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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Spinal Tap Offers Bold ‘Promise' Amid Coldplay Jumbotron Scandal
Spinal Tap Offers Bold 'Promise' Amid Coldplay Jumbotron Scandal originally appeared on Parade. Spinal Tap is back and they're tapping into one of the buzziest viral moments of the week. The fictional classic rock band issued a bold take after two people were spotted together in an embrace on the video screen at a Coldplay concert, speaking directly to 'the spouses' of the people in the video in a humorous attempt to comfort them. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 'To the spouses who found out they were being cheated on via the Coldplay jumbotron: sorry to hear that. Come see Spinal Tap. We promise no jumbotrons, just ear damage and emotional closure,' they wrote, along with a photo of the alleged cheating couple, in a post on X on July 17. In true Tap fashion, some fans offered comments aligned with the fictional band's sense of humor. 'Do you think he sunk her with his pink torpedo?' one wrote. 'Plus the healing aura of the 18 inch Stonehenge,' another posted, referring to the scene in the 1984 film in which the band's tribute to the English landmark turns out all wrong. 'Last time I saw you guys a puppet show got top billing. Can you at least guarantee you guys will be the headliner?' another fan commented, referring to another scene in the original film. 'Or emotional damage and ear closure,' another fan posted, along with a GIF from the film featuring Michael McKean and Christopher Guest as their characters David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel, respectively, with the words from the film, 'It's such a fine line between stupid and clever.'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, the long-awaited sequel to the 1984 film This Is Spinal Tap, is scheduled for a Sept. 12 release. It reunites Guest and McKean as well as Harry Shearer as Spinal Tap band member Derek Smalls, Rob Reiner as documentarian Martin 'Marty' Di Bergi, and Fran Drescher as publicist Bobbi Flekman. The plot of the new mockumentary has the band reuniting after 15 years for one final show. Spinal Tap Offers Bold 'Promise' Amid Coldplay Jumbotron Scandal first appeared on Parade on Jul 18, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
Time Out
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The funniest comedy movie of all-time is returning to theaters this weekend
Comedy fans, turn your excitement to 11 and drummers prepare for spontaneous combustion: This Is Spinal Tap is coming back to theaters. The 1984 mockumentary, directed by Rob Reiner and starring Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer as the eponymous fictional hard-rock band, is being re-released this weekend in a 4K restoration in celebration of the movie's 41st anniversary. It's also a precursor to the long-awaited sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. A send-up of 1980s rock 'n' roll excess, This Is Spinal Tap was a modest success upon release but has since become one of the most celebrated comedy movies of all-time. It currently sits atop Time Out's list of the greatest comedy films ever made, and comes in at No. 78 on our ranking of the 100 best movies ever. 'Sporting arguably the most quotable script in movie history,' we wrote, 'and some of the meatiest metal melodies this side of Bon Scott-era AC/DC, this is simply a perfect film: from the first chord of Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight to the very final line ('I dunno, what are the hours?'), there's literally nothing about it that could be improved.' The restored and remastered version plays in theaters across America for a brief run, July 5-7. As for the sequel, Reiner, along with all the main cast members, are returning to chart the run-up to the band's farewell concert, which we're sure will go off without a hitch. Announced cameos include Elton John, Paul McCartney and Garth Brooks. It's set for worldwide release on September 12.
New York Times
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘This Is Spinal Tap': So Bad, They're Great
Thank cinéma vérité for the rockumentary. D.A. Pennebaker's 1967 'Dont Look Back' came first. And thank those for spawning the faux vérité mockumentary that arrived in the form of Rob Reiner's 1984 'This Is Spinal Tap' — a parody which, legend has it, was taken by a credulous few for a vérité portrait of an actual rock band. First a critical favorite, then a VHS cult film (for rock bands in particular), and finally a Library of Congress certified classic, Reiner's film returns for the holiday weekend in a new 4K restoration. Introducing himself as the filmmaker Marty DiBergi (and fatuously taking credit for the term 'rockumentary,' already in circulation), Reiner expresses his longtime admiration for Spinal Tap, 'one of England's loudest bands,' a group of amiable dimwits touring the United States to promote their new LP, 'Smell the Glove.' As documented by DiBergi and punctuated with bombastic, bare-chested performances of casually ludicrous (but catchy) numbers, their Tap Into America tour is rife with quarrels, snafus, canceled bookings, hissy fits and spectacular onstage malfunctions. The fictional band was created by boyhood pals David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) and Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and so in a sense was the film: McKean and Guest met at New York University and developed a riff that was picked up on by Reiner and Harry Shearer (who plays Derek Smalls, another band member) for an abortive TV comedy show and thereafter evolved into the movie. As such, 'Spinal Tap' is a rich feast of clichés ranging from kinescopes of the band's early incarnations to backstage shenanigans and ham-handed intrigue. The glibly incompetent manager (Tony Hendra) quits, leaving David's pushy, astrology-minded girlfriend (June Chadwick) in charge as engagements drastically decline. Nigel departs in the wake of a U.S. Air Force base mixer, leaving the band without a lead guitarist for a gig at an amusement park second billed to a kiddie puppet show. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Better Call Saul actor's response to Fox host who branded Karine Jean-Pierre a ‘DEI hire'
Fox News presenter Jesse Watters referred to Karine Jean-Pierre, the first Black American White House press secretary, as a 'DEI hire,' sparking criticism. Watters disparaged Jean-Pierre, calling her 'Binder,' due to her use of briefing notes, and suggested she was hired based on diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. Better Call Saul actor Michael McKean responded to Watters' comments, calling him a 'simpleton and a blazing a**hole' on X. Watters has faced other recent controversies on his show, including Kid Rock's remarks about 'ugly a** liberal women' and Watters' claim about Chicago Bulls caps signifying MS-13 gang affiliation. Jean-Pierre's new book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, follows Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson's Original Sin, which examines the final year of Joe Biden 's presidency.
The Independent
05-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Better Call Saul actor unloads on ‘simpleton' Jesse Watters after Fox host calls Karine Jean-Pierre a ‘DEI hire'
Fox News presenter Jesse Watters drew flak from an unexpected quarter on Wednesday after he referred to former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the first Black American to hold that role, as a 'DEI hire.' The host of Primetime was discussing Jean-Pierre's surprise announcement that she has left the Democratic Party and written a new book explaining that decision, titled Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines. Referring to Jean-Pierre disparagingly as 'Binder' throughout the segment, seemingly because she carried a binder of notes to her briefing sessions with reporters during her tenure in the Biden administration, Watters was scathing. 'Binder spent two years lying from a podium and now she wants to tell us the truth?' he scoffed, going on to suggest she had only ever been hired as part of the diversity, equity, and inclusion [DEI] hiring practices that Trump has since made it his personal mission to eradicate. 'Look at the name of the book: Inside a Broken White House. Now she's telling us the White House was broken?' Watters continued. 'Wait a second, who else wrote a book about this? Yeah, Tapper. Binder's now DEI Tapper. I wonder who got paid more.' A clip of the Fox pundit's comments shared on X by the ever-prolific Acyn was leapt on by veteran actor Michael McKean, best known to audiences as Chuck McGill in Better Call Saul (2015-2022) and, before that, hapless heavy metal band frontman David St Hubbins in This Is Spinal Tap (1984). 'In all fairness, Jesse is a simpleton and a blazing a**hole,' McKean responded, a sentiment shared by a number of other commentators reacting to the video. Other recent controversies on Watters' show have included rapper Kid Rock claiming that 'ugly a** liberal women' are the reason for America's declining birthrate and the host himself declaring that 'everyone knows' that wearing a Chicago Bulls cap is a signifier that the wearer belongs to the notorious Central American criminal gang MS-13. Over the weekend, Watters joked that all of Sports Illustrated 's swimwear models were obese in the Biden era because of political correctness considerations. Jean-Pierre's book follows hot on the heels of Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, in which the CNN and Axios journalists lift the lid on the final year of Joe Biden 's presidency and the alleged effort to cover up the 46th commander-in-chief's declining health by his closest aides. President Donald Trump ordered an investigation into that affair on Wednesday.
