The last we heard of Ricky Gervais’ planned David Brent feature-length mockumentary, which he initially described as “Spinal Tap meets sad Scorsese meets Anvil” was last August, when we reported that the movie was actually happening, and filming was to begin in 2015. That was apparently contingent on the film still finding a backer, but it’s been announced today that Entertainment One and BBC Film have joined together to finance Life on the Road.
Variety wrote that the film will launch in Cannes through eOne Features and will be directly distributed in the UK and Australia/New Zealand. No word yet on if or how it will be made available to American audiences.
“I’m so excited that the world will see what David Brent is up to now and where his future lies,” Gervais said. “This film delves much more into his private life than ‘The Office’ ever did and we really get to peel back the layers of this extraordinary, ordinary man.”
Last year, Ricky Gervais described the plot of Life on the Road to the Telegraph:
“He thinks it’ll be like Scorsese filming the Rolling Stones, but it turns out to be a ‘where are they now’ documentary. He has to take a few weeks off work and cash in a couple of pensions, because the session musicians in the band are costing him more than he’s getting in ticket sales. Tragic.”
Depending on what tone he plans to take with this, it could actually take a bittersweet turn like Gervais has managed to pull off with Derek, or it could just be excruciatingly cringe-worthy and painful to watch, which is my fear. No word yet on whether he still plans to film this year or how the production schedule will be affected by his upcoming feature-length comedy he’s developing with Netflix, Special Correspondents.
