</ref> They intended to sell video rights to the film for $1&nbsp;million and spend the remaining $900,000 to create another film.<ref name="Playboy"/> The film was instead sold to [[Troma Entertainment]] in 1996 where it was retitled ''Cannibal! The Musical'',<ref name=hr/> and upon the duo's later success, it became their biggest-selling title.<ref name=cannibalSS/> It has since been labeled a "[[cult classic]]" and adapted into a stage play by community theater groups and even high schools nationwide.<ref name="cannibal1">{{cite news|url=http://www.laweekly.com/publicspectacle/2012/02/09/cannibal-the-musical-in-a-high-school-get-the-splash-zone-ready|title=Cannibal! The Musical in a High School? Get the Splash Zone Ready|author=Carl Kozlowski|date=February 9, 2012|work=[[LA Weekly]]|publisher=Beth Sestanovich|access-date=July 1, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714174551/http://www.laweekly.com/publicspectacle/2012/02/09/cannibal-the-musical-in-a-high-school-get-the-splash-zone-ready|url-status=live}}</ref>

====''The Spirit of Christmas'' and ''Orgazmo'' (1995–1997)====
Following the film's success, the group, without Hardin, moved to [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="nonesuch"/> Upon arrival, they met a lawyer for the [[William Morris Agency]] who connected them with producer [[Scott Rudin]]. As a result, the duo acquired a lawyer, an agent, and a script deal.<ref name="Playboy"/> Despite initially believing themselves to be on the verge of success, the duo struggled for several years. Stone slept on dirty laundry for upwards of a year because he could not afford to purchase a mattress.<ref name="Playboy"/> They unsuccessfully pitched a children's program titled ''Time Warped'' to [[Fox Kids]], which would have involved fictionalized stories of people in history.<ref name="hr">{{cite news | url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-south-parks-trey-parker-171189 | title= Why ''South Park''{{'}}s Trey Parker and Matt Stone Now Say It's 'Wrong' to Offend | date= March 24, 2011 | work= [[The Hollywood Reporter]] | access-date= May 19, 2011 | first= Stephen | last= Galloway | archive-date= November 5, 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111105012034/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-south-parks-trey-parker-171189 | url-status= live }}</ref> The trio created two separate pilots, spaced a year apart, and despite the approval of [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] development executive [[Pam Brady]], the network disbanded the Fox Kids division.<ref name="nonesuch"/>

[[David Zucker (filmmaker)|David Zucker]], who was a fan of ''Cannibal!'', contacted the duo to produce a 15-minute short film for [[Seagram]] to show at a party for its acquisition of [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]].<ref name="yourstudio"/> Due to a misunderstanding, Parker and Stone [[improvisation|improvised]] much of the film an hour before it was shot, creating it as a spoof of 1950s instructional videos.<ref name="yourstudio"/> The result, ''[[Your Studio and You]]'', features numerous celebrities, including [[Sylvester Stallone]], [[Demi Moore]], and [[Steven Spielberg]]. "You could probably make a feature film out of the experience of making that movie because it was just two dudes from college suddenly directing Steven Spielberg", Parker later remarked, noting that the experience was difficult for the two.<ref name="yourstudio">{{cite news| url=http://treyparker.info/archives_zap2it_16jul01.htm| title='South Park' Creator Trey Parker Cops to Kooky Universal Spoof| date=July 16, 2001| publisher=[[Zap2it]]| access-date=July 2, 2014| first=Stephen| last=Galloway| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028085139/http://treyparker.info/archives_zap2it_16jul01.htm| archive-date=October 28, 2014}}</ref>

During the time between shooting the pilots for ''Time Warped'', Parker penned the script for a film titled ''[[Orgazmo]]'', which later entered production. Half of the budget for the picture came from a Japanese porn company called Kuki, who wanted to feature its performers in mainstream Western media.<ref name="nonesuch"/> Independent distributor [[October Films]] purchased the rights to the film for one million dollars after its screening at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref name="nonesuch"/> The film received an NC-17 rating from the [[Motion Picture Association of America]], which resulted in the poor box office performance of the film. Parker and Stone attempted to negotiate with the organization on what to delete from the final print, but the MPAA would not give specific notes.<ref name="Playboy"/> The duo later theorized that the organization cared less because it was an independent distributor which would bring it significantly less money.<ref name="Playboy"/>

Fox executive Brian Graden cut Parker and Stone a personal check of a few thousand dollars to produce a video greeting card he could deliver to friends; the film would be a sequel to their earlier short ''Jesus vs. Frosty''.<ref name="nonesuch"/> Graden sent the film on a [[VHS]] to several industry executives in Hollywood; meanwhile, someone digitized the clip and put it up on the Internet, where it became one of the first [[viral video]]s.<ref name="nonesuch"/><ref name="cnn" /><ref name="time2">{{cite magazine|author=Jeffrey Ressner and James Collins|title=Gross And Grosser|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=March 23, 1998|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988028-2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102061843/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988028-2,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 2, 2010|access-date=April 28, 2009}}</ref> Due to the popularity of ''Jesus vs. Santa'', Parker and Stone wanted to turn the short into a television series later entitled ''[[South Park]]'', and offered the show to Fox. While Fox executives were enthusiastic about the premise, they didn't want to air a show that included the talking poo character [[List of South Park characters#Mr. Mackey|Mr. Hankey]] and passed on it after the duo refused to remove the character several times. Parker and Stone then entered negotiations with both [[MTV]] and [[Comedy Central]]. Parker preferred the show be produced by Comedy Central, fearing that MTV would turn it into a kids' show.<ref name="paulson">{{cite interview|url=http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209001855/http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881 |archive-date=February 9, 2010 |title=Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Larry Divney 'Speaking Freely' transcript |access-date=February 8, 2007 |date=March 1, 2002 |subject=Trey Parker |subject2=Matt Stone |url-status=dead }}</ref> When Comedy Central executive [[Doug Herzog]] watched the short, he commissioned the development of the show into a series.<ref name="cnn" /><ref name="nytad">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/27/business/media/27south.html?ex=1345867200&en=5e0dae11bad148ff&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all|title='South Park' Creators Win Ad Sharing in Deal|access-date=October 17, 2008|author=Halbfinger, David M.|date=August 27, 2007|work=The New York Times|archive-date=April 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417081514/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/27/business/media/27south.html?ex=1345867200&en=5e0dae11bad148ff&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref>