Spinal Tap Reuniting For Pennsylvania Democrats Tonight
Spinal Tap never came off as a particularly political band, but they’re reuniting tonight for political purposes. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the three stars of the classic 1984 mockumentary are coming back together tonight in a virtual event that’ll raise funds for Pennsylvania Democrats in next month’s election.
Tonight, Patton Oswalt will host a virtual reunion with This Is Spinal Tap stars Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest. Those three band members were last seen together last year, when they played an acoustic set at the Tribeca Film Festival, with Elvis Costello sitting in.
Tonight, Oswalt will host the three of them, as well as director Rob Reiner, who directed This Is Spinal Tap and who co-wrote it with the three stars. Tonight’s event follows up one last month where Reiner reunited with the stars of his 1987 movie The Princess Bride. The Princess Bride cast did a virtual table read together in character, and it raised $4.25 million for Wisconsin Democrats. You can donate to see the Spinal Tap reunion here.
In related Spinal Tap news, the creators have reportedly reached a settlement in their lawsuit against This Is Spinal Tap rights-holders Vivendi and StudioCanal. In 2016, Harry Shearer sued Vivendi, claiming that the company owed him $125 million in unpaid Spinal Tap royalties. Reiner, McKean, and Guest joined in the lawsuit, and according to Deadline, the parties all reached a settlement last month, and it’ll involve a restructuring of the rights to the soundtrack.