The men of This is Spinal Tap (Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer) are reuniting for another mockumentary in the vein of their past efforts (Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show, A Mighty Wind). This time their sights are set on so-called “retro collectors.”
What’s a retro collector, you wonder? Women on the Web’s Liz Smith breaks it down:
“People who ferret out such things as old comic books, Barbie dolls, vintage magazine ads, vinyl 45-rpm singles, or even – ick! – Charles Manson song lyrics written on Kleenex. There’s a massive underground of collectors who would do the Borgia’s proud as they scheme and double-cross to possess the item they crave.”
This of course immediately made me think of the climatic moments of The Simpsons‘ “Three Men, One Comic Book.” :
So color me excited!
The cast has not yet been secured, but there’s talk Parker Posey, John Michael Higgins, and Jane Lynch are being considered – if Lynch can work it with her busy Glee schedule that is.
Notably, Joss Whedon and Morgan Spurlock are currently shooting a straight up doc about fan boys and Comic-Con titled Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope. So expect some critical comic crazed crossover.
With an obvious upswing in the number of nerds and nerd culture hitting the big screen lately (I’m talking to you every single comic book and/or Michael Cera movie!), it’ll be interesting to see what each doc and mock-doc’s take will be on the compulsive collector culture. But this could also be a sign that this nerd-centric trend is coming to an end – as foretold by Matthew Vaughn!
Personally, I’ve enjoyed the past few years of comic book films and scrawny nerd boy protagonists, and I will be sad to see it come to an end. But with the crashing defeat of Scott Pilgrim at the box office – notably trounced by thick-necked old school action heroes The Expendables – and a total saturation of the market, I think Vaughn’s got a point. We’re approaching the nerd swan song – which will probably be a Weezer tune.
Are you looking forward to the next Guest mockumentary? How about Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope? Do you think comic movies are on their way out?