In case you have somehow missed it, I am an unabashedly huge David Gordon Green fan. The man could direct an in-depth documentary about the trials and tribulations of a high school marching band, and I’d be at the premiere, using my own instrument (a recorder, natch) to beat back people to get a prime seat. But being a DGG fan means you get to be a fan of many other people, like his frequent collaborators from his days at the North Carolina School of the Arts, including the always-hilarious Danny McBride.

Frosty over at Collider got a chance to sit down with McBride to discuss his work in the upcoming Jason Reitman flick, UP IN THE AIR, but they ended up talking about many of McBride’s upcoming projects, including YOUR HIGHNESS. Being the DGG fan I am, I’ve pulled out only info about YOUR HIGHNESS to share, but if you’re interested in McBride’s thoughts on his other projects (like UP IN THE AIR, or “Eastbound & Down”), be sure to check out the full interview over at Collider.

When news first came out about the plot and tone of YOUR HIGHNESS, it seemed to rely heavily on the film being another “stoner flick” from Green. But, much like PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, it seems that “stoner flick” as genre classification might have been a bit exaggerated. McBride says that the film really “centers around two brothers, [James] Franco and myself and he’s the first born and I’m the second born so he’s going to be King and I’m a little jealous about that and therefore I just kind of shirk responsibility and don’t really try to live up to being a good Prince. And with that I mean he drinks and smokes and does all these sorts of things but that’s no means like the driving force of the movie. It’s not PINEAPPLE EXPRESS 2 or anything like that.” So, yes, I think we can expect some marijuana-laced hijinks from McBride, but don’t expect that to be the entire raison d’etre of his character.

As for the tone of the film, whereas PINEAPPLE EXPRESS took cues from 80s action flicks, YOUR HIGHNESS turned to 80s fantasy films. McBride said, “We didn’t really want to make fun of 80s fantasy films. We just wanted to make an 80s fantasy film.” But to make that style of film without poking fun, they had to treat the technical aspects sincerely – “the costumes, the sets, all that stuff was taken seriously and it was done on a big scale. No jokes are had from cod pieces or anything like that. You wanted the world to be real and the comedy just comes from the people that happen to be in this world and really shouldn’t be.”

And when it comes to the talented cast (including Natalie Portman, James Franco, Justin Theroux, and Zooey Deschanel), McBride assures us that everyone “kill[s] in it.” Portman particularly plays against type, and McBride says, “There was a lot of times where she would be saying things to me and it was harder to keep a straight face than with any of the comedians I’ve worked with because it was just so surreal to see Natalie Portman asking me if my pussy hurts, you know? Just disgusting, really.”

Rest assured, McBride says the film itself “looks beautiful and to hear the filth that comes out of peoples’ mouths with frames looking so beautiful. It’s nothing I’ve really seen before.”

Though he’s not sure when we can expect to see stills from the film or the first trailer, McBride says they are aiming for a release around October 1, 2010 so they can bring the film to next year’s Comic-Con.