The Next Picture Show

#031: (Pt. 1) This Is Spinal Tap / Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Inspired by the new Lonely Island feature mockumentary POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING, we look back at the grandaddy of mock-rock-docs: Rob Reiner's THIS IS SPINAL TAP, which helped set the template for modern comedy in more ways than one. In this half of the discussion, we go deep into the hows and why's of SPINAL TAP's improvised humor, and consider how the film's message scans in the current music-industry climate. Plus, lots of feedback from our L.A. CONFIDENTIAL/THE NICE GUYS episode.
Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THIS IS SPINAL TAP, POPSTAR, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 
Time Codes:
Intro: 00:00-03:23
Keynote: 03:24-07:04
Main Discussion: 07:05-39:18
Feedback/Outro: 39:19-51:47
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Looking at cinema's present via its past. The Next Picture Show is a biweekly roundtable by the former editorial team of The Dissolve examining how classic films inspire and inform modern movies. Episodes take a deep dive into a classic film and its legacy in the first half, then compare and contrast that film with a modern successor in the second. Hosted and produced by Genevieve Koski, Keith Phipps, Tasha Robinson and Scott Tobias.