All Of It – "Spinal Tap II: Older, Not Wiser"

Host: Alison Stewart (A)
Guest: Rob Reiner (C), director of Spinal Tap 2 and author of A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever

Date: September 15, 2025

Episode Overview

This lively and laugh-filled episode of All Of It dives deep into the making, legacy, and return of the beloved cult comedy This Is Spinal Tap, with the debut of its much-anticipated sequel, Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues. Host Alison Stewart welcomes director Rob Reiner to discuss the long, strange journey to retake the rights to Spinal Tap, why now was the right time for a sequel, and the clever, improvisational spirit behind both films. The conversation is as much about pop culture’s shifting sands as it is about the enduring bond between friends, the agony and joy of parody, and the precarious business of making movies in Hollywood.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Long-Awaited Sequel: Why Now?

• Origins of the Sequel:
  "We'd been asked over and over over the years to do it and we kind of let it alone because we thought, well, we've done it...But then we got the rights back. Harry Shearer was very aggressive about trying to get the rights back because we made any money on it...So once we did, we said...is there a story?" (03:01)
• The film emerged from the real-life rift among band members who hadn’t played together for 15 years, inspiring the plot of a reluctant reunion forced by a contractual obligation.
• Integration of real rock stars (Elton John, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks) brings a fresh energy and additional authenticity.

2. The Infamous “Net Profits” and Hard-Learned Industry Lessons

• Spinal Tap’s creators earned almost nothing from the original’s success due to creative Hollywood accounting.
  • "There's a thing called net profits, and I call them not profits, because you never wind up with anything...We each made, and this sounds like a joke, but we each made 82 cents a piece." (04:30)
• Reiner’s advice for filmmakers: Read the fine print and understand ownership and rights from the outset.

3. Where Are They Now? Spinal Tap’s Absurd Evolution

• The sequel humorously imagines the band’s members:
  • Derek Smalls: runs the New Museum of Glue and sometimes plays with a symphony.
  • David St. Hubbins: playing mariachi and composing hold music (winner of a “Holdy” award).
  • Nigel Tufnell: runs a cheese-and-guitar shop, swaps cheese for guitars.
• The fictional manager’s contract forces a final reunion concert, drawing inspiration from viral music trends (“What if a TikTok sparks Spinal Tap mania again?”).

4. The New Manager – Played by Chris Addison

• Simon Howler, the new “smarmy” manager, is all about money—not music.
• The filmmakers keep the signature style:
  • "All the dialogue is improvised...to make it more like a documentary." (09:40)
• Memorable Clip: Simon suggests one or two band members should die during the gig for legacy’s sake:
  ■ "If during the gig, at least one, but ideally no more than two of you were to die. That's what I call the Elvis effect. It really allows for a sort of lean flowering..." (10:29)

5. Improvisation, Satire, and Emotion

• Both films are rooted in improvisational theater disciplines—no script, just story outlines.
• Technology changes (digital instead of 16mm film, more cameras) but the emphasis remains on story and character.
  • "To me, if I could do every film that's improvised, I mean, I would do it because it's fun and it's comfortable and it's natural for me." (15:48)
• Though a satire of music documentaries, the new film aims to deliver emotional resonance alongside laughs:
  • "Normally emotion and satire, they don't want to live with each other...but if you could find a way to blend them in a seamless way, it's much more satisfying for the audience." (18:20)

6. Making Fun of Rock (and Rockumentaries)

• Early road trips to Judas Priest concerts informed the authenticity and chaos in Tap.
  • "You look at what, the audience is going crazy...It's always going to be around." (17:12)
• At first, real rockstars felt attacked; now, Spinal Tap is embraced as parody and homage.
• The "mockumentary" genre borrowed real-life techniques, e.g., including the director as a character inspired by Scorsese in The Last Waltz.

7. Revisiting Iconic Gags (Without Living in the Past)

• Reiner and team are careful to respect past jokes—Stonehenge, for example—but aim for the sequel to stand alone.
  • "There are certain things from the past that you have to kind of touch on...But a lot of the references, we don't want to play on them...if you have to have seen the first one in order to get this one, then we haven't done our job." (22:44)

8. On Cameos, Drummers, and “Real” Concerts

• Noteworthy cameos from Questlove, Chad Smith, Lars Ulrich—all refusing to be Spinal Tap’s next doomed drummer.
  • "The last drummer they had was a guy named Skippy Scoffleton who died sneezing to death. He sneezed himself to death." (24:11)
• The climactic concert was filmed with thousands of real fans in New Orleans for an authentic vibe.

9. Reflections on Legacy—And Living in the Moment

• Despite Spinal Tap 2’s themes of legacy, Reiner humbly downplays concern for his own, referencing how quickly once-iconic stars can be forgotten.
  • "You don't think about legacy. Just live in the moment and, you know, enjoy doing the work you do." (27:34)
• Advice to creatives: Enjoy what you do, because that’s how you spend your fleeting time.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "We each made, and this sounds like a joke, but we each made 82 cents a piece." – Rob Reiner, on Hollywood accounting (04:30)
• "He actually barters and he swaps cheese for guitars." – Reiner, describing Nigel Tufnell’s cheese shop (08:17)
• "If during the gig, at least one, but ideally no more than two of you were to die. That's what I call the Elvis effect..." – Simon Howler (Chris Addison), on legacy (10:29)
• "To me, if I could do every film that's improvised, I mean, I would do it because it's fun and it's comfortable and it's natural for me." – Reiner (15:48)
• "You can't kill heavy metal music with a stick. It's always going to be around." – Reiner on the music and culture (17:12)
• "Normally emotion and satire, they don't want to live with each other...but if you could find a way to blend them...it's much more satisfying for the audience." – Reiner (18:20)
• "The last drummer they had was a guy named Skippy Scoffleton who died sneezing to death." – Reiner (24:11)
• "You don't think about legacy. Just live in the moment and, you know, enjoy doing the work you do." – Reiner (27:34)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 03:01 — Why the sequel happened now, and how real-life inspired fiction
• 04:30 — Lessons in creative rights and the “net profits” myth
• 07:52 — Absurd ‘where-are-they-now’ profiles for the Tap band
• 10:29 — Clip: Manager suggests band members “die” for legacy’s sake
• 15:48 — Filmmaking process: improvisation, new technology, and emotional storytelling
• 17:12 — Reiner recalls heavy metal concert research
• 22:44 — Balancing nostalgia and originality in sequels
• 24:11 — Drummer deaths and celebrity cameos
• 27:25 — Reflections on personal legacy and advice to creatives

Recap & Takeaway

Rob Reiner’s appearance on All Of It is a masterclass in comedy, cultural critique, and humility. The new Spinal Tap movie honors its legacy without being beholden to it, thriving on improvisation and poking fun at both music’s pomposity and the quirks of documentary filmmaking. For fans new and old, the interview is rich with inside stories—like surviving on 82 cents and staging arena concerts with real fans—and a reminder that sometimes the truest legacy is having fun with your work, still shredding onstage (and possibly trading cheese for guitars) after all these years.