Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch To Have World Premiere In Los Angeles

http://www.dailyllama.com/news/2003/llama196.html

RUTLES 2: CAN'T BUY ME LUNCH TO HAVE WORLD PREMIERE IN LOS ANGELES
by Hans ten Cate
Tuesday, 5 August 2003

Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch will premiere at the Don't Knock the Rock Festival on August 16, 7:30 PM and 11:45 PM at the ArcLight Cinemas

After sitting on a shelf at Warner Brothers for over a year, Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch, the much anticipated sequel to Eric Idle's 1978 mockumentary, will receive its world premiere in Los Angeles on August 16. The screening is part of the first annual Don't Knock the Rock Festival, which is being held August 15-17 in various venues throughout Hollywood.

The festival's organizers have arranged two showings, the first at 7:30 PM and again at 11:45 PM that same night. Both screenings will take place at the ArcLight Cinema on Sunset Blvd.

The first Don't Knock the Rock Festival launches what will be an annual film and music event celebrating the rock and roll roots of Hollywood. The three-day festival is a historical journey of classic and new rock and roll films.

Saturday night will be the world premiere of Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch, which actually wrapped production last year. Written and directed by Eric Idle, Rutles 2 is the sequel to All You Need is Cash and, like the original, it is a parody of the myriad documentaries made about the Beatles.

For Rutles 2, Eric dug up some outtakes and old footage from the original documentary. “Yes, there's found footage,” confessed Eric. “I went to New Jersey and found the original outtakes – the negatives – which are fabulous. Mechanically, you could just process them, and the positive was all fresh and great.” [1] In addition, the film uses the Rutles' second album, Archeology (1996), to look back on the Rutles' influence on contemporary artists.

“It’s a documentary with my same narrator character,” said Eric, “only it’s 30 years later, and he goes around talking to Salman Rushdie, Tom Hanks, James Taylor, David Bowie and Bonnie Raitt about how the world has been influenced, and how their lives have been changed by the Rutles.”

“He pursues Jennifer Lopez and Madonna trying to get interviews, which is really funny, and Gary Shandling is just brilliant. I made it under the aegis of Lorne Michaels again, and we sold it to Warners.” For reasons unbeknownst to even Eric, Warner Brothers sat on the project and the film has, until recently, only seen limited test screenings. August 16 will be the official world premiere.

The cast includes Eric Idle, Neil Innes, Ricky Fataar and John Halsey as The Rutles, along with Rutles fans and foes David Bowie, Billy Connolly, Carrie Fisher, Tom Hanks, Jewel, Steve Martin, Mike Nichols, Conan O'Brien, Salman Rushdie, Garry Shandling, Robin Williams, and cameos from the first installment by Mick Jagger, George Harrison, and Ron Wood.

Tickets to the event are available on the ArcLight Cinema's website, www.arclightcinemas.com.

 

This has the potential to go to extremes.....really good, or horribly bad.

 

Yes, I agree. Also, wasn't Idle very publicly opposed to the follow-up 'Archeology' which was all Neil Innes and he had nothing to do with??

 

Yes, I recall him saying he wasn't involved because he thought it was "a bad idea". I'd heard rumors of some bad blood between Idle and Innes as a result, but apparently, that's been smoothed over. Both Innes and Idle appeared together to promote the Rhino DVD of the original film a couple of years ago, and obviously if Idle used the Archaeology tracks for the follow-up, he couldn't have found them too badly done. (Personally, I think the Archaeology tracks are for the most part just as good as the original soundtrack songs.).

 

Apparently George liked the film...

http://www.galleryofsound.com/pages/type1u.asp?StoryID=1517

"He even had his audiences in stitches at two recent memorials to George Harrison, at the Royal Albert Hall and an induction into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. He agrees this was hard to do given his feelings for his late friend, but explains “One has an obligation to keep the level of comedy going even though it’s bittersweet; you’re wishing he’s there to enjoy it.”

“‘Cause he was such a great Python fan, and Rutle fan, he talked about the Rutles constantly. His sense of humor was fantastic: when he wasn’t laughing he wasn’t happy. He was the funniest and finest of friends, he was an extraordinary human being, I don’t know anyone like him, this combination of this fantastic spiritual person, this great friend, and this very funny man. And he encouraged me to make ‘The Rutles.’ In fact, almost the last thing he saw, was the Rutles sequel I finished last year, ‘Can’t Buy Me Lunch.’ I sent it to him and he could hardly speak at the time, but he sat there with a big smile watching it, it made him so happy. The kind of perverse truth of the matter, is he was the only one who’s seen it so far, but it was worth doing just for that.” "

 

Looking forward to this one, with a "Cheese and Onions" sandwich on the side

 

Just bought tix for the ArcLight

 

Re: Re: Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch To Have World Premiere In Los Angeles

Great, have a good time, let us know what you think when you get back.

 

Re: Re: Re: Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch To Have World Premiere In Los Angeles

Still savoring the Cheese and Onions!

Yes, Eric was there. Before the screening, he told the packed crowd at the ArcLight Screen 13 that we were the second audience to see the completed documentary, after George Harrison.

Can't Buy Me Lunch kept the crowd laughing. The crowd was mostly the Rutles faithful, obviously eager to see any new content, and they weren't disappointed. When Eric asked the crowd who was their favorite Rutle, someone yelled out "Leppo", causing Eric to comment on how esoteric the crowd was.

"Lunch" has much new material, including use of the "Archeology" material, new footage of Eric, and new interviews with the aforementioned James Taylor, Gary Shandling, etc. "Easy Listening" was cleaverly repackaged with existing Rutles performance footage. Eric was shot in various locations (Paris, Las Vegas, standing in for Paris, France, for example). with various people (including a mildly funny running gag with Jimmy Fallon of SNL), carrying-on bits from the first movie. The interviews were very well done; according to Eric after the screening, Graham Nash came in as the best prepared, knowing all the Rutles and lots of trivia. Eric noted that when he directed them to talk about the Rutles' breakup, the actors gave genuinely emotional performances, many of them tearing up.

There is so much "Cash" footage in "Lunch" that it doesn't seem that much like a new work, but a bouquet for the faithful. The disparate sources for much of the new Eric material made for jarring contrasts in video from scene to scene, but strangely the sound was very well stitched together and well-crafted.

After the screening, Eric came out with Kevin Nealon and (missing name here...) the actor who played the man lamenting the loss of Leggy. They answered many questions. Eric emphasized the fact that "Lunch" is still sitting on the shelf at Warner Brothers. He talked about the hours of footage, especially the celebrity interviews, hoping to use them on a future DVD release. Eric talked about how privileged he was to have all the Beatles' blessing in one way or another about the Rutles project, even Yoko!

I can't imagine Rhino won't consider a DVD release of this. PPV, HBO special, WB special (OK, not the typical WB TV demographic), art house cinema release...

 

A nearly un-viewable photo of the post show talk, Eric in the middle.

 

Must have been great. Thanks for the report.

 

Thanks for the report, so how do we get WB off their collective rumps to release this thing?

 

Mark Evanier (www.newsfromme.com) is suggesting a petition drive, if anyone's interested:

"Free the Pre-Fab Four
Want to help get Eric Idle's new movie released? As noted, the folks at Warner Brothers presently have no plan to release Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch. Perhaps they'll come up with one if enough of us write letters to...

Mr. Eric Frankel
Warner Brothers Television
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522
When you write such letters, the important things are to (a) be polite, (b) not sound like a form letter and (c) suggest that you will purchase or patronize the item and that you believe your friends will, as well. What I usually write is something like...

You are probably buried in letters from people who are eager to spend money on Eric Idle's new film. If you aren't, it's probably because most Eric Idle fans don't know where to write, because there certainly are a lot of us. Anyway, here's another one for the pile.
Will it work? Maybe. Some day they'll wise up and put it out and when they do, you'll be able to tell yourself that your letter was the one that brought Time-Warner to its knees."