Paul McCartney and Elton John to feature in ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ sequel
Some 40 years after making his directorial debut with the hit mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner will start working on its sequel in February. The actor and filmmaker has also revealed that Paul McCartney, Elton John and Garth Brooks will feature in the project.
It has also been confirmed that original stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer will return as the members of the fictional metal band, with Reiner reprising his role as the hagiographer Martin ‘Marty’ Di Bergi. It is reported that the new movie will take its cues from Martin Scorsese’s 1976 farewell to The Band, The Last Waltz.
“The only thing that matters is that you get people who are good at improvising,” Reiner explained to the RHLSTP With Richard Herring podcast the improvised dialogue in This Is Spinal Tap. “You have to get people who feel comfortable doing that … then you’re off to the races.”
Reiner would make other hit films after This Is Spinal Tap. These include Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and the Stephen King adaptation, Misery. On RHLSTP, he shared a piece of advice for making comedies.
“You don’t want to overstay your welcome,” he said. “This is [like] stand-up — you leave them wanting. You go off on a big laugh and go out. The worst thing you could do is just load it up with, even if they’re funny things, they may be tangents and things that take away from the drive of the film.”
According to Variety, the movie package launched sales at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and was originally scheduled for March 19th, 2024. However, the strikes affected the plan, with an updated release date still to be announced.
Watch the trailer for This Is Spinal Tap below.
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