Edgar Wright’s ‘The Sparks Brothers’ documentary get North American release date
The Sparks Brothers, Edgar Wright’s loving, remarkably zippy 140 minute documentary about Ron and Russell Mael’s band and the cult of fandom around them, was a hit at Sundance and just screened as part of SXSW’s Online film festival. They’ve just announced that the film will be released theatrically in the US and Canada on June 18 via Focus Features.
No other details have been shared yet, like whether the film will be a same-day release on VOD, soon after, or what, but its good news for Sparks fans (and Edgar Wright fans) who have been waiting for this one.
The film is a chronological telling of the Mael’s musical story, from growing up in Southern California though forming Sparks and the many ups and downs, and twists and turns they’ve taken over the years. In addition to lots of up close and personal time with Ron and Russell, Wright talked to dozens of collaborators and fans, including Jason Beck, members of Erasure, Duran Duran and New Order, Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman Palladino, Weird Al Yankovic, Flea, Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, and Neil Gaiman, Jane Wiedlin, Todd Rundgren, Tony Visconti, Giorgio Moroder, and more.
You can read our interviews with the Maels and Wright, as well as our The Sparks Brothers review. Watch an official clip — which they aren’t calling a trailer, but it’s a trailer — from the film below.