The original members of Talking Heads — David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz — reunited at the Toronto Film Festival, September 11, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their iconic concert film Stop Making Sense.
According to Consequence, the audience was up on their feet dancing during the world premiere of the newly restored 4K version of the film, with some of the band members reportedly joining in.
“When I was watching this just now, I was thinking, ‘This is why we come to the movie theaters. This is different than watching it on my laptop,’” Byrne said after the screening. “This is really different.”
The screening was followed by a Q&A, moderated by Spike Lee, who called Stop Making Sense “the greatest concert film ever.”
While relationships in the band have been rocky over the years, Frantz told the audience, “It’s so good to be here with my bandmates tonight,” adding, “I’m very grateful to be here tonight and to be able to watch this and to enjoy it so much.”
Regarding the appeal of the film, Harrison noted, “one of the reasons of the lasting power of the film is you see that we are having so much fun on stage.” Weymouth added, “I love that show. It was magical. Everything about it was so special. Love. Between us and the audience.”
One thing that wasn’t revealed was whether this reunion will lead to any new concerts or music from the band. In fact, the subject wasn’t even brought up during the Q&A.
Meanwhile, the screening of Stop Making Sense played in IMAX theaters across North America and it sold out 25 screens at 165 locations, making it IMAX’s biggest live screening event ever, earning $640,839.
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