Bill & Ted Face the Music

Bill & Ted Face the Music is an upcoming American science fiction comedy film that acts as the third installment in the Bill & Ted film series and a sequel to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991). It is directed by Dean Parisot and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter reprise their roles as the respective title characters, and William Sadler reprises his role as the Grim Reaper. Kristen Schaal, Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Anthony Carrigan, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, Holland Taylor, Kid Cudi, and Jillian Bell also join the cast.

Bill & Ted Face the Music
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDean Parisot
Produced by
Written by
Starring
Music byMark Isham
CinematographyShelly Johnson
Edited byDon Zimmerman
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists Releasing
Release date
  • August 28, 2020 (2020-08-28) (United States)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[1]

While the script for this film had been laid out as early as 2010, there were difficulties finding a distributor to back production. By May 2018, a distribution deal had been secured and the film entered pre-production, with filming officially commencing on July 1, 2019.[2][3][4]

Bill & Ted Face the Music is scheduled to be simultaneously released in theatres and through video on demand in the United States on August 28, 2020, by United Artists Releasing.[5][6]

Premise

Now enduring the monotony of middle-aged life, William S. "Bill" Preston, Esq. and Theodore "Ted" Logan are warned by a visitor from the future of the need for them to create a song in 78 minutes that will save all life on Earth and the entire universe. The pair work with their families, old friends, famous musicians, and each other to complete the task.[7]

Cast

George Carlin will appear posthumously as Rufus through the use of repurposed archival footage from the first two films.[16]

Production

Development

In 2010, Keanu Reeves indicated that Matheson and Solomon were working on a script for a third film.[17][18] Winter said that the role of Rufus (previously played by the late George Carlin) would not be recast.[19]

In April 2011, Reeves said that a third film was close to happening.[20] On April 24, 2011, Winter tweeted that the script for the third installment had been finished.[21] The plot was suspected to be about Bill and Ted writing a song that could save the world, although in a pre-San Diego Comic-Con International interview, Alex Winter said the storyline may also involve time travel to the prehistoric era, and the film would likely see a cameo by Eddie Van Halen, as well as the return of Socrates and Billy the Kid, who appeared in the first movie.[22]

In August 2012, Dean Parisot was attached to direct.[23] In March 2013, at the SXSW Film Festival, Winter confirmed progress on the film was still moving forward.[24][25]

In August 2013, when asked about a third film, Reeves replied, "There have been a couple of drafts [of a Bill & Ted 3 script] and right now, we're waiting on the writers to come up with another draft. But we're all very excited."[26] In October 2013, Reeves revealed during a Reddit AMA that he has seen the script for Bill & Ted 3, stating, "We are working on trying to get Bill & Ted 3. There's a script and we are trying to put it together."[27]

In a September 2014 interview with Yahoo! Movies, Winter revealed more details on the plot, stating that "[Bill and Ted] will be 40-something and it's all about Bill and Ted grown up, or not grown up". Winter also said that the film would not be a reboot, stating that "it's a Bill & Ted movie, that's what it is. It's for the fans of Bill & Ted. It fits very neatly in the [series]. It's not going to feel like a reboot."[28] On the March 2015 episode of The Jonathan Ross Show, Reeves confirmed that Bill & Ted 3 is still being planned, stating, "Yes, they want to do that. The writers wrote a script, which is a really cool idea and Alex Winter and I—Alex played Bill, I played Ted—so we're trying to get it made".[29]

In April 2016, Alex Winter told Forbes that they have a script, a director and a studio and that there had been a plan to film by early 2017.[30]

Reeves gave an update on the film in February 2017 during an interview on The Graham Norton Show saying the story was written and discussed the plot of the film. "Basically, they're supposed to write a song to save the world, and they haven't done that. The pressure of having to save the world, their marriages are falling apart, their kids are kind of mad at them, and then someone comes from the future and tells them if they don't write the song it's just not the world, it's the universe. So they have to save the universe because time is breaking apart" Reeves said.[31] During the New York City Comic Convention, Reeves revealed that the title will be Bill & Ted Face the Music.[32]

Solomon, speaking to Digital Spy in January 2018, said of the film's long pre-production period:

We have a script that we really are proud of, that we worked very hard on, that we've done many iterations of—and we did it on spec, meaning we spent years working on it because we wanted to get it right, creatively. This is not, 'Hey let's all cash-in on the Bill & Ted thing for money'—this is the opposite. This is, 'We love these characters, they've been with us for our whole lives'—Chris and me, and Alex and Keanu—and we wanted to visit them again as middle-aged men. We thought it would be really fun, and funny, and sweet.

— Ed Solomon[33]

Solomon further said that they have had issues getting financing for the film as those they have approached want to see a reboot of Bill & Ted, rather than a sequel, and had also expressed concerns that since the first film was not distributed internationally, there would not be a large audience for this film.[33] Solomon said that elements of the script would see the middle-aged Bill & Ted revisiting events of the first film, such as watching their interactions outside of the Circle K. Solomon confirmed that they have Steven Soderbergh aboard for production of the film,[33] along with Scott Kroopf, who produced the original films.[34]

Further developments on Face the Music began in May 2018, with the film formally greenlit on May 8, 2018.[35] On February 6, 2019, Production Weekly listed production on Face the Music as slated to start on March 5 of that year.[36][37]

On March 20, 2019, Winter and Reeves affirmed that the film's production was ready to start, and that they had secured a release date on August 21, 2020.[38]

Casting

Both Winter and Reeves were confirmed to be in the movie once it was greenlit in May 2018.[35] William Sadler was confirmed to be reprising his role as the Grim Reaper from the second film in March 2019.[39] Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving will appear as Ted's daughter Billie Logan and Bill's daughter Thea Preston, respectively.[40] Kid Cudi was also announced as a cast member for the film, playing himself as he gets caught up in the events of the film.[41][12] Anthony Carrigan was cast in June 2019 as Bill & Ted's yet-named adversary in the film.[42]

In late June 2019, it was announced that Amy Stoch will be returning as Missy, and Hal Landon, Jr. will be returning as Ted's father, Captain Logan. Other casting announcements include recasts of characters from previous films, with Erinn Hayes as Elizabeth, Jayma Mays as Joanna, and Beck Bennet as Deacon, Ted's younger brother.[14][10] Among casting announcements in July 2019 include Jillian Bell as Dr. Taylor Wood, the family therapist to both Bill and Ted's families,[13] Holland Taylor as the Great Leader in the future San Dimas,[11] and Kristen Schaal as Kelly, a messenger sent from the future for Bill & Ted.[8]

Also in June 2019, Backstage listed a casting call for extras to appear as various historical figures.[43] With help from Jake Tapper, a number of veterans supported by the Wounded Warrior Project were also featured as extras during filming.[44]

Filming

Initial production and filming started on June 17, 2019,[45][38] while cast filming commenced on July 1, 2019.[46] The bulk of the filming took place in New Orleans during July 2019.[47][42] Filming was completed by August 24, 2019.[48]

Bonita Unified School District in Los Angeles County, California, which serves the cities of San Dimas and La Verne where the real-life San Dimas High School is located, has opened its doors to allow production to use the school on camera, although most of the actual filming in San Dimas for the first film was in a school in Arizona.[49]

Music
Bill & Ted Face the Music: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
ReleasedOctober 28, 2020 (2020-10-28)
Genre
  • Metal
  • Rock
Label10k Projects
Various artists chronology
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2007)		 Bill & Ted Face the Music: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2020)

The soundtrack for the movie was announced on August 13, 2020, and will be published by 10K Projects to be released alongside the film on August 28, 2020. In addition to appearing on the soundtrack, the bands Big Black Delta, Mastodon and Lamb of God will appear in the film.[50] Weezer released their official music video for "Beginning of the End" on August 14, 2020.[51]

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Lost in Time"Big Black Delta 
2."Big Red Balloon"Alec Wigdahl 
3."Beginning Of The End (Wyld Stallyns Edit)"Weezer 
4."Story Of Our Lives"Cold War Kids 
5."Rufus Lives"Mastodon 
6."Circuits Of Time"Big Black Delta 
7."Darkest Night"Poorstacy 
8."The Death Of Us"Lamb of God 
9."Breaker"Fidlar 
10."Leave Me Alone"Culture Wars 
11."Right Where You Belong"Blame My Youth 
12."Face The Music"Wyld Stallyns (feat. Animals As Leaders, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah) 
13."That Which Binds Us Through Time: The Chemical, Physical and Biological Nature of Love; an Exploration of The Meaning of Meaning, Part 1"Wyld Stallyns 

During a performance in August 2019, Kid Cudi announced that the soundtrack for the film will feature a remix of his 2010 song "Erase Me" done by Steve Aoki[52].

Post-production

Winter stated in a February 2020 interview that they had completed a "fantastic first cut" but were still working on visual effects and music, along with additional filming such as with Kid Cudi a few days prior.[53]

Marketing

First images from the film were published by Entertainment Weekly on December 17, 2019.[12] A teaser poster was released on February 5, 2020.[54] A new poster and a trailer was released on June 9, 2020,[55] unofficially referred to by fans as "Bill & Ted Day" as the date's digits 6 and 9 make up the duo's favorite number 69 from the first film.[56] The second trailer was released along the announcement of the planned mixed theatric/video-on-demand release approach, on July 23, 2020.[5]

Release

Bill & Ted Face the Music was originally scheduled to be released on August 21, 2020 by Orion Pictures through United Artists Releasing in the US and by Warner Bros. Pictures in the UK.[38][57] Looper observed that the date's digits (8, 21, 20 and 20) coincidentally added up to 69, an in-universe reference to the first film.[58] Due to the postponement of other films due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Face the Music was moved up a week to August 14, 2020 to fill vacated slots, before then being delayed to August 28, 2020 as to avoid conflicting with the rescheduled release of Tenet.[59] As further complications from the pandemic continued to threaten movie theater openings, United Artists Releasing announced in late July that they will release Face the Music in a combined theatrical and video-on-demand premiere on September 1, 2020.[5] Then, on August 6, 2020, Alex Winter took to his twitter to announce that the film had been moved up back to its August 28 slot.[60]

The film will be distributed internationally by MGM.[61]

References
  1. "Fastlane NextGen: Initial Certification Search" (Type "Bill and Ted Face the Music" in the search box). Louisiana Economic Development. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  2. Nast, Condé. "Bill & Ted 3 Gets 2020 Release Date". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  3. Pulver, Andrew (March 20, 2019). "Bill & Ted 3 confirmed by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  4. Salamone, Gina. "'Bill & Ted Face the Music,' third film in series, gets a release date". nydailynews.com. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  5. McClintock, Pamela (July 23, 2020). "'Bill & Ted 3' to Hit VOD and Select Cinemas Simultaneously Amid Ongoing Pandemic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  6. "Bill and Ted 3 Release Date Moved Up". Movies. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  7. Travis, Ben (February 17, 2020). "Bill & Ted Have 78 Minutes To Save The Universe In Face The Music". Empire. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  8. Couch, Aaron (July 11, 2019). "Kristen Schaal Joins 'Bill & Ted Face the Music'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  9. Warner, Sam (June 10, 2020). "Bill & Ted 3 writers reveal how they pay tribute to late star George Carlin". Digital Spy. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  10. N'Duke, Amanda (June 27, 2019). "'Bill & Ted Face the Music': Jayma Mays & Erinn Hayes Cast In Key Roles". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  11. D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 11, 2019). "Holland Taylor To Play The Great Leader In 'Bill & Ted Face The Music'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  12. Collis, Clark (December 17, 2019). "Get a most excellent first look at Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter in Bill & Ted Face the Music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  13. D'Nuka, Amanda (July 2, 2019). "'Bill & Ted Face The Music' Adds 'Brittany Runs A Marathon' Star Jillian Bell". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  14. McNary, Dave (June 27, 2019). "'Bill & Ted' Sequel Adds New and Returning Cast Members". Variety. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  15. Fandango [@Fandango] (June 9, 2020). "Whoa: A Most Excellent Journey" (Tweet). Retrieved June 10, 2020 – via Twitter.
  16. https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a848292/bill-and-ted-3-title-plot-keanu-reeves-face-the-music-movie/
  17. "Reeve talks new 'Bill and Ted' adventure". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on September 23, 2010.
  18. "'Bill and Ted 3' Movie Sequel Confirmed | Gather". Entertainment.gather.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  19. "Rufus 'won't be recast for Bill & Ted 3'". Digital Spy. September 25, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  20. "'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 3'". Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  21. Zakarin, Jordan (April 25, 2011). "Bill & Ted 3 Movie Script Finished: Alex Winter Tweets Update'". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
  22. "'Bill And Ted 3' Script Completed, Confirms Alex Winter". Muveez. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  23. Brodesser, Claude. "Bill & Ted May Ride Again for a Third Film". Vulture. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  24. White, Brett (March 15, 2013). "'Bill & Ted 3' Won't Be A 'Weird Reboot,' Alex Winter Promises". MTV.com. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  25. Lazar, Shira (March 13, 2013). "Bill and Ted 3 Sneaks Its Way Into SXSW 2013 (WATCH)". HuffPost. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  26. "Keanu Reeves Reveals A New 'Bill & Ted 3' Script Is In The Works". nerdsraging.com. August 7, 2013. Archived from the original on August 27, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  27. "Keanu Reeves. Ask me, if you want, almost anything. (self.IAmA)". reddit.com. October 20, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
  28. Falk, Ben (September 25, 2014). "Alex Winter Gives an Excellent Update on 'Bill & Ted 3'". Yahoo!. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  29. Metro.co.uk, Sarah Robertson for (March 28, 2015). "Keanu Reeves confirms plans for third Bill and Ted movie to Jonathan Ross".
  30. "Bill and Ted 3 Update". Slashfilm. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  31. "Keanu Reeves confirms new Bill & Ted movie, and it's got a bonkers plot". ConsequenceOfSound.net. February 11, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  32. "Bill & Ted 3 Gets a Title". ComicBook.com. October 7, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  33. Jeffery, Morgan (January 24, 2018). "Bill & Ted writer reveals how the planned third film will pay tribute to George Carlin's Rufus". Digital Spy. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  34. Franich, Darren (March 30, 2018). "Bill & Ted 3: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, and the writers talk proposed sequel (which might actually happen!)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  35. Witman, Alex (May 8, 2018). "Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter Reteaming for 'Bill & Ted 3'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  36. "Production Weekly – Issue 1130 – Thursday, February 7, 2019 / 204 Listings – 45 Pages". Production Weekly. February 6, 2019. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  37. Prasad, R. A. Karthik (February 6, 2019). "UPDATE: Bill And Ted 3 Starts Filming On March 5 In LA, Tempe & Phoenix". Pursue News.
  38. Itzkoff, Dave (March 20, 2019). "A Third 'Bill & Ted' Movie Is Totally on the Way, Dude". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  39. Welk, Brian (March 25, 2019). "William Sadler to Return as Grim Reaper in 'Bill & Ted Face the Music'". The Wrap. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  40. Couch, Aaron (June 5, 2019). "'Bill & Ted 3' Finds Daughters for 'Face the Music'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  41. D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 13, 2019). "'Bill & Ted Face The Music' Grooves With Grammy Winner Kid Cudi". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  42. Kit, Borys (June 19, 2019). "'Barry' Breakout Anthony Carrigan Joins 'Bill & Ted Face the Music' as Villain". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  43. "Feature Films: 'Bill & Ted Face the Music' | Backstage". www.backstage.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  44. Chang, Tom (August 20, 2019). ""Bill & Ted Face the Music" Casts Wounded Warriors as Extras". Bleeding Cool News. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  45. "Nostalgia Reigns as Production Begins on 'Bill and Ted Face the Music'". /Film. June 17, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  46. Stevens, Colin (July 1, 2019). "Bill & Ted 3: Face the Music Starts Filming". IGN. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  47. Lopez, Kenny (March 21, 2019). "New 'Bill & Ted Face The Music' movie to film in New Orleans". WGNO. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  48. Auty, Dan (August 26, 2019). "Bill & Ted 3 Production Wrap Marked By Nostalgic On-Set Tweets". GameSpot. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  49. "It'd Be Excellent, Dudes ... If Ya Shot at the Real San Dimas HS!!!". TMZ. March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  50. Tangcey, Jazz (August 13, 2020). "Weezer Teams With Wyld Stallyns for First Song From 'Bill & Ted Face the Music'". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  51. Mamo, Heran (August 14, 2020). "Weezer Releases First Song From 'Bill & Ted Face the Music' Soundtrack: Watch the Video". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  52. Saponara, Michael (August 5, 2019). "Kid Cudi Teases 'Erase Me' Steve Aoki Remix During Hard Summer Fest Performance". Billboard. Billboardf. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  53. Grow, Krow (February 20, 2020). "Alex Winter Breaks Down Lost 'Bill and Ted' Dance Sequence, 30 Years Later". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  54. Anderton, Ethan (February 5, 2020). "'Bill & Ted Face the Music' Poster Brings Back a Familiar Time Machine, Which You Can Now Buy". Slash Film. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  55. Parker, Ryan (June 9, 2019). "Bill & Ted Ride Again in First Trailer For 'Face the Music'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  56. Burton, Bonnie; Keane, Sean (June 9, 2020). "Bill and Ted go on another adventure in Face the Music trailer". CNet. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  57. Alex Ritman (May 13, 2019). "Cannes: Warner Bros., MGM Take 'Bill & Ted 3' for International Markets (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  58. Thoman, Lauren (November 7, 2019). "Bill & Ted Face the Music release date, cast, trailer and plot". Looper. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  59. D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 26, 2020). "'Bill & Ted Face The Music' Moves To End Of August Following 'Tenet' Shift". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  60. Chitwood, Adam (August 6, 2020). "'Bill & Ted Face the Music' Release Date Moved Up a Week; Behind-the-Scenes Featurette Released". Collider. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  61. McNary, Dave (June 25, 2020). "MGM Buys Remaining International Markets for 'Bill & Ted Face the Music'". Variety. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.