Right here's what director Rob Reiner advised us about 'This Is Spinal Faucet 2'

By no means thoughts the very fact he’s made When Harry Met Sally, Stand By Me and Distress, Rob Reiner is aware of that This Is Spinal Faucet is his biggest achievement. As monumental as Stonehenge, the 1984 cult mockumentary – or rockumentary, if you’ll – a couple of fictional heavy steel band unerringly nailed the music business. Reiner, now 75, has misplaced rely of what number of well-known musicians have paid tribute since, with Sting as soon as telling him: “I’ve seen the film so many occasions: each time I watch it, I don’t know whether or not to giggle or cry!”

He isn’t the one one. When NME sits down with Reiner on the Cannes Movie Pageant, This Is Spinal Faucet has simply been screened as a part of the Cinéma de la Plage sidebar. Extra intriguingly, Reiner is right here to promote the long-awaited sequel within the Cannes market. Sure, after almost 4 many years, two albums and varied dwell appearances, Spinal Faucet are getting again collectively for a follow-up movie: Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Visitor), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) and David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) shall be shoving cucumbers down their trousers once more.

However will it go to 11 or simply be a “shit sandwich”, to coin one of many memorable critiques of the band’s sadly fictional album ‘Shark Sandwich’? Listed below are 5 insights we gleaned from our chat with Reiner.

Spinal Faucet’s big-screen reunion isn’t being taken evenly

For years, Reiner has been requested about making a sequel to This Is Spinal Faucet, however he and the others have at all times resisted. “We by no means thought we might do a sequel,” he admits to NME. “It was solely as a result of we began to speak to one another and we got here up with an concept we predict would possibly work – we don’t know it’ll. We’re going to strive. The bar is extremely excessive. We debated whether or not or not we should always do it… I stated, ‘Have a look at us, we’re all in our 70s. How a lot time are we going to have [left] to have some enjoyable?’”

The director accepts that there are plenty of Spinal Faucet followers on the market who’re nervous it’d suck. “You don’t need us to cock it up!” he laughs. “That’s the factor: we wouldn’t strive until we thought we had one thing that would work.”

However it’s an enforced reunion…

“Ian Religion, he’s lifeless – so what are we going to do?” declares Reiner, referring to Faucet’s cricket-bat wielding supervisor. In actuality, Tony Hendra, who performed Religion, sadly handed away in March 2021. Quite than recast the position, Reiner and co. have constructed the plot of the sequel round Religion’s loss of life, with the band compelled to reunite and play one final gig after Religion’s widow threatens to sue until they fulfil a contractual obligation. Instantly, it faucets – sorry – into the thought of ageing bands reforming for profitable gigs. “Have a look at all of them,” says Reiner. “The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac… all of them hold going. It’s wonderful. You wish to hear them play.”

Marty DiBergi will return

Reiner himself can be returning for the sequel as Marty DiBergi, the filmmaker who documented the band within the first movie. “Right here’s the factor,” Reiner tells us. “Marty DiBergi was roundly criticised by the band members for having carried out a hatchet job, [but] he’s going to be doing the second movie. Marty has not been that profitable [since]. I believe he made Kramer vs Kramer vs Godzilla, which didn’t do very effectively. It was a threesome, they usually have been all in love… and, sadly, Godzilla crushed the opposite two, so it didn’t work.”

Reiner initially primarily based DiBergi on legendary director Martin Scorsese, whose The Final Waltz chronicled the farewell tour of Canadian-American rockers The Band. “When [Scorsese] first noticed it, he was somewhat bit pissed off at me!” says Reiner. “However through the years, he’s come to like it.” To indicate there have been no onerous emotions, Reiner even acted in Scorsese’s 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Avenue. So what a couple of Scorsese cameo within the Faucet sequel? “If he would come…” Reiner hints.

This Is Spinal Faucet 2 shall be hitting screens in 2024

“We would like it to be out for the fortieth anniversary – March 19, 2024,” says Reiner. “So we’d shoot it someday subsequent yr.” As soon as once more, like the unique, it is going to be closely improvised, with Visitor, McKean and Shearer riffing collectively. “We had a four-page define [for the first film], that’s what we labored off of. One thing just like what we’ll do now,” the director confirms.

And there could also be some actual musician cameos within the new movie

The unique Spinal Faucet was not flush with star cameos. “We did have Cherie Currie, who was initially with The Runaways and Joan Jett. She was in a band referred to as The Dose, however we reduce that out,” explains Reiner. Nonetheless, there’s already speak that the sequel will characteristic some real-life musicians. Ozzy? Slash? Grohl? The listing is countless.

In the meantime, Visitor and co. will nearly definitely be writing new materials to go alongside the primary movie’s traditional cuts like ‘Large Backside’ and ‘Lick My Love Pump’, though Reiner may be very coy on the prospect of contemporary songs. “I don’t know what they’re going to do!” he says. “I don’t know these folks! I don’t suppose they’ve advised Marty! I don’t suppose Marty is aware of what they’re going to do!”