Editing Matt Stone (section)

====''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>