Rob Reiner went “he’s on fire” mode in the 1980s. That decade, he directed This is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally… That’s four stone-cold classics and one underrated comedy (The Sure Thing) that Roger Ebert called a “small miracle.” Reiner’s recent efforts haven’t been able to match his 1980s (or early 1990s, with Misery and A Few Good Men) output, but he’s going back to his first movie in an attempt to turn his directorial career back to 11.
Deadline reports that Reiner will direct Spinal Tap II, a sequel to 1980’s cult classic This is Spinal Tap. Comedy legends Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer will reprise their roles as Spinal Tap members David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel, and Derek Smalls, while Reiner will again play documentarian Marty DiBergi.
Here’s how Reiner described the film:
“They haven’t spent any time together recently, and that became the premise. The idea was that Ian Faith, who was their manager, he passed away. In reality, Tony Hendra passed away. Ian’s widow inherited a contract that said Spinal Tap owed them one more concert. She was going to sue them if they didn’t. All these years and a lot of bad blood we’ll get into and they’re thrown back together and forced to deal with each other and play this concert.”
Paul McCartney is still out there playing “Helter Skelter” at 79 years old. What’s stopping Spinal Tap (combined age: 226) from doing the same with “Sex Farm”?
(Via Deadline)