One ofRob Reiners greatest filmmaking credits is the classic mockumentaryThis IsSpinal Tap.
But he became the maker of an actual documentary not a faux one withAlbert Brooks: Defending My Life.
Especially because Ive never made arealdocumentary.
Albert Brooks (L) and Carl Reiner in ‘Albert Brooks: Defending My Life’HBO
The only one I made was a fake one Spinal Tap.
Its so funny to get recognized in this way.
It played like a movie.
Rob Reiner speaks at the HBO Documentary Films screening of ‘Albert Brooks: Defending My Life’ at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.FilmMagic for HBO
There were a lot of laughs and people were really having a great time.
So to me, its a surprise that Id ever be thought of as a documentary filmmaker.
Its just a weird thing.
The interview was going on a very long time.
And Judd, hes not as old as Albert and I, so he didnt take that into account.
(For the record, Reiner is 77; Brooks turns 77 later this month).
He was nominated five times for the Norman Lear show.
He also earned an Oscar nomination in 1993 in the Best Picture category forA Few Good Men.
You dont think about doing things to either get nominated or get an award, he said.
Reiners dad, Carl Reiner, won 11 Emmys in his extraordinary career in show business.
One of Carls nominations came for narrating the 2018 documentaryIf Youre Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast.
And now Mel Brooks, his best friend, just turned 98, and Dick Van Dyke is 98.
So its amazing how these people, great talents, are still out there doing things.
Reiner shared an update on his progress on theSpinal Tapsequel.
We got everybody together and we added a couple of surprise guests, Reiner said.
We have Paul McCartney and Elton John and Garth Brooks.
And theres always the potential for a sequel toAlbert Brooks: Defending My Life.
Twenty years from now well do another one.Still Defending Our Lives, he joked.
Another 20 years of defending.
