Neon Acquires ‘Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie'
Variety confirmed the news after Neon teased the acquisition in a cryptic social media post featuring an image of an Orbitz bottle (a now-defunct Canadian non-carbonated fruit-flavored beverage from the 1990s) and the caption 'IYKYK.'
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Canadian creators Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol star in this time-traveling comedy film based on their mockumentary TV series 'Nirvanna the Band the Show,' which aired for two seasons from 2017 to 2018. As in the series, the duo play musicians Matt and Jay, who, though they've never written or recorded a song, make it their mission to play a concert at Toronto's Rivoli. Orbitz proves crucial to Matt and Jay's journey in a way we wouldn't dare spoil. Johnson directs the film from a script he wrote with McCarroll.
Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge called the film 'far and away the wildest film of the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival,' adding, 'Hilarious as the movie can be, there's an even more amusing meta level on which we laugh at how insane it is that it exists at all, marveling how they pulled it off.'
Johnson previously made a splash on the festival circuit with the 2023 Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton-led dramedy 'BlackBerry,' for which McCarrol was the composer. Previous directorial credits include 'The Dirties' and 'Operation Avalanche.'
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