The Sparks Brothers
The Sparks Brothers is a 2021 British-American documentary film about Ron and Russell Mael, members of the pop and rock duo Sparks. The film, directed by Edgar Wright, and produced by Wright, Nira Park, George Hencken and Laura Richardson, premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and was theatrically released the following summer. It received critical acclaim.
The Sparks Brothers
- Nira Park
- Edgar Wright
- George Hencken
- Laura Richardson
Jake Polonsky
Paul Trewartha
- MRC
- Complete Fiction Pictures
- Focus Features (United States)
- Universal Pictures (International)
- January 30, 2021 (Sundance)
- June 18, 2021 (United States)
- July 30, 2021 (United Kingdom)
140 minutes[1]
- United Kingdom
- United States
English
Summary[edit]
The documentary features lengthy interviews with Ron and Russell Mael, along with short interviews with musicians, record producers who collaborated with the band, previous members of the group who worked with the Maels in the various Sparks line-ups from the early 1970s until the early 2020s, as well as a number of fans. The documentary also includes several short animation sequences to reproduce apocryphal anecdotes between musicians with the participation of comedians and frequent Wright collaborators Simon Pegg (as the voice of John Lennon) and Nick Frost (as the voice of Ringo Starr).
Production[edit]
In June 2018, it was announced Wright would direct an untitled documentary film revolving around the band Sparks, with MRC Non-Fiction and Complete Fiction Pictures producing the film.[4]
Principal photography began in May 2018, with Jake Polonsky as cinematographer, beginning with covering the band's concert at the O2 Forum Kentish Town.[5] In April 2020, Wright announced that the film was "nearly finished".[6]