After being in the business for almost 60 years, it appears Rob Reiner shows no sign of slowing down. Last year saw him debut his first ever documentary (at least his first real documentary), “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life,” and he’s currently finishing up production in New Orleans on a “ This Is Spinal Tap ” sequel. In a recent interview with Deadline , Reiner discussed his shock over the documentary’s Emmy nominations , as well as the status of the follow-up to his feature directorial debut and cult classic.
“It’s a total surprise,” Reiner said of receiving Emmy nominations for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, as well as his direction of the film . “Especially because I’ve never made a real documentary. The only one I made was a fake one — ‘Spinal Tap.
’ It’s so funny to get recognized in this way.” For Reiner, making a film that celebrates one of his oldest friends and a comedic icon in front of and behind the camera felt like a natural extension of their relationship, almost as if he would’ve done it just for the two of them. However, seeing it play for others made him realize how special it truly was.
“We saw [‘Albert Brooks: Defending My Life’] with an audience at the Academy and I was surprised at how well it played,” he said to Deadline. “It played like a movie. There were a lot of laughs and people were really having a great time.
So to me, it’s a surprise that I’d ever be thought of as a documentary fil.
