Interview With "This Is Spinal Tap" Director Rob Reiner

The Next Best Picture Podcast

Tv & Film

4.2 • 542 Ratings

🗓️ 4 July 2025

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"This Is Spinal Tap" (1984), also known as "This Is Spın̈al Tap: A Rockumentary by Martin Di Bergi," is a mockumentary comedy directed by the legendary Rob Reiner in his feature debut and co-written with stars Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, who play members of the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap, hilariously dubbed "one of England's loudest bands." Satirizing rock star excess and the earnest style of classic rock documentaries, the largely improvised film earned critical acclaim, modest box office returns, and later a devoted cult following that cemented its status as a landmark of the mockumentary genre and the source of the iconic phrase "Up to eleven." Selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in 2002, the film will finally get a sequel, "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues," with Reiner, Guest, McKean, and Shearer reuniting for one last concert in September 2025. Director Rob Reiner was kind enough to speak with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out The Golden 41st Anniversary 4K restoration of "This Is Spinal Tap" (with a special intro from Rob Reiner) in theaters from July 5th-7th, 2025 (get your tickets here) from Bleecker Street and will feature the first look at "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues." Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are listening to The Next Best Picture podcast, and this is my interview with the director for the 1984 classic, This is Spinal Tap.
0:09.5	And the upcoming sequel, Spinal Tap 2, The End continues.
0:15.7	Rob Reiner.
0:18.6	You must have made the wrong time.
0:20.6	We are Spinal Tuck for the UK. You must be made a wrong time. We are spinal theft from the UK.
0:22.9	You must be the USA!
0:25.6	I wanted to capture the sights, the sounds, the smells of a hardworking rock band on the road.
0:32.6	But I got more.
0:34.6	A lot more.
0:37.3	There's some problems here. I don't even know where to start.
0:39.3	You'd like pick of bread?
0:40.3	It's a complete catastrophe.
0:42.3	The Boston gig has been cancelled.
0:43.3	I wouldn't worry about it, Matt.
0:45.3	It's not a big college town.
0:46.3	I told them that spinal tap first and puppets show up.
0:50.3	I just want to make some answer.
0:52.3	The spinal tack, their current lives outiding in the where are the now file?
0:56.0	Does this mean the popularity the group is waning?
0:58.0	I just think that their appeal is becoming more selective.
1:01.0	Rock and roll!
1:02.0	You've part of naked woman on all fours pushing a black glove in her face.
	...

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