(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Todd Phillips has said that shooting the sequel to The Hangover feels liberating.

The American screenwriter and director is currently filming The Hangover Part II. He says it has been much easier than working on the original comedy because he knows people will want to come and see it after the success of its 2009 predecessor, which starred Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis.

In the first film, a group of men went to Las Vegas for a wild bachelor party, and a series of bizarre events occurred. The sequel, set in Thailand, is set to be just as wacky.

Todd has revealed the atmosphere on set this time around has been much more jovial and less pressurised, which made for a fun filming experience.

Of course part of me knows that but its liberating to be making a movie that people are expecting. Its much harder to be shooting outside some strip club in Las Vegas at four in the morning and turning to my cameraman and saying, This is so funny but is anyone going to see this movie. So for me its way more liberating to know people are expecting that, its not as scary, he told Movies.ie.

Todd - who has also worked on Due Date and Road Trip - says being a director as opposed to an actor allows him to escape the glare of the celebrity limelight.

Creating films like The Hangover has given him a sense of existing on the fringes of Hollywood culture, which he enjoys.

Most directors want to be a bit of an outsider looking through the window and I think again like the unapologetic irreverent tone that the movies have, that The Hangover has and certainly like I think Due Date has - something that keeps me feeling like an outsider you know these are you know I can never see me doing a romantic comedy, he said. These movies, even when they do well, still feel outside the system. (C) Cover Media