Canuck Metal Heads Head to Cannes

Anvil is the new Spinal Tap, minus the parodies

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

The most unlikely of movie stars are heading to the iconic Sundance Film Festival next January, but not before hitting Cannes International Film Fest, which is currently underway in France (May 13-24).

Anvil, a Canadian heavy metal band from the '80s, are the subject behind an acclaimed documentary, Anvil!: The Story of Anvil, directed and produced by mega fan Sacha Gervasi (The Big Tease).

Released to just three theatres back in February, Anvil impressed audiences throughout North America and the UK, pulling in more than $541,000 in worldwide box office receipts, which is not bad for a little-known docu-film about a little-known metal band from the Great White North.

Gervasi first met the speed metal headbangers back in 1982, after Anvil played at The Marquee Club in London, England, and soon became a roadie for the group during their 1982, 1984, and 1985 tours. Twenty years later, in November 2005, Gervasi--"England's #1 Anvil fan"--reunited with the aging rockers to film this doc.

The Story of Anvil, which has also been adapted into a 2009 book, follows original members Steve "Lips" Kudlow (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Robb Reiner (drums), telling of their heydays and how they almost made it big, despite releasing more than a dozen albums over the years.

The film also features interviews with some of the big-name metal gods who were influenced by Anvil, including Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Slash of Guns N' Roses & Velvet Revolver, Lemmy of Motorhead & Hawkwind, Scott Ian of Anthrax, and Slayer's Tom Araya.

Beckoned by The London Times as "possibly the greatest film yet made about rock and roll," Anvil has won Audience Awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, and the Galway International Film Festival. Even the legendary filmmaker Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11) has claimed it's "the best documentary I've seen in years."

Kudlow and Reiner have also announced that they will perform tonight at the Cannes Film Festival, hitting the stage of Morrison's Irish Pub on rue Teisseire, from "10 p.m. 'til late." The Works International is looking to buy repping rights to the Anvil film.