Sparks is having a moment. The Los Angeles new wave band, composed of operatic brothers Ron and Russell Mael, has been doing their eccentric thing since the late 1960s and they’re little known outside their circle of devotees. (Only two of their singles, “I Predict” and “Cool Places,” a collaboration with Go-Go’s member Jane Wiedlin, ever cracked the Billboard Hot 100, and that was way back in the early ’80s.) But that’s poised to change this summer thanks to two especially devoted fans: Leos Carax and Edgar Wright.
Carax’s English-language debut, Annette, is set to (hopefully) open this year’s Cannes Film Festival and is written by the Mael brothers, while Wright’s first documentary, The Sparks Brothers, sets out to answer why this successful, underrated, and influential band has been so criminally overlooked. The documentary features commentary from celebrity fans like Beck, Flea, Jason Schwartzman, Giorgio Moroder, Jack Antonoff, Neil Gaiman, Björk, and more.
According to distributor Focus Features, The Sparks Brothers “takes audiences on a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers/bandmates Ron and Russell Mael celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.” And given that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost provide the voices of John Lennon and Ringo Starr, respectively, we have a feeling that the film will be waving the same freak flag as Sparks.
Today, Focus released the official trailer for the film, which you can see below:
Focus Features will release the Sparks Brothers on June 18.
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