On Sunday, A24 became the first studio to win all six major categories at the Academy Awards with “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” An impressive feat, to be sure, but David Byrne didn’t win Best Original Song for “This Is A Life,” his contribution to the Daniels‘ film. But, alas, A24 has something to cheer Byrne up. Deadline reports that the studio acquired the rights to “Stop Making Sense,” the 1984 concert film of Byrne’s former band Talking Heads, and they’ll give it a 4K restoration before rereleasing it theatrically later this year.
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That’s exciting news for fans of Byrne and the band, as Jonathan Demme‘s first concert film is something of a cult classic. “Stop Making Sense” sees Byrne and band members Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison join forces with P-Funk Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry, and Edna Holt for an all-time great live performance. Shot in December 1983 at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre over three nights, Demme’s movie sees the Talking Heads work through a set list of some of their greatest hits, starting with a minimalist take that gradually grows in performers song by song.
“There was a band. There was a concert. This must be the movie!” said Talking Heads in a statement for the news about the 4K restoration. But don’t take that as a sign the band will reunite any time soon. “We’re not going to do it,” Byrne recently told Deadline’s Crew Call in response to the band getting back together. Talking Heads broke up in 1991, and have only played together once since then: in 2002, for their induction to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Hame.
But a restoration of Demme’s “Stop Making Sense” is the next best thing to a Talking Heads reunion. In the lead-up to the movie’s re-release, Rhino releases a new deluxe version of the movie’s soundtrack on vinyl and digitally on August 18. And Byrne looks like he’s having fun with the movie’s return to theaters, too. Check out a teaser for A24’s restoration below, where Byrne picks up his iconic gray suit from the film at the dry cleaners. “I’m picking it up. It’s been here for a while,” Byrne jokes as he hands his ticket across the counter.
“Stop Making Sense” marks the second film A24 acquired and restored for theatrical re-release after Darren Aronofksy‘s debut “Pi.” Could this be a trend starting? After A24’s Oscar success, maybe movie fans should expect the studio to snatch even more recent cult classics for restoration in the coming months. Stay tuned on that front, and for the official date of “Stop Making Sense” hitting theaters again in 2023.
