Edgar Wright’s ‘The Sparks Brothers’ Documentary Has Been Acquired by Focus Features

The Sparks Brothers Focus Features

Edgar Wright‘s first documentary has found a home.

The filmmaker, whose previous feature directing credits include the Cornetto trilogy, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and Baby Driver, debuted his first documentary, The Sparks Brothers, at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. And now Focus Features, the indie label which has worked with Wright on multiple projects already, has acquired the rights to the movie, which shines a spotlight on the eccentric and creative band known as Sparks.

Who the heck is Sparks, you ask? The fact that the group is not well-known is part of the reason Wright was inspired to make this documentary about them in the first place. Here’s the official synopsis:

How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? The Sparks Brothers, which features commentary from celebrity fans Flea, Beck, Jack Antonoff, Jason Schwartzman, Neil Gaiman, and more, takes audiences on a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers/bandmates Ron and Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of your favorite band’s favorite band.

Here’s a clip that gives you a sense of Wright’s filmmaking style as applied to the documentary format:

Sparks has been around for over fifty years and undergone a staggering number of changes in terms of their music. That’s because they aren’t interested in sticking to one particular musical style, or chasing any momentum they may have gained when one of their albums connects a bit in the zeitgeist. Creativity reigns supreme, and that seems to be the only thing that matters to these guys; things like fame, money, and recognition are secondary to scratching the itch they have to constantly create. /Film’s Ethan Anderton caught a screening of this movie at Sundance this year, and said this in his review:

All these iterations of Sparks have resulted in several comebacks over the years, despite never really going away. Even during a years-long drought, Sparks never stopped creating, and they were often ahead of their time even if it seems like they were always in the shadow of the bands who became more famous by emulating their style. Any other band might be discouraged, but Sparks just marched onward and has persisted over and over again. Their passion is infectious, and when it’s combined with Wright’s admiration for the band, you get a documentary that’s full of love and inspiration.

“In telling their story, Edgar has crafted an absolute joy bomb that will literally have you dancing in the aisles whether you grew up following them or are just now realizing how much their sound already shaped your life,” said Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski.

No release date has been announced for The Sparks Brothers yet, but we expect it to be available at some point in 2021.

The post Edgar Wright’s ‘The Sparks Brothers’ Documentary Has Been Acquired by Focus Features appeared first on /Film.