The world re-premieres the rock documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,”The film began to play at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills, on Thursday night. The lights went out, but there was a monitor at the side of the stage that lit up in the faces of the audience. The film stopped abruptly after about a minute.
Perfect for launching a celebration about a highly successful but marginally successful metal band, it was ideal.
And “Anvil!”Sacha Gervasi, director of the show, stated this when he arrived on stage after the snafu filled opening. “As usual with Anvil,”He said: “there was a massive f—up!”
Then again, massive f—ups – and more importantly, the perseverance to get through them and keep going – is what Anvil the band and “Anvil!”The movie is all about. Let’s face it: It just wouldn’t have seemed right if things had gone perfectly smoothly at the launch of the movie’s re-release, which will include a one-night event in 200 theaters on Tuesday, Sept. 27, followed by theatrical runs through October.
(In fact, “Anvil!” will be in five times more theaters in 2022 than it was during its initial release in 2009 – because, I guess, that’s the way they roll.)
Steve, the guitarist, formed the band almost 50 years ago in Canada. “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner, and endured decades of misadventures and commercial flops even as they picked up an avid following among fellow bands like Slayer and Guns N’ Roses. Then a screenwriter, Gervasi decided to make a film about the band he’d been obsessed with in his teens, going as far as to serve as a roadie on three of their tours – and after its own string of fluky occurrences, “Anvil! The Story of Anvil”Gervasi received a small release after he took out a second mortgage for his house. He also received a small, but energetic awards campaign. When they didn’t make the Oscars documentary shortlist, they took out a full-page ad touting themselves for Best Picture. That didn’t work, but the film was named 2009’s best documentary by the Film Independent Spirit Awards and the International Documentary Association.
“Anvil!”It also helped Gervasi’s career, as he has continued to direct the band. Gervasi is no longer required to work a day job since the album was released. “Hitchcock”And “My Dinner With Herve.”(Full Disclosure: My son works at Gervasi. That led to an unexpected re-release. It was the result of Gervasi screening the film for my teenage son. “Anvil!”Producer Rebecca Yeldham was one of the many people whose friends were going crazy during the pandemic.
“Can you believe it?”Gervasi spoke in the Saban Theatre’s lobby, drawing a large crowd including long-time Saban Theatre patrons. “Anvil!”Dustin Hoffman, fan “Jackass” star Steve-O, who moderated a post-screening Q&A with Gervasi, Yeldham, Kudlow and Reiner. “It’s happening again 13 years later!”
After the canceled opening, Gervasi briefly recalled his past with Anvil. He was just a teenager when he fell backstage at a London concert. The next day, he took the band on a tour through the city. “I met the band 40 years ago tonight, which is why this night is a f—ing serious night,”He said. He said. “Teabag” – and when he sent a note to their website decades later, he said he got a quick response from Kudlow that said, “Teabag! We thought you’d died or become a lawyer!”
“I did have a minor heroin overdose at law school,”Gervasi claimed that he did NotBe a lawyer. “So they were almost right.”
The crowd was large and had never seen it. “Anvil!” the first time around, so the film played as a mixture of fans remembering their favorite parts and newcomers discovering how funny and lovable the band’s occasional successes and frequent failures could be – particularly in retrospect, with the movie writing its own happy ending for a band that has recorded six more albums and done its biggest shows ever in the last 13 years.
After the movie was over, the curtain opened to reveal the trio, which consisted of Chris Robertson, Kudlow, and Reiner. The group played five songs and a half-hour of head-banging as the three-piece. Kudlow’s bald spot is bigger and Reiner’s hair is grayer, but otherwise, they’re still the hard-hitting, somewhat goofy, oddly endearing heavy metal band they were when Gervasi made the movie.
Gervasi assumed control of the drums “School Love,”Scott Ian, Anthrax’s guitarist, joined the group for the inevitable close. “Metal on Metal,” after which Steve-O came out, gushed about the movie and the band and tried unsuccessfully to impose some kind of order on the Q&A. (Actually, he didn’t really try to impose order – in fact, he was one of the reasons why the session was kind of a shambles, just the way an “Anvil!” Q&A should be.)
Gervasi spoke the final words. He pointed out that the band would sell t-shirts in lobby. Gervasi then asked the audience members to take a lesson from the experience of a film he had self-financed and edited at his kitchen table.
“If you’re a young filmmaker,”He shouted, “don’t f—ing give up!”
Special presentation of the remastered 13-anniversary edition of “Anvil! The Story of Anvil”The film will be shown in 200 theaters starting Tuesday, September 27, followed by a national re-release by Utopia/Abramorama. You can find more information at https://www.anvilthefilm.com.
